Spinal Network News - August 2017

I think it’s kind of an intense way of showing it. I guess I
think of climbing Mt Aspiring and the very last part of
the climb: the last five or 10 metres, it was so windy that
I couldn’t hear Gavin, my guide and climbing partner,
who was yelling at me, and I couldn’t hear what he was
saying. I realized that I was by myself and no one could
support me, as there was nobody else on the mountain.
I had to muster the courage and use all the skills and
knowledge and experience I had, to start climbing that
last pitch, and I wasn’t really sure if I was going the right
way. Even though it was well out of my comfort zone,
I had to believe it would work out. When I finally got
my courage up and did it, it was scary, but it went well
and I got to the summit! I guess what I want people to
take from this story is that, sometimes, stepping out of
your comfort zone is hard and scary, but it can lead to
amazing things!
What advice do you have to offer to others who have
a disability and are looking to achieve?
things I’d like to do, and just believing I can do them
and not letting people hold me back. And there will
be naysayers. There have been so many people who
tried to hold me back from so many of the missions I’ve
done, and what that means is, that I could’ve lost a lot
of faith in myself. As an adventurer, you’ve got to push
through and believe in yourself—back yourself, even
when others don’t. If it’s something you really want to do,
you’ll do it—you’ll do the training; you’ll seek the right
support; you’ll get the right resources in place; and do
the right planning for it to come true. And, I think part of
it is, you’ve got to have the right expertise: there are a lot
of ‘experts’ out there, but you’ve got to assess who the
‘right experts’ are to support you to be able to do what
you want to do. Being able to do the training is a big part
of it as well—you don’t just jump into something without
doing the hard yards to get there. And lastly, believe in
yourself 100 percent, and even when you are scared, just
keep believing.
NM: Dreaming is the first step. I’m a big dreamer; I love
to think about cool missions; I love to think about cool
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