WEBVTT - How Jimmy Jan Is Embracing Life After Paralysis 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.400 We'd like to acknowledge that traditional custodians of the land 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:06.840 on which this podcast was produced the Galligall people of 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:10.440 the Urination. We pay our respects to Elder's past and present. 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:15.000 It's August twenty twenty one and we're at Perishah in 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:20.120 Australia's Snowy Mountains. Twenty one year old medical student Jimmy 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:24.400 jan moved down here two months ago when COVID lockdowns 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:29.840 caused his university classes to move online. He's planning to 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:33.479 spend the semester here, splitting his days between the slopes 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:39.000 and his studies. One bell ber morning, he decides to 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:43.400 squeeze in a few runs before logging online for the afternoon. 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:47.960 Jimmy has the train park to himself and he's skiing 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:52.160 the jumps he's done many times before, but one wrong 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:56.920 maneuver changes everything. Jimmy wakes up a few minutes later 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:02.080 to find himself surrounded by the ski They tell him 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:05.640 to stay still, remove his boots and ask you if 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:07.000 he can wiggle his toes. 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.080 He tries, but no movement follows. 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:16.520 Hours later, X rays will show fratured vertebrae. 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:23.360 I'm Att Middleton and this is head Game Today. Jimmy 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:24.039 Jan on. 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:32.880 Embracing life after a spinal cord injury. Jimmy Jan listen, 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.720 thank you ever so much for coming on my podcast 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:39.720 Head Game. Talk about mindset cop pulling through and having 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.720 to deal with the change that you've dealt with. But 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:45.959 first and foremost, Jimmy, how are you, buddy, and how's 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:46.880 life treating you? 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:50.320 I am very good. Yeah, thanks for having me at 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.680 honor to be on your podcast. But yeah, I'm doing good. 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:56.600 I'm in my fourth year of medicine at the moment, 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:00.320 so that keeps him busy for the most part. Yeah, 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:01.280 doing good. 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:04.080 Was that something that comes from the family? Is there 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.720 doctors and nurses in the family? Where does that sort 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:09.639 of medical sort of background come from. 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:12.160 Look, I want to say, like it's you know me, 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:15.000 who's you know, decided I want to do this and 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:18.160 like gone through it. But I guess there is a 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.040 bit of a health background in my family. My dad's 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:24.799 a dentist, and my mum's an occupational therapist. My sister 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:26.320 actually she's a doctor as well. 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:28.560 So I'm not. 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:31.040 Really I don't know if I'm following in the footsteps, 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:34.760 but yeah, I guess there's health. Health based family. At 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:36.760 the start, I don't know. I guess I just kind 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:39.120 of thought it would be cool. And as I've studied 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.359 it and kept going, like, it's just so much more 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:43.320 cool to me and so much more exciting. 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:45.560 I just really love learning. Learning's really fun. 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:48.320 And so I don't know, I think medicine is this 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:52.400 really awesome career because like there's just so many different 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:56.040 directions you can go, and you can never quite know everything, 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.360 and so you just can learn forever. And then I 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:00.360 just think learning forever is a lot fun. 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:02.760 I love that, mate, you know what. I love that 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:04.880 you can learn forever because ultimately, that's what life is 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:07.400 all about. That's what we're all about, right, We're always learning, 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:10.360 we're always growing, We're always trying to become that better 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:14.000 version of who we are through wisdom and knowledge. And 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:18.639 I suppose with your accident in two thousand and twenty one, 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:22.440 the medical field, has it become more fascinating for you? 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:26.399 Has it has it become more fascinating probably the wrong word, 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:29.120 but has it become a bit more fascinating or interesting? 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.280 I think, oh, like absolutely, Like I've had an insight 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:37.920 into you know, healthcare that like a bit on the 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.800 other side, I guess of like the healthcare you know sector, 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:45.160 and so I, you know, for my first couple of 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:47.600 years of med school before my accident, you know, just 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:52.080 learning about all these things and I don't know, then 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:54.840 suddenly I'm like, you know, have the perspective of a patient, 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:59.520 and I learned a lot, and yeah, I think I 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:03.320 definitely look at like I guess my future career as 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:06.120 a doctor from like a different perspective, just you know, 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:10.160 having that experience as a patient, I suppose. 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.960 Yeah, you can almost put yourself in that patient sort 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:16.640 of sector as well, so you're almost studying on yourself. 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:18.240 Took me through the day in the life of Jimmy 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:21.240 jam before before the accident in twenty twenty one. 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.480 Yeah, so before my accident, Yeah, yeah, I was living 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:28.520 in a van and I was I was living in 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.520 Newcastle at the time. I just honestly parked at the 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:34.080 beach most mornings and go for a surf in the 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:38.039 morning and then go to UNI and yeah, I was 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:40.000 just kind of trying to have as much fun as 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:43.040 they could do a bit of travel. And then COVID 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:45.520 hit and so a lot of our classes were online 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:48.680 for a while, and in twenty twenty one, we had 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.840 like that second wave of COVID, and I had already 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:55.120 got my season passed for the snow and I was like, 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:57.320 I'm just gonna drive my van down there, Like you know, 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.600 they're not locked down there yet, so I'll just park 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:04.080 at the snow and ski and snowboard every day and 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:05.760 get my classes online. 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:08.479 What a place to be able to sort of park 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.560 your van up, study online and then go and hit 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:14.800 the slopes or the mountains whatever you wanted to do. 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:15.960 Is that exactly what you've done? 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:18.880 Yeah, exactly, Like I was living the dream. I was 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:22.359 having so much fun. Like you know, I would be 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:24.799 up on the chair lift and I got my headphones 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:28.839 in listening to you know, a lecture and just you know, 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:30.599 hitting the slopes. 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:32.440 It was an absolute blast. 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:35.919 So you were literally living the dreamers as a student 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:38.080 who says you don't live the dream of the student. 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:41.520 So take me back to that day in twenty twenty one. 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:44.960 You know, you wake up in your campra Van. Just 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:46.960 talk me through that day and how it transpired. 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:51.320 I had a class i think in the afternoon, and 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:53.919 so I was like, I'll just go up and do 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:57.800 a couple hours on the mountain and yeah, I just 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:00.520 wake up, had my oats like I do every day, 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:03.400 drove up the mountain, took the chair lift up, and 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:05.880 it was my first run of the day. I'm coming 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:08.760 down the mountain and I was wanting to go like 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:11.080 all the way across the mountain to like a different 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:15.800 track basically, and I went past the train park and 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.159 it was empty because like it was early in the morning, 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:21.359 and I was like, oh, m, just hit the. 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:22.320 Jumps on the way down. 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.279 Usually there's just like heaps of people of the train 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.320 park and I don't really like waiting, but you know, 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:28.839 it was all empty, so I was like, I just 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.599 hit some jumps on the way down, and yeah, I 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:33.640 hit the first jump and it was fine, and then 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:36.960 hit the second jump and I just kind of, yeah, 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:41.120 took off wrong, I guess, and wasn't in the right 0:06:41.120 --> 0:06:42.520 position where I need to be. I wasn't trying to 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:44.320 do any tricks. I was literally just trying to jump 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:47.039 and yeah, I just had a bit of speed going 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:50.000 into it and ended up doing like kind of like 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:54.760 I guess, a bad backflip and came down and landed 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:59.240 on my head and then knocked myself out and woke 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.000 up a few minutes later, and there was like ski 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:04.960 patrol all around me, and I was like trying to 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:06.960 get up, and they're like, nah, you don't just stay 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:08.279 stay where you're on and I was like, oh, like 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:12.720 I can't actually get up, and yeah, that was when 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:16.680 I knew that I guess things were about to get 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:17.920 interesting for me. 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:19.360 Wow. 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:21.960 So this is just a normal day for you, right, 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.280 You've just been as in normal day, You've got that 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:27.160 routine going, you parked your van up, You've been hitting 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:30.720 the slopes as normal. Had you hit that jump before? 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:34.840 Yeah, I'd been doing the jumps and on like the 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:38.640 skis and the snowboard, and this one just went poorly. 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:41.640 You know. Was it one of those where I suppose, 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:44.400 you know, you build up the confidence like on anything, 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:48.280 you know, motorbikes, squad bikes, ski slopes. You know, were 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.680 you getting faster and with the jumps getting higher? 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:51.240 Yeah? 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:54.760 No, it was definitely like I've been hitting them quite 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:57.160 a lot that week, and so I was getting more 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:00.600 and more confident, and so probably like not paying as 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:03.800 attention as much as I maybe should have been, and 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.080 I guess focusing when I got to the top of 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:11.160 the jump, I like I knew like it wasn't going 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:11.720 to work out. 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:13.800 Like I remember thinking to myself. 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.680 Like, oh, crap, this is gonna hurt because probably, like 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:20.200 I don't know, maybe like a month earlier, I had 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:24.680 kind of jumped poorly on my snowboard and stacked it 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:28.160 and that hurt, and so like when I was at 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:29.920 the top of the jump, I was like, yeah, crap, 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:31.240 this is actually gonna hurt a lot. 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:35.520 And yeah, that's the last thing I remember thinking about. 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:39.040 I guess because you've studied medicine or you you know, 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.360 you're studying medicine, and you were probably you know, in 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:45.880 the thicker things because of the knowledge that you already 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:50.200 had in the medical field. Did you know something was 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:53.200 up right away or what? Did it take a bit 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:55.560 of time for it to for you to really go, oh, 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:57.160 something seriously up. 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:01.120 Yeah, I don't think it was like right away. It 0:09:01.200 --> 0:09:04.600 was when on the snow like I kind of just 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:06.360 I don't know, like i'd just woken up. I didn't 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:09.160 really know it was like going on, I guess. And 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:11.840 when they took me down the mountain to the the 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:16.400 medical center, they did some like X rays, and I 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:18.040 asked if I could see the X rays after they 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:19.960 did them, and they're like, oh, like, are you show 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:21.680 you order like and I was like yeah, yeah, Like 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:26.559 I love X rays, like yeah, yeah, I used to 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.920 study radiography as well, so I don't know, I just 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:31.280 think X rays are cool. And so that they showed 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:33.880 me and I could see that my T ten was 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:39.320 like basically completely displaced over my spinal cord and yeah, 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:40.760 when I saw that X ray, I was like, oh, 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:44.360 like this is this is bad, this is serious. 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:46.440 I suppose like we had. 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:51.240 Just done our neuro unit the semester before, so this 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:53.680 was all in my second year of medicine, So we 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:57.600 had just done our neurology unit in the semester before, 0:09:57.640 --> 0:09:59.520 so you know, I'd kind of learned about spinal cord 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:03.760 injuries and so yeah, I saw the X ray and 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.880 I was like, yeah, this is serious. And so then 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:11.360 they flew me to Sydney on a fun little helicopter 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:18.280 ride and and I got some fun surgery. Wow. 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:29.880 How you said you say, obviously when you hit the 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:33.680 deck you're unconscious. How long were you actually out cold 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.959 before you you you came. 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:41.400 To It was about three minutes And like the way 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:44.800 the terrain park is like situated on Paris. Rat's like 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:48.319 right on the front valley, so it's quite near to 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:53.120 I guess skip atroll and like it's actually like right 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:56.599 under the the ski lift. So there's a lot of 0:10:56.640 --> 0:11:01.040 people who got a front ray seat of my nice stack, 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.360 so lots of people saw, so they were quick on it, 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:07.200 onto it to come and collect me. 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:10.760 You know, just being unconscious for thirty seconds a minute, 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.640 but three minutes wow, you know that you know you've 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.600 you've taken a big, big fall there. And when you 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:18.760 come to as well, you say that they're doing you know, 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:23.320 are they doing the the up? You know it's not 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:25.599 studied medicine, but I've been a team medic and I 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:27.520 you know, I know about the awareness and coming in, 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:31.800 you know, securing the heads, making sure was all of 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:34.400 that taking place, and you know, wiggle the toes and 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.079 can you feel your legs from here? You know, touching. 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:39.160 Did all that take place on the slope or did 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.040 that do they just take you whisk your way straight away? Yeah? 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:44.640 No, it happened on the on the mountain. I remember 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:46.920 them taking my boots off and asking if I could 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:50.520 wiggle my toes. Yeah, And I was like, am I 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.800 not wiggling my toes. I'm pretty sure I'm whiggling my toes, 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.840 but I wasn't wiggling my toes. It's really weird to 0:11:56.960 --> 0:12:00.360 like have control, I guess if your whole body in 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:02.640 one second, and then like you know, a few minutes later, 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:06.600 you wake up and it's like, oh, half half my body, 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:09.400 like the control of half my body is just like gone. 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:13.120 It's it's a weird, weird thing. 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:16.080 Was there ever a moment on the slope, you know, 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:19.520 why you were being transported from the slope to the hospital. 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.040 Was there ever a moment that you thought I could 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:23.800 be paralyzed. 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:25.600 Yeah. 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:28.040 When they showed me my x rays, I was in 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.439 the medical center, I think for maybe like an hour, 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:34.200 I think before like they flew me away in the helicopter. 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.040 Vertebra are not supposed to be over on top of 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:40.800 your spinal cord, and so when I saw that, Yeah, 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:41.719 I knew I was. 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:45.880 Definitely in it for the long run. 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:47.520 I think, like I knew this wasn't just going to 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:49.959 be like a you know, six weeks in hospital and 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:53.840 you're back out walking like it's whatever was happening was 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:57.240 going to be a big change in my life. 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:02.160 Wow, and when when do you get confirmation then of 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.920 the news that you are paralyzed from from the waist 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:08.640 down and that you know you're going to spend the 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.280 rest of your life, you know, in a wheelchair. Was 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:14.080 there any hope of them saying this could be repaired 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.200 and you might be able to walk one day or 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:20.240 was it just a straight hardcore truth of your paralyzed 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:21.000 from the waist down. 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:23.839 So like the morning after my surgery, So after I've 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:28.600 been flown to Sydney and had surgery, I think I 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.880 woke up late that night and after my surgery and 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:38.120 then yeah, they were like, you've severed a spine accord, 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.559 so you're not going to be walking. 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:44.880 You know, your your head must have been absolutely everywhere 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:47.480 and anywhere. Right, You've just come out of surgery. You 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:51.319 know you're probably groggy from from you know, from the process, 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:54.480 and just to be given that news. Can you just 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:56.840 put me in that setting? Was the family around you 0:13:56.880 --> 0:13:59.640 when you receive that news. That's big news, mate, that's. 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:00.600 Big, big news. 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:04.560 Yeah, it's definitely big news to get. But now I 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.480 was all by I'm a little handsome in hospital it 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.440 because it was during like that, like COVID so my 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.120 family is, well, my parents they live in Queensland, so 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:17.160 they're in a different state. And then yeah, it wasn't 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:21.640 allowed any visitors, and I think wait, while I was 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.960 in ICU, I I was allowed I think a two 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:29.160 hour visit a day, and so my sisters came the 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:33.280 next day, so like eventually had some family around me. 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:37.160 You come across as super positive, But how what how 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.040 did you manage that and how did you process that 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.280 news by yourself? Because I know you had the nurses 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:45.800 and the doctors for support, but to receive that by 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:49.520 yourself and to have having to process that as well 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:53.280 by yourself, I can't even start to imagine that. That's 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:57.080 that's talk about psychological resilience. That's something that I'll be 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:58.720 fascinating to hear how you dealt with it. 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:00.160 Yeah, I think at the time I. 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.520 Was just kind of like, oh, like yeah, I mean, 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:08.440 I guess I broke my back paralyzed in the waist down, 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:12.800 like there's nothing I can do about it, And so 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:16.920 pretty early on I was kind of just like I 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.400 had accepted that, and like even like on the first 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:24.240 day after the after the team had rounded and then 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.080 I had my breakfast, I remember thinking oh my gosh, 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.320 like I'm supposed to be in class today, like I 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:32.120 have to email the UNI and tell them why I'm 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.960 missing class. And so I like hop on my little 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:40.239 computer and I'm like, hey, I broke my back yesterday 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:42.680 and I might miss class for the rest of the week. 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:46.320 So I don't know. I didn't. 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:49.160 My head was weird, like that's not really something that 0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:52.360 should be a major priority, I think in the time, 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:54.720 but I was like, oh, I need to tell I 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:56.400 need to make sure you know the UNI knows that 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:57.960 why I'm missing class. 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.960 So your first thought process was I'm missing class. I 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:03.480 need to inform the I need. 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:05.840 To inform the UNI that I'm not going to be there. 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:09.760 Yeah, the email I received back was like, oh, this 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.560 is not really a priority. Thinking about medicine, I was like, 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:17.240 can I still do medicine? Like really briefly, But one 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.160 of the teams that rounded on me really early on 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.640 was like, oh, have you heard about this doctor? You know, 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:26.600 a doctor in a wheelchair, And so then I was like, oh, yeah, 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:28.680 medicine is still an option for me. 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.440 When did you actually start thinking about yourself? When did 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:36.160 you actually start thinking why I've got a hell of 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:37.360 a lot of work to do here. 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:42.280 Yeah, so I was in ICU for for five days 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:46.000 and so after that, like I was allowed I could 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:50.040 actually start doing rehab and stuff. And I started UNI 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:54.040 back when I got out of ICU. So one day, 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.560 I guess I took a week off and I guess 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:00.680 that was that was a nice distract action, I guess 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:04.320 to keep me going in hospital. And then yeah, I 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:05.840 started doing a lot of. 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:06.920 Rehab and. 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:11.600 Yeah, it was probably like yeah, a couple of weeks 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:14.040 into it, and then I was like, oh, like this 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:17.640 is forever. This is how it is now, like, yeah, 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:19.960 this is I don't know, this is going to be 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:22.160 an adventure and yeah, a lot of work. 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:24.840 And I suppose I have the same mindset as well, 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:29.480 you know, any sort of setbacks, not backs, problems, you know, 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:31.919 I sort of look at them as challenges. And you 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:33.400 just said it there. I don't know if you said 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:35.880 it or burpose, but you said, well, I've got this adventure. Now, 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:37.520 how did your rehab look? 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:38.080 Was it? 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:41.399 Was it a lot of psychological that acceptance and dealing 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.560 with it or taught me through your rehab from day 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.360 dar like after my surgery, I remember like when they 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:50.960 first sat me up, my blood pressure just dropped and 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:55.280 I kind of like passed out almost And when I 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.280 woke up from that, I just sme thinking like, oh 0:17:57.320 --> 0:17:59.920 my gosh, I can't even sit up without passing out, 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:04.520 Like this is this is gonna this is gonna be 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:07.879 like I don't know a lot. And each day, like 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.520 I started doing more and more. And I remember the 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:15.239 first time dressing myself after my accident, because you know, 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.080 after after the accident, there's like a team of nurses 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.679 and they're like there's people showering you and doing all 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.800 this stuff. And like going from like completely independent to 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:31.520 being absolutely dependent on for everything is a really really 0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:35.920 jarring experience, really weird to go, like for a twenty 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:39.000 one year old is doing everything living by himself, and 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:41.399 then you know, suddenly I need someone to, you know, 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:43.040 help me. 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:44.840 Go to the bathroom. Like it's just weird. 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:47.040 And so I was just kind of determined to just 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:50.760 get back every inch of independence I could, and so 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.840 I just started working like really hard, and I remember 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:57.439 like the first time dressing myself, and I was just 0:18:57.480 --> 0:19:00.560 so exhausted at the end of it, and like picking 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:02.560 up each each one of my legs and you know, 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:06.600 sliding my legs through. Like I remember like laying back 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:10.080 being exhausted, and I was like, that's sick. Like I 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:13.520 just dressed myself, which is just a weird thing for 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:15.680 a twenty one year old to be like really proud 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:19.480 of themselves for. But yeah, every every single one of 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:22.040 those experiences that I was able to like get back, 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:25.720 I just I don't know, it's just victories, right, yeah, exactly. 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:28.439 Yeah, you feel like you've overcome that challenge, and you know, 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:30.920 no matter how small or big it is, it's still 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:33.760 it's still a victory, right, still ticking the box where 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:36.040 you're like, well I've got that, I've achieved that, you know, 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:37.200 onto the next. 0:19:37.000 --> 0:19:39.080 There was just so many things that I had to 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:41.520 like try and get back for myself, to like get 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:45.399 back to my independence. And yeah, there was a lot 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:47.880 and there's a lot of hard work. But I mean, 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:52.080 I know, you got one experience of life, and I 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:53.800 want it to be as fun as it can be 0:19:53.880 --> 0:20:05.639 for me, So I just kept working hard. I guess. 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:08.560 How was the acceptance of you know, you live in 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:10.960 the outdoor adventure life, you know, in your camper van, 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:15.760 you've got that free spirit mentality and attitude. How does one, 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:20.720 you know, accept that and move and process things to progress, 0:20:20.840 --> 0:20:21.280 to move on. 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:24.879 I think like at the start, I kind of just 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:28.520 was like, I don't know, a bit blase about the 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:30.680 whole thing. Like I was like, ah, what are you 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:33.000 going to do? Like that's life, you know, just keep going. 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:36.919 And then like as time went on and I'm like 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:38.679 I said, I was like, oh, wow, this is forever. 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:41.919 I like kind of was like able to reflect on 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:45.800 it more, I guess, and like because I did have 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:48.080 I had such an active life and I literally just 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:50.560 used to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, like 0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:55.320 just free little spirit, if you will. And then for 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:57.080 a brief period, I was like, oh, it's gone, like 0:20:57.080 --> 0:20:59.359 I'm never going to have fun again, like never gonna 0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:01.360