Let me tell you my story. Well, in 2008 I was involved in a motorbike accident in Victoria, Australia, that left me with lasting injuries including a Traumatic Brain Injury. This was due to a severe Closed Head Injury, which resulted in extensive facial fractures, requiring a facial reconstruction. To reconstruct my face, they bolted 11 titanium plates to my skull. My TBI was so severe that I sustained extremely severe Frontal Lobe Damage and shearing of the brain. This has left me with paralysis from my shoulder to my toes down the right hand side of my body, causing major instability issues. On top of that, I have a Brachial Plexus injury to my right arm involving three severed nerves. Luckily I have two arms and two legs, because that would suck if I didn’t, right? Unfortunately I don’t have two brains. Instead, I’m blessed with a damaged one, and I make it work really hard.
On the day of the accident I had my first ride in a helicopter but unfortunately I was in a coma so I couldn’t enjoy it. I don’t think the heroes who were saving my life had time to enjoy it either. They quickly flew me to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where I stayed for the following 16 days. Once I had woken up from my coma state and I was out of ICU, they shipped me off to Epworth HealthCare, a rehabilitation centre where I spent the next three years doing countless hours of therapy.
Rehab became my full-time job – a job I took very seriously. The intense physical and mental rehabilitation which I continue today is the sole reason that I am still alive and where I am. I have discovered that setting and achieving goals, both mental and physical, keeps me looking forward rather than backwards and each goal I achieve fills me with satisfaction.
