Your support enabled Craig to get the urgent medical treatment he needed – fast.
Two and a half years ago seasoned motocross rider, Craig Barrett, came off his bike while trying to land a jump. Left unconscious with a punctured lung and all his right ribs broken, Craig was airlifted by the Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter to Waikato Hospital.
The physical injuries have healed, but the knock Craig received to his head has dramatically changed his life. Forced to sell the family security business, Craig was also faced with the reality of living with a severe brain injury. “I can’t drive for long periods, I get tired easily and lose coordination and I had to go on medication as the brain doesn’t produce the right chemicals.”
“The road to recovery has been really hard, not just on me, but on the family. The change in me as a person is quite severe. Everybody has had to deal with the fact I woke up as someone else,” Craig said. “The hardest part was accepting that I will never be the same person I was before the accident.”
“I had nine aneurysms. I should be dead, so I feel lucky to still be here. People with brain injuries have one or two aneurysms and don’t survive, but I survived nine. It’s a miracle that I can walk and talk.”
While Craig’s recovery is slow, he keeps himself busy fixing motorcycles. “I’m thankful to all the people who have helped; therapists, health professionals, the helicopter crew. All these things make you feel quite blessed.”