Locked-In Syndrome: Nick Chisholm

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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.
Info
Channel: Attitude
Views: 1,762,916
Rating: 4.9420147 out of 5
Keywords: AttitudeLive, Disability, Locked-in Syndrome, Paralyzed, Disabilities, Attitude, Paralysed, Sport, Love stories, Recovery and rehabilitations, Physical disability, Paraplegic, Nick Chisholm, Rugby injury, Locked-in syndrome, body builder, Being Me, Being Me Sam
Id: nQYfvLTId0Q
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 29min 1sec (1741 seconds)
Published: Tue Jul 26 2016
Reddit Comments

What a bad ass.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 15 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/Awesomo12000 πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 03 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies

Thanks for that. Whan a inspiration. And those training buddies of his are absolute sweethearts.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 10 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/ONESIXEIGHTTERD πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 03 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies

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.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 7 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/1live4downvotes πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 03 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies

Those people are all fucking legend.

That was an emotional half hour. I've never been happier to have a job chopping onions.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 6 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/Oedipus_rekts πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 03 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies

The clear board is impressive, jesus. Nick's an incredible guy with some fantastic people around him.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 3 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/suck_on_toes πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 03 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies

There's a House ep starring Mos Def called Locked In about this.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 3 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/Blacknarcissa πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 04 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies

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.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 5 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/WatNxt πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 03 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies

I could hope to have friends like that....

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 2 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/FatFrisk πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 03 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies

Seeing him smile make me smile. :D

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 2 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/2Talt πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Dec 03 2016 πŸ—«︎ replies
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