Family

The inspiring Northland mum who cheated death and is now encouraging others to change their lives

"She has taken a really horrible situation and turned it around into something positive – if that's not inspiring, I don't know what is," her daughter says.

Kerikeri mum Glenys Arkinstall doesn’t think of herself as particularly inspiring, however, her daughter Kelly insists there is more than enough to write home about when it comes to her mother.

“She has taken a really horrible situation and turned it around into something positive – if that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is,” says Kelly – and we agree.

Café owner Glenys, 61, is the winner of the Woman’s Day and Vivo Most Inspiring Mum competition, thanks to Auckland-based Kelly, 42, who came across the contest by chance while flicking through our magazine on a visit to her parents in Northland. The proud daughter immediately knew she had to share her mother’s story.

It was on July 15, 2015, while travelling down State Highway 16, that Glenys suffered from a diabetic low and drove her car off a cliff. Her vehicle fell 150 metres and rolled three times before coming to a stop. Remarkably, she escaped with only a cracked vertebrae and a large bump on her head.

Because of the severity of her crash, by all odds, she shouldn’t be alive. Indeed, Glenys says, “I really thought I’d die down there at the bottom of the cliff alone that day.”

The thing that saved her, she reckons, is a toetoe bush that stopped the car rolling a further 350 metres.

Although she and Kelly also suspect the spirit of Glenys’ late mother also played a part on that fateful day.

Attached to the car’s rear-view mirror was an angel charm, given to Glenys by her mum, that bears the quote, “Angel of the highway, protect us.”

The angel charm that Glenys felt protected her on that day.

Spiritual intervention or otherwise, that day marked not only a lucky escape, but also a catalyst for Glenys to turn her life around. Up until her accident, she had struggled with weight and health issues, including type 2 diabetes.

Afterwards, while she was recovering, Kelly gave her a Paleo cookbook by celebrity chef Pete Evans, which she describes as a “watershed moment” for her mother. Glenys adds, “I knew I had to do something, but when Kelly gave me the book to read, I thought, ‘I can do this. It doesn’t look that hard.'”

Since then, Glenys has lost an incredible 56kg by following a 100% Paleo diet and she’s become an inspiration to others looking to change their lives too. She is an active member of health and fitness Facebook groups, and finds herself giving advice to customers at the café she runs with her husband Ken.

Glenys is now so healthy, she no longer needs her insulin injections. And she’s still losing weight by eating well, exercising regularly, and practising mindfulness and meditation. She’s so conscious of everything she puts into her body that she now even makes her own toothpaste and cleaning products.

Kelly admits her mum’s new outlook on life has definitely rubbed off on her as well.

She says, “It’s been really nice to see someone who has been feeling really bad about themselves, not really enjoying life or taking the bull by the horns, and hear them say, ‘This is my second chance and I’m gonna make the most of it.’

“I’m so proud of my mum’s journey, the courage it took to make it and the fact she is now selflessly helping others to achieve the same results.”

Looking at her proud daughter, Glenys adds, “Well, I enjoy it. I enjoy helping people find the right path. It’s easier not to follow it.”

Because they live three hours apart and don’t get a lot of time together, Glenys and Kelly relished their prize of a girlie day out, and their first-ever joint pamper session, which saw them getting their hair and make-up done by the team at Vivo Hair & Beauty.

Despite our protests and Kelly’s kind words, Glenys insists she doesn’t deserve the title of Most Inspiring Mum, but she’s honoured to have been nominated.

“It means an awful lot,” she smiles. “I’m still in shock, to be honest. I didn’t think I was inspiring; I was just being Mum. When you love your kids, you’ll do anything for them – and that includes surviving.”

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