A car crash nearly killed me
If there’steesaanybodyythere’s anybody who can overcome an obstacle, it’s Alex Matthews. The 33-year-old fi firefighter from WA – who took on the AustralianA Ninja Warrior assault cou course at the weekend – broke his neck tw two years ago in a near-fatal car accide accident that left him bedridden for mont months. He was driving home from a friend’s house when another drive driver ran a red light and smashed into his hatchback, leaving Al Alex unconscious and upturned in his car. “I had to spend three months in a collar, had problems with my foot and wrist, and also bruised ribs, so I spent the majo majority of the time lying on my back in bed,” Alex says. It was no picnic. ““I struggled big time. The pain side of things did didn’t really faze me – it wa was more about not being ab able to do the stuff I had ta taken for granted. “It pushed me into a pretty bad state a and I became really in introverted and grumpy.” It wasn’t until he tu turned to counselling at th the suggestion of his g girlfriend of nine years, M Mia, and his mum, Carlene, that Alex really began to recover. And taking care of his mental health made all the difference.
“That was my path to recovery. It was just so frustrating not being able to do anything [while I was bed-bound] and the e whole situation just compounded.
“It made me realise I’d had all my happiness eggs in one basket – if I was physically fit, I was happy.”
Thankfully, the accident has given Alex x a new appreciation for life. It was his newfound attitude and determination thatat saw him apply for Australian Ninja Warrior. r.
“Two years on, and I’m a better person n for what happened. When I found out about the show it became my end goal.
“Now I can prove myself and have closure from the accident.”