Brisbane local Lindsay Nott is Cure Crusader for the Foundation and is a man who has made the most out of life.
Always smiling, Lindsay comes from a loving and supportive family with whom he shares a love of sports. All sports, from cricket to athletics and especially motorsports. His mate Perry Cross calls him a ‘petrol head’.
Lindsay recalls being an active kid who loved to spend time with his dad and would help him mow the lawns. His dad would often tell him to ‘slow down' and remind him that ‘not everything is a race!’
Lindsay enjoyed school and revelled in a busy life of Army Cadets and sport. His life changed on the last day of school when a terrible accident took place.
“I’ll never forget the day of my accident because it was the last day of Year 12.”
“We got our senior certificates on Friday and said goodbye. I was looking forward to starting a new job on Monday and I had a cadets camp to go to over the weekend.”
“I met a group of mates at Southbank on a hot summers day, in the middle of the day and we decided to go for a swim. Four of us ran into the pool, 3 came up and I was the unlucky one that hit my head and the rest is history.”
Lindsay knew straight away something was terribly wrong. He was lying face down in the water and could not move.
“I tried to move and roll over, but I just couldn’t.”
“I blacked in and out at this time and I was lucky not to drown.”
An off-duty nurse from a spinal unit in NZ assisted at the scene alongside Lifeguards and Lindsay’s shocked friends.
Lindsay became a C4/C5 quadriplegic because of this accident and endured many painful months in the spinal unit at the hospital, devasted. He spent his 18th birthday, Christmas, New Years and Easter in hospital.
His youngest brother was only 6 weeks old at the time, his other brother in grade 10 and his father was working 6 days a week and so the accident turned the family upside down. His parents were incredibly supportive and visited him every day in the hospital.
Despite the pain, uncertainty and overwhelm Lindsay was focused on getting moving again. When he was finally able to sit in a wheelchair, he would push this manual chair around the halls of the hospital every night.
“My theory was, I’m going to use it or lose it and so I kept pushing.”
The nurses would find me asleep against the corridor walls because I was pushing until I couldn’t push anymore.”
Lindsay’s incredible determination has defined his life ever since. He has worked hard to inspire others around him and even reached out to help others whilst he was in the spinal unit which is where he met Perry Cross.
“I used to visit the spinal unit to talk to people and this is where I met Perry. I used to visit Perry and have a chat. I’d borrow his shoes from time to time!”
The time spent in the spinal unit was hard and confronting and it took Lindsay time to adjust to his changed circumstances and altered body.
“The spinal unit was an eye-opener. I was only 17 nearly 18 and I learnt a lot in that unit, stuff guys that age isn’t supposed to learn.”
The doctors and nurses helped him to become more independent which was important and the beginning of life after his accident.
Lindsay has now been in a wheelchair longer than he walked for.
“Pre and post-injury is like two separate lives. I have been in a chair longer than I walked for. This was a very difficult milestone.”
“When you look back, the little things you used to be able to do were so easy. You never know what is coming around the corner. You don’t have a crystal ball and it happens in a heartbeat.”
Of course, it has been very hard watching friends move on with life; going to work, university, travelling and now getting married and having families but Lindsay has been able to keep a positive mindset with the help of his family.
“My folks said to me; this is what it is going to be like now, this is life now, you are going to have to make the most of what it is and we will help you and support you in whatever you want to do.”
With the support of his family and friends, Lindsay has gone on to live in his own home, travel the world and find fulfilling employment. He has lectured at local universities for over 20 years sharing his experience and has volunteered and helped to raise money for the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation. He also still visits the spinal unit to help newly injured patients learn about what their future can look like.
Lindsay’s courage and willingness to take life’s opportunities is truly inspiring. In 2019 in Hawaii, Lindsay was able to swim in a pool and in the ocean again after 26 years. He has snow skied, snorkelled and surfed his way around the globe.
As for curing paralysis, Lindsay is optimistic and supportive of the global effort to help get people walking again.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel, we are getting there. The research and the work of the Foundation are coming along.”