When Cathy Carmical was a girl, it was obvious that something was seriously wrong with her father’s lungs.

 “He would sit at the window with the window open and just breathe the cold air, and that seemed to help,” she said.

“He suffered a lot,” Cathy said. “He worked in the coal mines forever and he smoked from the time he was about 10-years-old.”

Her father, who struggled with alcohol addiction also, died of a heart attack when she was 20. Over the years, her conviction that his cough contributed to his early death eventually led her to her current career as a registered respiratory therapist—a career she was able to train for with the help of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program administered by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP).

“I knew that my dad had lung problems and it just started weighing on me. I wondered what it was, and I wanted to be able to go to school to figure out what it could have been,” she said. “I know that I can’t help him but there’s so many other people out there that maybe I can do something for.”

Today, Cathy has the medical knowledge to make educated guesses about her father’s health problems and to help others in similar shape. But the road to her career was not a direct or easy one for the 41-year-old mother of three, and it would have been even more difficult if not for the help she received from the WIA program provided locally through the Bell-Whitley Community Action Agency (BWCAA).

When Cathy graduated from Bell County High School, she did not have a clear career goal. She got married and worked in fast food places. Four years later, her first marriage ended.

Her second marriage was rocky and troubled. Although the three children she and her second husband had together were bright spots, much of the 14-year experience was “misery” for her. It ended when her husband died unexpectedly at a young age.

Cathy said that she knew then it was up to her to summon the strength to ensure she and the children would have a better future.

“The kids were what gave me the willpower and initiative to get up and go on,” Cathy said.

Cathy, who had worked only sporadically during her last marriage, wasted no time in taking steps to make sure she could earn a living.

“I went straight to school,” she said, starting less than two months after her husband’s funeral.

Initially, she studied to be surgery technician, because the academic program was shorter.

“I needed to get done with school so I could go to work,” she said.

She said she had great teachers at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Pineville, and as they got to know her they encouraged her to pursue the career she really wanted. Soon she switched to the respiratory therapy program.

Making do on Social Security, student loans, and food stamps while in school wasn’t easy. When Cathy heard about the assistance available through the WIA program, she jumped at the opportunity.

BWCAA delivers WIA programs in Bell County under contract with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP). The BWCAA office in Pineville is also an access point for the JobSight network, a collaborative partnership of workforce and training agencies administered by EKCEP in 23 eastern Kentucky counties.

WIA Career Advisor Pam Wilson was able to help Cathy get assistance to help pay for meals and transportation to classes. WIA also helped Cathy pay for one semester of summer school to get some general education classes out of the way.

Cathy said the financial assistance from WIA helped her “tremendously.”

“It would have been really hard to make it without it,” she said.

Cathy said the two-year respiratory therapy program “flew by” because “all I did was study. All the kids were in school and I was in school. We all got home at the same time and then we would just kind of chill out for a little bit and then everyone would do homework. Then I’d cook dinner, then I’d study more. They’d get their baths and go to bed and then I’d study some more.”

Cathy discovered that she liked being able to work with patients and help them as much as possible. During her clinical studies at an area hospital, she and another student used CPR to revive a woman whose heart was failing, she said.

“I got home and got out my car and I was walking up my driveway and I thought ‘Hey, I helped save that woman’s life today.’ And that felt pretty good.”

In May 2008, Cathy graduated and then passed the board examinations to become a registered respiratory therapist. Still helping, WIA paid the examination fees.

Cathy worked at the Hazard ARH Hospital for a while before finding a job closer to home at Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin

“I like it here. The people here are really good to you,” she said.

Now Cathy is remarried and is part of what she feels is a “very equal partnership” with her new husband.

“It’s nice to be married to someone that is good to you,” she said.

Her new financial stability is also a relief, although it’s still hard for her to get used to the fact that there will be a regular paycheck.

“It’s still hard for me to turn loose of money,” she smiled.

Pam said Cathy was a model candidate for WIA services because she was driven, determined to succeed, and kept herself well informed.

 “She was always on top of her game,” Pam said.

Cathy would recommend the WIA program to other people in her situation. As long as they are willing to work hard, it will help them succeed, she said.

Cathy said she was willing to do what WIA and her professors asked of her, knowing they had the knowledge to guide her and had her best interests at heart.

“Whatever they asked me to do, I did it,” she said.

For more information on Workforce Investment Act services available in Bell County, contact Pam Wilson 606-337-3044.