My journey began in 2021, when one evening at the gym I suddenly experienced a severe headache and for someone who didn’t get headaches it was noticeable. Then my face began to droop and vomited.

A lovely nurse in the class recognised that something was wrong. They called an ambulance and they took me into the Royal Women and Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. 

I had what’s called an AVM which stands for Arteriovenous Malformation. The doctors immediately performed an emergency brain surgery to release the pressure in my brain. They then put me in an induced coma for 3 days. Later I had a second surgery to to remove the AVM from my brain altogether.

If luck has anything to do with it I am one of the luckiest people on Earth. Not only did I survive my bleed and two extreme brain surgeries but I recovered and started a new exciting path in my life.

Cut to 2024, I’m back at work, I’m a Peer Leader for the STEPS Program, I’ve completed the 18km walk Kokoda Challenge and raised money for the Youth Foundation.

Every day I am learning new processes which are great for growing my neuro pathways every time I do a different activity, something I haven’t done before. I keep trying new things to push to the outer limits.

Which brings us here today to The Brain Injury Group. My vision is to create a place for people with acquired brain injury where they can regain their independence, connect, and have a purpose in life again.

As the first step, we have created a number of workshops to help people like me reintegrate into work and the community. My ultimate vision is to build a place where we offer rehabilitation, community support and social connection for people with ABI.