As a Paraplegic I have achieved a lot but in the end have fallen way short.

A Bloody Paraplegic
John Dwyer

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projects:

Harley Trike
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Archery.

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"I am not sure if this is a positive or negative site but I would like to say that being a Bloody t3 Paraplegic is not a recommended state to be in. If you want to look for a positive the only one I could find is that I m not a Bloody Quadriplegic....As a high level Paraplegic relying on a wheelchair to get around for the last 47 years I have achieved a fair bit but in the end have fallen way short...." John Dwyer.

I started this site in June 2009 and it is continually being updated as I get more information on some of the various activities I have been involved in as a t3 Bloody Paraplegic. Most have been completed but there are still a few things that I just can't remember or perhaps have blocked from my mind for whatever reason. I was going to look into that further but I can't be bothered however that changes on a daily basis depending on how depressed I am at the time.

There has been no time in my life that I considered being a t3 Bloody Paraplegic something that has helped me. I live with it and I hate it and have done so from day one. However I have managed to move forward most of the time.

I had my life altering prang (accident for all of the Yanks that ask me what that means) in 1962 so I have had to put up with this for 48 + years and I don't remember actually having a good laugh in all of that time though I have been reminded by April (my first wife) that I nearly died laughing at a Peter Cook and Dudley Moore live show that we went to.

I am also being treated for depression / bipolar disorder and anxiety all of which can really stuff you around. If you feel like killing yourself as I do most of the time go to Beyond Blue or Google for Reach Out. I haven't called on them myself because when I am on a high I am okay but when I am on a low I can't be bothered. It would be safe to say that if I wasn't living where I am now, even with all of it's frustrations and the walls that they put in your way, I would most certainly be dead.

I also appreciate that there are people much worse off than I am. Of course I sympathize, especially with the kids, but hit yourself between the eyes with a hammer and see who you think about then....so it's relative.

However if you follow this story you will see that you can achieve things regardless, and perhaps find your own positives.

Just a note here that I didn't receive a dime in compensation from the accident that left me a t3 Bloody Paraplegic. Back in those days you automatically got a third or two thirds of the judges compensation verdict but somewhere along the line we got a lawyer who wanted to go all the way and I made the mistake of being interviewed by a policeman, without a lawyer. I mentioned that I glanced away just before I hit the car that broke my back and that cost me dearly.

So I started with nothing, nudda, zilch, not a smackaroo, not even a brass tack.

I would not have been able to achieve anywhere near the things that I have as a Bloody Paraplegic without parents. My dad worked in a Spare Parts shop in Perth city and Mum looked after the house and the kids.

They were always there for us and although we weren't rich but we wanted for nothing.

Apart from my mum the main women who have been in my life were Jan, Stephanie, April, Joanne and Alana. April was to become my first wife and Alana my second.

Each one has contributed in such a way that gave me the confidence to tackle my dreams head on and to actually achieve most of them. I eventually let myself (and everyone else) down when I started to drink too much which led to my attempting suicide. I still rely on Alana to help me through the bad times as I experience them however things are not bad all of the time and we get to go out to lunch on a fairly regular basis. April is also on the end of the phone should I need help.

There is a lot more that I want to say in this little bit but I am not all that good at putting real feelings into words when talking to my 'girls'. It's just another failing of mine that I regret.

I am currently living at the Quadriplegic Centre in Shenton Park, Perth, Western Australia and I while I have done a few different things in my life this is the only place where I feel that I have been treated as if I am an idiot by people in positions of power who I am certain haven't led as diverse a life as I have, and actually seem to get off by making illogical decisions that effect so many already stuffed up lives.

Over the years I have dealt with all sorts of Government departments and people who go by the book who get a kick out of playing with red tape, but at least you know that you have a chance of winning an argument because they eventually have to use logic and commonsense. There is no logic or commonsense at all to some of the decisions that are made in here.

When I look back at the things I have done and the opportunities I have had I have to question how I ended up in the Quadriplegic Centre. Perhaps I will find some answers while doing this website.

The website actually came about because I bought a 1978 XC Ford Coupe on eBay from a guy named Fernando ............in NSW and got ripped off by the prick and I wanted to keep a log of accounts, so to speak.

While I was playing with that I thought I might expand things a bit so I started filling in bits and pieces from my past and the present as a Bloody Paraplegic as I find the time. I am actually finding it quite therapeutic....I think....because this just may back-fire on me as I am a bit of a compulsive-obsessive as well as having been diagnosed with clinical and manic depression. So a decision made while I feel good, or bad, may not be one I would have made otherwise.

My memory also tends to drop in and out and I am not sure if that is old age or selective but my life is broken up into parts because I tend to move on once one bit is over. Perhaps I should work on why that is with a good Psychiatrist or Psychologist. I have, of course, seen a number of both over the past 47 or so years but I usually end up listening to their problems which defeats the purpose.

continued My Life

A Bloody Paraplegic's favourite photo. Life as it should be.
Above: Life as it should be.
And this also makes me smile

Playing kick to kick on the lawn at Floreat before becoming a Bloody Paraplegic.
Stonk, me and Gigs.
Above: Stonk (front) me and Gigs playing on the front lawn of my place in Floreat, Perth, Western Australia.

Above: Three months and a bit after this photo was taken on June 30th 1962 I became a t3 Complete Bloody Paraplegic and I am still angry.

Below: Through the ages.
Hospital the first time.

Signwriting at Walsh's.

A Bloody Paraplegic John Dwyer

A Bloody Paraplegic John Dwyer