SPINAL NETWORK NEWS

BOOK review
When the Dust Settles
By Rob Cook
Rob Cook has lived between
Queensland and the Northern Territory
all of his life, has worked as a fencer and
bull rider, and, worked one of Australia’s
most remote cattle stations, Suplejack
Downs. Due to the sheer size of cattle
stations in the Northern Territory,
mustering using helicopters is a common
practice. It was during a muster in 2008
that Rob was in a helicopter crash that
fractured his C4 vertebrae, resulting in
complete tetraplegia. When the Dust
Settles is a detailed tale of Rob’s life
prior to the accident, how the accident
disrupts his family’s life and, how he; his
wife, Sarah; and their young sons; attempt
to return to their life, living in the
unrelenting outback of Australia.
The first section explores Rob’s early
years growing up in a family of seven
children with a hard-working dad and
an equally hard-working and caring
mum. They moved around Queensland
as Rob’s dad followed his work as a
fencing contractor and, before long, Rob
had left school and was working for his
dad. After a falling out, Rob was sent to
his grandparents’ on Suplejack Downs,
where he developed a love for working
in the wide expanse of the outback. As
time passed, Rob lived in Queensland for
24
a period with his wife-to-be, Sarah. He
was a professional bull rider for a time,
but his love of the outback took him and
Sarah back to Suplejack Downs where
they settled and began raising their two
young sons.
The book then follows Rob through his
rehabilitation journey in Adelaide, and
the impact this had on his family – who
rented a house for the duration of their
time in Adelaide. Rob’s recollection of
the hospital, moving from intensive care
to the rehabilitation ward, and meeting
other people with a SCI, will seem very
familiar to readers who have been on
this journey themselves. For example, the
intense trepidation Rob experienced just
crossing the road the first time he went
out for lunch with his family, or wanting
to hold his sons while in his hospital bed.
The remainder of the book follows Rob’s
journey as he and his family attempt to
return to their life on Suplejack Downs.
We see them take a house in Alice
Springs, and Rob writes of the challenges
associated with finding good carers
(sometimes employing family members),
organizing a vehicle, and learning to
cope with the heat of the outback,
secondary complications of autonomic
dysreflexia and pneumonia, and dealing
with health professionals who have little
understanding of tetraplegia.
While much of the book reflects Rob’s
philosophical and positive outlook of his
situation, he does still describe instances
of being frustrated. For example, Rob
invested a lot of emotion in returning
to Suplejack Downs so when he, Sarah,
and the boys, do manage to spend some
time there, it is quite different to what
he expected. Watching the men leave
the homestead for the day and not
being able to go and work the land –
something Rob had known all his life – is
hard to swallow. I appreciated this frank
description of his personal frustrations
and thought Rob could have included
more details regarding the types of
personal frustration he experienced.
Rob found one outlet to channel his
enthusiasm for working in the beef
farming industry. He applied for, and
won, a Nuffield Scholarship. This involved
extensive travel to New Zealand and
South America to visit farms, agricultural
businesses, and industry people, in
various countries. While Rob’s initial
study focus was exploring the dynamics
of emerging beef markets, he changed
and began to look at what options exist
for farmers like him that want to return
to work following a serious injury.
When the Dust Settles is an intriguing
read that balances the personal story of
Rob’s life with many universal aspects of
living with tetraplegia which readers of
the SNN will recognize: the challenge of
returning home; the disruption to family
dynamics; returning to work and an
accessible community; managing health
complications; and being more prepared
when traveling. Attempting to return
to their life in the outback of Australia
gives this story an extra level of appeal,
as it is such an unforgiving environment.
When the Dust Settles would be an
ideal Christmas present to anyone who
likes an adventure story mixed with the
realities of readjusting to life following a
spinal cord injury.