Run50 for the RBWH Foundation

You know, life has a funny way of knocking you down just to show you how strong you really are.

When I was 28, I spent 50 days in the Royal Brisbane, 12 of those days in a coma — 12 days that could have been my last. I woke up broken, battered, with a brain injury that changed my life. I had to learn everything again. How to walk, how to talk, how to eat, even how to hold up my own head and sit unsupported.

Pre and post injury, between all the struggles of life and the bigger challenges, life gave me more gifts than I can comprehend. I am married to the most beautiful woman — inside and out — and together we built a life full of laughter and chaos, and have raised two amazing humans who remind me every day why I fought so hard to come back.

Now, I get to walk into the very hospital that once saved my life — not as a patient, but as part of the team. Every shift, I’m surrounded by people who gave me a second chance, and I get to pay it forward in ways words can’t describe.

So yeah… there have been bad times. But the good? The good has been unbelievable. 12 years on from that life changing day and I’m still standing — grateful, humbled, and ready for whatever comes next. 

And I want to recognise the challenges I faced in those 50 days with a 50 day fitness challenge. It won't compare to how hard those days were, but it's not gonna be easy. I'm going to run a minimum of five kilometres every day until October 10 and finish with something big on the last day to raise funds for RBWH as my way of saying thank you.