Wheelchair John

At the end of 1977, having just completed year seven at Payneham Primary School, I was looking forward to joining Marden High School.  The school had a good reputation, and it was just down the road from my home.  It wasn’t long until I faced bullying from two students, Tony and Frank.  They were much bigger than me, and mother nature delayed puberty for me, and this made me smaller and an easy target for bullies.  Their IQ levels appeared…

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I’ve been an Oils fan since the 80s after being introduced to the band by my friend Richard. During a concert at Memorial Drive in Adelaide, we lined up early and ran to get a spot at the front and centre of the stage, as this was in the days of being able to walk. During one song, Peter Garrett, jumped off stage and stuck the microphone in Richard’s face. While they were singing together, I did what I thought…

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As I drive and urinate, I make use of accessible parking and toilets.  If you are wondering if I drive and urinate at the same time, the answer is yes, as I have an indwelling catheter (just below my belly button) and drain into a leg bag.  This blog relates to my experiences with accessible parking and toilets where people are doing the wrong thing. Accessible parking The law in South Australia makes it clear that you need a disabled…

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Why travel around Australia? I have paraplegia at the T3/T4 level, which is around the level of my chest, and therefore cannot use my body below my chest level.  Combined with chronic pain, this presents many problems when it comes to travelling, and this blog is about air travel.  My favourite band, Midnight Oil, announced they were reforming and setting out on a worldwide tour including the USA, Canada, South America, Europe, UK, and Australia.  I had to see them, as…

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It is difficult to exercise when you are paralysed from the chest down, but not impossible.  Once a week I attend Immersion Therapy™ with Determined2 at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre.  Immersion therapy™ is “a world first way in which people with injury or disability can have access to movement and benefits like never before”. I’ve attended the service for 18 months, and it has improved my physical and mental health, and I will now describe the whole process.  Madie, my…

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On September 11, 2009, I broke my spine, leg, ankle and collarbone, bruised my heart, as well as fracturing my sternum and ribs, and my head split open.  Although I don’t remember this, the only complaint I had a few minutes after the accident, was the pushing of towels on my head, to stop the bleeding.  Later in the evening, I was chatting with my friend Wendy, and she gave me the news that a tree hit me and had an…

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I love hearing jokes, including those from stand-up comedians. I briefly considered becoming a stand-up comedian, but I cannot stand up. So I contemplated being a stand-up sitting down comedian. That was a joke in case you didn’t notice it. Steady Eddy is an Australia comedian with cerebral palsy, and the basis for his comedy is his disability. If it is ok to joke about your disability, is it ok to joke about the impairments of other people? From my…

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Wheelchair John attended the “Wild Night in Australia” at Prospect Town Hall on the 30th of September 2017. It was a multicultural music and art night organised by the Divine Orchestra Music Ministry on the last Saturday of September each year. The goal is to create cultural awareness and competence in Australians and to allow migrants and Australians to blend and assimilate with each other. The night also supported vulnerable youth and other Australians by developing their music and art talents. The…

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It is not what happens to you. It is how you respond, and how others respond. On 11 September 2009, I supported my children, Jasmine and Ben, at their sports day at Cedar College, Northgate. A tree fell on me, and apart from a conversation with my friend, Wendy, I don’t remember the next few weeks. My spinal cord broke at the T3/T4 level (chest), and there were many broken and fractured bones, and a bruised heart. The damage to…

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