WEBVTT - #1927 Just What The Doctor Ordered - Dr. Dinesh Palipana 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:04.160 And welcome to the two hundred and ninety ninth installment 0:00:05.080 --> 0:00:08.479 of this your Favorite podcast. He says that with some 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:13.240 sense of confidence, not knowing at all that you project hullo, Melissa, Hello, 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:17.520 Happy Wednesday, Happy Wednesday to you champion. Have you had 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:20.480 a great day? I have had a great day so far. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:24.159 Thank you. I think our day sorry for that. I 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:25.920 think our day's about to get a little bit better. 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:28.360 What why has your day been good so far? What 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:30.440 have you done? Because I know you're a box ticker, 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:34.159 you're a list doer, you love your very type A. 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.239 You push the button before you finished wing? Or is 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:42.440 that just me? What's been the what's been the pinnacle 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:46.600 so far? Well, actually it's got to do with this episode, 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:49.960 because you sent me a video earlier of our guests 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:53.960 and it was fascinating. I did, Yeah, I watched the 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:56.760 whole thing because it was so interesting. I normally do 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.480 I normally don't. I've never done that, in fact before, 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:02.640 because you don't really need to do too much research 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:06.320 on our guests, because you don't need to ask too 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:08.400 many questions. But as I say, you can be as 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.399 evolved or uninvolved as you want. But I watched so 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:12.959 last night, I went, I'm going to have a look 0:01:12.959 --> 0:01:17.840 at this dude, and he's because Russ, one of our 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:21.759 mutual friends, told me listen to the podcast and went, 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:23.400 so I had to listen. That was great, and I went, 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:25.200 I'm going to have a look at it. He did 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:26.880 a ted talk and then look at that, I'm like, 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.120 well that was good. And then I'm just had a 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:30.720 look at a few others. And then this morning I 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:34.920 woke up at six ish and which is about nine 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:39.200 hours after Dnash gets up, and I watched I don't 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:41.119 know who produced it, he'll tell me in a moment, 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:43.480 but it was about a half hour VID, which well 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:47.800 will pass on to you folks. It is really, really fascinating. 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:52.200 And I knew that once because you're busy, like you've 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:54.080 got no free time, and I sent this to you 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.440 and I said, because it's thirty odd minutes, I said, 0:01:57.120 --> 0:01:59.600 just watch ten twelve minutes so you get a sense 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:02.800 of who we're chatting with. And I knew that once 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.040 you watched it, you wouldn't you wouldn't stop, and you 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.200 watch the whole thing, didn't you. Yeah, you can't just 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:10.919 watch ten twelve minutes of that, like imriguing You've got 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:13.480 to watch the whole thing. I know. It's like, here, 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.440 just have a bite of this cheesecake. Just you don't 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:19.280 have to have the whole piece. I'm like, God, give 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:20.120 me the whole piece. 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:22.680 Which video this was? 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:24.200 What's the hat? 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:26.760 Now I'm concerned about which video this was? 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:29.760 It was one of you at that swinger's party with 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:33.799 the cocaine and the plastic sheets. That one. 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:35.920 See. I knew you didn't come back to bite me. 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:38.640 I knew, well, there it is. There it is, dude, 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:42.240 that's what happens. Hey, you're not on yet. Just wait now. 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:47.680 Our guest name is Denise Palapana Palipanna. He is this 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:50.000 is There's way too much stuff and I'm terrible in 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.000 intros when I read things, so I'm not going to 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:56.680 read too much. But born in Sri Lanka nine eighty four. 0:02:56.800 --> 0:03:00.720 Here's a doctor, he's a lawyer. Here's a disability the advocate. 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:04.519 He's the first quadriplegic medical intern. He was in Queensland, 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:09.239 second one in Australia, second person with quadriplegia to graduate 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:12.280 as a doctor in Australia, and the first wispinal cord injury. 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:15.760 There's just way too much stuff. He's been on the 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:20.960 ABC Radio, ABC TV, BBC, The Today Show, Vice Magazine. 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:23.320 He's got a Medal of the Order of Australia for 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.600 Service to Medicine Junior Doctor of the Year at Gold 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:31.560 Coast University. His actual do you know why? I know? Now? 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.239 Denesse Versusly, Hello, my friend, how are you? 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:40.400 I'm great, I'm having a beautiful morning in the gold 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:41.600 Course once afternoon. 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:44.640 Now of course you are, now, I want to I 0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:47.120 bet you've never been asked this question before. This is 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:50.240 a question you've never been asked in an interview. Did 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:53.680 you write or contribute to your own Wikipedia page. 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:56.880 I've had a look at it. I've had to look 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:57.280 at it. 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:00.520 I tell you why, because whoever wrote it is clearly 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:04.320 an academic Melissa, do you know why why? Because there's 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:11.080 one hundred and eight citations? I'm like, who wrote this? 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:12.360 You know? 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:16.839 I was at a job interview last year and that 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:20.400 actually came up and they're like, there are one hundred 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:24.360 references to this or something like that. I'm like, yeah, 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:28.360 I didn't. I didn't. I didn't really check. But it's 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:29.799 good that it's so well referenced. 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:33.120 It is very well referenced and it is very thorough. 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:37.880 So mate, where so you're based on the Gold Coast, yes, 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:43.360 and you work at Gold Coast Hospital, Yeah, and you also, 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:45.679 So we'll jump around a little bit and you feel 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:48.159 free to go where it And also whatever ideas and 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.239 thoughts and messages you want to share with our audience, 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:53.280 we would love you to do that. We don't need 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:57.599 to go in any particular direction. But so the quick snapshot, 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:02.160 everybody correct me if I'm wrong, is you were twenty 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:04.880 five ISHU. You were midway through your medical degree. You 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:09.440 were driving home to see your folks who lived too 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:12.840 and two ish hours away, which was a regular thing 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:14.719 for you. You hit a big patch of water in 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:19.120 the road, Your car went out of control and flipped 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:25.240 end to end, and you ended up a quadriplegic. You 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:28.360 ended up you're in hospital for seven months or so 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:33.080 and spent another four years recovering and doing bits and 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:35.960 pieces fill in the gaps for me and you all 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:38.640 that while we're thinking about can I ever be a doctor? 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:42.039 I'm halfway through my medical degree? Can I do it? 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:46.440 Is it possible? And you ended up obviously going back 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.880 qualifying as a doctor. A lot of speed bumps along 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:52.200 the way, a lot of hurdles and barriers, probably ones 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:56.400 that we wouldn't think. But you did law before you 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:59.000 did what you did the law, and then what happened 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:02.640 with that? Did you go? Hang? What was that about? 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:03.839 It was? 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:09.840 You know that there was a that was a really 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:15.520 interesting process for me. And yesterday someone asked me, did 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:19.600 you ever get depressed after the accident? And I don't 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:21.960 think I actually, you know, I don't think I felt 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.880 low like I was distressed and it was an adjustment period, 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:32.480 but I don't think I was extremely depressed after the accident. 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:37.039 But I was before and that was before medical school. 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:40.240 So when I was in law school and studying law, 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:48.800 I think, you know, I think depression and whatever what, 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:54.040 whatever our thought process are, there's there's an organic component 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:59.520 to it, and there's a neuropsychological component to it, and 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:03.359 there's a very scientific components to it, for sure. But 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:09.080 I also think that certain life events and new path 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:12.120 in life can lead you into that as well. I 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:15.560 think the reasons for me choosing, or the reasons for 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:21.120 me studying or then we're not, we're not. Something that 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:24.520 was close to my heart. I just finished school. I 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:26.960 was trying to figure out what to do, and I thought, hey, 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:29.400 you know, I'll get paid well, I have a well 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:33.760 respected job, and this would be a nice thing to 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:38.400 be doing, which really aren't which probably aren't that good 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:42.960 reasons to be doing something in all honesty. But over 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.400 a period of time, I just became really really depressed, 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:52.720 like I was in the pits. I was anxious all 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:57.680 the time, I had handic attacks, I got at a guaaphobia. 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:00.320 After a period of time, I locked myself when house 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:08.920 for weeks, and it was that experience they got me 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:13.800 thinking about, you know, maybe I need to just rethink life. 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:18.200 And you know, it was really hard going through that period. 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.240 It was probably actually one of the hardest things I've 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:23.160 gone through. The spine card injury has been difficult, but 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:29.440 that was an experience where you become stuck inside your head, 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:31.960 and I think when you're a prisoner of your thoughts, 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:37.680 it's a much more difficult thing than being you know, 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:40.600 I wouldn't even say limited, but having a different body 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:42.800 now that I do. You know, I use a wheelchair 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:47.200 and don't use my fingers anymore. But I feel that 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:51.400 I'll be much more productive after this significant physical injury 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:55.280 than I was with that. It was a really good 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.680 turning point in my life because I started thinking about 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:02.320 what I want to do. And I interacted with so 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:08.000 many people then, because you know, you're struggling, and I 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.040 was talking to friends, and I was talking to doctors, 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:12.160 and I was talking to all these people, and I 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:16.520 realized that, you know, people make a big difference in 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:23.800 your life, and people are really important, and I wanted 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:25.960 to I started thinking about doing something with people because 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:28.679 I thought, wow, you know, just having a good conversation 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.760 and having some help really change my world. And that's 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.679 why I wanted to be a doctor. And as soon 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:40.360 as I made that decision, my life actually just changed 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:46.000 very rapidly, and I came out of that depression and 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:48.320 I was a new person. 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:52.120 It's amazing how when we find our thing, oh our 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.280 you know, all these cliches get chucked around, but our 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:57.880 purpose or our path or our reason or whatever you 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:01.840 call it, but if it's a it's amazing how things 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:07.240 change on a multitude of level psychological, emotional, practical, physiological, 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:14.920 even I kind of talk about this construct with when 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:17.400 I'm doing some of my speaking and coaching called I 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:22.400 call it the duality of the human experience. The duality 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:25.120 of the human experience, which is the fact that we 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.880 kind of live in these two worlds, the external and 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:33.240 the internal. Obviously, the practical physical, three dimensional world where 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:40.320 things happen, people have accidents, you know, pandemics come, whether happens, 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:44.960 government happens, bills to pay, jobs, to go to roles, 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:48.680 to play, situation, circumstance environment. That's the external world that 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.160 we inhabit. But the world that we live in is 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:55.240 more that inner place of thought and feeling, emotion, idea 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:58.920 and passion and love and hate and terror and joy 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:03.240 and pain and excite and purpose and goals and beliefs 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:08.240 and faith. And you know, isn't it interesting how like 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:11.560 your life from the outside. From the outside looking in, 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:16.600 people would automatically assume many people, well, his life just 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.760 got a whole lot worse, right, which would not be 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:24.200 an unreasonable assumption based on the fact that, wow, you 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.760 went from where you were to now you're in a wheelchair, 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:33.480 to all these things. But almost illogically, it's like your life. 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:35.480 And I'm sure there are things about your life that 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:39.160 of course are challenges, of course, but in terms of 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:44.439 your life as an experience, your lived experience of life 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:47.760 now is better, Like it's just so interesting. But we 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:53.120 are such an externally focused world where everything that when 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:58.680 we talk about success, generally we're talking about stuff, you know, 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:02.040 we're talking about you know, when we talk about success, 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.240 we're normally talking about, you know, what we have, what 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:06.199 we earn, what we own, what we drive, where we live, 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.400 what we look like, what people think of us, our qualifications, 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:12.560 our position, our title. And none of those things are bad. 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.120 But definitely when you go, wow, that that girl or 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.880 that guy they're super successful, you're not talking about the 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.720 fact that they've got no anxiety, or the fact that 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.680 they're calm, or the fact that they've you know, they've 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:28.319 got a joyful existence despite the fact that they live 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:30.720 in a one bedroom flat, do you know what I mean? 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:36.440 Absolutely? Absolutely, I think. And it's like a drug too, 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:38.800 you know, when you get caught up in that thing. 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:40.800 You want the next best thing, or you want the 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:44.040 next best car, or you want the more money or 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:47.080 the bigger house or whatever. And I think I was 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:51.400 a big part of that where I was really attached 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:58.920 to these things. I was. Actually it's an interesting thing 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:02.040 to reflect on because just before I had my accident, 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.520 I had all these things that I liked, Like I 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:12.000 had this nice apartment overlooking the ocean and the city, 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:16.280 and I had this car and whatever else, and you 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.400 know those things, Like I was very attached to those things, 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:25.160 was attached to my belongings. But when the accident happened, 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:33.000 I lost every single thing, like because money became a 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:36.560 challenge and I just had to give it all up 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:39.400 because I was in the hospital for seven or eight months, 0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:43.720 had to move around, and I think I was really 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:46.720 stripped down from all that as well, Like I lost 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:49.480 all the belongings and I lost all those things, and 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:53.640 I just had to start again from the basics. And 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:57.320 that was a really good thing because again I got 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.560 the opportunity to just strip down to the core and 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:06.480 figure out what's important. So I totally agree that having 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.360 that internal world that that that is that is important 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.400 because you know, I use a wheelchair now, I don't 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:18.960 use my fingers. I have all sorts of differences in 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:21.320 my life from what it was before. You know, I 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:24.400 love life, Like I wake up every day, I'm grateful 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:28.640 for a bunch of stuff. I look out the window 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.880 and I see the sun and the ocean and gold 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:34.520 courst and that that it's it. That's an awesome thing. 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:37.560 I get to see here and talk to you today. 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:43.200 That's pretty damn cool. And that wouldn't happen if my 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:46.280 life was different. So I think, I think you've got 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:51.200 to look at look at what you have in a 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:55.160 different lens, and that really helps to shape shape the 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:59.360 world that you've seen. There's a book called The Diamond Cutter, 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.320 which I don't if you've ever come across. 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:04.360 But I'm going to write it down right now. 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.600 Essentially, it was I read it a long time ago, 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:12.320 but it was written by a guy who was a 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:17.640 monk somewhere in Nepal or India, and he wanted to 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.200 learn a bit more about the world and understand it 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:23.040 a bit better. So he went to New York and 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:28.440 became a diamond trader, and he looks at business and 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:33.760 that world in a bit of a spiritual and philosophical light. Well, 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:35.640 one of the things that he says is that when 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.080 you get a diamond out of the ground, it's actually 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:42.800 a fairly ugly things. It's not shiny, he doesn't have 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:47.360 a shape. But we have the ability to cut that 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:51.280 diamond into whatever we want, and if we cut it right, 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.200 you see it shine and you see all these different 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:57.640 colors come through it, and that's like life. You have 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:01.960 the ability to turn this rock into whatever you want. 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:08.560 Such a beautiful metaphor. Do you think that, you know, 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.040 one of the things that everybody is saying, especially in 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:15.680 Melbourne right now, you know, is more Jews. I'd love 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:17.640 just to be able to go on bloody shit and 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.880 have a cup of coffee with someone. And me too, 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:24.760 I've said it too. You know, there's all that normal stuff, 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:28.720 right and so when you know it, this is no 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.640 revelation when I say that we don't appreciate some things 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:33.720 often until we don't have those things, and then the 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.360 thing that we didn't really value is the thing that 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:39.240 that's all we want right now? Do you think that, 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:42.480 like when I watched your story, and I'm not just 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:49.880 saying this insincerely because you're here it firstly, thank you 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:53.040 for thank you really from the bottom of my heart 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:57.600 for what you do, because just watching you and watching you, 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:01.720 you know, so to give there's some context everyone. If 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:04.439 Denessh's got to be at work at seven point thirty, 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:07.840 he's getting up at three thirty or four for all 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.600 the stuff he's got to go through to be at work, 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:13.600 so he's not rolling out of bed at six thirty 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.439 and you know, having a dart in the car on 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.520 the way to work, in a coffee and shaving it 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:23.840 at the lights, and you know, putting on yesterday's jocks. 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:28.200 He's getting up. Okay, that's my life, all right. He's 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:32.800 getting up four hours and taking hours to do what 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:36.240 would take us to do minutes. But and I was 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:40.680 watching you, and I'm thinking what I really thought, because 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:43.720 I always tell myself how busy I am, right, and 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:47.200 I don't think I'm a marter. I think I cope 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.080 with it well. But I have this in a dialogue, 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:54.080 and I am busy, but because I'm doing full time 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.439 work and full time study. But my busy compared to 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:02.879 your busy is nothing, and my adversity compared to it. 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:05.320 And I know that you don't look for sympathy or accolades. 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:07.200 I get that. So I know you're going to deflect, 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:12.400 but don't fucking deflect, right, as you've been told. Right, 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:16.000 I was looking at you when I was going I 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:19.960 need to work harder, because I'm kidding myself. I was 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:23.399 watching what you do, and it just I found it 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:30.919 truly inspiring. My question to you, is, how can people 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:37.240 find that like a significant shift in perspective and thinking 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:41.640 without going through a catastrophe. Do you think that's possible? 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:45.000 Do you think it's because when your life changes, the 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:48.520 way that your life changed once it or not, your 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:53.200 perspective is different. It's like it's involuntary. You now have 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:57.199 to have a different mindset and thought process of just 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.600 for navigating life and the world. And you know, we 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:03.679 hear of so many people who have been through something 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:07.119 like you, who not only do you perform, but you 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:12.480 like like new Denesh is out performing Olddnesh. I know 0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:16.199 that's not the right to did you know what I mean? Yeah? Like, 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:19.840 is can we get that perspective without the drama and 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:22.240 the trauma and the tragedy. 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:24.480 I think you have to look for it, right because 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:31.000 I heard another good metaphor a while ago is that 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:33.879 you can't tell a fish that it's wet. 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:42.000 So oh fuck, I love that is that is just 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:43.800 so simple and so funny. 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.480 So unless the fish is able to see like what 0:19:48.600 --> 0:19:52.840 it's is not to be wet, you can't really explain 0:19:52.880 --> 0:19:55.480 it to him or her. So I think you have 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:59.639 to really look for different experiences and be consciously looking 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:02.720 for that others perspective to find it. And it takes 0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:07.160 a choice to do that. It takes a choice to think, Okay, 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:11.680 you know, I'm struggling right now, I'm struggling with these thoughts, 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:15.439 or I'm challenged by these thoughts. Maybe I need to 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:18.960 look outside, or maybe there's a better way to deal 0:20:19.000 --> 0:20:21.360 with it, or maybe there's a different way to think 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:22.960 about it. But you have to go looking for that, 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:27.960 and I think it's a process. I'm also lucky in 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:32.840 that I grew up in Sri Lanka until I was 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:38.480 ten years old, and Sri Lanka went through a war 0:20:39.720 --> 0:20:43.439 which just finished in the late two thousands, and it 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:46.639 was a really difficult thing for people. So when I 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:51.240 was growing up there, I actually had this memory which 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:55.400 I talked to my mom about just recently, and because 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:57.040 I didn't really think about it, was in the back 0:20:57.080 --> 0:20:58.720 of my mind. It popped up every now and again. 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:00.919 But it was this when we were driving around Sri 0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:04.920 Lanka one day to me mom and dad, and there 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:08.199 was a bunch of there are all these columns of 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:12.080 smoke in the horizon, just black corns of smoke, and 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:16.919 then when we drove up to it, we saw people 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:24.920 being burnt alive in piles of tires, and there were 0:21:25.160 --> 0:21:29.080 suicide bombings, there were people dying, like my uncles died 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:33.359 in the war, and people are living in fear. I remember, 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:35.480 you know, we had times where people were hiding out 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:41.400 in our house during their life, and parents really catch 0:21:41.520 --> 0:21:44.840 different buses to work because if one of them gets 0:21:44.840 --> 0:21:46.439 blown up, the other one would make it home for 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:50.000 the kids. So people through a really hard time. And 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:56.000 when after the accident, I also went back and I saw, 0:21:56.480 --> 0:21:59.240 you know it, we're so lucky in Australia, like this 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:02.280 is truly the country, I think, because I went back 0:22:02.280 --> 0:22:04.760 there and I saw what happens to a lot of 0:22:04.800 --> 0:22:09.560 people with spinal cord injury. There. There's no social support systems, 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:12.800 there's no in theis, there's nothing like that, and a 0:22:12.840 --> 0:22:15.120 lot of people just go home and die. They don't 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:18.520 have the opportunity to work, they don't have wheelchairs whatever else. 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:24.479 So just seeing that different perspectives, many thinks, you know, 0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:30.119 I am so damn lucky to have this opportunity to 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:33.520 live the way I do, to be to seek education, 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:37.639 to seek employment, to be able to hopefully spread a 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:43.440 good message so that that's really mean a driving force 0:22:43.480 --> 0:22:45.520 for me as well, just to think about how lucky 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:47.879 I am to be greatful for the things that I have. 0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:51.160 So that perspective has been really important. 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:56.719 Could you maybe give us, for the people who are 0:22:57.000 --> 0:22:59.040 meeting you for the first time, which is the majority 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:01.080 of my audience right now, how could you maybe give 0:23:01.160 --> 0:23:04.760 us a snapshot of and I know it varies, but 0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:07.399 a kind of a typical snapshot of a day in 0:23:07.440 --> 0:23:10.719 the life of you, where you work, what you do, 0:23:10.840 --> 0:23:13.280 some of the challenges around getting ready for that, and 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:17.320 some of the practical stuff around, you know, just getting dressed, 0:23:17.320 --> 0:23:20.440 getting out of bed, eating, getting to work, to and from. 0:23:21.000 --> 0:23:23.639 Can you give us a snapshot of you know, I 0:23:23.680 --> 0:23:26.560 know your days vary, and I know you're a doctor 0:23:26.640 --> 0:23:29.320 and a lawyer now over retriever that you are, but 0:23:29.560 --> 0:23:32.000 give us kind of a snapshot of a day. 0:23:32.920 --> 0:23:36.919 Yeah, well, I mean, I'll talk about some of the 0:23:36.960 --> 0:23:40.919 things that happen actually before the day even starts. Sleep 0:23:41.160 --> 0:23:44.000 is a really big issue for people with spinal cord injury. 0:23:44.560 --> 0:23:47.120 And I haven't slept a full night since I've had 0:23:47.119 --> 0:23:49.680 the injury, and the reasons for that is you get 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:54.919 spasms and also reading problems I use. I've been trying 0:23:54.920 --> 0:24:00.000 to fix that and we've been trialing a seatpap machine 0:24:00.040 --> 0:24:02.680 at night. But we did a sleep study a little 0:24:02.680 --> 0:24:06.320 while ago, and I found that, you know, my oxygen 0:24:06.320 --> 0:24:09.320 saturations dropping huge, and I was waking up about four 0:24:09.320 --> 0:24:15.119 times per hour. So this sleep was really poor, and 0:24:15.240 --> 0:24:20.959 so sleep is a challenge. But I wake up and 0:24:21.040 --> 0:24:25.880 then my mom, who's been around all my life, she's 0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:32.160 been a big positive force. She helps me have some breakfast. 0:24:33.800 --> 0:24:36.240 The first thing I do when I open my eyes 0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:37.960 is to think about a couple of things that I'm 0:24:37.960 --> 0:24:43.280 grateful for, three to five things, and it could be like, 0:24:43.760 --> 0:24:46.159 you know, I'm grateful for the job that I have, 0:24:46.359 --> 0:24:51.240 and grateful for where I live, and grateful for being alive. Whatever. 0:24:51.440 --> 0:24:53.720 I think of five things that pop into my head 0:24:54.960 --> 0:24:59.679 and I put on something positive to listen to. I 0:24:59.720 --> 0:25:04.280 have breakfast, and while I do that, I get the 0:25:04.359 --> 0:25:09.720 day started. So I reply to the emails I reply to. 0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:12.879 I go through my calendar and set up whatever I 0:25:12.960 --> 0:25:19.720 have for the day or the week. So I try 0:25:19.760 --> 0:25:24.639 to be really efficient and I try to be reliable 0:25:24.680 --> 0:25:26.960 with what I do as well. Someone shoots me an 0:25:26.960 --> 0:25:29.159 email and trying to make sure that it's replied to 0:25:29.200 --> 0:25:31.960 within twenty four hours and that sort of thing. So 0:25:32.119 --> 0:25:35.119 just still things because I think those little things matter 0:25:35.160 --> 0:25:38.439 for life, because big things are built on a collection 0:25:38.520 --> 0:25:44.600 of small things done well. So we do that, and 0:25:44.640 --> 0:25:48.120 then I got a team of a great bunch of guys, 0:25:49.160 --> 0:25:53.240 so one of them will turn up in that hour 0:25:54.000 --> 0:25:56.200 and then we get the day started. So they will 0:25:56.200 --> 0:26:00.840 help me get into the shower on a wheelchair built 0:26:00.840 --> 0:26:05.760 for that, and that that whole morning process with the 0:26:05.760 --> 0:26:09.399 showering and the personal case is quite It can be 0:26:09.560 --> 0:26:17.000 quite painful. It can be you know, like pressure fluctuates, 0:26:17.000 --> 0:26:22.320 like it's actually a bit of a challenging process. And 0:26:22.960 --> 0:26:26.320 I have a shower, I got some music going on 0:26:26.359 --> 0:26:31.600 by this point, and I get out of the shower, 0:26:31.840 --> 0:26:35.280 so by then another hour, hour and a half might 0:26:35.320 --> 0:26:38.439 be gone. Yeah, And then we get back into the 0:26:38.440 --> 0:26:42.840 bed and we start getting dressed. Before we get dressed, 0:26:42.840 --> 0:26:45.440 we're going to go through the skin. Because another thing 0:26:45.560 --> 0:26:48.720 is fine and corny is that you get wounds. You 0:26:48.800 --> 0:26:51.960 can't feel the rest of your body. Sometimes there are 0:26:52.000 --> 0:26:55.560 pressure points that you get. If there's prolonged pressure, your 0:26:55.600 --> 0:26:58.159 skin just starts to break down. Then you get a wound. 0:26:58.960 --> 0:27:01.960 So I've got a very superficient woden at the moment 0:27:02.080 --> 0:27:05.120 that we need to get under control. So you do 0:27:05.160 --> 0:27:10.680 the skin check, you dress that, and then you start 0:27:10.720 --> 0:27:13.600 to get you know, put your clothing on, whatever else. 0:27:14.960 --> 0:27:21.000 I wear a brace around my belly because my lung function. 0:27:21.640 --> 0:27:25.200 I don't have any lung excellent muscles to support that 0:27:25.280 --> 0:27:28.680 lung function. So it helps me breathe, It helps me 0:27:28.720 --> 0:27:31.679 maintain good blood pressure, and it helps me sit upright. 0:27:32.600 --> 0:27:35.000 And it also helps helps me speak because when I 0:27:35.040 --> 0:27:38.320 first had the accident, I couldn't speak a full sentence 0:27:38.400 --> 0:27:41.080 like I am now wow. It took a while to 0:27:41.119 --> 0:27:44.879 get that going again. So that supports all that. So 0:27:44.920 --> 0:27:47.840 we put the brace on, we put the shorts on, 0:27:48.200 --> 0:27:50.159 and that that involves a lot of rolling back and 0:27:50.200 --> 0:27:53.959 forth and get up, put the shirt on, and you know, 0:27:54.400 --> 0:27:57.200 I'm a pretty vain guy. I like to look as 0:27:57.240 --> 0:28:00.240 good as I can, So do the hair, to do 0:28:00.320 --> 0:28:06.399 the moisturized daily, all that other junk, and then we 0:28:06.560 --> 0:28:10.479 get out the door. So I go to work and 0:28:10.560 --> 0:28:17.639 the shifts, you know, I get to work. So typically, 0:28:20.240 --> 0:28:22.919 you know, the eaty has been pretty good in that 0:28:23.119 --> 0:28:26.640 they put they've started putting me on evening and night 0:28:26.680 --> 0:28:28.320 shifts just so I don't have to get up at 0:28:28.359 --> 0:28:32.159 four am as much. Oh god, because my boss actually 0:28:32.160 --> 0:28:33.840 so one of those videos that I don't know you're 0:28:33.840 --> 0:28:35.680 getting up at four to get to work. We could 0:28:35.680 --> 0:28:38.480 just put you on more evening shifts if you like. 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:41.480 And I'm like, well, yeah, I mean they'll be helpful 0:28:44.120 --> 0:28:49.200 so that they're being awesome. And so I generally start 0:28:49.200 --> 0:28:52.040 work at one pm or ten pm if I'm doing 0:28:52.040 --> 0:28:55.880 a night shift, and then I'll get home at about 0:28:56.080 --> 0:29:02.000 anywhere between. It varies. I'll get anywhere in between eleven 0:29:02.120 --> 0:29:06.480 thirty pm. Just sometimes, you know, the latest would be 0:29:06.560 --> 0:29:12.760 like one ish. If something's significantly dragging on, then the 0:29:12.800 --> 0:29:16.480 bed process will take an hour or two. Grab some dinner, 0:29:17.120 --> 0:29:18.800 get some sleep, start the press again. 0:29:19.320 --> 0:29:22.640 Man, man, now feel guilty for taking your time, dude, 0:29:23.720 --> 0:29:32.479 I know. Yeah, so yeah, I'm honest. Oh dude, we are. 0:29:32.680 --> 0:29:35.959 So you're in You work in the emergency department at 0:29:35.960 --> 0:29:40.680 Gold Coast Hospital. Is that correct? And how are people 0:29:40.720 --> 0:29:44.320 when the bloke in the wheelchair rocks up and goes 0:29:44.400 --> 0:29:46.720 But I'm the doctor, you. 0:29:46.760 --> 0:29:47.240 Know that's a. 0:29:49.280 --> 0:29:49.480 Yeah. 0:29:49.520 --> 0:29:53.400 The Gold Coast ed is actually well it was, at 0:29:53.480 --> 0:29:56.200 least in twenty eighteen and maybe twenty nineteen, the busiest 0:29:56.240 --> 0:30:00.360 eat in the country. It's it is a really interesting 0:30:00.360 --> 0:30:05.160 place to work. But so I've been a doctor now 0:30:05.200 --> 0:30:11.760 for nearly five years, or coming up to my fifth year, 0:30:12.720 --> 0:30:15.680 and in all those years and my years as a 0:30:15.720 --> 0:30:20.000 medical student, not one patient has looked at that as 0:30:20.000 --> 0:30:22.360 a weird thing. In fact, I don't even know if 0:30:22.360 --> 0:30:25.080 some notice it, because it's just such an all interaction. 0:30:25.880 --> 0:30:26.280 Yeah. 0:30:26.360 --> 0:30:30.200 Yeah, And if it's anything out of the ordinary, I 0:30:30.200 --> 0:30:33.280 mean sure people might be thinking, oh, they might think, wow, 0:30:33.360 --> 0:30:40.680 it's goin a wheelchair. But the out of the ordinary 0:30:40.680 --> 0:30:45.200 interactions that I've had have been really positive. I remember 0:30:47.520 --> 0:30:57.440 seeing this patient who had a significant physical challenge themselves 0:30:58.040 --> 0:31:02.920 and when I after, after I saw them, they said, 0:31:03.480 --> 0:31:05.840 you know, I was so glad that you came to 0:31:05.880 --> 0:31:09.479 my bedside because I knew you'd understand what I was 0:31:09.520 --> 0:31:17.040 going through. And I've I've talked with parents whose kids 0:31:17.040 --> 0:31:20.480 have been significantly injured or going through things, and they 0:31:20.600 --> 0:31:23.880 just said that it gave them a lot of hope 0:31:24.880 --> 0:31:28.600 to then see someone coming out of that recurring. So, 0:31:28.680 --> 0:31:36.600 you know, I think the medical care is one aspect 0:31:36.640 --> 0:31:38.400 of it and I try to be the best doctor 0:31:38.600 --> 0:31:42.400 as I can, but I think it's what you it's 0:31:42.440 --> 0:31:46.720 the other stuff that you do with people. And there 0:31:46.800 --> 0:31:50.320 was a doctor, you know, I who sadly passed away, 0:31:50.840 --> 0:31:53.360 but I think he likes to quote it was Maya 0:31:53.400 --> 0:31:57.680 Angelou who said, people remember how you made them feel 0:31:58.240 --> 0:31:59.920 mm hmm, and that's what they're left. 0:32:01.000 --> 0:32:06.600 So it's so true, and it's really easy in some professions, 0:32:06.760 --> 0:32:10.160 and medicine is one where you know, at the end 0:32:10.200 --> 0:32:12.160 of the day, at the end of the day, every patient, 0:32:12.200 --> 0:32:14.520 of course is a human with emotions and feelings and 0:32:14.600 --> 0:32:19.200 challenges and personality, and every doctor and every nurse and 0:32:18.360 --> 0:32:22.720 every person in that setting is also has brings all 0:32:22.720 --> 0:32:24.760 their own stuff to every moment in time. 0:32:24.800 --> 0:32:30.960 And I think it's really easy to get desensitized when 0:32:31.000 --> 0:32:33.800 you do a lot of stuff in understress with a 0:32:33.840 --> 0:32:36.720 lot of humans with a lot of problems, and so 0:32:36.880 --> 0:32:41.640 for you to actually be there in that moment and 0:32:41.720 --> 0:32:43.400 be fully present. 0:32:43.960 --> 0:32:46.600 Which you know, the stuff I've seen of you sitting 0:32:46.600 --> 0:32:48.880 with patients on the videos I've watched, and I can 0:32:48.920 --> 0:32:51.560 imagine because I think I get a bit of an 0:32:51.640 --> 0:32:54.680 idea about how you are. But yeah, you bring all 0:32:54.720 --> 0:32:57.880 your knowledge and skills and medical brain to the table, 0:32:57.920 --> 0:33:01.400 and of course, you know, which is a necessity. But 0:33:01.600 --> 0:33:03.600 then on top of that, when you bring empathy and 0:33:03.640 --> 0:33:07.440 awareness and kindness and presence where I'm actually here and 0:33:07.480 --> 0:33:10.000 I'm with you and I present, I'm not thinking about 0:33:10.000 --> 0:33:11.840 my lunch, I'm not looking at my watch, I'm not 0:33:12.200 --> 0:33:15.040 I'm not in a hurry. You know, that's such a 0:33:15.080 --> 0:33:19.320 gift to people. And you know, I think that's when 0:33:19.360 --> 0:33:23.000 people love their doctor. That's what they love about their doctor. 0:33:23.800 --> 0:33:26.280 What they love about their doctor is how that doctor 0:33:26.320 --> 0:33:30.800 makes them feel or how they how connected they feel 0:33:30.840 --> 0:33:32.880 to that person. Of course, you're want someone with knowledge 0:33:32.880 --> 0:33:35.600 and skills, but that's a given. But you know, so 0:33:35.680 --> 0:33:39.040 that's Do you think that just to me doing a 0:33:39.040 --> 0:33:44.120 bloody monologue, shut up, ups. Do you think that pre accident, 0:33:44.360 --> 0:33:47.880 post accident, your level of empathy changed? 0:33:48.960 --> 0:33:54.840 Yeah? I think pre accident, you don't know, I was 0:33:54.960 --> 0:33:57.160 never a patient, like I mean, I told you about 0:33:57.160 --> 0:33:59.440 the depression and all those things, but I was never 0:33:59.480 --> 0:34:04.280 a patient in a hospital going through this type of experience, 0:34:04.440 --> 0:34:07.960 so I didn't understand what it was like. And I 0:34:08.040 --> 0:34:15.080 had this really crystallizing moment about this because there was 0:34:15.120 --> 0:34:18.920 this guy who gave us a lecture once before that accident, 0:34:19.440 --> 0:34:23.440 and he was an emergency physician who worked with Queensland Ambulance. 0:34:24.719 --> 0:34:26.919 I looked at his lecture, I'm like, fire, this guy 0:34:27.000 --> 0:34:28.799 is awesome. I want to I want to be like 0:34:28.960 --> 0:34:30.200 you know, I want to do what he's doing and 0:34:31.000 --> 0:34:33.960 whatever else. And then he happened to be in the 0:34:34.000 --> 0:34:35.440 ambulance when I had that accident. 0:34:36.320 --> 0:34:38.680 Oh one of the trances. 0:34:39.360 --> 0:34:39.600 Yeah. 0:34:39.920 --> 0:34:40.200 Wow. 0:34:40.560 --> 0:34:45.400 So the thing though about that is, you know, I 0:34:45.480 --> 0:34:47.440 knew I was a doctor, I knew all that was 0:34:47.480 --> 0:34:51.719 under control. But it's now ten years later and I 0:34:51.800 --> 0:34:56.200 remember how he made me feel hmm, and that has 0:34:56.320 --> 0:35:02.600 informed how I try to with my patients. And imagine 0:35:02.640 --> 0:35:06.080 making that impact on someone where they remember it ten 0:35:06.160 --> 0:35:10.480 years later, that's that. I think that's pretty powerful. I 0:35:10.600 --> 0:35:15.319 was within for maybe fifteen, twenty, maybe thirty minutes, and 0:35:16.719 --> 0:35:19.560 he made that impact on me, which has been life 0:35:20.440 --> 0:35:22.880 probably gonna be lifelong, and has a flow and effect 0:35:22.920 --> 0:35:24.719 to my own patients. 0:35:24.960 --> 0:35:28.560 Isn't that incredible when you maybe can't even remember what 0:35:28.680 --> 0:35:33.560 someone said specifically or the specifics of that moment in time, 0:35:33.640 --> 0:35:37.600 but you just feel that being around that person had 0:35:37.640 --> 0:35:40.400 an energetic impact on you and an emotional and a 0:35:40.480 --> 0:35:45.320 psychological I like in a really positive way. But don't 0:35:45.360 --> 0:35:48.400 you think that Melissa too, that there are people that 0:35:48.600 --> 0:35:51.560 and you don't even know why there are people that. 0:35:51.640 --> 0:35:54.759 It's just there's something about their energy where you like 0:35:54.920 --> 0:35:58.680 being around that person definitely, you know. And then there 0:35:58.680 --> 0:36:03.200 are other people converts sleep and you go, oh boy, oh, 0:36:03.320 --> 0:36:06.319 this is a struggle. I try not to be the latter. 0:36:06.440 --> 0:36:11.759 I'm sure sometimes I am unless I apologize. I apologize. 0:36:12.239 --> 0:36:15.000 So so you so you finished law mate, and you 0:36:15.400 --> 0:36:20.120 kind of went not for the moment, and but you 0:36:20.160 --> 0:36:23.160 correct me if I'm wrong. You went back with not recently, 0:36:23.560 --> 0:36:26.560 not went back, but you qualified as a lawyer recently. 0:36:26.680 --> 0:36:27.200 Is that right? 0:36:27.520 --> 0:36:29.560 Yeah, because you have to do that when you finish 0:36:29.640 --> 0:36:33.279 your law degree. There's you get the law degree, but 0:36:33.360 --> 0:36:37.120 there's a process. We have to be admitted as a 0:36:37.160 --> 0:36:41.680 lawyer and then you do some coursework and work experience 0:36:41.719 --> 0:36:43.480 and that sort of thing. Once you take that off, 0:36:44.000 --> 0:36:47.440 you get to turn up at the court and you know, 0:36:47.560 --> 0:36:53.759 they get to sign the role of lawyers. And I 0:36:55.040 --> 0:36:58.960 did that recently, and really the idea behind that was 0:36:59.000 --> 0:37:03.520 to inform some of that advocacy work and inclusivity stuff 0:37:04.120 --> 0:37:08.360 that I've been doing. So that that was a nice moment. 0:37:09.239 --> 0:37:11.200 Now, I know that when you came out of when 0:37:11.239 --> 0:37:15.080 you finished your degree and you got your cap and 0:37:15.120 --> 0:37:18.719 your gown and thumbs up and high fives and you 0:37:18.760 --> 0:37:23.600 know all that stuff, that that the challenges didn't stop. Then, 0:37:23.840 --> 0:37:27.000 So tell us a little bit about getting an actual job, 0:37:27.120 --> 0:37:31.600 because that was not that was not smooth sailing. Give 0:37:31.640 --> 0:37:33.919 us tell us a little bit about how that went down, 0:37:34.000 --> 0:37:36.000 and yeah, what happened. 0:37:36.239 --> 0:37:38.840 No, it wasn't a huge it wasn't a smooth sailing, 0:37:38.880 --> 0:37:43.799 and it was a very frustrating experience because I did 0:37:43.840 --> 0:37:46.880 well in medical school. I spent time in the hospital 0:37:46.920 --> 0:37:51.160 as a student. I proved myself as much as I could. 0:37:51.560 --> 0:37:54.280 I given spend some time at the Harvard Medical School 0:37:55.120 --> 0:37:59.840 and you did well there. So did all that stuff 0:38:00.880 --> 0:38:04.959 and had letters of recommendation from doctors and whatever else. 0:38:06.239 --> 0:38:09.799 So when you graduate as a doctor in Australia, you 0:38:09.800 --> 0:38:13.080 you you're guaranteed a job if you're a domestic student 0:38:13.920 --> 0:38:17.440 and you put your name into this ballot and you 0:38:17.560 --> 0:38:19.160 put down where you want to work, and then you're 0:38:20.200 --> 0:38:23.799 the ballot system sort of. You know, get you a job. 0:38:25.239 --> 0:38:28.080 But I've just got a letter saying that, hey, you've 0:38:28.120 --> 0:38:30.280 got you you know, because of your spine cort injury, 0:38:30.320 --> 0:38:32.480 we need to take your name out of the ballot 0:38:32.560 --> 0:38:37.800 more consider it separately. But this just turned into this massive, 0:38:38.000 --> 0:38:42.359 long process and they wouldn't really tell me what what 0:38:42.440 --> 0:38:45.560 this what the details of this process was. They all 0:38:45.560 --> 0:38:51.600 these delays. They wanted me to get medical medical reports, 0:38:51.680 --> 0:38:56.759 and I got registration as well, so I've got registration 0:38:57.239 --> 0:39:00.520 whatever else I mean, then there were saying, you know, 0:39:00.520 --> 0:39:02.480 you're probably not going to start work with your with 0:39:02.520 --> 0:39:13.200 your colleagues, and so it took a lot of advocacine. 0:39:13.200 --> 0:39:14.759 It took a lot of support as well, you know, 0:39:14.800 --> 0:39:19.719 from the community, from the media, from other doctors and 0:39:19.880 --> 0:39:22.560 some politicians as well. Like it took a lot of 0:39:22.719 --> 0:39:28.520 work and advocacy to get the job initially and even 0:39:28.560 --> 0:39:32.399 since then, like in twenty eighteen, I was called coos 0:39:32.440 --> 0:39:36.160 Helts Junior Doctor of the Year. But even after that, 0:39:36.280 --> 0:39:39.600 I've you know, it's become a lot smooth sailing. Like 0:39:39.640 --> 0:39:42.919 I work in the ED and it's a great team 0:39:43.080 --> 0:39:45.080 and a great set of bosses that I work on it. 0:39:45.760 --> 0:39:49.160 But along the way I've still had some challenges where 0:39:49.320 --> 0:39:50.880 you know, no matter how hard you work and no 0:39:50.920 --> 0:39:54.120 matter how well you try to do, the people still 0:39:54.280 --> 0:39:57.879 ask questions. So I had a few bumps along the way, 0:39:58.840 --> 0:40:01.960 but I think now now I'm in a great spots 0:40:02.040 --> 0:40:04.799 and work works going smoothly. But it certainly took a 0:40:04.800 --> 0:40:11.160 lot of fighting to get here. But it's been worth it, 0:40:11.200 --> 0:40:13.840 you know. Like like I said, it's worth it for 0:40:13.880 --> 0:40:16.360 the patients. It's worth it for the people that I 0:40:16.400 --> 0:40:20.799 get to do things for, even though they're establishment wasn't 0:40:20.840 --> 0:40:21.880 as supportive. 0:40:25.080 --> 0:40:30.080 So here's my red herring question from left field. Do 0:40:30.160 --> 0:40:33.880 you have Is there a spiritual component to who you 0:40:33.960 --> 0:40:36.160 are and how you are? And if so, what does 0:40:36.200 --> 0:40:37.239 that look like you? 0:40:38.320 --> 0:40:40.200 If I had to put a label on it, I 0:40:40.239 --> 0:40:44.440 would say that I'm agnostic, but I often think about things, 0:40:44.440 --> 0:40:49.520 you know, like I often think about I think I'm 0:40:49.560 --> 0:40:53.880 still trying to find meaning in that whether there's something 0:40:54.000 --> 0:40:57.680 larger than me. But what gets me through is just 0:40:57.719 --> 0:40:59.520 trying to be a good person, you know, And it's 0:40:59.560 --> 0:41:06.120 really it's just the basics. Like you know, I was 0:41:06.120 --> 0:41:08.480 still going to have a friend the other week and 0:41:08.600 --> 0:41:11.040 she said, oh, you can tell a white life, like 0:41:12.080 --> 0:41:14.279 a white life is still a lie, right, So it's 0:41:14.320 --> 0:41:18.600 just about those basic qualities. And I'm trying to always 0:41:18.640 --> 0:41:21.360 try to make sure that a person of integrity, that 0:41:21.400 --> 0:41:25.600 I'm always giving back and I'm always trying to do 0:41:25.719 --> 0:41:31.000 good for the world, because I think that that's important. Spiritually, 0:41:31.040 --> 0:41:35.040 I think it's it's still a search because I also 0:41:35.040 --> 0:41:37.520 don't want to do something, you know, whether it be 0:41:37.600 --> 0:41:41.520 like a formalized faith system or whether it's something I 0:41:42.920 --> 0:41:45.839 don't want to do something just because to do it, 0:41:45.880 --> 0:41:47.759 like I really want to feel it, you know, if I. 0:41:47.880 --> 0:41:52.480 Was that And I think one of that, sorry, I 0:41:52.480 --> 0:41:58.359 think one of the compromises of I'm not saying people 0:41:58.440 --> 0:42:01.080 shouldn't be religious or they and belong to a faith 0:42:01.160 --> 0:42:03.600 or a church or a synagogue or a fill in 0:42:03.640 --> 0:42:06.239 the blank, but is that once you belong to that, 0:42:06.440 --> 0:42:09.960 then you kind of have to align on everything because 0:42:10.000 --> 0:42:13.640 you go, I'm a I practice this, you know, and 0:42:13.680 --> 0:42:18.439 then there's an element of freedom of thinking that goes 0:42:18.480 --> 0:42:22.200 out the window, because you know, your ideology and philosophy 0:42:22.239 --> 0:42:27.040 and thought process need to align with that particular theology 0:42:27.120 --> 0:42:29.919 or philosophy or way of being. I guess, but yeah, 0:42:29.960 --> 0:42:34.960 it's it just interested me because I think when I 0:42:36.880 --> 0:42:39.000 was training you might find this interesting. But I was 0:42:39.040 --> 0:42:42.400 training a year ago and a year ago and a 0:42:42.440 --> 0:42:45.760 week with my training partner. So it was literally about, 0:42:46.200 --> 0:42:48.200 you know, fifty three weeks ago. I was in the 0:42:48.200 --> 0:42:53.120 gym with my training partner, who's cutlety, is younger than me, 0:42:53.239 --> 0:42:55.960 very fit, very strong, very lean, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, 0:42:56.080 --> 0:43:00.239 healthy lifestyle, all that stuff. Did a set of thirty 0:43:00.320 --> 0:43:04.200 chin ups the neesh, and because he's a journeyus, he 0:43:04.280 --> 0:43:07.760 held his breath the whole time. So held his breath 0:43:07.800 --> 0:43:12.239 for thirty chins, came down, had a cardiac arrest. Yeah, 0:43:12.360 --> 0:43:16.520 dude died on the gym floor. Dead. They're dead dead. 0:43:17.120 --> 0:43:23.000 So I started working on him, you know, straight instantly, 0:43:23.160 --> 0:43:27.560 Like there's like twenty seconds maybe within from when he exhaled, 0:43:28.200 --> 0:43:31.839 and you know, it was a bit there's a few 0:43:31.840 --> 0:43:33.920 things going on that we won't go into, but so 0:43:34.040 --> 0:43:37.080 I started working on him, and he was The paramedics 0:43:37.080 --> 0:43:38.960 got their ten minutes later, and he was dead for 0:43:39.000 --> 0:43:45.319 seventeen minutes. But it's just interesting how people go like 0:43:45.400 --> 0:43:48.960 when anyway, he's fine, now he's got a pacemaker, and 0:43:49.040 --> 0:43:50.880 they don't even know why because he didn't have a 0:43:50.920 --> 0:43:56.719 heart attack. He just arrested, and I think it could 0:43:56.760 --> 0:44:00.600 have been. He also had before training this progressing from 0:44:00.680 --> 0:44:02.799 your story, sorry but you might find it interesting. But 0:44:02.880 --> 0:44:06.160 before he trained, So this is the guy that doesn't drink, 0:44:06.200 --> 0:44:08.759 doesn't do drugs, all this, he used to have this 0:44:08.880 --> 0:44:12.480 pre workout kind of you know how some of the 0:44:12.480 --> 0:44:16.880 the groovers have pre workout stuff, right. And I looked 0:44:16.920 --> 0:44:19.160 at it, and he had a double dose. And I 0:44:19.239 --> 0:44:23.680 did the I did the calculations, and my best guess 0:44:23.800 --> 0:44:27.520 is and remember it's in about I don't know, one 0:44:27.600 --> 0:44:31.040 hundred mil of liquid, about the same as ten coffees. 0:44:31.520 --> 0:44:33.279 So that's insane. 0:44:33.680 --> 0:44:36.720 Yeah, and that's you know, he's fifty three or whatever, 0:44:36.840 --> 0:44:41.160 fifty two, a moron, a lovable moron, but a moron. 0:44:41.360 --> 0:44:44.240 He's having ten coffees or the equivalent in one hundred 0:44:44.239 --> 0:44:47.440 mil of liquid and then holding his breath for thirty reps. 0:44:47.440 --> 0:44:50.040 I'm like, well, no, wonder you died, You fuck an idiot, 0:44:50.920 --> 0:44:53.799 And thank goodness you didn't do that when you're at 0:44:53.840 --> 0:44:56.200 home working under the car or something, you know. So, 0:44:57.120 --> 0:45:00.920 but it's funny because in that moment he Some people 0:45:00.960 --> 0:45:05.440 have these really life changing encounters or moments or and 0:45:05.480 --> 0:45:09.120 he's like, nah, it's like when to sleep for half 0:45:09.160 --> 0:45:14.319 an hour whatever. Absolutely, the people that you've worked with 0:45:14.600 --> 0:45:18.799 that have had you know, I just watched this weird 0:45:18.880 --> 0:45:22.919 show called The OA two seasons on Netflix. Don't watch 0:45:22.920 --> 0:45:25.759 it anyone, but it's a whole show about near death 0:45:25.840 --> 0:45:32.439 experiences and interdimensional travel. Clearly, I've got too much time 0:45:32.480 --> 0:45:34.400 on my hands, and this is why I'm struggling with 0:45:34.560 --> 0:45:39.400 my research. That just came to me. But anyway, you know, 0:45:40.480 --> 0:45:44.120 the people. Do you have much of this around people 0:45:44.200 --> 0:45:48.200 who have died or nearly died, or where there's some awakening, 0:45:48.360 --> 0:45:51.759 some big moment or revelation or spiritual wake up. 0:45:52.400 --> 0:45:55.160 See working in the ED. 0:45:57.200 --> 0:45:59.920 Yeah, yeah, I'm getting yeah, because you're not with it 0:46:00.120 --> 0:46:00.719 that long out. 0:46:01.880 --> 0:46:09.480 But I think I've certainly had some thoughts because after 0:46:09.520 --> 0:46:14.120 this spine courting drug, the initial phases of such an injury, 0:46:14.120 --> 0:46:17.160 it's involved in so many complications. So I've been in 0:46:17.200 --> 0:46:19.600 the ICU a couple of times and I've been very, 0:46:19.680 --> 0:46:26.560 very sick from it. And those moments really do those 0:46:26.680 --> 0:46:29.440 moments really do make you think about life again a 0:46:29.520 --> 0:46:33.160 bit more and make you I think it's about going 0:46:33.160 --> 0:46:36.600 back to the basics, right and then doing that. But 0:46:36.640 --> 0:46:41.520 it's up. Certainly. There was a one time where I 0:46:41.520 --> 0:46:43.960 had an issue with my lung and they thought that 0:46:44.040 --> 0:46:49.520 it was cancer initially and waiting for that result, and 0:46:49.560 --> 0:46:52.719 you're just sitting there and going, oh my gosh, if yeah, 0:46:53.520 --> 0:46:56.239 please let this not be cancer and I will live 0:46:56.280 --> 0:47:01.280 an amazing life. Yes, So you do have those moments 0:47:01.320 --> 0:47:05.360 where things you start to think about things different, or 0:47:05.400 --> 0:47:07.240 you kind of reground yourself. 0:47:08.840 --> 0:47:10.640 And did you do you ever think who am I 0:47:10.680 --> 0:47:11.600 saying please to? 0:47:12.440 --> 0:47:13.000 Exactly? 0:47:13.440 --> 0:47:16.360 To whom is this? To? Whom is this person that 0:47:16.440 --> 0:47:22.320 I'm requesting this from? Yeah, I think that's Tom Cruise, 0:47:22.840 --> 0:47:29.880 Oprah Cruise. Definitely not Tom Cruise. Mate. Tell us about 0:47:30.520 --> 0:47:35.120 as I went through your series of interviews and you know, 0:47:35.239 --> 0:47:41.160 jumping from podcasts to videos and things. So you've you've 0:47:41.200 --> 0:47:43.600 got a partner, now, you've got a fiance. Now tell 0:47:43.680 --> 0:47:47.120 us about her relationships. 0:47:47.160 --> 0:47:51.960 I mean, that's another challenging thing, and I was I 0:47:52.000 --> 0:47:54.920 was thinking about this yesterday. I'm still in someone because 0:47:54.920 --> 0:47:59.880 it's not a it's not normal you know, inverted comments, 0:48:00.280 --> 0:48:04.880 it's not a normal thing. Like I can't I don't 0:48:05.800 --> 0:48:10.319 do some of the normal things like dance or hold 0:48:10.360 --> 0:48:13.919 hands and walk on the beach, for example, or whatever else. 0:48:13.920 --> 0:48:19.400 So it's it's very different. But I think you also 0:48:21.360 --> 0:48:26.960 start to realize maybe normal isn't so important, you know, 0:48:27.080 --> 0:48:32.120 maybe maybe it's about building a deeper connection and it's 0:48:32.120 --> 0:48:36.120 more about I think you start to value the fundamentals 0:48:36.160 --> 0:48:39.400 a bit more about that, like even physically, you know, 0:48:39.680 --> 0:48:42.360 and how long does that physical thing ask in a normal? 0:48:44.320 --> 0:48:47.520 And also and also what's normal? Dude, Like let's get 0:48:47.640 --> 0:48:51.359 let's get weird and philosophicalor what's normal? Normal is completely 0:48:51.400 --> 0:48:56.560 subjective because my normal would be your complete fucking madness. 0:48:55.960 --> 0:49:00.000 Your your normal would be my completely weird. Melissa's normal, 0:49:00.600 --> 0:49:03.879 Let's not even go there, because she's a whole project, right. 0:49:04.000 --> 0:49:11.120 That's she looks like Mary Poppins. It's a facade. 0:49:11.840 --> 0:49:14.560 Mary Proppins was probably freaky behind the scenes. 0:49:15.320 --> 0:49:19.799 She got crazy. Don't worry about that. But so has 0:49:19.800 --> 0:49:22.439 it been interesting for you too? 0:49:23.840 --> 0:49:24.080 You know? 0:49:24.200 --> 0:49:26.120 And as much or as little as you want to share, 0:49:26.200 --> 0:49:28.960 but I'm just talking about general relationship stuff. Has that 0:49:29.040 --> 0:49:33.160 been an interesting challenge? Navigating how do we do this? 0:49:33.239 --> 0:49:36.719 How do we do life together? How do we do relationship? 0:49:36.800 --> 0:49:38.440 How do we do marriage? How is that going to 0:49:38.480 --> 0:49:43.560 practically work? And yeah, we won't be walking on the 0:49:43.560 --> 0:49:47.040 beach anytime soon holding hands or dancing or you know, 0:49:47.160 --> 0:49:48.000 ten pin bowling. 0:49:49.040 --> 0:49:52.080 Yeah, and it is. And I was very reluctant to 0:49:52.120 --> 0:49:55.319 get into it actually, so for you know, ten years, 0:49:55.360 --> 0:50:00.239 I didn't really need anyone or engage in that. Of 0:50:00.239 --> 0:50:03.960 that is because I was, you know, consumed in my 0:50:04.000 --> 0:50:07.319 own things otherwise, but part of that is because I 0:50:07.360 --> 0:50:08.920 was thinking, how do I do this? Do I want 0:50:08.920 --> 0:50:12.160 to do it? Like what will it look like? And 0:50:12.400 --> 0:50:17.440 I guess the other aspect of that is I always 0:50:17.480 --> 0:50:20.839 have a lot of people in my close proximity, whether 0:50:20.840 --> 0:50:24.680 it be you know, my mom or my the boys 0:50:24.880 --> 0:50:27.560 that helped me out, whatever else. So a lot of 0:50:27.560 --> 0:50:32.680 it is very visible now, so that adds another dimension 0:50:33.120 --> 0:50:39.480 to the relationship. But I think you just take it 0:50:39.520 --> 0:50:43.600 one step at a time and and I think a 0:50:43.640 --> 0:50:46.960 lot of it is also in your own head. It 0:50:47.000 --> 0:50:49.880 was in my own head. You know, you're scared about 0:50:49.880 --> 0:50:51.479 a lot of things, You fear a lot of things, 0:50:51.480 --> 0:50:53.520 but then they're like, oh hey, actually this is okay 0:50:53.560 --> 0:50:57.719 and it works. So relationships were like that, but it's 0:50:57.960 --> 0:50:59.879 definitely not straightforward, and I think that's OK. 0:51:02.120 --> 0:51:05.080 Melissa, you watched the docco that I sent you. How 0:51:05.160 --> 0:51:08.439 much do you love? How much do you love Danesha's mom? Ah, 0:51:08.840 --> 0:51:11.560 she's gorgeous. Can you tell us maybe a bit about 0:51:11.600 --> 0:51:14.240 that relationship that you have with her because she seems 0:51:14.239 --> 0:51:14.920 so special. 0:51:15.560 --> 0:51:21.040 Yeah, she's an incredible woman. And you know, she's been 0:51:21.040 --> 0:51:25.360 a big part of my life since I was a kid. 0:51:25.840 --> 0:51:32.320 She's always been one that taught me that anything is possible. 0:51:33.520 --> 0:51:36.440 And other people around me when I was growing up. 0:51:36.480 --> 0:51:41.439 You know, I remember this conversation once where I wonder 0:51:41.480 --> 0:51:44.480 if I could be an astronaut and the responsors all, no, 0:51:44.840 --> 0:51:46.880 being an astronauts really hard, and only a couple of 0:51:46.920 --> 0:51:51.200 people get to that point, and you know, like that 0:51:51.400 --> 0:51:54.960 sort of response, and you do. I think you do 0:51:55.080 --> 0:51:59.560 so much damaged at kids thinking back, but it's really 0:51:59.600 --> 0:52:02.680 not what we need today. We need kids to be 0:52:02.680 --> 0:52:05.560 able to feel that they can do anything, be anything. 0:52:06.000 --> 0:52:08.279 So my mom was actually fortunately the opposite of that, 0:52:08.480 --> 0:52:13.319 and she always encouraged me to She helped me start 0:52:13.360 --> 0:52:20.560 my own business when I was in high school. I 0:52:20.640 --> 0:52:24.040 got flying lessons when I was in high school, she 0:52:24.120 --> 0:52:26.440 taught me how to drive She told me how to shave, 0:52:26.640 --> 0:52:29.160 She taught me how to do all this stuff, taught me, 0:52:29.719 --> 0:52:34.239 you know, how to look after my bank account, all that, 0:52:34.840 --> 0:52:38.200 and all these ideas like medical school, being a lawyer 0:52:38.280 --> 0:52:41.440 like she's she's made a big influence and even today, 0:52:42.239 --> 0:52:46.440 you know, my dad, their marriage didn't survive this accident, 0:52:47.520 --> 0:52:51.200 but she's been there every single day. I'm taking this 0:52:51.280 --> 0:52:56.759 journey with me, So we're really close and it's just 0:52:56.800 --> 0:53:00.799 a different relationship and I'm very grateful to have her 0:53:00.800 --> 0:53:05.560 in mamma, and it's just been an awesome thing, you know. 0:53:05.560 --> 0:53:12.200 But I guess that's another thing that it adds another 0:53:12.320 --> 0:53:17.319 unique dimension to another interpersonal relationship, because there's that as 0:53:17.360 --> 0:53:19.719 well amazing. 0:53:19.840 --> 0:53:25.000 She's gorgeous. I love my mom a lot. Your Mum's right. 0:53:25.160 --> 0:53:27.600 I brag about my mum and I saw your mom 0:53:27.640 --> 0:53:32.960 and I went, Mary, you've got some competition. Because bloody Belta. 0:53:35.200 --> 0:53:37.719 Where are we at for time? Melessa, We're about fifty 0:53:37.800 --> 0:53:40.399 five minutes in, all right, let's start to wind up. 0:53:42.040 --> 0:53:45.680 May tell us a little bit about doctors with disabilities Australia. 0:53:46.840 --> 0:53:51.800 That came about from you know, it was the issues 0:53:51.800 --> 0:53:55.279 that I had going through employment and there were some 0:53:55.360 --> 0:53:58.840 barriers that would put up for medical students with disabilities 0:53:58.880 --> 0:54:00.640 after it came back from me well as well. So 0:54:01.400 --> 0:54:08.160 Australia had this national policy that specified different physical capabilities 0:54:08.160 --> 0:54:12.279 that a medical student should have very explicitly and some 0:54:12.719 --> 0:54:17.600 even some interpersonal things, and it would have excluded me 0:54:17.760 --> 0:54:21.120 as a medical student if that was applied. So we 0:54:22.239 --> 0:54:26.160 me and this guy called Harry Emon, who is a 0:54:26.440 --> 0:54:30.320 guy a person preceded me. He got Gillan Barre syndrome 0:54:30.360 --> 0:54:34.480 and he was in medical school and used a wheelchair. 0:54:34.800 --> 0:54:41.600 And Hannah Jackson who's a GP in Tasmania. She has osteogenesism. 0:54:41.600 --> 0:54:44.120 Perfecto music will just so we got together and said, 0:54:44.360 --> 0:54:45.920 you know what, we need to start changing some of 0:54:45.960 --> 0:54:49.480 these things and sharing our experiences with people who want 0:54:49.480 --> 0:54:53.400 to navigate this maze that we have. That's how it 0:54:53.440 --> 0:54:57.160 came about, and it's been an awesome journey because those 0:54:57.160 --> 0:55:00.759 policies are being rewritten. Now we've done We've managed to 0:55:00.840 --> 0:55:06.520 chieve quite a few things in Australia around making medicine 0:55:06.600 --> 0:55:11.560 more inclusive. So it's been a really cool journey. Now 0:55:11.560 --> 0:55:13.120 we're looking at jeez, what's next. 0:55:15.200 --> 0:55:18.920 I saw you in one of the videos with some 0:55:18.920 --> 0:55:22.560 some Italian research dude who look like a bit of 0:55:22.600 --> 0:55:25.440 a journey us also putting some weird looking thing on 0:55:25.480 --> 0:55:28.680 your head which looked like a helmet with a bunch 0:55:28.680 --> 0:55:33.480 of wires and stuff. And you're on a bike and 0:55:33.520 --> 0:55:37.200 he is, and you are I think involved in some capacity. 0:55:37.600 --> 0:55:41.640 I'm fucking this up, so correct me. But with are 0:55:41.680 --> 0:55:44.800 they're looking at technology now that will kind of almost 0:55:45.480 --> 0:55:49.560 the electrical impulses will bypass the injury site to innovate 0:55:49.600 --> 0:55:53.279 the muscles to be able to walk or ride or like. 0:55:53.360 --> 0:55:54.480 Is that what they're looking at. 0:55:54.800 --> 0:55:59.200 Yeah, Yeah, there's a bunch of studies going on in 0:55:59.200 --> 0:56:04.000 that area. The cool thing is we found there's so 0:56:04.440 --> 0:56:07.400 in about in or around twenty thirteen, there was a 0:56:07.400 --> 0:56:11.799 study in some rats or mice in Switzerland and they 0:56:11.920 --> 0:56:17.960 used electrical stimulation and drug therapy in mice with spinal 0:56:18.000 --> 0:56:21.920 cord injury, and using those therapies and after training them 0:56:21.920 --> 0:56:26.919 to walk again, these mice were able to voluntarily move 0:56:26.960 --> 0:56:31.160 their hind limbs again. After me, wow, So then they 0:56:31.160 --> 0:56:34.160 did autopsy on these mice and they found that after 0:56:34.200 --> 0:56:36.600 the lesion that they caused in the spinal cord injury, 0:56:37.040 --> 0:56:40.800 new neurons had grown back, so the board had pickened 0:56:40.800 --> 0:56:44.000 out again by about twenty five percent. So this is 0:56:44.280 --> 0:56:49.000 really exciting. And they've applied some of these therapies to 0:56:49.120 --> 0:56:55.160 humans with electrical stimulation drugs and also thought control using EG, 0:56:55.320 --> 0:56:57.319 which is what we're doing. So we put all these 0:56:57.320 --> 0:57:00.480 things together. In early human trials, they're found that the 0:57:00.520 --> 0:57:03.160 people are able to voluntarily move their things again for 0:57:03.200 --> 0:57:06.520 the first time in history. So it is happening. It's 0:57:06.560 --> 0:57:09.320 been shown to be possible, and we're building all this 0:57:09.440 --> 0:57:12.800 science here. So that's my that's what I do outside 0:57:12.800 --> 0:57:17.480 of clinical work, and you know, a part of that 0:57:17.600 --> 0:57:20.640 is actually engaging the mind and train you know, because 0:57:20.840 --> 0:57:24.320 with traditional rehab, people aren't actually engaged. They're not thinking 0:57:24.360 --> 0:57:27.720 about walking, they're not thinking that, but here you're forced 0:57:27.760 --> 0:57:31.560 to do that. And the drug therapy is actually an 0:57:31.600 --> 0:57:35.160 anti anxiety drug that's been around for ages. That's what's 0:57:35.160 --> 0:57:39.440 been used in a lot of these trials, and we 0:57:39.600 --> 0:57:43.760 you know, the hypothesis is that because if you use antidepressant, 0:57:43.880 --> 0:57:47.600 it doesn't really work that well without psychotherapy, right, you 0:57:47.720 --> 0:57:51.680 need and that's that's probably that's a training mechanism. So 0:57:51.800 --> 0:57:55.880 these drugs probably prime the nervous system for change and 0:57:55.920 --> 0:57:59.560 then you have to train it to change. So that's 0:57:59.560 --> 0:58:03.600 what we're doing and it's really exciting. We've got two 0:58:03.640 --> 0:58:07.120 million dollars from the Murtor Accident Insurance Commission the Queensland 0:58:07.200 --> 0:58:10.360 Government late last year and we're just plowing on with 0:58:10.440 --> 0:58:14.360 this work. And you know, I want to stand. 0:58:14.120 --> 0:58:14.800 Again one day. 0:58:15.440 --> 0:58:20.280 The last thing I did standing up voluntarily, the very 0:58:20.360 --> 0:58:23.440 last thing was hug my mom. Wow, And that was 0:58:23.480 --> 0:58:27.200 a super cool thing. I'm glad I did that. So 0:58:28.360 --> 0:58:30.880 who was listening, Guys, Hug your mom, Hug whoever you 0:58:30.960 --> 0:58:33.960 love every day. You never know it might be the 0:58:34.000 --> 0:58:36.520 last thing that you do. And I want to do 0:58:36.560 --> 0:58:37.040 that again. 0:58:38.600 --> 0:58:40.240 Well that'll be the first thing you do when you 0:58:40.320 --> 0:58:42.960 stand next time. Now, I definitely don't make me crime 0:58:43.000 --> 0:58:45.600 on podcast. I'll have to come up and kick you 0:58:45.640 --> 0:58:51.640 in the fucking wheelchair. You would, Yeah, of course I would. 0:58:51.920 --> 0:58:52.800 I'm heartless. 0:58:54.400 --> 0:58:58.760 Tell us if people want to connect with you or 0:58:58.840 --> 0:59:02.680 I know who's done in undating with a million questions 0:59:02.680 --> 0:59:04.720 and all that, But if people want you, are you 0:59:04.800 --> 0:59:07.840 available for speaking gigs and all that kind of stuff 0:59:07.880 --> 0:59:09.880 for what's the deal? Or if people want to follow 0:59:09.920 --> 0:59:12.720 you on social media? Or how does that work? 0:59:13.200 --> 0:59:17.280 So I have no social media except LinkedIn, so call 0:59:17.320 --> 0:59:22.760 me on LinkedIn. I'm also I think on the Griffith 0:59:22.840 --> 0:59:26.200 University website you should be able to contact me as well, 0:59:27.360 --> 0:59:33.480 so I feel free to get in touch, love to chat, yeah, 0:59:33.520 --> 0:59:38.120 and moreays available to talk about any cool things that 0:59:38.160 --> 0:59:38.720 you want to do. 0:59:39.040 --> 0:59:41.960 Well. You are an inspiring human and I don't say 0:59:41.960 --> 0:59:45.640 that lightly. You're amazing, and I'm sure we can't but 0:59:45.680 --> 0:59:47.840 if there's anything we can do in our tiny, humble 0:59:47.840 --> 0:59:52.000 little podcast down here to support you, or if you 0:59:52.040 --> 0:59:56.040 know we can my my family of listeners can support 0:59:56.080 --> 0:59:59.400 you or help you or help our cause in some way, 0:59:59.480 --> 1:00:02.640 let us know and hopefully we can have you back 1:00:02.680 --> 1:00:04.720 again and go deeper on a few things. But we 1:00:04.760 --> 1:00:06.439 really appreciate your time today, mate. 1:00:06.760 --> 1:00:10.400 Yeah, absolutely, thanks for having me and vice versa. If 1:00:10.400 --> 1:00:13.280 that can be of help to you or any of 1:00:13.320 --> 1:00:15.040 your listeners, reach. 1:00:14.880 --> 1:00:17.960 Out, stop it stopp being such a good human now. 1:00:17.960 --> 1:00:21.240 I feel you're amazing. Listen, do you want to say 1:00:21.280 --> 1:00:23.120 goodbye to our friends? Stay on the call, mate, We'll 1:00:23.120 --> 1:00:24.240 talk to you once we're done. 1:00:24.600 --> 1:00:26.320 Thank you so much, Denesh. 1:00:26.440 --> 1:00:30.400 That was absolutely fascinating, So thank you so much for 1:00:30.440 --> 1:00:33.400 taking the time. We really do appreciate it. Thanks for 1:00:33.440 --> 1:00:36.440 having me guys, Thanks mate, Thanks everyone, Love you, Gut 1:00:36.480 --> 1:00:37.560 to see you next time.