After Impact - Segment 4

welcome back to after impact what happens to survivors of serious Road crashes who are left with lifechanging injuries will never fully understand the hidden costs of Road trauma the physical mental Financial social and functional costs what we do know is they can last a lifetime serious injuries affect everything in your life really quickly and and really severely and for a really long time they affect physically how how you you know how you do things and how you operate they affect speech they affect how you think they affect relationships they affect your emotions your your wallet Bottom Dollar can I afford to live at the moment and and how what does my life look like you know does my life does my car need to be different now can I drive anymore can I have that job that I work so hard to get or you know was so good at does that look the same for me and does that look the same for my family the thing I most Miss would be I guess my life kind of feels like I never grew up like I was this 21y old fell from humd do playing sport qualifi mechanic about to travel the world and just never happened so it's hard to quantify the things I've lost from my life it's the little things that really impact you on that daily basis tying your shoelaces cutting a steak cooking opening things a lot of physical activities require those two hands there's no way to think about it until you have to try Do It For the First Time with one hand and that's when you're like this sucks there's a few things I can't do anymore um so like the if I want to get a particular job I have to make sure that it's not a constant standing job otherwise I'll get like reoccurring pain um in my lower back again um you know like my my dog she's she's got a permanent um leg injury as well so she when she gets super excited she can't like jump jump around anymore like she used to I have lost so much from this crash I I can't run I can't jump I I can't stand for long periods of time I used to be sporty I used to love water skiing snowboarding and I can't do any of that now that that sucks the world that Eli went into with Doctors Hospitals ongoing therapy cuz it's still going Rehabilitation never stop never ever stops and it's world that no parent wants to go into but all parents should know a little bit about and talk to their kids about how it can impact not just you but everyone around you I was 6t strong as and now I can't even get myself out of bed I can't go to the toilet I have to use a catheter oh never saw this happening to me everybody gets to choose to take risks but nobody gets to choose the consequences I didn't understand that at time jails and cemeteries are full of who who live like I did drive like I did so if the worst have to deal with is a quarter of his limp slow spe times well it's still the worst thing Could Happen throughout this program we've certainly witnessed some confronting moments but if there's an upside to the pain and suffering each of our survivors is facing it's that all seven have been able to move forward significantly with their lives having experienced a terrible life-changing event each of them where possible is now trying to use their story to help create positive change when we spoke to will it was almost a year to the day after his accident will has risen to the significant challenges he faces he's grown in confidence with using his wheelchair and has reskilled himself in things such as using a mobile phone his tight-knit family keeps him moving forward which he thrives on while he really misses life on the Family Farm and also his job as a fiveo worker he's now become involved in wheelchair rugby so while I was in the spinal reab unit I was introduced to another person in a wheelchair and he told me about wheelchair rugby and the next week they got me in a chair and I been playing it ever since it's just great to get amongst other people with similar sort of injuries you would learn so much more it will help the function that he has um and then there's just the fact of getting out and and getting back into a community and and interacting with other people so yeah it's been huge almost 3 years to the day after her accident Samara went back to full-time work as an event manager and is currently working towards a diploma in events she now lives in her own home which was finally completed after significant delays due to her accident Hazel is still a huge part of her life and the two of them are often seen at their local park during her rehab Samara shared her story with NT school students I told them about my accident and how you know it's a split second and everything changed I just wanted them to make sure that they were aware and safe on the roads um you know because accidents happen I wasn't texting on my phone I wasn't n drunk I wasn't on drugs none of that stuff like I would never put my Hazel in danger or I would never hurt her in any way but sometimes it's just like out of our control of what happens and I just wanted to get across to them that you know driving is a privilege not a right to be on these roads so you just need to be aware of your surroundings and drive to the conditions and and be safe anyone who's just met her probably doesn't even realize how serious and accident that she's been in those of us who knew her before the accident have noticed the difference ultimately she's still Samara she's still fun happy gol lucky she's so determined she's such a hard worker we're so proud with everything that she's achieved and everything she's going to continue to achieve Blake's been getting his life back on track these days he works for the NT government since a one arm Sparky is not a highly sought after after profession he hasn't stopped being a lovable laran he's still good mates with his motorcycle even though he can no longer ride it instead he drives a vehicle that's been modified to allow for the loss of his arm he wants students and Young Drivers to understand what living with serious injury means and freely gives his time to that cause just looking at me I want you to consider how things could have ended up so differently if I'd been speeding no wearing my protective gear or doing the wrong thing what this situation I experienced could have been much worse after having weight an occasional mental health issues a mate suggested he'd take up Muay Thai kickboxing to help with his physical and mental outlook for the last 2 and 1 half years I've uh been doing it weekly even even went to Thailand for 2 months to train um no no Ambitions no goals but it's just it's something I love his confidence has built up so much with we treat him no different to anyone he's trying a figh as class is pretty hard and especially when you're doing sparring and that like uh they don't they don't take it easy on him the biggest thing having Blake on the gym is unreal like I tell him all the time that he makes all these Fighters become humble because they look at him and if he can do something then you better do it because you got two hands and legs he doesn't and he's doing it so John fights his mental demons and Body Image issues every day as well as the physical scars and ongoing pain from his accident he works full-time in the insurance industry and in 2023 was named the underwriter of the year for the NT despite what happened to him he still loves riding motorcycles Jon's built a loving family environment with his wife sky and takes immense pride in bringing up their daughters I'm a lot more emotional Than I Used to Be You know I think I I really appreciate small moments in life and uh you know some sometimes I get emotional thinking about what guy's life would look like if if I if I wasn't here you know yeah I would have missed out on a lot you definitely learn to appreciate the little things in life um you know I never leave John without telling him I love him not that I wish that I won't see him again but because it is possible um you've got to make the most of what you have in your moment John isn't just a statistic right he's he's been made I've seen what he's at to go through I just hope that you know no one else would go through that or have to go through that for locky his acquired brain injury and other physical injuries have not held him back from remaining active he does presentations to prisons sporting clubs and students to encourage people to look after their mates when they're on the road on the night of the crash I was wearing my seat belt I wasn't under the influence of drugs and alcohol and I wasn't speeding the person Towing the boat he insecurely tied the mattress down that's the risk he chose to take and I'm left to live with the consequences he's also a mentor at brain injury South Australia to help with his poor memory caused by brain injury he's taken up photography especially around his prized fruit and veggie garden and live music gigs Loy and his partner Jess also share their lives with Digger and Freddy two rescue dogs from a shelter yeah I can't believe the things I've seen him have to go through and the strength he's had to find and the ways in which he's grown and it's made me cherish life because I'm proud of the way that he helps other people see the world and the way he spends time with each person you know in a way that shows them that they mean something to him he does that with every person he meets that's such a beautiful thing Holly's acquired brain injury and painful body injuries have become driving forces in her life she's finally getting to do some of the travel she missed out on in her early 20s and has her boyfriend Nick to enjoy the ride with she currently works on a casual basis in repat at the brain injury Ward and also for brain injury South Australia wherever possible Holly talks to students and Young Drivers to help them understand how a serious injury can impact for Life imagine waking up in a hospital bed to your body being completely broken imagine being in a brain injury Ward at the age of 22 she's helped hundreds of people like she's gone to schools she talks in front of lots of people thousands of people at a time um she's amazing like she's really really good at what she does and she's an inspiration to everyone and me like I want to do better as well on the roads after hearing what's happened to her if I can get through just one of you today how serious and how quickly your life can change being in a car crash that is all I want Eli has now been living with his serious brain and body injuries for some 20 years he talks to Young Drivers and school students in classrooms and at major events as often as possible but it's a actual miracle that I didn't kill my girlfriend at the time who is sitting in the in the passage seat this is made more powerful by the fact that he takes 100% ownership of the crash he caused I can remember sitting just saying to him one day how how are you doing with all this and he just quietly said to me well it's my fault I got myself here Eli's wife Ellie has helped bring new new purpose to his life and their dog Henry gets him out and about every day he's also taking singing lessons to help raise money for the get home safe Foundation roll roll roll got it if you're my soul all right there's a tremendous responsibility that comes with driving any vehicle that responsibility extends to keeping ourselves and others safe on our roads regardless of who's at fault serious Road crashes can result in people being killed they can also result in people having to live with lifelong and lifechanging injuries as 40,000 Australians will attest to each year and that's not to mention the impact on those around them I hope this program and the stories from our road crash survivors has caused you to think about your choices on the road and the consequences and the hidden cost costs of serious Road crashes after impact I'm Ally langon thank you for joining me for this special program we'll leave you now with this uplifting story from will and his parents John and Louise I think it was about 2 months after my injury I was having a bit of a down day and I remember dad asking what was wrong the thing he really wanted to do was give us a hug and it's a simple thing that you just take for granted so I got my left arm up over my dad's shoulder and then he held my right arm and lifted it up and put it over his back in a hug I walked in after John had been hugged and he said mom I've got a surprise and he he struggled and he got both arms around me and it's just heartwarming just never forget really focused in most the simplest things in life thing is um is enormous in your life it's quite a few tears from every around that [Music] day [Music]

Channel: NT Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics

Views: 54

Keywords:

Id: ZIyE8sJTQLU

Length: 16min 37sec (997 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 17 2024