Kate Hood had no idea that, from birth, she had been living with a neurological disease that would impact her in her later years.
The actress starred in one of the most iconic Australian TV series, Prisoner, portraying Kath Maxwell in the eighth and final season, in 1986.
She would also appear in Blue Heelers and four feature films.
It was then that her life took an unexpected turn.
READ MORE: Beloved ’80s fitness star Richard Simmons dies aged 76
“I had a neurological disease from birth which is called hereditary spastic paraplegia, dreadful name and very rare disease,” Hood, 65, tells 9honey.
“I began falling over randomly. My legs would just give way when I was in my 40s.”
READ MORE: Princess of Wales’ upcoming Wimbledon appearance a ‘good sign’
Hood says she “did the usual actor’s thing and I covered it up, I didn’t tell a single soul about it.”
She began seeing a chiropractor but after two years of unsuccessful treatment, was sent to a neurologist who eventually diagnosed the condition.
“It took a very long time for me to find out what the hell was going on,” she says, adding that the disease quickly progressed and she wasn’t able to hide it any longer.
“And it was only when I began using a walking stick and I went from one stick to using two sticks to using a walker to using a wheelchair,” she says, that her acting career came to an abrupt stop.
“I was excluded from things,” she says. “I was excluded from auditioning for musical theatre, for example. I still am excluded from that, and I imagine I always will be.”
Hood refused to give up on the career she had spent decades building.
“It took a very long time for me to find out what the hell was going on.”
“So I reinvented myself as a voiceover artist and in those days I was able to get around in my manual wheelchair, which weighs six kilos, and I was able to walk up stairs and I was able to stand up to do the voiceover and get back into the wheelchair again,” Hood explains.
She also launched her own disability-led production company called Raspberry Ripple Productions.
READ MORE: Amazon offers early Prime Day deals with discounts on must-have tech
Stars paid huge salaries for surprisingly little work
Eventually Hood found a new home in theatre, first in Escaped Alone with the Melbourne Theatre Company and now with Cost of Living which has just wrapped up a successful run in Queensland and is moving to the Sydney Theatre Company from July 18 until August. 18.
Cost of Living hits close to home for Hood. It is directed by Priscilla Jackman and disabled director Dan Daw and is the creation of playwright Martyna Majok.
The play follows the lives of two couples. Two of the characters are disabled and two are non-disabled. It explores the power paradigms between the couples and the financial implications of disability.
Hood plays Ani, whose husband Eddie has returned to her after six months apart. She draws on her lived experience in the role and the loss of dignity and agency suffered by disabled people.
“She’s got to have someone hold the phone for her and have someone feed her, have someone wipe her bum and have someone put her to bed and bring her out of bed,” Hood describes.
“She’s got to have someone make her a cup of tea and put a straw in it so she can drink it … then she’s got this man coming back into her life after six months saying, ‘What can I do? I’m here to help you?’ And she’s really, really angry with him, and justifiably.”
The play is set in the US so the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) doesn’t feature, however, Hood has plenty to say about it off stage.
“The NDIS is not fit for purpose,” she says. “It should be run by disabled people… there are age-related disabilities but a bugbear for me personally is that I am lumped in with aged care.”
She hopes her work on stage helps raise awareness of the daily struggles of disabled people.
“My take on the whole thing has always been we live in the world together and disability is simply part of humanity,” she says.
And she hopes the disability community comes together in the face of adversity.
“It’s time that we actually came together as a tribe and worked stuff out together,” Hood adds.
Purchase your tickets to see Cost of Living here.
Find out more about Hood’s work at Raspberry Ripple Productions here.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.