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local Tuesday 12 July 2022

Meet the ‘Fighter for Kids’

The reason why Carolina Thiel-Span is like the Energizer bunny

me a lot in my self-reflection, and it helped me
decide when I need to take a break and say,
now it’s enough.”

Confrontational
For Carolina, initially she was very confronta-
tional when she received the OCD diagnosis.
And what she realized was that same as with
ADHD, same with Autism, there are various de-
grees of OCD and different ways in which the
She is not unknown in Aruba, but few realize that disorder manifests.
maybe the reason why Carolina Thiel-Span is so
active in the social sphere on the island. These “When you think of OCD, the stereotype is peo-
activities help her manage her OCD – that is, ple who are super organized and people who
her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. are always cleaning. I am not like that. I orga-
nized in a different way, but I’m not a persona
OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder is a condi- for whom all that is around me needs to be or-
tion that brings anxiety and restlessness to peo- ganized, or that I am obsessive with cleaning.
ple, who find they are always looking for an ac- On the contrary, I find myself a messy person.”
tivity to calm themselves. These activities often- But her need to control manifests in another people. Her husband always says to ‘let it go’,
times are repetitive and become compulsive. way. “For example, when we go on vacation, I and they have a dog named Elsa. The name
These compulsions provide temporary relief to need a clear itinerary, with little free time. That came because her niece is obsessed with the
the people with OCD. In severe cases, it can would give my family a lot of trouble when I movie Frozen; but Carolina herself learned that
get in the way of the daily activities of a person, was a kid, because I wanted to know what is sometimes, she needs to ‘let it go’ to be able to
and some people find it difficult to cope with happening every moment, and they found that move forward. “It became a joke in our family.”
daily life. annoying. They would have wanted to have a
day without doing anything, and I found that Fighter for Kids
But Carolina has learned to live with her OCD, annoying because in my mind, that is not pos- It was her parents who also realized it is impor-
and what’s more, ever since she was young, sible. The need to organize is more about my tant for Carolina to be involved in the com-
her parents helped her manage her condition time, and not about cleaning.” munity and organizations from a young age.
through planning her day. And by planning her “More and more I realize that I like to work with
day, her schedule, her activities, she developed Carolina studied Public Health Management organizations focused on children. Why? Be-
habilities to take on projects, putting them to- and she is working at the Public Health Inspec- cause I feel that the added value is more when
gether, and executing them. tion, and she is also two days at the Youth Man- working with kids. When you help them from
agement Direction, to co-execute the program a young age, the impact can last their whole
Energizer Bunny of Early Intervention, focused on the créche lives. I’m not saying that you don’t need to help
Any person who meets Carolina realizes that (daycare) system in Aruba. all people, but for me, working with kids is sat-
she is a fountain of energy. “Where did I get my isfactory; they are still like a sponge, you can
energy? Mi husband says that I am the defini- Besides that, she is a volunteer specialized in help form them and help them develop, which
tion of the ‘Energizer bunny’. I was always an fundraising for Koningin Wilhelmina Kanker has impact on their whole life.” And her catchy
active persona, and precisely on the days that Fonds (Queen Wilhelimina Cancer Foundation), e-mail address, the ‘fighter for kids’? That was
I do less and are less active, I have less energy.” she is a guide at Rainbow Girls and president of the result of a group work during her study for
When she is not active, Carolina feels a bit de- the Autism Foundation of Aruba. the organization Kids Beating Cancer, and
pressed. “I think this has to do with OCD, be- Carolina suggested the name ‘Fighter for Kids’.
cause by being active, I am in control.” Answering how her OCD helps her with all these When the project was finalized, she asked if she
responsibilities which overlap the whole week, could take the name for herself, and the rest is
Carolina was nine years old when her parents even during the weekend, she says: “Y try so history.q
decided they needed to have their youngest that by the moment I get home, afternoon and
daughter diagnosed. “Ever since I was a baby evening, I make sure to have free time, so that
I was very irritable. I slept at night, but didn’t I can connect with my husband, my family and
sleep during the day. I was never able to nap, my dogs. There are pros and cons in everything,
and was never calm on my own. Before, they but I do think the OCD helped me learn to be
thought I had ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper- more organized to maximize my time”. In other
activity Disorder).” And indeed they first had words, Carolina uses a disability as a tool for her
Carolina screened for ADHD, and her diagno- personal and professional life. “I avoid procras-
sis indicated ADHD; but when she was older, a tination, I never wait to do anything because,
psychologist in the United States realized that what if the computer breaks down. So I’m al-
her symptoms were more like OCD than ADHD. ways pending and ready if something cata-
“It was more because the moments when I felt strophic happens, and that’s why I finish things
irritated, it wasn’t because I had ADHD, but be- as soon as possible.”
cause I didn’t have any control of what I was
doing or what I wanted to do.” Over time, Carolina had to learn that she can-
not always be in control of everything, and she
The diagnosis helped bring calm to Carolina, needs to let go. “I am a work in progress, mean-
because through that, she was more aware ing that I need to understand other people
of her compulsions and she could differentiate and give them space so they can understand
between when she was really doing something me, and give them time to tell me what they
because she wanted things done well, versus need. And here, communication is key. Caro-
she’s doing too much (Carolina describes this lina says that she is realizing that she can man-
as ‘overdrive’) without being realistic. “It helps age her OCD better without bothering other