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NEW ZEALAND SPINAL TRUST 18 A Wise Head on Young Shoulders The Positive Outlook of Teenager Jayden Glentworth Jayden and his two sisters Jazz and Zoe have only grown closer since his accident. Jayden Glentworth returned to the spot where his life had changed for ever. Six months ago, the 15-year-old from Palmerston North was involved in a mountain-biking accident on the Arapuke Forest Park trails, which saw him sustain a T-12 burst fracture in his spine. On this cool winter afternoon, Jayden paused for a moment in his wheelchair to look at the River Gap jump to reflect. It was just a moment. That was enough. It was time to get on with his new life. “It was a good feeling to be back,” said Jayden from his family home. “It was a bit hard looking at the jump where I had my crash but, then again, there is no point me dwelling on the negative. I’d rather get back out there instead of sitting on my ass at home thinking about it. I’d rather just get on with life.” Jayden loved to mountain bike like a duck loves water. His long-term goal is to get back on his bike but, right now, he has shifted his focus to another passion. He is up on the trails taking photos and videos of his mates riding. There is nowhere else he’d rather be. “I’d obviously love to be on my bike and experiencing it myself, but it’s still so awesome to be up there and with the boys, and soaking it in. To be making a video in that environment was cool. I love it up there.” Talking to Jayden, it is clear he is a resilient young man. He has been on a tough journey, where his resolve has been tested every step of the way, but he is not giving up. He is looking forward. “One of my main drivers for my photography is hanging out with my mates,” he said. “That is the main thing for me. Video and photography are things I was interested in before my accident, and could do quite competently so I am looking forward to building on what I can do, and doing some cool stuff. It was just nice to hang out with my mates again.” It was probably easier being back, as Jayden can’t really remember what happened on that fateful day. He was out mountain biking with two good mates from Wellington in the Palmerston North MTB Park. They were enjoying the trails, when they came across a big jump – a 5m clearing – which Jayden completed most weeks without drama. “I remember rolling into the jump and I remember curling up on the ground in a ball,” he said. “I came to when I was curled up in a ball, and it all just felt a bit wrong, so I lay back on the ground and had a breather. “I realised then my legs were feeling a bit tingly. I tried to move them, and I couldn’t. My mates said ‘Are you all
SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 19 right?’… you had a really bad landing’. And I remember saying ‘Boys, I can’t feel my legs’.” His mates called an ambulance and he was flown by helicopter to Christchurch Hospital for emergency surgery on his spine. Jayden’s most vivid memory was an overwhelming feeling of fear. “I had a panic moment and then I tried to chill out with the boys, and had a bit of a prayer time with them. I was really scared.” Jayden spent six days in Christchurch Hospital recovering from his surgery and then three months in the Burwood Spinal Unit (BSU), where his rehabilitation began. He said he owes the team at BSU a huge amount for how much they helped him. “The first few weeks were really hard. It was a challenge just getting up and out of bed, and my body was really sore, but the help of the team there was huge. It was a great experience. “My OT [Occupational Therapist] and physio told me that they had seen plenty of cases like mine and they just wanted me to get me moving and rehabilitated as best they could. They were so encouraging in my development.” The hardest part of the mental challenge was the adjustment of returning home to Palmy. “I did throw myself into a lot of the physical challenges,” he said. “Getting out of bed and getting that confidence up to be able to roll up and down the hallway to the gym. Once I had that confidence, it was a really good experience, it was a mental shift for me.” His parents, Mark and Kathy, were omnipresent throughout every moment of his stay at the BSU. “It was pretty awesome having my parents there every day of the journey. They have just kept me positive and, to know they were there to chat about stuff, has been huge. “If I was ever hungry, they would whip down to Burger King and get me a burger and a sundae. They are awesome supporters of me and there is no doubt that I couldn’t have done it without them.” When he was in Burwood, Jayden had plenty of time to think. He wrote down the goal of walking out of the hospital but, unfortunately, that became “a bit unreachable”. “It was good for me to think that way anyway for added motivation. Another goal was to be nice and competent getting around in my wheelchair. I wrote down the goal to leave Burwood in a positive mental state and a good physical state, and I felt like I achieved that.” Aside from picking up his passion for photography again, Jayden has also kept his love for music alive. Before his accident, he played drums in a band at his church for nine years. He has since turned his attention to learning the bass guitar. “With my accident, it makes it a real challenge to keep on playing the drums,” he said. Jayden said his accident was a really scary day – but the team at Burwood were a “massive help in my rehab and keeping me positive”. “So I thought ‘why don’t I start up a new instrument?’. We needed a bassist in our band, and it isn’t too different from the drums, in terms of the chords, and the beats and stuff. It is going really well. It is a nice distraction from life. Eventually, I will be coming back into the band that I was in, so I am looking forward to that.” Jayden said his faith has also been a key pillar in his mental strength and getting through the hardest period of his life. “My faith has helped me heaps,” he said. “Having my church friends around and just having people I can sit down and pray with. We are still working through how hard it has been for me but, having my faith it is important. I know that God is looking out for me.” Jayden has some simple advice for anyone who sustains a spinal cord impairment and is at the start of their journey. “There is always a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “Especially at the start, it may feel like the world has fallen in on you. But whatever situation you are in, there are always going to be better days ahead. There will be hard times throughout your journey, but you will get through it, and the better days make it all worthwhile.” The afternoon up on the Arapuke Forest Park trails was one of the “better days” he is talking about. It is good to be back. It is different but then, again, Jayden had prepared for that. Jayden has an old head on young shoulders. He has experienced plenty in the past six months and he is not looking back. He is over the toughest part of his journey and he is ready for the next chapter, the next challenge.
Page 1 and 2: August 2020 Volume 23 / Issue 2 SNN
Page 3 and 4: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 3 “I Can’t
Page 5 and 6: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 5 Supporting Po
Page 7 and 8: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 7 Back in Tune
Page 9 and 10: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 9 Nick Cornish
Page 11 and 12: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 11 NZ Spinal Co
Page 13 and 14: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 13 support serv
Page 15 and 16: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 15 Telling It L
Page 17: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 17 NZ Spinal Tr
Page 21 and 22: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 21 Kathy: We ha
Page 23 and 24: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 23 really good
Page 25 and 26: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 25 The Attitude
Page 27 and 28: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 27 University o
Page 29 and 30: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 29 Driving and
Page 31 and 32: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 31 SpeediCath
Page 33 and 34: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 33 “Throwing
Page 35 and 36: SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 35 Thank you to

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