07 January 2012

The Community You Help Along the Way

This is the story of one of our members who is helping build a community through ParaQuad Voices, a volunteer program for people with a spinal cord injury. (Names have been changed)

Steve is a T7/8 Complete Paraplegic and has been in a wheelchair for the last 14 years as a result of a fall. 

When finishing school Steve wanted to study Physiotherapy, however living in the country meant he would have to move to Sydney and with such a high cost of living and studying in Sydney full-time,  he chose a different career path in Accountancy. Today he is thankful for that choice as he  would be unemployable as a Physio in a wheelchair.

After successfully completing his course, Steve applied to 8 Accountancy firms for a Cadetship. He got all 8 interviews, however after failing to land a job with the first 7 he told his Mum that he wasn’t going to Sydney for the 8th interview. He recalls how his mum encouraged him to attend it. He was lucky to land himself a job at a large accountancy firm.

This set him up. He enrolled in a 4 year degree at UTS and just missed out on a degree with Distinction!

He started his Profession Year with the Institute of Chartered Accountants and was just one subject away to complete his course and was 3 months away from becoming one of the youngest client managers at Deloitte at the tender age of 23.

Then his world came crushing down, the long nights at work, the endless hours of studying, coupled with his blossoming touch football career caused a mental breakdown and he ended up in a Psychiatric Ward at Manly”. 

Steve was admitted to Hospital with depression and somehow managed to fall out a window and broke his  back. He managed to stumble 50 metres before my lung collapsed and passed out.  He was found and put in a wheelchair instead of a stretcher which paralysed him for the rest of his life. 

Steve's life came crashing down on him. He did not deal with his new injury very well. To add to this he had constant bladder incontinence and after two failed bladder operations, he tried to take my life with a tablet overdose. 

When he survived and saw the disappointment on his parents face, he decided he would try and make a go of his new life. It would not be fair to leave his family to pick up the pieces.

Steve returned back to the country in 1998 after 8 months of rehabilitation. Steve found support from ParaQuad and a whole new life thereafter. 

Steve’s true inspiration that helped him get his life back on track is his family & friends.

Steve has now put up his hand to be part of ParaQuad’s Volunteer program, ParaQuad Voices – living and talking spinal cord injury. As part of the program he gets to do what he is very passionate about; motivational speaking. He says, “Yes, my mental illness resulted in my paraplegia, but I have proved that with professional care and medication I can live a perfectly normal life in the society. As part of the ParaQuad Voices, I’m able to help a cause I personally believe in, which is to educate and inform the community about SCI and Mental Illness and life thereafter. Not only that, I’m also able to use my experience to help others”.

He proudly states, “I have proved that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. You only get one body, so you have to look after it. 


Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift so live everyday like it is the last. 

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