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NEW ZEALAND SPINAL TRUST 26<br />
Leaving a Legacy<br />
Ben Lucas’ drive to make a difference<br />
Ben Lucas on Hans Wouters: “You could not meet a person of higher integrity.”<br />
A motorbike accident 32 years ago changed<br />
Ben Lucas’ life in a moment. The former NZ<br />
Spinal Trust CEO has gone on to live an<br />
extraordinary life. He’s travelled the world<br />
with wheelchair racing, competed with the<br />
best in the world at two Paralympics and now<br />
he’s working hard on the “inside” as a Lead<br />
Disability Advisor for ACC. We sat down with<br />
Ben to reflect on his life full of highlights and<br />
his desire to make a difference to all with a<br />
spinal cord impairment in New Zealand.<br />
“A big piece of my heart will always be with the Trust”<br />
Ben Lucas says there was no greater feeling as the New<br />
Zealand Spinal Trust CEO than to see former patients come<br />
back into the Spinal Unit with a big smile on their face.<br />
The 56-year-old from Blenheim, who led the NZ Spinal<br />
Trust for five years from 2011 – 2016, says helping people<br />
and making a difference to their life was the most<br />
rewarding part of the role. “I loved it when people would<br />
come back into in to visit the Trust, whether it was three<br />
months or six months after their injury,” he says. “They<br />
were further down the journey and now independent and<br />
living their best lives, that was absolutely fantastic.”<br />
Ben says the Trust will always have a huge piece of his heart.<br />
“I love the Trust and the fantastic work that they do,” he says.<br />
The former Paralympian says the thing that makes the NZ<br />
Spinal Trust so special is the people. “They are very<br />
passionate about spinal cord impairment. They are the<br />
ones that make the Trust successful,” he says.<br />
“The work that the Trust does around supporting people<br />
to find positive futu<strong>res</strong>, I wish I had something like that<br />
when I had my injury. To have that support as a newly<br />
injured person or a new impairment from a medical<br />
condition, they are so lucky to have that support.”<br />
Ben says that when the opportunity came up to join ACC<br />
in 2016 he was torn because he knew what he was leaving<br />
behind. He took the role because it provided the chance to<br />
make changes at a national level and it also p<strong>res</strong>ented the<br />
chance to work on the inside to advocate for people with<br />
spinal cord impairment.<br />
Ben is excited to see where Peer Support has got to now<br />
considering the work he did in 2012 when the NZ Spinal<br />
Cord Impairment Action Plan kicked off.<br />
“Hans was my general manager at the time, and he was<br />
just so competent,” he says. “You could not find a person<br />
of higher morals, values or integrity than a guy like Hans<br />
Wouters. I was relieved, excited and stoked when he<br />
decided to take on the role of CEO. He has found his<br />
passion and he is doing a wonderful job.”<br />
Ben has lived a full life since his accident which could<br />
have killed him 32 years ago.
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