The next stage - pursuing passions and flying the nest

Anna-Marie 0:10

Music, Hello, welcome to spine cares, 40 voices for 40 years podcast, a podcast about childhood acquired spinal cord injury and dysfunction, produced by 2SER radio on behalf of SpineCare Foundation, we'll have families join us to swap tips and share their experiences on plenty of topics. I'm the executive producer for this podcast series, Anne Marie Reyes at the community radio station 2SER 107.3 FM. The title of this podcast episode is The Next Stage - pursuing passions and flying the nest.

Jarrod 0:49

I absolutely adore basketball. I love wheelchair basketball. I love able bodied basketball as well. But I just find that wheelchair basketball is just far more entertaining the way we need to strategize to move is so much more entertaining because we can't move laterally. It is a more thinking game, and that is why we have all the athletes that have stuck around, because it doesn't matter how quick they are, because it doesn't matter how quick you get from A to B, if you don't know where b is, but they're just smart, and I really like that aspect of it. In life, we are always seen as less able than everyone else, but on court, we're all the same. We're on court, we have the same opportunities, we have the same skills, and we can all do brilliant things and have a lot of fun.

Dean 1:35

Quite interested in the idea of music and timber work at the same time. So I found out that there was a workshop local that's 10 minutes away from where I live now. They run classes for people to go to, and they can just let you show up, and whatever level of experience you have with doing like woodwork, sessions of four hours to actually build my first instrument, I've had this like mindset where I didn't really believe in myself for a long time and didn't trust my ability to actually do a lot of the things that I was doing there, but I was put into a position where you just had to do it. So you had to just push through and learn a lot of new skills and stuff.

Anna-Marie 2:20

And you just heard their voices, of Jarrod Emeny and Dean Pan, each sharing their journeys on how they ignite their passions, navigating their futures, who are living with spinal cord injury. Before that, though, you'll hear first from Chad Graham. Chad is widely regarded as a trailblazer and local hero, as the founder of role 101 a charity dedicated to supporting young people affected by chronic or terminal illnesses and catastrophic injuries, he undertook an incredible journey driving an adapted off road buggy 4800 kilometers from Kalgoorlie To Coba to raise funds for his course, and here he speaks to radio 2SER audio producer Oscar Burns about how he continues to ignite his passion for doing things that he loves. 

Oscar  3:12

Joining us now on the podcast is Chad, a very warm welcome to you. Just to kick things off, mate, can you share with the listeners, little bit about yourself. Introduce yourself. What a you know? What makes you tick? What do you love?

Chad

Yeah. Well, my name is Chad Graham. I'm 31 years old, and I'm a c6 quadriplegic. Yeah, I just like playing with my wheelchair rugby. I drive my off road buggy and just yeah, getting out and about with my friends and having a good time.

Oscar 1 3:42

Cool. And you mentioned that to your injury, it's been 15 years, and I think it's very fair to say you've done some pretty, pretty phenomenal things in that time. One of those things: your big off-road buggy ride from Calgary to [?Crewe] Cobar, where you raised money for people who were struggling in the time before the NDIS. And you played wheelchair rugby, for sure, for Australia. You mentioned rugby there over in the US, amongst some other things, can you tell us a bit about your early journey, and maybe some pearls of wisdom for the listener, dealing with the whole injury?

Chad 4:18

It's, you know, it's a very big learning curve. You adapt to the situation that you're in. You're always adapting and learning something and progressing to, you know, become better and learn as much as possible, really.

Oscar  4:37

And throughout that whole process, you know, obviously, do a lot of it on your own, but how, how important was it having your parents there to support you and you know, how do they help you along that journey?

Chad 4:49

Yeah, well, my parents have been a massive help to me to be able to adapt things that I need or make things that I need to be able to. To, you know, do go to the gym and or try and play sports like tennis or or, you know, sometimes rugby as well, or train at the gym, my CrossFit gym, when I do adaptive CrossFit. So there's many things as and much, much more like there's, I could honestly go on for a very long time talking about the things that my parents have done for me, and yeah, I'm very grateful for that.

Oscar 1 5:30

How important are those outlets for you day to day, just in terms of, you know, dealing with your emotions and just exerting those daily emotions and, you know, perhaps frustrations at times?

Chad 5:41

Yeah, every sport or activity that I do just gives me, gives me that little, little bit of adrenaline rush and tick that you know, like rugby is, is very it's a high contact sport. It's, it's really intense and keeps your mind thinking. But then you've got my buggy, which it's just like driving a car, then going out hunting and things like that. So so it's all. Everything has its little reasons, yeah, and things that get things that get me to tick. And that's, you know, that's everybody. Everybody has their own thing. And that means, yeah, you've got your own thing that makes you feel good, and there's no stopping you from for being able to make it happen. 

Oscar 1 6:37

How do you overcome perhaps, some of the barriers that might might arise?

Chad 6:42

Yeah, so, like, the gym is one of the main ones that I've had to get things modified for me to be able to do because my quadriplegia, I haven't been able to I've got no hand function. Makes things a bit hard for me to be able to grip things that are in the gym. So I, you know, I've I had to adapt a get my dad to build me like a little hook. So then I was able to put my hand around, like the hook around certain things. So then I can do, like, pulls and all that type of stuff. So Jim, and then also my buggy, my dad helped modify my buggy. 

And then for hunting, just my the gun that I use is very basic, so that's really easy. I haven't had to modify that. It's really just my buggy that I've had to have modified, obviously, because it's just like a car. So it's a UTV and then things for the gym. 

Oscar 1 7:48

Looking forward Chad like to the future... you love your activities and getting out and about. Where do you see your passions shifting? Is there anything lately that you've kind of, you know, started diverting a lot of your attention towards lately?

Chad 7:59

My... a lot of my attention has been focused on rugby for a very long time and having little goals and progressing in the right direction for that. But mainly I just have really been enjoying my CrossFit adaptive training and being amongst that sport which is so big, what has become so big, and it's been able to progress in the right direction. So that's probably the best thing that I'm really enjoying at the moment, is my training and mixing it up, and also mixing up with my trainer, to be able to come up with different ways and cool ideas to be able to adapt each workout, whether I'm in my rugby chair doing pushing with some other movements, or whether I'm just still in my rugby chair, but just doing different types of movements where I may not be pushing. 

So like adapt, I am able to skip, but I use instead of like a normal skipping rope, I've just cut a skipping rope in half.

Oscar 1 9:07

Chad, got to say a big thanks for joining the SpineCare 40 Voices, 40 Years podcast. Appreciate it, man. 

Chad 9:14

No, no, {it's real], thanks for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Anna-Marie 9:22

You just heard there from Chad Graham speaking to radio 2SER's audio producer Oscar Burns. Chad enjoys spending time with his friends, hunting, fishing and pursuing his passion for sports. As an accomplished athlete, he represented both New South Wales and Australia at the highest level in wheelchair rugby, a former BMX and motocross state competitor Chad's journey took a turn when he sustained a c6 spinal cord injury in a training accident at age 16. 

And to hear more about journeys of navigating past threats to fulfillment following a spinal cord injury, we also hear from Dean Pan. Dean Pan is a creative high school teacher who reflects on how his love for music and woodworking led him to craft beautiful guitars. He emphasises the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone, building connections and embracing spontaneity to uncover true passions. And here he speaks to radio 2SER audio producer Oscar Burns about how he continues doing things that he loves. 

Oscar 1 10:32

We're fortunate enough to be joined on the podcast now by Dean Pan. Welcome to the pod. Dean, just to start things off, tell us a bit about yourself and maybe a bit about your passions and loves in life.

Dean 10:45

Yeah, my name is Dean. I There's a lot of things that I do in life. I'm a high school teacher. I've been doing that for not super long, but I just finished my degree doing that. I worked in peer support at spinal cord injuries Australia, and I also build guitars on the side. Was a hobby. I'm an active member of church, so I love youth-leading and looking after people there. And, yeah, it just, I'm always doing something. So that's a little bit about me. 

Oscar 1 11:13

Do you want to just tell us a bit about your spinal cord injury and your journey to where you are now in life?

Dean 11:19

Yes, it was actually on St Patrick's Day, 2012 I dived into a creek, and I hit the bottom of the water, and it was like, it wasn't even, like, shallow, it was deep water. But I went straight to the bottom, and I hit my head, then I heard, like, a big crack noise, and I was like, I couldn't see under the water because it was so dark, I couldn't move below the neck, and it just was, like, very apparent to me that, yeah, I could die. I floated to the surface and I was face down. I was really lucky to have friends with me and my brother who flipped me over and was like, something's wrong. And I was like, I can't move my arms and legs, I feel like I was about to drown just then. 

And yeah, just Yeah. It turned out that I'd actually broken my C456, vertebrae in my spinal cord, which is high up in the neck region. And yeah, I spent months in hospital, and it was just like a long time of lots of exercise, like I was still going doing, like, Hospital School and, yeah, it was just, it was, I think maybe about seven months or something in hospital.

Oscar 1 12:27

Seven months is an extremely long time. What helped you get through that period?

Dean 12:31

To be honest, I think, like looking back, I'm not really sure. I think it was just, I might have been either, like, numb to the pain, just shocked by everything that happened, but tried to keep a positive attitude also, like, I had a lot of people around me that were quite helpful, because they were very positive in supporting me and doing a lot of those things. Yeah, a lot of the staff there were really helpful because they were always there, and it was like something I could rely on during that time, like whether it was the nurses or the physios or whoever else. There were a lot of people that were really helpful for me during that time. 

Oscar 1 13:10

Yeah, it sounds like you had a great support network and the right people around you during that period. And yeah, you mentioned before your guitar classes. It's a regular local community class. How did you go starting out with that? And how did that all come about? 

Dean 13:25

Yeah, so I did work in high school, and I was quite interested in the idea of music and timber work at the same time. So I just was like, Oh, I wonder if I could make a guitar. And then my teacher said, it's probably too complicated, so we just won't do that. So I just couldn't do that during high school, but I found out that there was a workshop local that's 10 minutes away from where I live now, and they run classes for people to run. They run classes for people to go to and they can just let you show up, and whatever level of experience you have with doing like woodwork, like you can just give it a crack. 

And then it took me about, I don't know, maybe 30 something sessions or four hours to actually build my first instrument. And yeah, so I don't really know exactly what prompted me to do it, but it was just like a series of events that led to that.

Oscar  14:22

Great, and you found a few unexpected benefits along the way. 

Dean 14:27

I'm only just discovering this more recently, but I've had this like mindset where I didn't really believe in myself for a long time and didn't trust my ability to actually do a lot of the things that I was doing there, but I was put into a position where you just had to do it, so you had to just push through and learn a lot of new skills and stuff. So what I did mention earlier is that even though that I use a wheelchair and then I have such a high level injury, I actually am only paralysed down one side of my body, and that side of my body isn't actually paralysed. 

So I can stand, I can walk around, but very limited in that area, so I can only do really short distances, but like, it was a small workshop, and a lot of the things that I had to do, I'd have to do it left handed, because that's my only my non-paralysed, and had to transition from doing right handed stuff to left handed stuff. A lot of the different tools that I'd be using, I have to think through the safest and most beneficial way to actually use them while building guitars and stuff like that.

Oscar  15:32

It sounds like it was a strengthening experience.

Dean 15:35

And, yeah, definitely, yeah. And back to the mindset thing. It's like, because I was forced to do a lot of those things that I couldn't even imagine myself doing. Maybe when I first had my injury years down the track, it was like, it's crazy to see that I was able to pull off a lot of those things. And a lot of it, I found, is not necessarily the physical aspect of doing it, but your brain and learning how to do those skills. So way more important than focusing on what you can't do because you're physically not able. You'll find a way to do that, but you've got to get through that mental barrier first. 

Oscar  16:09

What are your thoughts on people bonding with others who have experienced a catastrophic injury like spinal cord damage? Do you think there are any risks or things to be aware of?

Dean 16:21

Yeah. So the like heaps. Common for me is when I just am randomly having any, literally any interaction with anyone. The same kind of conversation comes up. An example is I'm going up a ramp, and I'm not going very fast, so someone steps in to help, and I'm more than happy for that to happen. Some people aren't, but I'm more than happy to accept help. That's fine. And then they just say, once we get to the top of the rant, they start a conversation. Say, Oh, my uncle was in a wheelchair, or My brother had to be in a wheelchair for in hospital for about six months because he broke his leg, or, like it's... 

And what I realised is that it's actually like a trauma bonding experience that I've I'm more than happy for people to talk to me about people that they have had experience with who have had some sort of disability or wheelchair use or something, or even had a spinal injury themselves. You can't rely on other people who have a similar disability to you to bond, you need to actually just get into the community and just find other people that don't share that kind of trauma. You're not friends with your family, like your uncle or aunt or your parents or something, just because they've gone through something with you, but because they actually care about you. 

So I've got a lot of people that I know that have a similar experience in terms of having a spinal cord injury, but I don't bond it with them because of that, but because they're actually just another person, and I care about them. 

Oscar  17:53

Thinking back to your 14 year old self, you've learned some pretty, it's fair to say, some pretty profound things in the last decade - what would you want to tell that bloke and others in a similar situation?

Dean 18:05

It is a really challenging thing to know what to say, because I am like what? I'm 25 now, so I'm just shy of 11, four years till then. So if you do the maths on that, but I think the main thing is that life goes on, and the pain that I experienced as a 14 year old, it was only temporary. And whilst that there are detrimental long term things that happen during that time, I needed to actually look for empathy from others in a helpful way. I think also, another thing is that if I was speaking to someone who might be that 14 year old person that was like me, I felt like the routine that I had at home was so consistent and so normal, I could always come back home. 

But it gets to the stage where you've actually you feel so safe at home or in your routine or whatever, that you forget to be spontaneous. And the reason why I say that is because it is quite common to actually just get so used to that that it becomes more anxiety inducing when you go out to the shops, yeah, and do something you haven't done before. Not saying you don't go to the shops, but like sometimes you just got to get out there and get out in the open and do things that you wouldn't normally do, and that takes conscious effort. 

It's something that I personally, right now find sometimes it's really hard to do that because it is an obstacle to live in a wheelchair and have to pick that up and put it in the car. It takes me another few more minutes to get in the car compared to an average person, or even to just go out. But that's not I don't think that's a good enough excuse for me to still look after myself and make sure I'm getting out there and stuff like that. 

Oscar  19:47

Have many like positives come out of you putting yourself outside that comfort zone in terms of meeting new people? I think it's fair to say just going out and doing more things you're like, going to form new connections. And various other great things are going to develop in your life.

Dean 20:02

Yeah, I think another thing, just to add to that is like, on the people thing, like, you need to be surrounded by people that, yeah, are supporting you and are like, there to encourage you and to be there when you go through not just difficult things, but really great things, and celebrate with you, because it's so important for us as social mammal creatures to be alongside other people. There's a lot of people that I had. I felt like I had at that age group, like one of the big things was like my local church was really helpful for me, because they just, like really gave me so much time. I had a youth leader there that was really helpful. I can always go back to that person and speak to that person every single week and just tell talk to them how I'm going. 

So I encourage people to make sure that they are actually finding people in the community that they can rely on to be looked after and also celebrate those wins as you go through life. 

Oscar  21:03

Yeah, those connections are so crucial. Dean, got to say a big thanks for joining the podcast today.

Dean 21:09

Thank you for having me.

Anna-Marie 21:14

You just heard from Dean Pan there speaking to radio to SER's audio producer Oscar Burns. Dean is an accomplished specialist high school teacher in technology applied studies. He has a strong commitment to inclusive education and facilitating his students to reach their academic potential while building resilience along the way. 

And now over to our final guest, Jarrod Emeny. Jarrod is a highly driven University Scholar, international athlete, stand up, comedian and motivational speaker. He graduated with high distinction in business from University of Wollongong and is currently pursuing post graduate education while proudly playing us college wheelchair basketball under a scholarship at University of Illinois. He shares practical insights on moving out of home and the art of traveling, reminding us that not every opportunity is right at our doorstep. He offers valuable advice on the discipline and sacrifice necessary to take risks and fully pursue your passions. 

So you left home at a pretty young age, coming from regional New South Wales, choosing a university that was four hours away from home on the coast. Can you share with us the steps you took to set yourself up for the first time out of home? 

Jarrod 22:37

So yeah, I chose wool and gone because I got in there for early entry, and that was a very easy move from high school, and I didn't have to do much. There wasn't much applying I had to do. And also, with my injury being in year 11, I had to reduce my workload, do less subjects, so I was able to finish with only nine units out of the 10 required for an ATAR. So no ATAR. So it helps that UAW had already offered me even though I didn't have an ATAR. And the move was pretty, pretty handy, actually, that my mum and dad, they they run their own business, so they were able to help me quite a bit. And we just travelled down with a car full of stuff and a trailer and moved all into my first apartment. 

I was able to have a quick look at the university accommodation on an open day, which I highly recommend doing, just prepares you a little bit get the lay of the land before you move there. So I was able to see you had accessible rooms. And that was really handy. Well, that was before I even committed for UAW. And after that, I moved in, I booked rooms. It said accessible. And when I moved in, I didn't even think about asking for extra help. But as soon as I got to the front desk, they'd offered a couple student leaders to come and give me a hand to move all my stuff in and organise it all. My mum was really great that she was able to help me move everything into my apartment and make sure it was really accessible for me. 

And then really it was very easy living. I moved a bed in there. I decided to go for a king single mattress instead of a the double that was in there, just because it made a little bit more room of the small apartment I was in, and it just made it a little bit more accessible for myself. And really, it was pretty easy. I learned a few things here and there when I was there, keeping things closer to the shower so it didn't have to get out while I was wet, like hooking towels near the shower, which was really handy. Simple routines, like putting all your bowel routine stuff near the toilet, getting a little cabinet there, put it there. But yeah, that was a really easy move. And then it was just getting used to being alone. 

Anna-Marie 24:22

Really great tips. Now, a few years down the track, you're a seasoned mover. You've been on campus, uni accommodation, share house with mates, and now a granny flat of one of your highly regarded mentors. How did you navigate those different spaces, and what tricks did you learn along the way?

Jarrod 24:41

I have to say, the share house was definitely the most difficult. That took a lot of patience, and it took a lot of seeing all the positives instead of focusing on the negatives. I had to do some dodgy ramps up through the back in the side of a hill. So that was really difficult. I ended up using a I'm. Motor device at bay tech. They're called to get up the hill to save my shoulders, and we put a conveyor belt over the grass, and dad put my some ramps together to attach a patio that was on a level to the back deck, and two ramps there. Got that together really well, small bathrooms that was difficult, for sure. Getting used to that was hard. 

I was really lucky that the landlord didn't mind too much that we moved a few things around. We took the shower screen out, we put a shower bench in there, and made that pretty, pretty good with a shower curtain and that I could move around a little better, also gave me more room to the toilet. I then removed commodes. At that point I'd already moved off the commode completely, but I went to toilet pads just because I was sharing with mates. So it was much better to move it on and off, and not have to worry about having a commode in the bathroom and or the travel commode, and then again, little adjustments, being able to put your towel near the bathroom where you can reach it, and being able to put your chair in a certain direction and whatever. And made that pretty good. 

But it was definitely some of the best years of my life. Just because I was living with my best mates, I'd started school with one of them, and my other one had, I've been to school with him, been best friends for 10 years. So that was really fun, and it was a great time.

Anna-Marie 26:09

Any tips when travelling? 

Jarad 26:12

Travelling? Yeah, so with my basketball career was I've done a lot of travelling. I've moved all traveled all around Australia and also over to Thailand as well. And it was fast, because I was moving into it very quickly. I was only a year or two in a year post injury before I was flying off for a basketball camp, and that was difficult. I think travelling with friends was a really good way of doing it. Travelling with a teammate, team, teammates was good because you weren't the the single one out and everyone was already at the airport? They were prepared for it. There's someone else organising the wheelchair pickups and the wheelchair check ins like someone's doing that, our manager of the team. 

But really it's just it's been patient, making sure that you have extra medical supplies in your bag. That's a big one. In case you don't get your bag in time or on the plane. If you've got a long flight, like Perth, normally, you can time yourself before to restrict your water intake so you don't have to go to the toilet. Because, obviously, we can't get to the toilet. They don't have an oil chair on the plane. So really, if it, if, if you can, you just restrict your water for a couple hours between before, and then go just before you get on the plane. And then you'll be able to go as soon as you're off the plane, you'll be the first one to get on, which is very strange, but very cool. You get you go down to you take your wheelchair down to the gate. Always take your wheelchair to the gate. Don't let them take it anywhere else. 

And then you get into the [?oil] chair. They load you up, and then they'll take your chair. And then on the way out, you'll be the last one to get off, which is a bit annoying, but you just stay patient, and they will bring your chair straight up to the gate of the plane. There's sometimes people have told me that they don't do that, but they most definitely do. I've flown every time, and they've done it every time, and you you if you need to, you can just refuse to get off the plane until you bring in your wheelchair. Do not feel bad about that at all. It's their job, and it's that you're getting treated differently if they said that way. So you just demand the common decency.

Anna-Marie 28:01

So with... healthy eating would be pretty important for a sports person on a busy uni schedule, for example. Give us your hot tips on your favourite cooking method and meal preparations.

Jarrod 28:11

My hot tip would definitely be an air fryer. Obviously, with a with an oven, they're very difficult to move hot trays in and out, and you're putting hot stuff over your lap, and that becomes with risks. And I got a four in one air fryer, which is pretty much a small oven, but it's just so much more accessible at hot up here, so it's not down below, and it just makes it so much easier for us. And then I would also say doing a meal prep is a really good idea. You can cook big batches at once, and you don't have to go through the effort of cooking things. 

So yeah, as he said, with the schedule, I needed something I could just throw in the microwave, heat up and get at it. So I did a meal prep Sunday. So I just cook up a whole lot of chicken, a whole lot of rice or pasta, and I would put them all together and have them in set meals, some in the freezer, some in the fridge. And that was what I would do. And just microwaving things is so much easier with the meal prep a barbecue. Cook up is really handy. Using a barbecue is much easier than being inside in a kitchen. 

And then also with my insurance company, they provide cleaners as well. So when I do my big meal prep, I would do it the day before the cleaners come, so the cleaners could help me out cleaning the heavy things. So if I ever did a slow cooker that was really difficult, it was really difficult to move around, also just being like, just being like, just being open to asking for a little bit of help. And my mates were always really handy that if I ever had something heavy and hot, or straining rice or straining hot pasta, they would happily do that for me, just because it's a bit easier than for me.

Anna-Marie 29:32

me. This one's not exclusively for living out of home, but having the right wheelchair and set up exactly as you need it, because that seems to have been pivotal for your independence and knowing that you can handle a range of situations, no matter where you choose to live. What advice would you give to others in equipment and maintenance, understanding your equipment and knowing what decisions you make about your equipment, how it affects you? 

Jarrod

So I'm always asking if I change the. Space being wider or thinner. What is that going to change? And for me, it was I needed. I needed a chair that was very tight and was able to move around in small spaces because of the share house and also traveling, I was in small hotel rooms and small bathrooms, so I needed a tight chair. And by moving your wheels in, you are tipia, but you can turn around better. And then keeping your wheels in, your little casters at the front you bring them in, it does make you a little bit more prone to falling out. And especially me, being a T7 I don't have much core control, so I will fall out quite often. But knowing that my chair is not too high, to get back in it is quite hard, but I'm able to get back into it very easily. 

Living in the share house, I also going up that dodgy backyard, I fell out a lot of times, and it took a lot of practice to be able to get back in. But really, I would have to say that from a young age, I was on a farm, so I was constantly breaking things and putting things back together. So I was very prone to pulling my ball chair apart, pulling my day chair apart, and putting it in and making sure it's working well, making sure the casters are running well, because if you have dodgy casters, your push goes weird. You start turning off to the side. It's wasted energy. It just it takes up your time and it frustrates you. Shouldn't have to be worried about your chair being able to run properly. It should just work.

Anna-Marie 31:15

Can you go towards your mates or people around you that can understand how you work with your equipment?

Jarrod 31:22

Yeah, definitely, I am. I definitely learned the understanding from my equipment, from a lot of the guys in basketball and other guys that are in wheelchairs. And we trade trade knowledge is the best, better way of saying it. We teach each other a lot, and we find new equipment, and we're constantly sharing different stuff that could help out all of us. Even just before we sat down, I told my man about some backpacks that I was using that fit on the back of a chair without handles, the handles that go around your shoulders. We can't use those, so there's actually bags with loops that go into your backrest, and it's just so much better. And he didn't even know that existed, and I've had them for years, and I didn't even think about saying that, because I just thought assumed. 

But there's little things that we find and and we are able to share, to show you how to make things a little bit easier or making things a little bit more comfortable. And when they see me the way I work with my equipment, even my able bodied guys like I need to understand my equipment well, and I need to know that it's working well, just because it makes life so much easier.

Anna-Marie 32:17

Okay, so I'm going to jump now into school sport and sports in general, because this is very important cast as well to do with sports, and you're very involved, I think, in rugby basketball. He even represented Australia at the year 23 World Championships. And now you're also embarking on a US college career for basketball. So can you tell us a little bit about that? Talk us through your journey.

Jarrod 32:43

So it began really in rehab. I was aware of the sport before that, before even my injury, I was really lucky that I actually met some very well renowned wheelchair basketball players before I was even a wheelchair, and already had met them and understood how successful they were. And when I was put into a chair, it was instantly I saw my mentor in a hospital. He said, Oh, yep, you're a one. Oh yeah, we'll get you in chat. It's a good time. You've got a world above you. You've got all these opportunities now coming up. If you want to work hard, you can achieve those things. And that was really handy for me, because it was like, the whole time I was sitting in hospital, I was thinking, I can't wait to get out and play basketball and to travel the world. I went to Illinois, the same college I've just committed to, and to know that opportunity was on the horizon was I was always looking forward. 

And that helped a lot to get over today, because today it doesn't matter. It's tomorrow that matters. And that helped me get through the all of all of basketball. And so when I went into rehab, I was constantly asking to get in a ball chair. I had a skier, peer support, lovely lady named Jess Hellow, who was able to be my first coach, and she took me out in a chair. And I got a sports chair from wheelchair sports, New South Wales, and I was in it every day. I was pestering Everyone, please, can I can we just get outside? Can I push? I'm sick of sitting in this room. I don't want to play any more video games. I want to go move my body. I want to lose weight. I want to be more independent. And it went independence went alongside with basketball as well, just because I was able to do more, the better I got a basketball, the more able I got. I lost more weight, which made it easy. 

So after that, I headed home. I was lucky. I was able to get a sports chair from the wheelchair sports New South Wales Mount Druitt location, they had a chair that I was able to borrow, which normally is pretty common, that they'll lend you out a chair until you can get one of your own. And I went back home and there was no one. There was no one in chairs. I was in the middle of the country. I just trained by myself. I woke up every morning, at 530 in the morning, got ready and jumped in the car, drove to school and used my key that they'd given me to get into the court, and I just pushed back and forth run drills, just push, try and get the weight off me, just so I could get a little bit better practice my shooting.

I was definitely not any anywhere near good, but I was able to get in New South Wales team, and that was 2019 and that was my first ever trip, April 2019, so not even a year post my accident, actually. And that was a very difficult travel, but I'd caught the bug, and I just wanted more of it, and I just pushed and pushed. Went to as many which air Sports New South Wales days in the circuit. So they had put on days like the slam down under here in Wollongong, or just different Saturday training sessions with at Mount Druitt, with Josh Mioli, and they were incredible, because it was you're around other people, and all the work that you do by yourself, it shows on those weekends, and as soon as you get the chance to play, it's great. 

And then it was a Christmas camp. I met someone named Arno Okonen, and I'd mentioned that I was going to UAW. And he said, Oh, have you reached out to the Roller Hawks yet? And I was like, Oh, no, I haven't. Actually, I know of them because of my mentor used to play for them. And then I was actually reminded that I actually already met a couple of them. When I was 15 years old, I was at a 40th birthday party for the ones I'd mentioned before, Grant and Jenna, my sons. They had invited these guys. And I remembered there was these guys missing legs, and there was another guy in a chair that when an NFL ball came over to them, they threw this ball. And I've never seen a ball go further in my life. It just rocketed off. 

And I remember thing, gosh, these guys got no legs, but gosh, they're so jacked. They're so strong, like, what? And they're like, this is good looking. Is that a weird way of saying it, but they were very, very cool individuals, and I didn't spend much time with them. I was looking after their kids at the time, but as soon as I went to one of those training sessions, I was surrounded by all these really cool dudes, like all these really awesome men that really could hope I was not very good at that stage. And slowly and surely, I was training more and more with them, and then signing with [?N Swiss], I was able to train every session, every morning session with them. So we were on court at seven or 630 in the morning until eight or nine o'clock, and that was pretty much every morning. And then we'd have two hours of just playing each other in Tuesdays and Thursdays. And that was great. 

And that naturally doing as many hours as I was doing, it led to more opportunities, playing with New South Wales, more playing in the National League. COVID killed it a little bit, but it actually gave me a really good chance to catch up with everyone. I was a lot later to the sport than the guys in my under 20 threes rotation. 

Anna-Marie 37:10

So you mentioned also that in sport, being involved in it is so much more than amazing competition and training. How else does it enrich your life? 

Jarrod 37:19

As I said, like the hanging out with people I've met incredible people in my life that have been able to really impact me on and off the court, being able to learn things that I never would have learned, the traveling, the surviving really difficult lows after the World Championship tour, I lost my dog, and that was really difficult, and being able to come back to the sport showed me that I can survive those really difficult times. And the opportunity to travel, as we had mentioned before, I was able to travel all around Australia, and then also with the under 23 Australian team, I got to go to Thailand, and that was a huge experience. It was really entertaining.

Anna-Marie 37:52

Are there any drawbacks at all? 

Jarrod 37:56

Yeah, definitely. The load we put through our bodies, you have to be very cautious. The amount of time I put on my skin and on my back, it causes more pain, and I have to be more careful. I have to do more work to keep my body moving. And then also the change and the opportunities, they always come at a cost. As I mentioned, the World Championships when I went over there, my dog wasn't in the best state, and I knew he was having small fits, and I said, please be careful with him. And when I went over there, I had to put that to the back of my mind, because there was bigger things at key. And when I found out on the last day of tour that that my dog had passed, it was it was difficult not to see that World Championship opportunity as a cost of never getting to see my dog again, and he was young. It wasn't expected in by any means, and that was really difficult. 

And now moving to the other side of the world, I'm moving to America, and the time change is going to be really difficult. I'm not going to be able to call my mom whenever I have a decision I need help with. It's going to be a little bit harder, and traveling with all of my stuff over there, and whole new friend groups, whole new support crew like it's going to be hard, it's a never ending adventure.

Anna-Marie 39:01  

So thinking about kids and families, especially regional areas where there might be another kid in town with a spinal cord injury, whether they're a walker or a wheelchair user, are you able to talk us through your experience with mainstream sports that are modified versus specific sports for people with disability?

Jarrod 39:21

In our conversation about this, the other day, I raised that I don't really appreciate when people with disabilities are given extra, extra sort of thoughts in a sport, or they've been, they get celebrated for doing a small thing, like it's it doesn't quite sit right with me. I like it when everyone is on a level playing field. I don't like it when someone is held above or given special things. I want to be competitive. I don't want to be clapped for making one basket out of everyone and they're all giving me heaps of room to shoot. I want it to be competitive, and that comes very difficult when you're not other people in chairs. 

So I would say basketball, you can't play like true basketball with only one person in a chair. But what you can do is, you can do shooting games. I do a lot of we call it Seven Up, and it's a free throw game. And you everyone searching online, but different things, like horse, where it's like, where you set a shot, and if they miss it, you get, they get a letter. And doing those sort of shooting games is a lot of fun with friends. And then tennis is another really good one, because you can make it very accessible to have an able bodied person and a person in a wheelchair. The Able bodied person has to be a little bit better to not absolutely smack the ball away. But really, the only difference is the person in a wheelchair has two bounces to hit the ball and the able bodied has one. 

And that can be really fun, and you can do a lot of training with that. You can do training with coaches and stuff like that. And that can be very competitive. But with basketball, I find, yeah, shooting games and stuff like that, it's a little bit funner. You can also have other guys in chairs. If you're new to being in a chair, you can put them in your day chair, but that's a little bit dangerous. But really, for the regional guys, you just need to travel. Unfortunately, that's the only way you're going to get more trips. Wheelchair Sports, New South Wales, you keep an eye out on them. You talk to people. There is, hey, we want to play this sport. Where can we be? And they will find somewhere. 

And basketball is a massive thing. There's with they've helped run the Waratah League. So that's rounds and rounds of basketball, and that has been so brilliant for all these regional kids that didn't have the opportunity to move like I did. They've they're sticking around home, but they can still get their reps in, and they can still play the game they love. 

Anna-Marie 41:24

Do you have a preference for specific sports, or more mainstream ones?

Jarad 41:28

Oh, definitely it's only basketball in my world, I absolutely adore basketball. I love wheelchair basketball. I love able bodied basketball as well, but I just find that wheelchair basketball is just far more entertaining. The way we need to strategise to move is so much more entertaining because we can't move laterally. It is a more thinking game, and that is why we have all the athletes that have stuck around, because it doesn't matter how quick they are, because it doesn't matter how quick you get from A to B if you don't know where b is, so you can get there quickly, but you don't know where the right spot is. So you find guys that are actually look really quick, but really they're slow, but they're just smart. And I really like that aspect of it.

Anna-Marie 42:09

How did you go about finding other sports, for example, or recreational activities if you were interested in it?

Jarrod 42:17

So I was a very outdoorsy kid I wanted. I was always outside. I was always doing activities my body. And that has helped, that that mindset has helped, because my mates are also all the same. We've always wanted to go full driving. Was wanted to go do like, different trips, and that has always been really fun going camping. And I actually was really lucky that the dad, he grew up on the river in Sydney, and he was always into boating, and instantly we realized it was that was something that I could do. I could be in a teeny because I don't need to use my feet. 

So I bought a tinny, I put a big 15 horsepower on the back of it, and I go river rating, we call it so flying down rivers on our tinny. And I had so much fun doing that. And over the last couple months, I've got out probably a couple times a week, and that has been great. All it took was a chair we bought from BCF and mounting that in. And I have my mates come with me, because they love it as well. And I'm always the one driving. They come along and they have a great time. They swing off rope swings, and I go down the river and I tow them on boogie boards, and we just have the best time. We go fishing. Fishing is also very fun. 

And then another one, if you're a country kid, go to a shooting range. Rifle shooting is something that's really accessible to us, and bow shooting is fun, but it is a little bit more difficult balance and whatever. But rifles, it's a lot of fun. Hunting is great as well, but it's just not as easy for us. Getting around a property is difficult, but working with targets is a hell of a lot of fun. And just having an open mind to try different things and figure out how you can do it and find things that you love and stick with it. And then once you find aspects of something you like, try and see that in elsewhere. Basketball is moving my chair and I now love pushing along the beach and stuff like that.

Anna-Marie 43:57

Any tips to say to a kid who's not sure about sport in a wheelchair or adaptive equipment?

Jarad 44:03

Ask lots of questions. You could be nervous about it, but really think about how much fun you can have from it, and the opportunities. I would have never gone to university and I held. I definitely wouldn't have been going over to the US on a scholarship to go play wheelchair basketball, but I was, I've been able to have new opportunities in life that I never thought I was going to going to be able to have, and that's all because of basketball. And it's not a chore to me. It is something that I love. I love playing. I don't love getting up at five o'clock in the morning, but it's it comes with a trade off. 

But when you are beginning the sport, just enjoy the little times. Feel capable on the court. I I don't feel anywhere as capable off the court as I do on the court. When I'm on the court, I feel so level to everyone else in in in life. We are always seen as less abled than everyone else, but on court, we're all the same. We're on court, we have the same opportunities, we have the same skills, and we. All do brilliant things and have a lot of fun.

Anna-Marie 45:03

What would be your ideal living scenario? 

Jarad 45:07

I think it's pretty similar to where I am now, to be honest, but not for myself. I think my living situation, I really want to live the life of Nick Taylor. He's a very successful man. He's a gorgeous individual. He has a great family, and he, we live in a really beautiful spot. So I actually live in the granny flat, and they've got to pull out the back. The beach is just down the road, and we can get access down there. That's super flat, which is so good. And that is that, is it the ideal situation is, yeah, having a decent house that's been put together and a beautiful family to help [?van] get home.

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Anna-Marie 45:41

And that ends the interview with Jarrod Emeny. Jarrod was originally from rural New South Wales who sustained a thoracic spinal cord injury in a serious road accident on his way to a rugby game at age 17, offering valuable advice on the discipline and sacrifice necessary to take risks and fully pursue your passions. 

Also speaking to radio 2SER's audio producer Oscar Burns, you heard from guest Chad Graham. Chad's journey took a turn when he sustained a c6 spinal cord injury in a training accident at age 16. He is widely regarded as a trailblazer and local hero, as the founder of role 101 charity dedicated to supporting young people affected by chronic or terminal illnesses and catastrophic injuries, he undertook an incredible journey driving an adapted off road buggy 4800 kilometers from Kalgoorlie to Coba to raise funds for his course. He represented both New South Wales and Australia at the highest level in wheelchair rugby, and also a former BMX and motocross state competitor. 

And finally, among the young male guests in this episode is Dean Pan, who has a long standing passion for woodwork, a cervical spinal cord injury at age 14 prompted Dean to explore innovative techniques in using his carpentry tools. His dedication to the craft led him to excel in HSC Industrial Technology timber, where he topped his class. And beyond school, went on to hand build numerous guitars as part of a community special interest group. Go to the episode descriptions online to find out more about the journeys of these three young men as they uncover recurring themes of joy fulfillment and the essential role that engaging in meaningful activities plays in overall wellbeing. 

And that ends this week's episode. You've been listening to SpineCare 40 Voices for 40 Years, produced by radio 2SER-FM. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. This series is recorded in Sydney. We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation as the traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the land. Where we record this podcast, we extend our respect to the traditional owners of the lands that you and our guests join us from. I'm Executive Producer Anna-Marie Reyes - see you in the next podcast. 

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