SNN_August 2022 Issue_web low res

NEW ZEALAND SPINAL TRUST 28
Back then the philosophy was you take away the choices for
the person because the specialist knew best. Your recovery
was taken over by the specialist and I think there is a lot of
merit in that method. I know it is not the politically correct
way that we rehabilitate people now. Times change.
Was there a turning point in your mindset in
your recovery?
When I broke my neck—and I am now ashamed to say
this—for probably 10 years I didn’t want to be associated
with any other people who had injuries. I was able-bodied
and as far as I was concerned, I was an able-bodied person
who was temporarily sitting down. That was the way I saw
it. I didn’t want to associate with anyone in a wheelchair
because I think that reminded me that I was also in a
wheelchair, and it was quite confronting.
‘Staffy’ came along, and him and a few others from
different backgrounds and they were lovely people. They
were coarse and they were exhilarating. That was a
turning point. I realised I needed to accept my reality.
They introduced me to wheelchair rugby, and I loved
being back in a competitive environment. I loved the
camaraderie and being back with the lads.
How did getting back into sport help?
‘Staffy’ got me into wheelchair rugby around 1992. I
played for the Wellington team and that got me into
meeting people and seeing that I had had a privileged
support network that many others didn’t have.
It was around that time I also realised that I had a voice
and that I could express my opinions and that is really
important—you need to be able to speak up. That is why I
got involved with the NZ Spinal Trust. I wanted to make a
difference for others. It is important there is no monetary
interest in it whatsoever. You have to be involved for the
right reasons. I feel I gain personally from my
involvement with the Trust, enjoying working with truly
dedicated people, and proud of the help it gives to others.
In terms of life since your injury, what happened?
After school I worked for two years in oil exploration in
Taranaki, down south in Tuatapere, and down the East
Coast of the South Island. I was involved in surveying and
doing some large projects. When I broke my neck, I
couldn’t do that work anymore which was difficult.
So, I left that and did a Mathematics and Computer
Science Degree at Massey University in Palmerston
North. It was back in the day when I was the only
wheelchair on campus. I had to fight to make it possible. I
left hospital and I went back to university the next year. I
did almost a full year of papers. A lot of people told me to
ease into it however I wanted to do more. I am glad I did
that as it challenged me and taught me to set the bar high.
After I finished my degree and I moved to Wellington, I
put a lot of thought into my approach to a career, working
out what was important, what I wanted to do with my life,
what I wanted to achieve. A first ambition was to
maximise earnings because I realised that my life as a
tetraplegic and trying to do the things I wanted to do, was
going to be expensive.
—Bob Symon
They were coarse and they
were exhilarating. That was a
turning point in my recovery.
How did you begin your career?
I joined BP as a graduate and got to travel a fair bit with
them, a good opportunity to see how I could work as a
disabled person in a corporate in increasingly demanding
roles. I worked in a few different areas within their
Technology division.
After a few years I went contracting and working for EDS
(Environmental Defence Society), who contracted me to
work on other organisations' systems. I became a
specialist in mission critical and highly available systems.
Then I worked for the ANZ Bank which has one of the
largest IT networks in New Zealand. I varied in roles from
assembler coding, application coding, to operations, to
hardware infrastructure build and design and project
management. As a tetraplegic I was organising and
developing the machines and their environments. I have
had a lot of different management roles.
Over the years what I have really enjoyed is the diversity
in organisations and the importance of corporate
responsibility. It is something I am passionate about as a
person with a spinal cord impairment to ensure that there
is diversity and inclusion in the workplace. I have done a
fair amount of work fighting for that and lobbying within
my own organisation and others.
How about your personal life and starting a family?
After I broke my neck, and I came to Wellington it was
all quite raw. In my personal life I had a girlfriend who
got me through life at that stage. From being a walker to
an established tetraplegic. Then our paths went in
different directions.
A year later I met Janet and fell in love and got married.
We have two children Charlie and George. As a family, we
have travelled extensively, something I have always loved
doing. My eldest son Charlie is a year beyond the point
when I broke my neck and doing a Bachelor’s in Surveying
at Otago which has me grinning with pride. After
struggling to figure out what he wanted to do he ended up
going down the same path as his old man. George is year
12 at school, nailing drama and the arts.
What advice do you offer to other people who have
sustained an SCI and are at the start of their journey?
Don’t think in terms of what you can’t do. Think in terms
of what you want to do, and talk it out with family, friends
and colleagues to plan how to do it. Sometimes things
don’t work out, accept that, move on and look ahead. Be
kind and generous, you will never cease to be surprised
how it comes back to you.