First steps mean the world to Peter

Maryborough’s Peter Edwards took five steps today, but he couldn’t be happier.

Almost two years ago, Peter thought he would never walk again after an unlucky accident left him with a spinal cord injury.

While on holidays with his wife Julie, Peter fell out of bed one morning when his feet got caught in the bed sheets. The stumble led to him falling forward and hitting his head on a cupboard – the impact enough for him to sustain quadriplegia.

After spending nine weeks in an intensive care unit, followed by nine months in Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital Spinal Injuries Unit, Peter returned home.

“Since then I’ve been working non-stop to try and regain some movement in my legs,” Peter said.

As Peter’s injury was incomplete and did not entirely damage the spinal cord, this means with intensive physiotherapy, he can now walk a short distance, with the assistance of a walking frame.

Five mornings a week Peter has Personal Care Assistants (PCAs) from the Spinal Injuries Association assist him to remain independent in his own home.

“My PCAs have also supported me with my physio exercises and they’ve been extremely encouraging in helping me achieve my goal of walking again,” he said.

As well as daily exercises at home, Peter also spends each Tuesday morning at the Maryborough Base Hospital, practicing on a 10 metre bar much the same as ballet dancers use.

“Since my accident I’ve stayed positive and focused,” he said. “When I was in the Spinal Injuries Unit, my doctors told me I was one of the most determined patients they’d seen, so I’d like to stay that way.”

“My accident was devastating but it’s made me appreciate my life much more – you just never know what can go wrong.”

While Peter won’t be able to walk as freely as he did prior to his accident, he’s just grateful he will be able to walk at all.

Peter’s friends and family have kept his enthusiasm levels high throughout the past few years, but it is Peter’s wife who has been his biggest motivator.

Describing the last several years as challenging was an understatement, Julie said, but

Peter’s improvements had made the couple start planning for the future again.

“Peter’s been applying for jobs, so we’re hoping he’ll be able to get back into the workforce again soon,” she said.

Spinal Injuries Association CEO Mark Henley applauded Peter’s hard work and “never give up” philosophy.

“Peter’s extremely fortunate that he has been able to regain some movement in his legs as he did not sustain a complete break of the spinal cord. Unfortunately, the majority of people who sustain a spinal cord injury will never be able to walk again,” he said.

“The spinal cord is the width of a finger and has the consistency of a banana and once it’s damaged, it’s virtually impossible to reverse that damage.

“And because there is currently no cure for a spinal cord injury, prevention of these types of injuries is paramount.”

The Spinal Injuries Association is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to assisting and empowering its 2,000 members and clients throughout Queensland.

For more information, please visit www.spinal.com.au.

Issued 24 September.