Hello and Welcome Back... Going off topic for a while. Today is the 7th of September 2026. Its a day marked in my mind as the day I died twice and lived to tell about it.
35 years to the day.
The day started as normal as usual. 3.30am wake up, breakfast then bike ride to Campbelltown station to catch the 4.30am train to Strathfield then bus to Enfield to start at 6.30am
Listening to my trusty AIWA walkman (pic below), today's choice of music would be 'Def Leppard - Rocket'.
Around 3.50am, I was hit by a Holden Commodore on my right side at 90kmph (estimated). I remember looking to my right and seeing a pair of headlights heading towards me at speed and thinking 'Oh Fuck'. The smashing sound was deafening as my bike went thru the cars radiator and me, went back first into the windscreen.
All this, up to this moment, took around 1sec to happen. The next part was like, as if, someone had a remote control and put what was happening into slow motion.
I was thrown roughly 2 blocks from the point of impact. My bike went further. As I laid on the cold wet road, the force of the impact tore the shoes off my feet (some bastard stole them, as they did with my Walkman). I was shivering laying on the road when I could hear the ambulance in the distance.
It was then, that I could feel myself float away. It was calming and surreal as I felt light as a feather. Then It was like I was floating is this bright light, not like a light from above but I was surrounded in this light and floating upwards. The feeling was euphoric love, it was like nothing I had felt before. This lasted for, what felt like 30sec when suddenly, a heavy feeling and a face looking at me saying 'Welcome Back'. This was an ambulance guy.
I laid in hospital for a few hours, while Campbelltown Hospital fished around for a orthopedic surgeon. When none was found, the call was put out for a helicopter and I was sent to Liverpool hospital. The shock of sudden sunlight jolted me awake as I was loaded into the helicopter. (me below)
So, all up, I sustained a broken pelvis (4 places - 2 at the back, one at the right side and one at the left front), dislocated shoulder, broken collar bone, broken nose, torn urethra (bladder out) and various internal injures, as the pelvis broke up, it cut the major arteries to my legs.
So after 3 major operations to stitch up the blood vessels (24 blood transfusions), I was sent to Westmead hospital via Helicopter again, then back to Liverpool to do the last operation. It would be this last operation that I would die again, this time, the experience lasted longer.
And so, became recovery.
4 months, I was laid up with not a lot to do. Daily TV watching led to pain over-riding my every sensation. Nights screaming in pain as my body came to terms with what had happened.
My legs which were originally black from no blood pumped thru them, were starting to get the sensation back with deadish nerves starting to fire up again (think having a dead leg when you lay on your leg and it goes to sleep) then having the blood rushing back in, but times that by nearly a week. It was hell.
The catheter that I had in, fell out countless times and so, until a doctor was available, I was peeing out the wound in my stomach which eventually led to a Golden Staph infection and was beginning to poison my blood.
So, after 4 months, the call was taken to remove my 'Spice Rack' as I called it. The metal frame that held me in place had to come out early due to infection.
This effect then caused my pelvis to 'Spring' apart leaving a gap at the front of my pelvis and tearing my abdomen apart. It was pure hell...
Honestly, you wouldn't wish the experience on your worst enemy.
So, just a few days before Christmas, I started to learn to walk again. Recovery and learning to walk again took me about a year. The pain caused large chunks of my hair to fall out as my first shower in months left the floor covered in more hair than floor.
But just a day away from Christmas, I was allowed to go home.
I used to joke at the time that in 30 years time, I would look back and laugh. Can't say I'm laughing but I'm forever grateful for the things I have now, my legs for one, as time went on, bits of headlight would start coming out of the tops of my feet.
So, on this day, 35 years ago, I fought the battle of my life and Won?
While I may have won, so to speak, even to this day, I am bound by pain's great hold.
My pelvis has this huge ache that goes through it every day.
Music was a huge part of my recovery. Listening to music to try and take your mind somewhere else was a true savior to mind and spirit.
You learn quickly things you can do and what not to do.. Saying that, when I later worked at Retravision Katoomba doing deliveries, I managed to get a 130kg fridge out of a customers house and to the tip (I weighed the truck before going in then re-weighed the truck when leaving).. 130kg was missing. Not bad for a smashed up body.
So, Today, I look back with what has changed since that faithful day back in 1989.
I now have 4 beautiful children, happy married and living in paradise, still racked with pain but.. I'm Happy..
Back to Normal Programming Shortly
(Thank You for reading)
