0:00
I was 21 years old when I contracted meningococcal septicemia
0:04
It's a blood infection that resulted in the amputations of my arms and legs
0:08
I didn't look at the mirror for a long time. My nose turned black and fell off, and you lose a lot of confidence
0:14
To come so close to death and emerge as a physically different person
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it's a significant change, and I do feel I've got a second chance in life
0:23
I haven't swum in many years. You're away from your chair, you're a bit out of your comfort zone
0:28
But I'm going to go with one of my mates today, go into the pool. Before I had my incident, I had just moved to Australia to study a degree in journalism
0:42
I was quite carefree. I played a lot of the guitar. I went out with friends. I was enjoying my life in a new city
0:49
just doing what most 21-year-olds would be doing. The day I first noticed something was wrong, I started feeling quite nauseous and unwell
0:57
I was throwing up, I was in incredible amount of pain, I couldn't stand on my feet
1:02
And I was rushed into an emergency room. I was quite frightened but really unaware what was going on
1:08
The doctors called me to let me know that my son Ripu was in the hospital that he was very sick and they believed he had meningococcal septicemia I was put in a coma initially for three weeks
1:24
When I came out I basically couldn't move. I remember looking down at my arms and
1:28
they were just like these twigs. Septic shock is like stepping on a landmine but in slow motion
1:34
and you don't know what's going on until the dust settles and then you can see what the harm is
1:39
and what's left. Rippo got to the stage where the arms or the legs
1:45
decided that they're not going to survive. I remember my dad rolling back the bandage to show me my hand
1:50
It was just this shrunken, shriveled, black hand because essentially they had just died
1:55
and they were just hanging on my body. I was in hospital for over 250 days
2:00
I had operations done on my arms and legs. I didn't look at the mirror for a long time
2:05
I didn't really process it because my nose turned black and fell off. and you lose a lot of confidence
2:11
After about six months in hospital, I was taken to a rehab centre. It was really about learning independence
2:16
because I didn't have much physical strength. I had to make a lot of adjustments to everything
2:22
Everything changes. To come so close to death and emerge as a physically different person
2:28
is a significant change and I do feel I got a second chance in life While I was in hospital I was informed that I received enough credits to receive a graduate certificate in journalism
2:40
and now I've achieved my dream of becoming a journalist. That's really what he wanted, what he trained for and he studied
2:47
and that was a really great sense of pride for us that he achieved what he wanted to do with his own efforts
2:54
Yeah, how proud of them are you? Beyond measure, I can't even measure how proud I am
3:00
Hey mate. Hey mate, how you doing? How's it going? Good? Well I'm very good thanks
3:04
Thinking about getting back into swimming. Do you want to head down now and go for a swim
3:09
Yeah mate, let's do it. Alright, sweet as. I haven't swum in a very long time, in many years
3:16
It was a big part of my initial rehabilitation. They started getting me in the pool
3:20
When I first got in there I just sunk like a rock. My family had been with me swimming before but my friends never have
3:26
It's an environment where you're away from your chair, you're a bit out of your comfort zone
3:31
But I'm going to go with one of my mates today, go into the pool. It's something I'm very keen to start doing
3:36
Now with a friend, now that I've built up my confidence, it's going to be a new experience
3:43
I'm feeling pretty good about heading in the pool. Yeah it pretty exciting actually I feeling pretty good about it I feeling pretty good about it
3:58
It's important to show that even if you have a disability, that doesn't stop you from being able to achieve incredible things
4:04
My attitude towards life today, I would say, has a profound sense of purpose and gratitude
4:10
I'm very grateful for my friends and my family and the opportunities I've been given in life
4:14
It feels amazing being back in the pool, just to get our friends around you for support
4:20
It's really fantastic and it's great to finally have the confidence to come out here and do
4:24
this again. It really illustrates the amount of sort of progress, the amount of strength I have now
4:30
and how much more confident I am now. The journey that I've been on has had many highs and lows but the place I'm at now is
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really a phenomenally positive space. So it's really been a story of progress and improvement
4:46
And I can say that I'm in a really good place now
4:50
Perhaps the best place I've been in a really long time
