"In March of 2024, Greg underwent a routine microdiscectomy of a bulging disc at a Brisbane Hospital, when a “mishap” occurred, in which the dura protecting Greg's nerve was cut. Greg has sustained permanent nerve damage in his lower back (L5/S1 area) which has had an immeasurable, long-term impact on every facet of his daily life. The impact from this surgery has caused Adhesive Arachnoiditis which is a permanent, untreatable, irreversible, degenerative condition where scar tissue from the damaged area wraps itself around Greg's lower spinal nerves; leading to extreme pain, weakness in his legs, incontinence and eventually, paralysis. Despite the QLD Office of the Health Ombudsmen investigating and two solicitors looking at Greg’s case, it has been deemed to be "an unfortunate but inherent risk of the routine surgery." No compensation is available for loss of wages, medical expenses including ongoing medication Greg will need for life, or the pain and suffering Greg has to endure on a daily basis. Greg unfortunately lost his job as a multi-combination truck driver, as his post-surgical recovery time of 6 weeks kept extending as his condition worsened. Not only has this resulted in a loss of wages and livelihood, but prior to the surgery, Greg prided himself on being a hard-working breadwinner for his family and feels lost and defeated that an integral part of his personal identity is gone. Greg’s wife Mel had to leave work 6 months after the surgery to become his full-time carer at home. His hope is to work towards stabilising his pain and decreased motor function in order to train for a new career path in the future. At the time of writing this in August of 2024, Greg requires his crutches all day at home or when he’s out and about but can only manage to walk about 50m at a time and no more than 1000 steps on a very good day for him. He cannot walk on sand or uneven grass and uses a manual wheelchair for long distances when he’s out of the house, that he cannot self-propel as it pulls on his spine. Greg is unable to lift anything heavier than 1kg or stand from a sitting position without assistance, including from the lounge, bed or the toilet . He is unable to reach to his knee level or below, including to clean, dry or dress himself below the waist. If I asked you to picture your true-blue aussie mate, you can imagine an easy-going, happy-to-help bloke with his singlet, shorts and a stubby, standing over his barbecue. He’s the bloke with the lovely wife and a couple of kids, who are always the first ones to raise their hand if you need help moving house, the ones you call when the funny engine light appears on your dashboard and the ones who are always happy to have you over for a steak. This isn’t a hypothetical though – I’m lucky enough to be describing a pretty top notch family living in south-east QLD. They also happen to be my close relatives, who have in fact helped me in all of those ways, and more. Greg, with his wife Mel and their two teenage kids, are the friendly, hardworking, down-to-earth family who have had their life turned upside down. There are many things that Greg, Mel and their kids need and wish for into their future. As a young man only in his late 30s, Greg expressed how demoralising, depressing and painful it has become for him, not only on a daily basis, but for the loss of the simple pleasures in life. He yearns for many of the things that we often take for granted, competing with our kids in a game of ten-pin bowling, sharing a deep-sea fishing charter with our mates, or simply, taking a beautiful walk along the beach with our loved ones. Greg and his family are underway in the long process of applying for NDIS funding but wish to obtain something that is unlikely to be covered by NDIS but can give Greg a huge boost for his mental wellbeing and quality of life. We are fundraising for a track wheelchair which will allow him and his family to enjoy many of the lost family activities from years past, including enjoying the Gold Coast weather at the beach and the park, taking his kids to the Willowbank Drag Races, and hopefully, one day getting back onto a fishing charter. He will also be able to attend community days with his fellow truck drivers such as Lights on the Hill and the Convoy for Kids (both held on grass showground fields where Greg cannot go) His ultimate dream is to take the track chair back to Fraser Island, one of his favourite family holiday destinations and also take it to Cape York one day! We all know that life is hard, expensive and on some occasions, cruel and unfair, and unfortunately, we don’t always have the means to give to others as freely as we would wish to. But Greg, Mel and their kids are now hoping to receive the helping hand from others that they have so willingly and lovingly given to others for many years. Please donate to help give this beautiful family the boost that they wholeheartedly deserve. The track wheelchair, car ramp and suspension upgrade for the family car we are fundraising for would allow him to do all of these things and more!" Written by Andrea Wenzel-Nicholson (cousin)
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