LOVE INSPIRES CASEY
On the anniversary of his devastating on-field accident, Casey Tutungi tells how fatherhood has driven his rehab fight FIVE YEARS ON
WHEN moments of doubt creep into Casey Tutungi’s rehabilitation, it’s family that gives him the drive to keep pushing.
In the five years since an on-field collision left the talented footballer a quadriplegic, his partner Bridget, daughters Asta, 4, Louttit, 1, and his extended family have willed him forwards.
Those close to him have been central to the steely resolve that drives the former Cats VFL player.
“My drive comes from wanting to be healthy to spend time with my family,” Casey said.
“I’ve got a couple of beautiful girls and a great partner.
“My injuries have allowed me to spend more time with the girls and I think I’ve got a good connection with them off the back of that.
“Asta watches me in rehab … she hasn’t been able to put me on the bike but she knows everything we do and is into it as much as anyone.”
Casey’s commitment to rehabilitation comes with knowledge that physical improvement increases his ability to be hands-on with his daughters.
“(Fatherhood) puts perspective on life and you’re no longer selfish at all,” he said.
He’s determined not to let his disability get in the way of parenting or hold him back from achieving his goals.
Cradling his daughters, being at Asta’s kindergarten concerts and watching them splash in the pool with him — thanks to a hoist that gets him into the water — are simple pleasures Casey has come to love.
He adores being with his girls, having them on his lap or putting them on numerous benches around his Surf Coast home.
He sits in a plastic chair in the seaside shallows and on his all-terrain wheelchair