By DAVID NAGEL
Speedway champ Robbie Gordon hurdles along after a life-crippling racing accident…
ROBBIE Gordon has hope in his heart … but has so many hurdles to overcome.
The 33-year-old Pakenham concreter had his world- quite literally- turned upside down at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool, on 2 January, when he was involved in a racing accident that left him fighting for his life.
One minute, he was enjoying the sport that had made him a state and national champion; the next, he was staring at the roof of a chopper, being flown to The Alfred hospital where it was established he had sustained fractures and breaks to his neck, C3 to C6, and to his lower back, T2 to T4.
He was transferred to the Austin Hospital, the halo removed, and titanium rods fused and bolted down either side of his neck.
Robbie Gordon didn’t sleep for four days, could only move his forefinger and thumb, his family, his friends, and his partner of 15 years Nat, said he would never be able to breathe on his own, or communicate in any other way.
Robbie is currently in the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation centre in Kew … where he is proving the experts wrong.
“It’s a high-accident sport, but this is the worst injury anyone has seen in 20 years,” Robbie said, communicating perfectly from his wheelchair, which will be his companion for the remainder of his life.
Robbie’s spinal cord was damaged, but not severed, meaning his injury is incomplete … and that’s what gives him hope.
“That’s why I don’t spend any time getting down about it all, because there’s always that bit of hope,” he said.
Through daily physio and stretching- which he needs to do five times a day or his body will seize- Robbie has regained full movement in his left leg, has 10 percent movement in his right, but still has minimal movement in both arms.
“And my thermostat is buggered,” he said.
“I can be sweating in bed one minute, and then freezing the next, a spinal cord injury can have several effects and, for me, among others, that means I have no control over my body temperature at all.”
Robbie and Nat have other challenges to overcome – like finances- as the Speedway champ looks to head home in the coming weeks.
Nat, an international flight-attendant, has had to go on unpaid leave to take full-time care of the man she hopes will one day slip on a wedding ring.
Through insurance, Robbie receives a reduced weekly wage for two years but, with a mortgage to pay and essential costs that include hoists, commodes, vehicles, wheelchairs, beds, vitally important gym equipment, bathroom and house renovations to consider…things are understandably tight.
Robbie also takes 25 tablets a day, and receives no health care assistance, so has to pay full price.
“Until that wage is gone, we get no help, and then we get the health care cards and benefits from the Government, but that’s a long way away,” says Nat.
A website, www.doinitforrobbie.com has been set up by the family to help raise awareness and much-needed funds for Robbie’s situation. A Sportsman’s night, which will take place in Pakenham, is also being arranged for later in the year.
To find out more about Robbie’s story, and to donate, contact the website.
