Leslie mounts an amazing recovery
On a clear day, the view from the summit of Mt Kaukau is breathtaking – past the houses dotted along the rolling hills, the bright blue water of Wellington Harbour stretches out to the horizon.
But what makes standing up there and looking out, after climbing 445 metres, even more euphoric for Andrew Leslie is remembering how a year ago doctors said he’d never walk again.
On March 19, 2020, the father-ofthree and chief executive of Recreation Aotearoa became a tetraplegic after crashing his mountain bike on an advanced trail at Karori’s Ma¯ kara Peak.
During the ride, which he’d completed multiple times, Leslie lost his balance going down a drop and flew over the handlebars, hitting the ground head first. ‘‘I knew I was in a lot of trouble because I felt my body go numb instantly.’’
The impact smashed his spinal cord between the C4 and C5 vertebrae in his neck.
Lying in the middle of the track, he forced out a noise to warn the next rider. Several other mountain bikers heard him and stopped to help. One called 111 and paramedics soon arrived with a stretcher.
They carried Leslie 10m through the bush to a clearing where he was winched to a waiting Life Flight helicopter, which rushed him to Christchurch for surgery. There, doctors told Leslie’s family he would use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
After a week in an induced coma, he woke up in ICU. New Zealand was in lockdown at alert level 4.
Once he was able to breathe on his own he was moved to Burwood Spinal Unit. A flicker of movement in his leg during the transfer gave Leslie hope that he could prove the doctors wrong.
Over the next four months, Leslie worked fulltime with a team of physio, occupational and speech language therapists on ‘‘awakening’’ his muscles.
He relearned how to feed himself, brush his teeth, and stand up. As he achieved each goal he set a new one, until he was able to walk unaided out of the hospital.
ACC’s Sharon Smith, who has helped Leslie access support services during his recovery, said his story was an ‘‘incredible’’ example of resilience.
Before the accident he loved walking up Mt Kaukau and was determined do so again. He broke the climb down into sections and got further each time, reaching the summit on his fifth attempt.
As well as working fulltime while learning how to run again, Leslie is helping the Department of Conservation to make tracks more accessible for disabled people.
‘‘I see the world a bit differently. I move through the world a lot slower. Sure that’s out of necessity, [because of mobility issues], but I’m seeing a real upside in that.’’
Andrew Leslie is sharing his story as part of ACC’s new ‘‘Preventable’’ campaign, which highlights how 90 per cent of the 2 million injury claims that the organisation accepts annually are preventable. These cost an estimated $4 billion per year.