Hang gliding victim in daunting battle to walk, talk again Helen’s amazing journey
IT has been over a decade since Helen Ross Lee last took to the sky, but the former hang gliding pilot is working to land back on her feet.
The Mudgeeraba woman’s life changed forever 12 years ago when a crash on takeoff left her with a catastrophic brain injury.
Told she would never talk or walk again, the former nurse has recovered enough to write a book on her journey of survival.
Looking to rejoin hang gliding in March 2008 after a 10-year absence, Mrs Ross Lee was attempting a “freefly” at Dalby when she lost control during takeoff and nosedived into the ground.
The force of the crash sheared her vertebral artery – the main artery supplying blood to her brain.
Her sternum was also fractured due to the CPR she was given at the time.
She was not expected to survive.
Rushed to hospital, she was diagnosed with “extremely severe traumatic brain injury” and spent 10and-a-half months in a Brisbane rehab unit.
“When I first became aware of myself in hospital, I had no idea what was happening,” the mother of two told the Bulletin this week.
“I could not speak, I could not move the left side of my body.
“I had severe double vision, I could not get out of bed, I could not walk at all.
“I was incontinent. I had lost complete control of my life.”
She also suffered severe amnesia.
“Five minutes of amnesia is considered to be very mild, while periods of amnesia lasting between one to four weeks are categorised as extremely severe.
“My amnesia lasted 37 days.”
Discharged from hospital unable to walk or talk, Mrs Ross Lee began her long recovery with the help of ongoing physiotherapy and detailed diary-keeping, which she says helped her cognitive recovery.
Since then it has been a case of “use it or lose it’’, she said.
“I have maintained my fitness through physiotherapy and pilates exercise for the past 12 years.”
She still regularly watches her husband hang gliding.
“That is the closest I get to any extreme activity,” she said.
“Watching rugby league, boxing or any sport which involves the potential for a brain injury ... leaves me cold.”
Now 57, Mrs Ross Lee’s ability to communicate and live independently has been deemed a miracle by those closest to her.
Mrs Ross Lee disagrees. “It’s one thing which really makes me indignant.
“If you have to work as hard as I’ve had to, and are this physically disabled, you can keep your version of a miracle.
“My recovery is significant and has been nothing but hard work.
“The human brain contains the feature of neuroplasticity.” To share her journey, Mrs Ross Lee began writing her book, The Phoenix Rising, a true story of survival, in early 2012.
“I confront many concerns including raising teenage children, dealing with marriage issues, weight gain, ageing, financial hardship, medical issues, re-entering the workforce and various dietary issues,” she said.
The memoir is set to be released in March and her website will go live shortly.