Being Grateful

I was planning to post about an amazing book I read called ‘Abundance’ by Dr. Peter Diamandis. It’s essentially about an optimistic view on where we as humans are heading in the next few decades though the advancement of innovation and technology.

I’ve decided to postpone this post until next week and instead talk about a few recent events that have had a profound effect on me personally.  

A few weeks ago I received the upsetting news that a good friend had just passed away. Helen was just forty nine years young, she was a loving wife, mother of two, super fit, beautiful on the inside and stunning on the out. Helen was the type of person that everyone enjoyed being around, always happy and radiated positivity to all those who had the privilege to know her.

 

At her memorial, her brother and friends spoke of how Helen always lived in the moment and how she was grateful for everything in her life.

Here is a brilliant quote that was read in memory of Helen that had an impact on me personally, as I feel that since my accident I've been credited with bonus time. 

Quote by Marc Levy

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.

Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course?

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.

Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose.

It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.

If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against "tomorrow."

You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!

The clock is running!! Make the most of today.

To realise the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

To realise the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realise the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realise the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realise the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who just missed a train.

To realise the value of ONE SECOND, ask someone who just avoided an accident.

 

To realise the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal at the Olympics.

 Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with. And remember time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it’s called the present.

 

 

A few days after Helen passed, I heard the news that a young twenty year old girl had fallen whilst competing in the annual 'Bridge to Bridge Water Ski Classic'. She sustained suspected head and spinal injuries. 

It is the first time since my injury that I've been physically and mentally exhausted by some tragic news of a fellow water-skier falling off. The details were very similar to when I had my accident. We were a similar age, it was the same race, we were travelling at a similar speed and we both sustained very similar injuries. 

The big difference was that I was fortunate to survive and with deep sadness Sarah did not, passing away the following day. 

Sarah's accident brought back so many emotions that I had not realised would have such an impact on me. Till this day, I feel bad for putting my friends and family through such a traumatic experience. 

People often ask me why I am consistently happy and can remain positive through facing so much adversity. The truth is that it's impossible to be happy all the time, but if you can be grateful for what you have then happiness becomes a by-product.  

I have always been so grateful for everything in my life and for the second chance to live it. It is unfortunate that sometimes it takes a tragic event for us to fully appreciate the wonderful things we all have and just how precious the gift of life is. 

Every now and again I stumble over a video or quote that seems to cross my path at the perfect time when I need it most. A few days ago this video was sent to my email and it's just what I needed. 

David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful

What I've learned over the past couple of weeks is that you don't need the biggest house, shiniest car or a huge bank account to be happy. You just need to be grateful for what you do have and for the people in your life. 

Here are just a few things that I am personally grateful for:

• My wonderful wife Emma
• Great family and friends
• Living in a wonderful area
• Being gifted a second chance of life
• Having food in my belly, a roof over my head and a beer in my hand

That's just a couple of mine, what are you grateful for?

Thank you Helen, you have reminded me to live more in the moment, plan for the future and reflect on the past. 

The Power of Positivity

When I'm out walking Cruz I often get an opportunity to chat with a variety of people. The vast majority of people I meet seem very happy and are always cheery.  Then there are a few that cannot help but tell me about all the problems with the world and how I should be able to 'relate'. I guess people see me in a wheelchair and assume that I must be unhappy. 

Granted, requiring a wheelchair sucks and I would love not to need it, but I have a wonderful life with so many things to be thankful and grateful for.   

We all have so many wonderful things to appreciate. In today’s fast paced world it may sometimes be difficult to realise just how fortunate we all are. We all have food in our bellies, safe drinking water, a roof over our head and easy access to health care if we ever require it. 

Not many people sail through life without experiencing tough times. There are moments when the world becomes so overwhelming that it begins to feel like we are helpless, suffering and alone.

If you ever find yourself 'treading water' out in the deep blue of the ocean of life, feeling like you’re about to be consumed by the surrounding waves, DON'T GIVE UP! For as long as you keep your head above the water, you have a fighting chance. Someone will come, you just have to be ready to put your hand up when they do.

I know that it's not easy to admit that you need help sometimes. Being a proud man has got me through SO many challenges in my life. But for those times when I couldn't see any light at the end of my tunnel and there have been many. I learned to reach up and take the hand that was always on offer. 

It's important to know that you are not asking for a hand out, rather you are getting a hand up. Friends are in your life for a reason, it's because they love you and if they ever needed your help I’m sure you would be there in a heartbeat. Therefore, if you ever need a hand up, just ask and I'm sure they will be there for you.

Remember - In the words of Monty Python's Life of Brian - "Always look on the bright side of life" - Life's too short to take too seriously. 

For what it's worth, that's my two cents.

Andy Farrell

Kids Say The Funniest Things

Every day I take our seven year old Labrador (Cruz) for a four to five kilometre walk along our local beach pathway. I am so fortunate to live a street back from one of the best beaches on the south coast. 

We meet so many dog owners, holiday makers and other locals that our normal hourly walk ends taking double. We are always stopping to have a chat and both Cruz and I have made many new friends. 

As the weather warms up, more people are out enjoying the beach, which makes our walks even longer as there's more people to chat to. I love meeting new people, hearing where they are from and what they do.

I often get asked why I'm in a wheelchair or what happened to me, which I've got no issue discussing as I am quite open about my injury. The questions I love the most are from kids. They are just so honest and kids have a wonderful curiosity that I find so amazing. 

 

Today I was walking Cruz (as usual) and we bumped into a young mother and her son who would have been maybe five or six. The mum started the chat with the normal questions like what's the dogs name?How old is he? Etc. 

Then the young boy stares at the chair with an inquisitive look and I know what he is about to ask, which is what makes my day. 

First he asks why do I need the chair and my usual response is, "One day I was naughty and I didn't listen to my mum, I hurt my neck so now I need the chair." The mother normally likes that answer. 

Next he looks at the controller and wants to press the buttons and move the joystick, which the mum quickly tells the boy that, "You can't touch that" and apologies to me. Where I reply with, "No problem". 

Then he looks at the chair again and I know the next question as it's my favourite. He says, "Can you jump out so I can have a go?" At that point the mum cannot believe what he said and starts apologising. I assure her that it's fine and tell the boy, "I would love to let him have a go, but unfortunately I need it to get around, as my legs no longer work." He was a little confused, but accepted it and said "Ok, that's a bit sad."

I guess the point of the story is that curiosity is natural and something we all experience. Allow your children to ask questions of people in wheelchairs or other disabilities. If they ask something that may seem inappropriate then just simply explain that I might not be the right question. Don't avoid wheelchair users out of fear of offending us. You never know, you might just make our day.

Andy :)

What is a Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal cord injuries do not discriminate, they can happen to anyone regardless of their age or gender. True, there are demographics that are more susceptible to sustain a SCI and statistically, the most common are males between the ages of 18-30 through a traumatic accident or injury.

I personally fall into that category as I sustained my injury at the age of 21, I’m a male and the cause was from a high speed water-ski accident. Over the years I have been required to go through spinal rehab four times and the vast majority of other patients were males of a similar age.

A spinal cord injury (SCI) refers to any injury to the spinal cord that is caused by trauma instead of disease. Depending on where the spinal cord and nerve roots are damaged, the symptoms can vary widely, from pain to paralysis to incontinence.

The level and severity of the injury determines the classification of the SCI. There are two categories for spinal cord injuries – Tetraplegia (or commonly known as quadriplegia) and Paraplegia.

 

Spinal cord injuries are described at various levels of "incomplete", which can vary from having little or no effect on the patient to a "complete" injury which means a total loss of function.

The ASIA motor score (AMS) is a type of classification of a spinal cord injury. It is based on neurological responses, touch and pinprick sensations. There are five classifications of SCI, from ASIA ‘A’, which is a ‘complete’ injury with no movement though to ASIA ‘E’ which is ‘incomplete’ with little loss of movement.

I myself, am classified a C4 Tetraplegic ASIA ‘C’ as my injury was a dislocation from C1 to C5 it made it difficult to categories the level of my injury.

Levels of Function in Spinal Cord Injury

 

Unfortunately, there is no cure for a spinal cord injury as the nerves with in the spinal cannot regenerate or be healed. There are hopes that stem cells may one day provide a cure, but at this stage SCI are permanent.

What's my Story?

Growing up I was just your average young bloke. I loved life, playing sport, my family and of course my mates.

Basically, I was a care free and easy going person who lived week to week with a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude. I’ve always enjoyed sports,  weather it’s a team or individual sport, with a bat, ball or a board.

On the morning my life changed forever I was competing in a water ski race on the Hawkesbury River, going around 165kph when everything came unstuck. I was flung through the air and hit the water, which at that speed was like hitting concrete.

My team mates found me floating face down in the water and managed to keep me alive with their own breath. In an amazing twist of fate a helicopter was already on its way to pick up a fellow competitor when they got a call of a more critical case – ME!

They were on the scene within ten minutes and I was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital in an extremely critical state.

When all the doctors gave up hope of survival and gave me no chance to live, they called my friends and family in to say their last farewells, a priest was called and I was given my last rights. Clearly the universe had other ideas and after a couple of weeks of intensive care and six months of spinal rehabilitation I was finally discharged and returned home. That’s when the real challenges began.

Over the past twelve years I’ve had to learn to deal not only with my physical challenges but also my mental state. I’ve grown to love my life, learned to enjoy every moment and have managed to find and marry my one true love.

I’m now in a place where I feel I can truly help others, not only with physical disabilities, but people who find the mental game of life challenging.