Eungai’s Dylan Welch, 22, works five days a week running his own business, is a public speaker to young students, and is a positive young man. He is also a quadriplegic.
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At the age of 15, Dylan was in a car accident that severed part of his spine and left him a quadriplegic. He now needs daily care and is permanently in a wheelchair.
“I spent two months in a coma after the accident,” Dylan told the Argus.
“When I finally came out of the coma I thought I had lost my legs, and my dad had to lift my legs up to show me that I still had them.
“It took nine months of rehabilitation with a lot of physio just to get into the wheelchair which in itself was a learning experience because I have to use my mouth to control it.”
Dylan has required more than 30 operations since his accident, mainly due to his young age and growing body. His last operation was only six months ago to remove his left kidney due to calcium build up.
“Because I was still young, calcium leaked from my bones which caused it to build up in my kidneys, forming kidney stones and blocking my urethra,” Dylan said.
“This has required me to have a number of operations where I have had to be put on life support a couple of times, and it was only six months ago that I had my left kidney removed to alleviate the problem.
“Right now everything is going okay and I hope my right kidney continues to work otherwise I will have to go on dialysis.”
When Dylan first came home he had to live in a rental property until the family home received some alterations to accommodate his needs. Dylan said just to get through the day at first was difficult and without the support of his family he believes he may have spiralled into a deep depression.
“Family is a big thing and without them it would have been a lot harder,” Dylan said.
“Mum and dad really looked after me and it took some time to eventually get a carer to take the pressure off them.
“I now have a carer from 7.30am to 3.30pm every day and my parents take over in between. It’s great to have a carer however I would rather just be with family, but having a carer does give my family a break.”
Dylan used financial compensation to invest in a business, and a home.
“When I did receive compensation I completed certificate four in business and computer skills and bought a business and a house,” Dylan said.
“I started a water cartage business with my dad and that has been operating for the past two years. My dad runs the business and delivers the water and I work within the administration of the business.
“The weather and the amount of rainfall determines how busy the business is but it does allow me to buy what I want, put money in the bank and pay the bills.”
Despite the hardships that Dylan faces everyday, he has managed to remain positive and with the developments in stem cell research, he believes there is hope that one day he’ll walk again.
“Since I have been in a wheelchair stem cell research has come along in leaps and bounds and I believe a cure is not far off,” Dylan said.
“They have already managed to reattach the spines of laboratory animals and a lot of that has come through the work that Christopher Reeve did which has continued with his son since his death.”
Dylan now has hopes of becoming a presenter and is completing a public speaking course. Last month he spoke to Year 11 and 12 students at the Port Macquarie Hospital about his accident and how it has affected his life.
“I talked about the accident and about making the right choices as well as the consequences of making the wrong choices,” Dyland said.
“The kids paid attention and asked a lot of questions and I really want to continue public speaking and hopefully make it a full time job.
“I believe I can do just as much as any able bodied person and my only choice is to remain positive - but in the end it’s all about hope because that is all I have really got.”