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WHEN Neilborough man Scott Mackay was 23, his friend lost control of the car he was a passenger in and it rolled.
As a result of the crash Mr Mackay broke his neck and his back, damaging his spinal cord and putting him in a wheelchair.
Two decades on, Mr Mackay – now a father of three and a grandfather – says he has tried not to let his injury change his life too much and works full-time, manages sporting teams and spends time with his family.
But it has taken rigorous rehabilitation to get him to this point.
Mr Mackay was in intensive care for a week after the crash, spent another several days in the Austin hospital, then entered the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre in Melbourne for three months as an inpatient.
At the time, he said he could not move his fingers and needed help with the most basic tasks of everyday living, including showering and getting dressed.
Over those three months he began regaining his independence by retraining his body to do simple things most people take for granted, such as making a cup of tea and dialling phones.
For a further two to three months he attended outpatient rehabilitation a few days a week.
“It’s not easy, but nothing’s easy… If you don’t have to work hard to get it, it’s probably not worth having,” Mr Mackay said.
Bendigo Health physiotherapist Jo Spehr said that while it varied between individuals, the time Mr Mackay spent in rehabilitation was towards the shorter end of the spectrum.
“Someone with potentially less support at home might need to be in an inpatient setting for longer, to achieve certain functional milestones,” she said.
“I’ve had clients who have been inpatients for six months before they get home.”
It would not be uncommon for someone to spend 12 months to two years in outpatient rehabilitation, she added.
Various disciplines are involved in rehabilitation, including dietetics, exercise physiology, speech therapy and psychology.
Mr Mackay credits his discovery of wheelchair racing while in rehabilitation as one of the “best things that could have happened”, giving him an outlet to deal with any frustration or anger and eventually giving him the opportunity to compete in the USA and New Zealand alongside such famous athletes as Kurt Fearnley, Louise Sauvage and Greg Smith.
His wife Leonie and his sons Coree, Thyson and Kayne have also been vital to his recovery.
“If it wasn’t for Leonie and the boys, I wouldn’t be where I am,” he said.