How one man got his life back through OT

Rhys Gray is a T9 complete paraplegic who credits a host of amazing occupational therapists and a vehicle modification specialist with getting him back to 90 per cent of his pre-injury life.

“I had my accident on 5 September 2016: I fell off a truck at work,” he said. “The impact of that has definitely been pretty catastrophic. Hard on the person and on the whole family.

“I have four daughters and a son, and when I had my accident, my eight-yearold daughter at the time was really upset because we do a lot of camping, fishing and shooting, and all that fun stuff. She thought that was it for us. That was the driver for me to get back out and do the things that I love to do. So I spent a lot of time trying to find occupational therapists who were as committed to my goals as I was.”

Emma Edwards

Life transformed

Through his work with Tom Ely, Angela Rankin, Susan Lett and Ryan Waterman, Rhys says his life has been transformed.

“I’ve got a Zoom wheelchair for the beach and snow, and I’m getting solar actuator gates on my farm to allow access without excessive transfers. I’ve got custom wheelchairs that have made a huge difference to my pain, and a custom bed – as I’m 6’1” and the standard mechanical beds don’t bend in the right position, which also affects pressure on my skin. Then there’s my kitchen which has lifts for the bench tops and the overhead cupboards.

Versatility of equipment enables Rhys to get back to his passion.

Rhys’ custom ute includes a crane on the back, lifts in the doors and hand controls.

“That’s just a sample of what they’ve done for me. I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with such great people.”

But, given his lifestyle, Rhys says getting back into a 4WD was “huge”. “I said to Ryan from Independence Automotive: ‘I need to be able to drive into the middle of the river and throw my chair out – then the dogs can swim, the kids can play, and my wife can drive the car out of the river. And that’s me back to normal.’

Rhys has had multiple trips through the Victorian High Country and Wonnangatta Cattle Station.

Everyone always looked at me a bit strangely when I said that. But that’s what I like to do.

“I had a brand-new ute dropped off with Ryan and he did all the modifications that I had approved through the Transport Accident Commission: the tray, lifts in the doors and hand controls.

Versatility of equipment

“Then he put a quick lift crane on the back of the ute that lifts 500 kilos. So that’s amazing for me because I work in the building industry. If I want to pick up something, well, I can’t just throw it in my ute anymore, but I can hook the crane up to it and put it on the back. The versatility of this equipment is just huge.

“Since then, I’ve done multiple trips through all the Victorian High Country and Wonnangatta Cattle Station. The car is very capable, whether I need to go down to the creek or up a mountain into the snow or the desert – possibly even going to pick up the groceries. The car will do it all.

“It’s life-changing for someone in my situation. It’s massive, actually. It gets me back to 90 per cent of what I used to do, to be honest. Everything I did before my accident I’ve done since my accident.

“Now you’ll find me in places that people in wheelchairs probably really shouldn’t go.”

For Ryan Waterman, from Independence Automotive, being able to help people get back on the road is hugely rewarding. “I’ve always worked in the vehicle modification industry, but with imports,” he said.

“Then one day someone asked me to help with an accessibility modification. They were thrilled and told someone else, who told someone else, and here we are.

“As the parent of a child with cerebral palsy, I know what that independence means and the importance of having things as easy to use as possible for each person. Working with occupational therapists and thinking outside the box – it’s life-changing work.”

“Now you’ll find me in places that people in wheelchairs probably really shouldn’t go.”