Unlocking your potential

empowerempowering TAC clients by

sharing stories and information

edition 21 October 2011

In this issue of empower, we look at ways you can explore your talents by finding new hobbies, volunteering or returning to work. We will explore ways you can build confidence to embark on new and exciting challenges.

Discover a new hobbyA new hobby can uncover and nurture new talents, help you overcome feelings of boredom and provide you with the opportunity to meet new friends with similar interests.

Mental health professionals are strong advocates of hobbies to help people deal with stress. Learning new things can keep your mind alert and help restore the balance and harmony that might be missing from your life.

Think of a hobby that might interest you. It might be something that you always wanted to explore but never had the time. Popular hobbies include gardening, model railroading, stamp and coin collecting, bird watching, genealogy,

There are many places to find out about volunteering opportunities, including community centres and local councils which produce community directories that include volunteering organisations. Community and local newspapers also regularly feature articles about volunteering.

Returning to workStarting a new job or returning to your previous one can be challenging and daunting. Perhaps you have never had employment or have not worked in months or even years. Whatever your situation, it’s important to feel prepared for work and know where you can get information and support.

If you feel ready, consider registering with a recruitment agency for temporary work with short-term contracts. Centrelink can refer you to a Job Network or Disability Employment Network (DEN) agency or to vocational rehabilitation through an agency such as CRS Australia. A private career counsellor might also be able to help. Looking for a job can take time so remember to be patient.

If your employer is holding a job open for you, discuss with your supervisor, human resource manager or counsellor about your approach to returning to work. Consider what support you might need, such as working part-time while you build back up to more hours.

Your TAC Support Co-ordinator can help by discussing an approach that may work for you.

Our clients in this issue talk about how they’ve regained their independence by setting goals, volunteering and finding new hobbies.

Check it out.

fishing, painting, leather crafting, woodworking, soap-making, candle-making, bowling and cooking.

VolunteeringVolunteering is a great way to discover new talents and meet new people. The beauty of volunteering is that you can choose the organisation you want to help and also some of the activities you want to do.

Volunteering Australia research shows physical recreation, education and training, community/welfare and religious groups are the four most common groups in which people volunteer. Popular activities include fundraising, preparing and serving food, teaching and providing administration support.

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Before my accident I had travelled a lot. While I had never actually worked overseas, it was always in the back of my mind as something I wanted to do. In fact, only three years after qualifying as a nurse, I did a tropical diseases nursing course in London to do relief work in developing countries. I knew I would get there; it just took me a while. Of course I had the accident and that led to quite a few changes in my life.

In 2009, I did some voluntary work in East Timor. I first wanted to work somewhere fairly local in the developing country context, with a view to testing the water and seeing if I was cut out for Africa. I really enjoyed East Timor and that’s essentially why I ended up pursuing work in Uganda.

I spent my time in the north west of the country in the Masindi district working as a community nurse. I worked with the locals and we mainly focused on the uptake of childhood immunisations and service delivery of ante-natal care. There are an unacceptable number of maternal and child deaths in Uganda.

I do try and remind myself everyday back in Australia how lucky I really am.Many women don’t access health facilities because of cultural reasons and when they do, most rural health clinics have no electricity/sufficient lighting and depend on torches and even mobile phones. Uganda has one of the highest fertility rates in the world – on average seven children per woman – and contraception is mainly considered taboo. Malaria is a big killer there too. We also looked at malaria prevention as part of our work.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience, although there were challenges and some soul searching. We covered a big area and I actually travelled on a scooter, which was totally inappropriate. It was built for the road, not for riding on the rough terrain during the wet season. I came off way too many times.

I’m also a track athlete and I continued my training in Uganda. There were athletic tracks around and I would do my training on those. The kids were fascinated… I’m sure they thought I was some sort of alien. They would have never seen a blade-like prosthetic leg like mine. I lost count of the number of kids running away from me in terror. That used to give me a laugh.

The people are extremely friendly. They’re so strong. The way they keep going in the face of hardship every day is inspiring. It really does put everything into perspective. I do try and remind myself everyday back in Australia how lucky I really am.

Martin – pursuing his volunteering dream abroad

I guess the ‘break’ in Uganda gave me the second wind I needed.

Martin Fruin had his leg amputated in 2001 following a transport accident in 2000. He is a registered nurse and has recently returned from Uganda where he worked as a community health volunteer.

empower / edition 21 / October 2011

Did you know?Australian volunteers play a vital role in the fight against poverty? Volunteering overseas is one way that you can make a positive contribution to poverty reduction, sustainable development and cross cultural understanding.

If you’re interested in volunteering overseas, the Federal Government has launched a new program, Australian Volunteers for International Development, which includes a web portal to Australian volunteering.

The portal is available at www.ausaid.gov.au/volunteer

Martin Fruin with a local athlete at the National Stadium in Kampala

Martin Fruin’s work in Uganda included looking at the uptake of childhood immunisations

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At the time I was travelling along the main road between Kyabram and Echuca. A vehicle was coming out of Tongala to cross the main road. The driver told police after the accident that he wasn’t concentrating, and failed to see me. Our vehicles collided at 100 kilometres per hour and the other driver’s car smashed into my car front and side on. My car was a Camry and his was a tray-truck with a bull-bar. Of course, I came off second best. I was pushed down a dirt road, through a fence and into a ditch.

An oncoming driver who witnessed the accident stopped to help. The driver of the other car was in shock but did not have any life threatening injuries. The man who had stopped to help us was able to flag down two other drivers. Luckily there was a nurse in one car and the head nurse of the local hospital and her husband in another car.

My seat was broken and pinned me down. I wasn’t breathing.The driver of the car I collided with called an ambulance and informed them of our location. Meanwhile, two more cars were flagged down to help.

Amazingly the first car had two doctors and the second car had one doctor on board. Luck was certainly on my side from that point of view.

It turns out I worked as a receptionist for these doctors but they didn’t recognise

Dianne – determined to enjoy the simple things

me. The doctor who had hired me two years before eventually recognised me and since told me that because my arm was so swollen and black, they had considered amputation. Another doctor then stapled my head to stop the bleeding and cleaned me up.

By this time it was discovered I had numerous broken bones and fractures to my skull. I stopped breathing but the doctors were able to get me started again. At the same time the ambulance helicopter arrived on the scene and I was loaded in. My breathing continued falling in and out.

While I was on my way to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, one of the doctors rang my husband to let him know of my condition. My husband then asked about Beau and the doctor replied that there was no dog in the car when he arrived on the scene. The local ranger was then sent out in search of Beau. Beau was eventually found near a cattle water trough. After his chain snapped from the impact of the crash he jumped

out the open window and ran around the fenced paddock nearby.

My recovery was long and arduous and I spent five months in the Royal Melbourne Hospital and then the Epworth Rehabilitation Hospital in Camberwell. My accident happened on November 17, although I have no memory until Christmas Day and even that is hazy. Of course I have no memory of the accident which fell on my son’s and late dad’s birthdays.

Since the accident my physical abilities, balance and eyesight have completely suffered. My short term memory has been completely erased but my long term memory remains.

Despite enduring a long road to recovery and still wearing the physical and mental scars from my accident, I have found that there is life after major trauma. The love and support I have received from my family had been second to none and Beau, who endured the accident with me, senses I am still a little fragile and remains very protective.

After all this I have come out the other side with the determination to keep improving my life. I now set goals and achieve them. One of my first goals was to walk Beau again and after 12 months back at home I now do, twice a day.

As I set off on a trip to Mathoura on the Murray River, I never expected the events which were about to unfold. I was driving to meet my husband, Ken, at our cabin on the Murray. Our Labrador, Beau, was tied up in the back seat. It was one of those sweltering hot days so I opened the back window to let some fresh air in.

Dianne with her beloved dog, Beau

Walk your dog dailyDianne enjoys walking her dog…you can too. Walking and playing with your dog provides you with vital exercise, reduces your stress, increases your social interaction and is good for your heart and general health.

Your dog will also be happier, more relaxed and a better socialiser. You can take your dog to a variety of areas, including most state forests, some beaches or parts of beaches at certain times and some game reserves.

Most laws relating to dogs are the same across Victoria, but some councils make their own laws, such as whether dogs must be on a leash. Check your local council website for more information.

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Staying active – the key to staying positive

this year but it had to pull out just outside the heads because it had trouble with the motor of all things. It’s a real pity there isn’t a sister yacht in Melbourne. It would be great on a bigger yacht to walk around and be with other people with disabilities.

Giving up sailing has left a big hole in my life. I’m hoping golf will replace it. There’s a professional golfer at Albert Park who I’ve spoken with about learning to play again. I need to learn how to play one armed. I had some lessons trying to play with both arms but I’m just absolutely hopeless. Again, balance is the problem. I’ve been told I really have to try and do it one handed. My wife is a good golfer and I’d like to be able to play with her but I need to get relatively good, otherwise I’ll be thrashed.

I love sport. I really enjoy tennis and played when we were in Perth recently. As it happens I’m not a bad tennis player. I’ve even learned how to serve one-handed.

I don’t feel any pain at all when I swim. I still swim about two to three times a week and if you get a bit tired you can just walk up and down the pool. It’s

A big part of my life right now is volunteering at St Vincent’s Hospital in the new cancer centre. They call me a mentor. Every Thursday I talk to patients in the waiting room and the treatment areas. It’s become an important part of my life and I really feel as though I add value through my own experience and that’s tremendously rewarding. I’ve met a lot of people and it’s been a real eye-opener – cancer really does affect just about everybody.

I’ve had some health setbacks myself – a heart attack, then a cardiac arrest and more recently I had some nasty skin cancers, and that’s knocked me around a bit.

So temporarily at least, I’ve had to give up sailing, which I had been doing for about four years with a sailing school, called Sailability, for people with disabilities. It just became tough physically to get into the small yachts on Albert Park lake – I had to get winched into the boat and winched out of it again. Keeping my balance was hard.

I’d really like to get into a bigger yacht. There’s a yacht in Sydney for disabled people called Woteva and if I lived there it wouldn’t be a problem. The yacht was actually in the Sydney to Hobart race

amazing really – to not feel the pain, but I’m concentrating on my stroke, on staying afloat, not drowning …

I’d like to get rid of the pain altogether. It’s awful. But I think it’s one of those things that I’m going to have to darn well live with. I still use the technique of trying to look at other things and concentrate on them. When I’m looking at something else – yachts out at sea for instance – I don’t really notice the pain all that much.

I think staying active is key to staying positive. If on the odd occasion I don’t feel great, I look at pictures of my grandchildren and I think ‘wow’. I always try to think about the good parts of my life. I’ve had lots of good times and I think about them and I think about my wife, my children and my grandchildren.

When we last spoke with Chris Martin [empower, December 2007] he was learning to do everything with one hand. Empower catches up with Chris to hear how his life has changed since then.

empower / edition 21 / October 2011

Chris spent many months in hospital and in rehabilitation after he was hit by a truck. His arm was crushed and it is now held together by metal, along with metal plates in his cheeks and hips.

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week will take place from 6–13 November 2011.

The week aims to raise awareness about spinal cord injury and promote prevention through a number of initiatives and events across the week.

Find out more about the week at www.independenceaustralia.com

Save the date – Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week

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Chris volunteers at St. VIncent’s Hospital and stays active by playing sport

“ I’ve had lots of good times and I think about them and I think about my wife, my children and my grandchildren.”

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Ricky Ellis My wall – acrylic

After I moved to my new house, one of my support staff suggested I paint the wall outside. I started doing some drawings in pencil and then started painting. My picture grew into something bigger than I expected!

I found drawing and painting made me feel happier in the mornings. Painting also helped with my balance and coordination. I received some garden lights as a Christmas present and I stuck them to the wall outside which makes the paintings look great. I’ve been planning and drawing other pieces now and this is something I wouldn’t have done before my accident.

Bough of development

These are pictures of me during the making of my wall. It was a big task for me because I find it difficult to regulate my temperature. I started this painting in the summer so I could only do painting in short bursts.

I found it difficult at first to balance, hold the brush and create a painting that looked the way I wanted it to. The more I painted,

the easier it became. And the longer I could do it, the better I could balance. This tree represents my growth and development through painting.

Picture This

Pheng NgLonely country road

This piece was painted in 2004, 10 months after my c5, c6 accident. I was still coming to terms with my quadriplegia, having all my early retirement plans thrown into disarray. Frequently, I felt very lonely and lost which is expressed in this painting.

Sailing on a sunny but blustery day

After a lull and lots of encouragement, I picked up the paintbrush again. By this time, I was feeling better in myself, engaging in more social visits. This picture reminds me of the Elwood beach on a sunny but windy day.

A cold wintry day

A peaceful country scene. This piece was completed recently. The dexterity in my hands has improved although I still need a lot of patience and hard work with finer strokes.

This year’s TAC client art exhibition, Picture This, showcased an inspiring range of artworks from 27 artists. The exhibition was at Geelong Art Gallery and featured works from clients who had experienced road trauma.

The exhibition comprised pieces by people who were artists before their transport accident, had taken up art since or had included art therapy in their rehabilitation.

Artwork included in the exhibition, which attracted more than 200 visitors, included drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics and photography.

Here, clients Ricky Ellis and Pheng Ng, who exhibited at the art show, discuss their inspiration and how art helped them deal with their accidents.

Lonely country road Sailing on a sunny but blustery day

A cold wintry day

Bough of development

My wall – acrylic

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Hobbies that make us happyContinuing our theme of finding new hobbies to explore your talents, TAC clients share the ‘fruits of their labour’ after taking up a new activity following their transport accidents.

I feel open minded about this neighbourhood. I can manage my stress in my own garden. I think the garden has taught me to be more aware of how to look after the garden.

A garden will grow with you if you learn to look after it and be responsible and act your age. I think it is important to have worms in the garden because they are very good for the soil. Like now, I can see the work I have done because it all pays off in the long run. What is good about a garden is that it is always there.

The garden has made me feel ‘more free’ because I am by the sea and my

name is Lee (joke). I love the garden because I don’t have to think too hard, instead just focus on getting the job done and do my best.

I like watching things grow and seeing red back spiders – I don’t get scared of them because I am a ‘toughie. I love working with the soil and understanding who I am.

I enjoy feeding the magpies when they come ‘begging’ for bread. The rain fertilises the soil and I have couch grass lawn, cacti and a small cottage garden around my vegetables.

Lee Hodian TAC client

My open minded garden

The tragedy in sadness At the pain that this had brought No answer to this madness The lesson had been taught

A moment’s distraction Forever lost in time A fatal reaction When all was going fine

Time was now the key My world came crashing down Hell came to the driver’s seat To the horrors I had found

Clock ticking slowly Time became the key Minutes became hours In this man made tragedy

Pushing all the boundaries In life the line is fine Warnings going nowhere In time I crossed the line

Ignorance to those warnings I couldn’t ignore no more Hell came to the driver’s seat Came crashing through my door

Hugh Cameron TAC client

Hell came to the driver’s seat

gardening

poetryLove this life I roam this huge beautiful landBut there is one thing I really can’t understandAll the people living in this world looking downThe people upset and living on a frownLife’s too short to be sad, so keep your head up highDon’t look to the ground, keep your sight on the skySure it’s sad and I miss all the people sent aboveBut I’ll keep my head up high and always smileWe all die and when we lose them it hurts for a whileWhen this happens we all feel down and sadBut you can’t always live on the highs, it’s ok to feel badLife is full of ups and downs, but there is always lightSo smile and keep what you want in sightMaybe you will love, live and adoreWhen you’ve got life and always know there’s moreMore to see and more to do and more to fulfilSo keep your head up and see this life is beautifulRemember suicide is the coward’s way outDon’t just sit around sad and poutLove this life if you don’t, I sure know I willMake your life a happy one and one to fillAlways be happy and joyful is what I’ve been toldBut no-one knows what is around the corner and down that roadThere’s a love I have for life deep inside of meAnd there’s that same love in you I seeSo when you feel down, know there is a cureLife’s a life to love and this love is pureThere is truly only one thing I do hopeThat everyone can get through life and copeCause we all have a heart that beatsSo look up, this life is full of treatsLove this wonderful lifeI will and you might.

Robert Solly TAC client

Lee’s garden

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empower / edition 21 / October 2011

Making newsTAC clients have some fantastic stories to tell. Here, empower shares some of the stories clients have shared with the State Government, on television and in newspapers.

Telephone8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday1300 654 329 (local call)1800 332 556 (toll-free outside the Melbourne metropolitan area)

Address60 Brougham Street Geelong VIC 3220Mailing addressTAC PO Box 742 Geelong VIC 3220

Website www.tac.vic.gov.au

Empower is published three times a year by the Transport Accident Commission. © Transport Accident Commission, 2011

Contact us

Katherine JohnsonKatherine Johnson appeared in a Geelong Independent article as part of the newspaper’s ‘Shattered Lives’ campaign to raise awareness about the effects of road trauma.Katherine was visiting her family in Western Australia from Geelong when her car ran off the road and into a tree. Katherine, a former rural journalist, was unable to remember the accident and was wheelchair bound until she was able to learn to walk again. She also has an acquired brain injury which she says means messages from her brain become ‘muddled’ in her head.

Katherine and two other friends with acquired brain injuries have set themselves a goal to enter a Run Geelong charity fundraiser in November. She trains with her carer every Monday and fellow runners on Wednesdays between physio appointments and swimming sessions.

Milly ParkerThe State Government recently asked client Milly Parker to give her views on a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).Milly outlined her experience of living with a disability she acquired in a car accident 18 years ago. She spoke about the opportunities she has created for herself and how this wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the TAC. Milly’s is a moving story and provides a rare insight into how her life is changed after a significant injury.

Andrew CottleAndrew featured in an episode of the ABC program The New Inventors. Andrew was close to signing licensing contracts for his new invention, the Window WeatherGuard, when he sustained severe injuries in a transport accident.Andrew Cottle was one day away from signing the licensing contracts for his new invention – Window WeatherGuards, a patented unique system for sliding windows that keep rain out while allowing the energy efficient free flow of fresh air – when a near-fatal car accident left him with such severe brain injuries, his family was told he might never walk or talk again.

Andrew spent many months in rehabilitation but managed to restore his new invention with the aim of funding a program to raise awareness of acquired brain injury and rehabilitation.

* You can check out Andrew’s story on the ABC’s The New Inventors website at www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors

Here are some extracts from her speech:

“ I have a disability and an acquired brain injury. I wasn’t born with one. I, like many people, became a person with a disability later in life when I wasn’t expecting it! I was 21 and studying accounting at the time. I had a rather full social life. A group of us were coming home from a nightclub early in the morning, I didn’t realise the driver was drunk. I was a bit. The driver lost control when the car veered over to the gravel shoulder of the road, hit a tree and then hit a fence at 140 kilometres per hour. This was the result…

…I’m one of the incredibly lucky ones. In disability terms I won the lottery. How is it that I am lucky? When I show you the picture of the car in which I was a passenger when the accident occurred. How is that I am lucky?

When I try to explain the realities of living with a disability how hard it has been at times. I’m lucky because I happened to acquire my disability in a car accident and in Victoria.”