What are the odds?
How would you react/ respond if you had been given a task with a 4% chance of success?
Would you forsake all other tasks to focus solely on achieving a good outcome?
That is what @r3nee, my mum, and my whole family (both blood and Defence) did 10 years ago
After barely surviving a horrific Helicopter smash in which four service personnel were killed, it was briefed to the PM and other politicians that one of the survivors had a 4% chance of survival. They were told to prepare for a 5th casualty, which was supposed to be me.
Renee and mum along with some fantastic medical support in all of the hospitals I was in, from Kandahar, to Landstuhl in Germany, Westmead in Sydney and the rehabilitation staff at the Mt Wilga Rehab hospital.
Slowly, but frustrating and painfully so, I began the waking up process and then had to re-learn everything all over again, like from a newborn to adult on fast forward. I had to relearn how use my hand and arm again, along with my leg and foot to start learning how to walk again.
Then came the tests for my speech again, I had a speech therapist who would write words on a board that I was having difficulty in pronouncing on it for me to continue practicing. They wrote up on the board “Afganistan”, and in the barely audible slur that I had in the early days, I said “you spelt that wrong!” to their response of “NO I DID NOT!” in a old-school headmaster kind of tone. “Ummm. There’s a H in there….”, which did not impress them in the slightest.
Even after a very near-death experience, I’m still a smart ass and a stickler for spelling.
My family continued to support me in my efforts and desire to get home, an early memory I had was a conversation (kind of a convo) with the head Dr at the rehab hospital in late August, when I told him that I was going home for my 30th in November.
He said that, at the moment that wouldn’t be possible as my rehab was still in the very early days and that I needed to be able to do certain things by my-self, for them to deem me safe enough to go home. I said, “I don’t care, I WILL be home for my birthday”. It was only 3 months away, challenge accepted.
I was discharged from hospital the day I turned 30, and was home for lunch and the party began.
How do you look at difficult tasks? Do you tell yourself that it is too hard and don’t bother, or do you get your head down and stuck into the job because you know, no matter what it MUST be achieved!
With a determined mindset, focus on the achievement of the goal, put all of your effort into it, you can succeed at anything.