Transport Accident Commission (TAC)

Empower

Empowering TAC clients by sharing stories and information

Edition 24: November 2012

Setting and achieving goals

Much has been written about goals and goal setting, and for good reason – it is by setting and working towards goals that we achieve. Setting goals can give you the motivation to take the small steps towards the vision you want for your future. It helps you to organise your time and resources, and focusses your drive on the things that you want to achieve.

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. Confucius

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Henry Ford

It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead o a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

First, set your vision – your ‘big picture’, and the long-term goals that will bring that to life. Then break these down into smaller steps, and targets that you need to hit to reach this vision. Finally, make a plan and work towards your goals, and measure and celebrate your successes along the way.

In this issue of Empower we meet several TAC clients who have been active in working towards their life goals. We meet Werner, who jumped back into his beloved aeroplane as soon as modifications could be done. And Nic, who returned to work selling pies as a step towards full time employment.

We also talk to Peter, who has dedicated his time since his accident volunteering and making society better for the disabled. And finally we talk to Joanne, whose son Massimo is exceeding expectations getting his orange belt in karate and getting back to school.

As these clients show, goals don’t have to be ambitious, they can be anything you want.

Werner – flying higher

Critically injured in a head-on collision, Werner Bekker was determined to get back to doing what he loved – flying.

A few months after the accident, my doctor came to see me. I still couldn’t talk at that stage and he said, “I suppose you realise you’re in a lot of trouble, don’t you?” I sort of nodded my head. He went on to tell me I’d never fly, drive or have sex again. I just knew he had to be wrong. I thought, “This person doesn’t understand me”.

My aorta was torn in the accident and I kept losing blood.

The surgeon told me there’s only two things that kept me alive. “You were extremely fit and you seem to have an incredible will to live,” she said.

At the time of the accident, I had just finished a test-flying job with a company in Perth. I’ve always loved flying. I raced cars for many years, but when I saw a guy hang gliding many years ago, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. So after the accident, I knew I had to get back to doing it.

It was a very long road. Every chance I could, I would get away from the rehabilitation centre in Glen Waverley and head to Moorabbin to work on my aeroplane. It really helped me, even before I started flying the plane. Simply being there and working on the plane made me feel good.

When your life is torn apart and there’s nothing in it that resembles anything you like or know, you need to find a way to get back as much of your former life as you can. I thought I was going to be able to do the lot. I thought I was going to be able to walk again, eventually. I used to put callipers on and walk around the house, holding onto the rails around the porch, for six hours a day, thinking I would walk again. It never happened, but I gave it the very best shot I could.

The TAC helped with the modifications to my plane because it was one of my goals to get back to flying. My Occupational Therapist (OT) and I formed the basic idea of what modifications were needed using a pair of coat hangers. We kept bending them around until they went under the dash and then an engineer drew up something that resembled what we thought could work.

The first time I flew after the accident, I wheeled my wheelchair out to the plane and swung myself onto the wing and got in. I took off and flew over my wheelchair and thought: this is where I belong. It was a super feeling. Being up there, soaring like an eagle – it’s just a different world. All the struggles of getting around in a wheelchair disappear and you’re soaring high and moving freely. It’s a wonderful feeling.

I wrote my first book No Ordinary Life because so many people would say, “Oh you’ve done so many things, you should write a book”. I had lots of time here when I wasn’t doing the flying instructing, so I thought why not? It’s a book about a man who initially refuses to accept the state that he now finds himself in. I did everything humanly possible to change the situation, against all the advice from doctors and surgeons and psychiatrists. I just couldn’t accept that I was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. But when it became evident that that was in fact going to happen, I tried to make the blow as soft as possible by getting back to doing some of the things that had always brought me joy.

The book I finished up writing was different to the one I envisioned at the start. I guess you could say it evolved, just as I evolved at the same time.

I think anybody that has had an accident will see themselves in parts of the book. My next project is another book called Distance en Chance. It’s autobiographical to a large degree and reflects some of the serious mistakes I’ve made over the last five years!

The muscles in my arms have been getting worse recently, so it’s a bit harder to haul myself up into the plane. The TAC has helped me a lot in this regard and I’ve now got a special electric unit that helps me to get around a lot more easily, without putting such a strain on my stuffed arms and shoulders.

Getting back to flying has been so important for me. Flying gives me total freedom. The only bad thing is that sooner or later you have to return back to earth. I watch an eagle on the ground and she looks awkward, hopping around, scratching about and eating carrion. You think, that’s not very noble, but once they’re airborne, eagles are completely different.

In the sky, the eagle covers ground without even moving. They’re graceful and powerful. That’s how I feel about myself – when I’m on the ground, it’s a struggle. But when I’m in the air – I’m a totally different man, capable of anything. It’s a sensational feeling.

Nic – focused and determined

On 22 January 2011, I was riding in the bike lane to the pool in Moorabbin when I was hit from behind by a car. I don’t remember what happened. I was transferred to the Alfred with a fractured pelvis, fractured left collarbone, two fractured vertebrae, fractured left elbow, fractured ribs and a serious Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).

I spent about six months in rehab at Epworth and was discharged in mid-2011. After that, I was a day patient twice a week for therapy until about November 2011. At the time of the accident, I was the National Accounts Manager at Spotless, which had been my employer for seven years. I used to deal with all the various state and operations managers and look after the major clients. I worked six or seven days a week and the days were long – sometimes 12 or 14-hour days.

After my accident, my employer was keen to help me get back to work, even though my previous role was no longer available. In June this year, I began casual work as a food attendant at the MCG. I’ve recently started working in the office doing admin-type duties.

David Spittle, the HR Officer at Spotless has been a tremendous support to me. He said right from the start that they were keen to get me back to work in some capacity. He advocated a lot for me internally to try to identify suitable positions and negotiated with the relevant managers to enable me to work in the areas.

Getting back to work has been fantastic. I’m really appreciative of Spotless finding me a job. Everyone has been very supportive and it’s good to get back into the work environment and be around people.

My wife Sally has been a real rock. She’s been incredibly understanding and she knows what I’ve been through.

I’m really focussed on achieving my goals and declaring every post a winner. I hope that the current opportunity in the office at Spotless will be expanded as I enjoy it and I want to return to an office role.

I’d like to express my gratitude to the people at the TAC. They have been a fantastic support to Sally and me. Early on, they provided Sally with a lot of information and emotional support during the time that I was in hospital.

Having support from a number of different areas – your family and your workplace is just so important, because it means you can focus on your rehabilitation and getting your life back on track.

Peter – making society better for the disabled

I had my accident sixteen and a half years ago, on the 19th April 1996, and it completely changed my life. For some years I was badly affected emotionally – I relived the accident again and again in my head, and I required extensive counselling. I still suffer emotionally, even after all this time.

Before the accident I was heavily involved in football. I played football, I coached football, and was a trainer at the football club and I sat on numerous committees. Actually, the accident happened as I was going home from the football club. I was driving along when I came across a drunk driver who had hit another vehicle. I’m a first aider, so I stopped to help the injured. As I got out to help the drunk driver took off in his car. I’m not sure how he got it going as it was a complete wreck. I went behind the other car to take down the number plate so I could report the accident to police, when a taxi driver slammed into the back of the car, pinning me between the two cars. Apparently he’d been looking at the taxi computer and had taken his eyes off the road and didn’t see me or the car.

My injuries

I suffered substantial tissue loss on my left leg from the knee down. My calf had to be rebuilt and I needed many, many skin grafts. I also had damage to the left ankle, a fracture to the right leg and permanent damage to both knees.

I spent nearly three months in hospital where I had to learn to walk all over again, just like a small child. To this day, over sixteen years after the accident, I still suffer a lot of pain. I still may require skin grafts and there’s a lot of nerve pain. I walk permanently with a crutch, and sometimes I need two depending on how bad the pain is. There were a number of years that I could walk unassisted, but that’s deteriorated over time and it’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that. I still see many specialists – for pain management, infections, orthopaedics, plastics and skin grafts.

Getting back to work

After the accident I went back to work for a while. I was a lab technician in plastics research and development. At first work was really supportive of me, promising to keep my job for as long as I needed time to recover, as I was only able to do about 70-75% of my job at that stage. Unfortunately a new manager came on board and the department underwent a restructure, and my role was no longer available. This was a real disappointment to me, and I was incredibly frustrated.

I went for other jobs after this, but I didn’t manage to get a new position. They’d see me walk in on the crutches and I just never got a look in. Even before the accident I was really interested in disability rights and getting a fair go for the disabled, and seeing first hand the discrimination and problems disabled people face every day made me even more passionate. I started slowly, just attending a few meetings here and there, chatting to different people, but then I threw myself into community work and over the years I’ve become heavily involved in the disability area.

Disability rights

I work with a couple of different organisations that provide advocacy and information for people with a disability. I’m currently the Chair of DisAbility Connections (Victoria) (DCV) and the Brimbank Disability Network Group, which are great organisations dedicated to advocating for the rights of disabled Victorians. We look at the many issues faced by the disabled in our community, but my particular passion is around disabled parking, ensuring there’s proper accessibility to buildings and that public transport is disability friendly. We will advocate against anything I see that stands in the way of a disabled person living a full and active life.

A few years ago I was approached at one of our DCV meetings by a representative from Road Trauma Support Services Victoria (RTSSV). They were looking for volunteers to tell their story at meetings and events, and in particular to driving offenders who are forced to attend a road trauma course after being caught drink driving, speeding or unlicensed driving. I go to these meetings and tell my story.

I talk about my accident – how it happened, how it’s changed my life and how easily things can go wrong. I try and educate them so they don’t end up in prison, or hurting or killing themselves or others.

Telling my story has really helped me to come to terms with my accident and disability. The talks sometimes take an emotional toll on me, it’s hard reliving the accident and my recovery all over again, but if it helps change the attitude of one young driver then it’s worth it.

The first time I spoke was traumatic, but each time it gets better and it definitely helps me to talk about it. I think everyone should talk about their accident, even the horrible things – you’re not bottling things up and that helps.