Photos and Stories

Alex's story

Until 18 months ago I was performing a leadership role in the development of a successful practice which specialized in property research and urban economics. We had grown from a team of 3 or 4 consultants to approximately 12. We were all very motivated and proud of our success and presence we had generated in the marketplace.

I was also a busy family man. My wife, Gail and I have been married for 25 years and now have two teenage children, Harriet and Hugo. We also have a Scottish terrier named after Wallace the Brave. We have been living in Sydney for the past 15 years.

In January 2005 I had an accident while I was body surfing when we were on holiday at Noosa Heads. I am now a fully ventilated quadriplegic. This as one would imagine had a devastating impact on both myself, my family and many friends.

Initially I was hospitalized in the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane and thereafter in the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney . From the day I was pulled from the water, my wife Gail and family at large have been beside me. With this support, along with that of the enormous numbers who have provided medical expertise, I am now able to "see light at the end of the tunnel". By any stretch of the imagination, my journey however, has been a long and tortuous one.

Perhaps the most significant tool in my recovery has been my laptop computer. I have had this since I was in the Intensive Care Unit of the Prince of Wales Hospital. With this I have had to develop a significant range of skills, in addition to those I had prior to my accident. At the core of these, has been my use of speech recognition software (Dragon) and a QuadJoy which allows me to manoeuver a mouse.

This capability has allowed me to "reconnect" with the outside world, in particular my former professional life. In this context, I have been asked to provide strategic guidance in both the development of our practice and in the research and preparation of our reporting responsibilities.

Of equal importance, has been that my new-found skills have reinforced my determination to refocus my activities on to long-standing fields of interest which in the past I have only been able to dabble in. This experience has been a classic case of "never having the time..."

Strangely therefore, my accident rather than giving the appearance of being a constraint has in fact been a catalyst to master new computer skills and develop a better understanding of fields well beyond those of my previous professional activities.

All I can say is to those people confronted with similar challenges there is a new and stimulating life out there; one that offers access to a whole range of exciting fields of discovery.

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