Okay come on, I'll get your meds and protein. O...okay
K...kumara You want kumara? I...m...fading
a...away You want your protein
because you're fading away? M...my name is...
N...Nick Chisholm Thi...this...is
m...wife...Nicola. I...had...several...seizsures which resulted in... one big stroke causing...l...o...
Locked in Syndrome. I...could...still...talk
after...the...seizures... but not after the stoke. He's struggling to eat,
he struggles sometimes. Oh...he's getting cross. Okay. G...o...got...space...
g...m...e m...e...space...angry
no...now...c...a...can't s...swallow. What happened? (Nicola) Oh he just
got angry so he can't swallow. He got angry because he
wasn't getting his meds and protein. Then he can't
swallow because he's cross. (Nicola) Once you get to know Nick. You don't even
think about the disability. Just his passion for life, determined...stubborn.
He can be grumpy, especially if he needs to
communicate something quickly. Every...everything...revolves
around...the...board. We line up the letters
in between both our eyes, in a straight line so I can see
clearly what letter you're looking at. I'll hold the board over
there and you'll look at a letter. The first mistake is people
don't move the board enough. So they just keep
the board in one position And then they can't
tell what you're looking at. People also try and
stand a bit away from you. We always tell people
to hold it close to Nick eyes. He tries to be
really patient with people. Nick appreciates if someone will
just pick the board up and have a go. He really appreciates
that they are trying. He doesn't have to use the
board to tell me what things to do. You learn facial signals too. N...i...Nicola...has...m
made...everything...easier. f...o...for...me. And better. And I sing to you. (Laughs) Show... No. It's private. Because then they'll
take me away from you. And I'll end up in Hollywood. (Laughs) And then you'll have carers. In...in your mind...
i...t...it's Hollywood. (Laughs) (Blues music) (Blues music) We've got an online
bodybuilding show coming up. This will be his 5th or 6th show. And it's for the New
Zealand Wheelchair Title. With the photos from
the show Nick will decide an area he wants to
work on for the next show. He's always been well known
for his razor-sharp conditioning. That time we're going
to let that slide a little and push the
limits with the size. You got it! There it is! Come on here we go! Wind it out! Good boy! And again! What's going to hurt more bro these few reps
or coming second? Eh? There it is! You're all over it. More, more! Come on! Pick it up! Good! He's smiling too,
he's in Heaven right now. He's just destroyed his body
and he's loving every minute of it. His rehab progression is
always tracking and moving forward but lots of that is based on
what's he doing in his bodybuilding. So we've developed his
training to compliment both. We look at early photos from
when he first started competing to where he is now and he's getting
bigger and better with every show. With having that extra
muscle and strength it's helping him
with the functional stuff ...like getting up and walking and being able to control
muscles on his own without resistance. (Nicola) Nick hasn't got
much movement on his own. But if he's got resistance
he's really strong, so if you push against,
or if he's got weights, pushing against him, he's
really strong and he can push. He turns his wrists
like that to tell me to ...push a little bit harder or he's about to put
a bit more power into it. So it means 'hold on.' And here we go, which
can sometimes be a struggle. And his tell me that he's
good to go with the next stretch. Agrr... Nice! (Nicola) The gym's
a release, it is everything. I...make...gains...
physically and...mentally. Which makes his
life better and better. 5...500 mills? Okay reloading again. We're giving Nick his protein. We're going in
via this tube here because the fluid
comes down so fast he can't control where
it's going to go in his body and it could
end up in his lungs. So he takes all
liquid via that way. He's actually taught himself
to eat again, which is awesome because everything was
going to have to be done like this. That's another thing
he's been able to do, teach himself to
eat, which is pretty cool. It's not just a trainer/
client relationship, it's a lot more and
goes way deeper than that. He's one of my best mates. I'm not always the best
at making the right decisions, I'm quite impulsive... but he's always there to
keep me in line...that's for sure. One more! Here we go! Stick it out! Good! It took a while to understand
how special he really is... and the struggle
that he's had... it's not until you
understand that... that you really see
the person that's locked inside. They're so close to death
and to come back from that and be where he is
with the passion that he's got... ...you can't describe that ...it's pretty amazing. (Blues guitar) Nick was so
strongly independent and so fiercely
competitive with his brothers. Maybe the most
competitive of all. He used to love
mountain bike riding. He loved rugby...skiing, skating...tramping...
all those outdoors pursuits ...he loves so much. Just a happy lad. Was...playing...rugby and...after...I...scored...try I...went...all...
dizzy and...collapsed. Several...seizures...
then...stroke. It...was...like...
a...long...nightmare. Eyes...closed...
couldn't...even...breathe. I walked into Nick
being surrounded with tubes and him lying flat. It was very,
very, very difficult and hard to understand
what had gone wrong. They...a...asked... I think they asked
her what she wanted to do. You couldn't
even open your eyes. You could just hear. The doctors said
that we had to think about Nick's life
support machine. It was so distressing...
thinking does that mean... we're not going
to have him anymore? And Nick had
made a decision to fight. Most...doctors...just
say...the...worse...case...scenario. He was actually
presenting a challenge to you, ...that's what it was. He probably knew,
if I say this it will push him. It's...called...stubbornness. (Blues guitar and drums) I...always...thought... they...would...fix...me. (Nicola) He always thought
they would fix him and that any gains he
made would help them fix him. Gains...just...got...
bigger and...better. If...I...didn't...gain
enough movement... I...wouldn't...have
met...Nicola. So life's all
about making gains, so that he can
do more with his life. Even meeting me,
he wouldn't have met me if he hadn't been
going to the gym and making
those tiny gains. Here's my bouquet
that I made myself from felt. (Laughs) We had a vintage Mad
Hatters tea party for our theme. And I didn't come
up with the theme, which was ironic
considering Nick said, if we get married
you're doing everything. I'm not coming
up with any ideas, I'm not doing anything,
you are doing to do it all. A...s...k...space...
y...o...u Nicola...Jane...Cole. (Applause) Quite seriously this is
probably the best day of my life. My big bro Nick
is a living legend. A phrase that's
used far too often. But in this case
it is appropriate. In terms of adapting,
and overcoming, making the most of
what you've got, Nick's a guru. The class clown has
become a great teacher. And to see him marry
the angelic Nicola, today ...such a beautiful woman, ...is as good as it gets. They'll...probably...be
thinking...how...he...scored...her. (Laughs) We met on a Facebook
App called Are You Interested? Once you join the App,
it sends your pictures to anyone, ...it's a bit creepy eh? And then you get
to see people's pictures. Then you click 'Yes' if you
like them and 'No' if you don't. Nick clicked on me. And it said, 'Nick
Chisholm is interested in you.' So I clicked, 'Yes.' He was the one
and only that I clicked on, the one person I clicked on. How many did you click on? (Laughs) Was it more
than one, darling? Mo...s...most...of...them. (Laughs) You clicked
on most of them. You were so
lucky that we met if you were just
'Yes' 'Yes' 'Yes' Yes'. So anyway, Nick sent me
the link to the 20/20 Documentary. He said, before we
go any further watch this. At first when you
see him in the gym, I thought, oh he must
be training for something. Ah...(laughs), look at that. Then it became clear
why he had sent me it. But it didn't put me off ...because he's so handsome. And we started emailing
from there didn't we? Every day... every morning...every night ...it was intense; we
have thousands of emails. After...seven...years
alone I...just...wanted... a...good...friend
...to...talk...too. He just wanted
a good friend to talk too. Aw...that's nice. I can talk (laughs). Gym...has...given...me...life. Everybody accepts
you for who you are. He's just one of the boys. Alright here we go brother. Getting close now man. Last big one. Photoshoot is
taken on Thursday and submitted
on the Saturday with the judges
looking over that and giving us the
results the following Saturday. He's probably the most
professional I've ever come across. He does everything
right down to a "T". How much time do you
actually spend in the gym? (Laughs) What your second home? Three...hours
each...week...day and...sometimes
in...the...weekend... if...Nicola...doesn't...know. (Laughs) Cool. B...e...bench press
10...10 reps. First time on the
bench did 10 reps at 18kg. What are you doing now
because you're well up from that? He just goes hammers. 5 at 124kgs. Wow. Ten years just
to get to that point. Anger...is...a...gift. I...use...all...my...anger
...and...frustration help...me...in...the gym. There goes
the anger come on! Nice. Come on! Boom! Nice. All of us have to
find a higher power. Nick realized that he
was going to attack this fiercely ...like with everything he does. And he uses the Hot
Tuna for his higher power. Aggression, strength, that's
what the Hot Tuna represents to you. Aggression and strength. His Hot Tuna has helped him
get through some tough times. And it's everywhere. You probably need it actually,
getting it tattooed on your head. (Laughs) What's up with
the strapping? The strap?
(Laughs) It's because one day
we were in there eating, he coughed and
came flying out. The funny thing was one
of the boys was here training and he didn't
realize Nick had fallen out. Nick was looking
at him like this going... ...like help me, help me. This dude's like, "Nick's
watching me, I have to go hard." He looks at Nick and is
going like this in the mirror. But Nick's screaming
out for help, and he thought he
was giving him a rark up. "Yeah gotta turn
it on for Nick." It was funny. (Blues music) (Nicola) People say to
me, oh it must be really hard. But it's not really hard at all. There are restrictions
in our relationship. I can't just go
off and do things. I have to think about where
Nick is and who's looking after him. He gives me confidence
as well and he encourages me at anything I want to do or try. He encourages me,
like, yep go on, go for it. Maybe we have that balance
where we give and take to each other. They use the tan
to define the muscles so all the shadows
will show of those muscles. Okay happy? Do you want
to look in the mirror? I need to know if I've
done a good enough job? Does it look okay? Yep. Do you want
glitter tomorrow? (Laughs) Not...this...time. It does look better, ...orange (laughs) He's pumped eh. Look at that man. There are different poses,
side chest, double biceps. Lat spread is the new one
that we've been just working on. We're going to have him
standing up and hold onto his chair, we're doing it that
way because it's more him. Come on! Pull those abs in! Foot out? Hips forward? Look at that! Do you need
me to stay there? Are you alright? Can you get
more locked, that's good. There it is. He looks wicked there. We need to get
that pose though, I still think
that's a little dark... but look how big he is. Don't worry about
the darkness. His abs as well... Nah that's not going
to be the finale anyway, we're going to do
a couple of rounds of poses. You're ab poses are coming. We don't care about your abs, look at your
chest and shoulders. Okay, let's go front lats
I'll call it... ...front lats let's go. No, front lats are going to
be at the end when he's standing. Just do it anyway! But I can't see you getting
any muscular better than that. For f**k's sake! What are you
going on about? Let's just pose! Are you trying
to wind me up now? Not these ones! Same as the gym,
come on! Come on,
all the way! The posing we
were just doing, we're holding his
arms at different angles to suit the different poses
that we're looking to get and providing resistance
against him pushing to get the contraction
in his muscles. There was obviously
a bit of tension in the air? (Laughs) Yeah, the bottom line is we're
all passionate about what we do here so it's easy for emotions
to get a little haywire eh, we're all best mates
still at the end of the day. What do you
think of that brother? Signed it right
on the Spartan too. Where is it comfortable
for you to hold them? If they're up like
that I think I can hold them. Nick and I always like
to have a project on the go, and Wheelchair Warriors
is our training program we've put together
to assist and help people with long term
disabilities or injuries. Now...get... ...angry...Jamie. Jamie really looks
up to Nick. He's just a young
fella at 16 years of age. Everything he does,
he tries to impress Nick and really pushes himself
beyond what he normally would. Here it is! 1, 2, 3... 4, 5... Wahoo! The gym gives you
so much more mentally, as well as physically, so
that's why you want the classes, ...to give that to other people. ...the social side is massive. No one likes to be feel
down or not good about themselves So it's a major part of
coming along, building that and having fun with the group. If you don't get anything
out of the classes... you're definitely going to
get some laughs that's for sure. Last one? Go...hard...brother. Go hard brother. Wind it out! Come on! What's your favorite shot? This one... You can see your
eyes popping out of you head. Winning...again... 5th time in a row
for the online competition. All that hard work paid off. Having a BBQ... to...thank...everyone
who...helped. (Party music) (Nicola) You learn not to
take life or things for granted. Because what happened
to Nick could happen to anyone. The more he does
and the more I see... the more I think, wow. How has Nicola
changed your life? F...r...e...e... Freedom. Just live life to the full.
What a bad ass.
Thanks for that. Whan a inspiration. And those training buddies of his are absolute sweethearts.
He seems to have pretty good control of his head and eyes, I wonder how he would do with a computer system similar to what Hawking uses. The clear board is amazing though.
Those people are all fucking legend.
That was an emotional half hour. I've never been happier to have a job chopping onions.
The clear board is impressive, jesus. Nick's an incredible guy with some fantastic people around him.
There's a House ep starring Mos Def called Locked In about this.
This woman knew what she was in for beforehand but I know someone, her husband got a stroke after they got married, he can speak a bit though. Honestly, you go fuckin mad, it's a burden every single day. You can see the toll that it has on the person. She has to see other men but still loves her husband, yet she gets very emotionally attached to the few men she has adventures with. I respect people who deal with their loved ones like this so much, but dear me, it's not easy.
I could hope to have friends like that....
Seeing him smile make me smile. :D