Wake Up Legs

As many of our friends and family know, on 17 April, life changed for myself and my family forever.

On a beautiful autumn afternoon I went out for a ride on a local trail and came a cropper with a log.  I have suffered serious spinal cord injuries and am now what is called an incomplete quadriplegic.  I have been in a combination of ICU, acute hospital and rehabilitation settings for the past near five months with return home imminent – Yay!

My injury effected all of my limbs and torso and during my time in rehab I have made significant improvement and recovery to the point that I can now bear weight on both my legs and can stand with the aid of a walking frame ... and my handwriting is back to its messy best!

My goal continues to be gaining as much of my pre-accident functionality as possible and, at a minimum, this means some form of walking.

During my time in Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Hospital, I have been accessing 4-5 sessions of physiotherapy per week, combined with further sessions of weight training, exercise physiology, hydrotherapy and occupational therapy.

Although NDIS provide support funding for further therapy, their focus is not rehabilitation but rather maintenance.  As such they will support up to half the amount of therapy hours that I have received at Talbot.  My recovery and need for therapeutic input will continue for years with optimal impact on functional restoration seen in the first 1 -2 years. 

To help achieve the best outcome possible, Sarah and I are seeking funding support to maximise my recovery and regain as much functionality as possible.

As well as contributing to the gap between inpatient and NDIS-supported formal rehabilitation as provided by physio, OT and exercise physiology we hope to also purchase appropriate equipment to support my participation in the rehabilitation process at home and to allow participation in rehabilitation/therapy initiatives interstate if identified.

Every dollar will be used solely for my rehabilitation and with 100% efficiency. We will use a separate account to hold any crowd-sourced funding to be used only for this purpose and will provide progress updates so people can see the impact it has.

It feels very strange to me to be asking for this support – I am usually the one fundraising for cancer research or volunteering my time to support local sports and schools.

Thank you for considering this – I really want to do as well as I can on one of my most important life challenges.

Love  Nick,
Sarah, Charlotte & Jessica