At a time in James’ life when he should have been thinking about having the time of his life, he had to learn how to live again.

Everything that he used to be able to do, now became a new learning experience for him. From getting dressed, to going up and down the stairs, climbing into and out of the car, on and off the toilet, even being able to get through a door into a building now takes longer than it used to.

And then there are those things James simply cannot do anymore. He cannot change a blown light bulb if it is out of reach, and it is almost impossible to take the rubbish bin out for collection.

Coping with life in a wheelchair:

The bad news was, at the time of his accident, the organisation where James had worked did not offer James alternative duties employment, so James found himself unable to go back to the job he had spent all of his adult life doing and training for. James had to learn to live and support himself again.

The good news was that James has the support of his family and friends. Whilst he could have relied on those people around him to help, James wanted to be able to live as an independent person, doing those things that he had always enjoyed doing.

But it wasn't easy.

To get over some of the frustrations that he felt, James turned to exercise. Whilst some people in James’s situation may have turned to alcohol or chemical substances to blot out the fact that their lives were not the same, James took his frustrations out on the track. And that dedication to improving his stamina and his strength, (because it takes considerable upper body strength to get around in a wheelchair) paid off and James was asked to represent his state in wheelchair athletics, winning considerable recognition, and awards in the process.

At the peak of James’ sporting career, he wore the Green and Gold for Australia, winning silver at Beijing. Not many people can boast that kind of success. Not that James would boast you understand, because you see, James would give it all back if he could just walk again. That’s not possible for James. So before you decide to take a short cut with regards to workplace occupational health and safety issues consider that the decisions James made, during a routine day, doing a routine job have changed James’ life forever.

Workplace accidents, we always think they happen to the other bloke. How wrong can we be? So think about the choices you make, then consider the consequences.