https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/i-died-on-the-road-crash-survivor-tells-his-story/3807671/
WHEN Lindsay Grant woke up from an eight-day coma, he remembered nothing of the highway crash that nearly claimed his life. "I died on the road - CPR by the ambulance (respondents) saved my life. I'm a lucky man," he said. Mr Grant, 47, was travelling north on Nebo Road when a car turned into his path, colliding with his motorbike. He suffered breaks to his femur, arm, thumb and shoulder. He also sustained a lacerated liver, kidney failure and punctured lungs. "There was one time I woke up... and I was in that much pain I just wanted it to stop," he said.
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https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/how-a-lone-sailor-and-his-cat-were-rescued/3729340/
IT'S a tale of a daring escape, extreme weather and incredible selflessness. As Chris Newlyn sailed his 15.4m yacht Stormtrooper around the Percy Islands with his cat, treacherous conditions pushed him to the brink of disaster. Huge waves knocked him and his boat around, resulting in injuries from a heavy fall. When he heard the deafening bang of an engine bursting, Mr Newlyn knew he was in strife. The manifold had split and his electrical wiring and radio superheated and melted. Drawing on extensive military training, Mr Newlyn rigged his radio off a broken battery - one watt of power enabled him to signal caretakers on Percy Island for help. His distress call was passed to the Queensland Water Police, who alerted Mackay VMR. But the extent of Mr Newlyn's injuries prevented transportation by boat and a RACQ CQ Rescue helicopter was required. At first, he refused to leave. "I told them I wasn't getting off the boat without my cat," Mr Newlyn said. "Simple as that, she's the only thing I've got left in my life." A deal was struck with Mr Newlyn: get to safety and onto the helicopter and VMR would salvage the boat and his beloved pet, Smellycat. https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/when-youre-told-you-have-10-years-to-live/3732386/
IT WAS meant to be a celebratory trip to Japan, but a chilling diagnosis turned Jay Cameron's life upside down. Having suffered daily seizures since he was 18, he returned home from his 21st birthday travels to the news he needed an MRI. The results revealed he had a brain tumour. Mr Cameron was told he had 10 years to live, drastically changing how he saw his future. The news was a devastating blow for him, his family and friends. He said the experience had made it difficult to listen to others complain about their life and sometimes it was "hard to relate". "When I was 80 I wanted to have a huge house on a farm and every Christmas my children would bring their children. But since my diagnosis I've had to rethink my goals and redevelop them," Mr Cameron said. "Most other people have goals for living till they are 60, their world is based around that. I just can't copy and paste those kind of thoughts, I have to rebuild it." ILLEGALLY dispatched debris is threatening the livelihood of long-time commercial fisherman Tom Neil.
In recent work trips to the waters off Cape Hillsborough and St Helens, Mr Neil and his crew have had their fishing nets wrecked by a dumped washing machine, a fridge and iron slats and poles. This has resulted in damage to two trawling nets, which will set him back more than $6000. The damage occurred in areas where trawling is permitted, just outside established green zones. Mr Neil, who has been fishing in Mackay waters for about 30 years, said the financial burden caused by these "booby-traps" was obviously detrimental, but matters could escalate should this issue continue. "There was heaps of stuff tied together with rope - pipe, bits of bar, aluminium mesh ... it's all tied together, gets in our nets and tangles them up," he said. "Thing is, if someone gets hurt seriously I get blamed for it. You could roll a boat over, you could sink - you could do anything if it's big enough. https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/how-little-ebony-is-beating-the-odds/3745385/
IT WAS an innocuous fall, but it triggered a daunting chain of events for a young Mackay family. In November last year, Ebony Newman fell off a chair while staying with her grandparents. While it appeared to be nothing more than a simple accident, she was unresponsive for 25 minutes. A MRI scan soon after revealed Ebony, then 18 months old, had a brain tumour. "Typically, these types of tumours are ... 'slow growing' they described it as," Ebony's mother Maree Newman said. "But hers was aggressive." As a result, Ebony has had to make frequent trips to Brisbane for check-ups and treatment with her mum, who said it had been an extremely difficult period to juggle, with the family regularly being split up. Ebony's father, Michael Newman, has had to continue working and also look after their seven-year-old son, Liam, as well as his three children from a previous marriage. "Liam, when they were away, was a bit clingy and missing Mum," Mr Newman said. "But we'd get Mum on the phone and he'd have a chat and was all good. They (the kids) are getting through it." https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/mackay-support-dog-discovered-strangled-in-backyar/3749302/
FOR the Barrett family, Dana was much more than a pet dog. The diminutive cavalier had been welcomed into the family as a support animal for 13-year-old James. It made her apparent disdainful death all the more harrowing for the heartbroken family. James' mum Veronica Barrett returned to her Mt Pleasant home from work last Wednesday afternoon and noticed a white Subaru parked in the neighbouring property. She noticed two Caucasian men, described as under six foot tall, slim build and wearing bucket hats, emerge from the side of the house holding something before taking off. Ms Barrett said the house next door was vacant and assumed the two men were inspecting it. She said typically Dana and the family's other dog would greet her by the veranda upon her return home. The Barrett's smallest member was nowhere to be seen. That is, until the following afternoon. https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/just-12-hours-after-he-was-born-their-boy-stopped-/3755526/
JUST 12 hours after he was born, Kenneth Harvey stopped breathing. The newborn went into respiratory distress, sending shock waves through first-time parents, Caitlyn and Brian. Since then, it has been 18 months of more questions than answers, with little Ken's illness still a mystery. Initially, doctors believed his large tonsils were the cause. But after they were removed, the breathing problems persisted. On top of that, he has regular seizures and dealing with the ongoing battle has been a daunting challenge for the young family. "It is quite confronting, and we have had huge problems," Mrs Harvey said. "I myself have struggled with post-natal depression ... because of the situation we were put in from day dot. "It was very hard, and I'm not from (Mackay originally) so I don't have the support network here which made things even harder." https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/former-cutters-inspired-reality-check/3756868/
IT TOOK a while for the reality of his friend's tragic death to set in for Jayden O'Shannessy. He was only 14, but as time went on he began to realise the devastating impact of mental illness. It became the catalyst for B-Happ-E. The business venture is a first for the now 20 year old, who is selling his own clothing brand to raise money for the Black Dog Institute. Mr O'Shannessy said the institute didn't "beat around the bush", and his experience had inspired him to help them break the stigma that men should not speak about their wellbeing. "I've had the idea for a while and it's a big part of my life. It kicked off six or seven years ago when I had a friend who committed suicide at such a young age," Mr O'Shannessy said. "It was always on my mind as I got older and older, and unfortunately Mackay has had a lot go on in that spectrum. "It's a scary thing, and I'm sure it happens everywhere, but when you're in the place itself you just want to help it out as much as you can." https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/it-really-says-life-isnt-a-game/3761934/
FATHERHOOD has allowed James Hoffman to grow a lot. The patience, the adaptability; these traits have steeled him well in his position as a care support officer at Mackay Base Hospital. Care support officers deal with patients who suffer from dementia and other cognitive impairments. At times, these patients can have challenging or violent behaviour. For Mr Hoffman, being able to focus on the patient as a person rather than a condition has made a telling impact on him. The proof is in the pudding: it has positive impacts on those suffering from dementia too. The job can be far from glamorous at times. But while it can often be confronting to see people in such distress, Mr Hoffman said the patients had helped him as much as he had them. "Seeing someone on a daily basis not be able to live their life how they want because of these communication difficulties and cognitive deficiencies is really hard,” he said. "Seeing the wives and families come in, and you're watching them go through the motions of it all is really confronting as well. "Now as a father, it does make me think if I was to ever end up in that situation what can I do now to prepare for that, and prepare my daughters and wife for that? "You definitely do have those thoughts, but the biggest thing I find from the clients is how much they inspire me. The lives they have lived and the things they have done, it really says life isn't a game.” |
AuthorA selection of my general news content. My main round was health, however I frequently covered weather, crime, politics and general human interest. Archives
January 2020
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