29 years ago in 1997, I boarded a plane for the United States after being told it wasn’t safe.
The doctors at the time were genuinely concerned. There weren’t many people living with a C2 ventilator dependent injury out in the community, let alone flying that far. The risks were real. A few people in similar situations had travelled, but it was still seen as a leap.
Getting there meant the practical side, power, medical clearances, the ventilator, and the decision to go when the advice was to stay home. None of it happens without the small team who came with me. Their skill, patience and belief turned a difficult idea into a working trip. I’ve included a photo of that team from the time.
We attended the 52nd United Nations General Assembly. I was there as a guest delegate of Alexander Downer, Australia’s Foreign Minister then. He addressed me at the UN. I’ve still got the old dog tag security pass from that visit. The photos from the UN building still surprise me.
Not long after that we met Christopher Reeve at the World Trade Center. I only met Dana Reeve briefly, but in that short time her nature was obvious. She was caring and considerate. She was genuinely interested in how I had made the journey, said Christopher would be so impressed, and was inspired by the persistence it had taken. That’s what led her to organise the meeting.
This week also marks what would have been Christopher’s birthday on 25 September. He is missed as a figurehead and advocate for spinal cord injury research and treatment. His voice, his push for science to move faster, and the platform he built still matter. He is not forgotten.
That 1997 trip was never just the meetings or the photos. It was the relationships that started there. Those connections became part of the foundation for the research work that followed, the work we are still doing.
Dreams are easy. Making them real takes effort, timing, and a willingness to move when people tell you not to. Sometimes you have to take the leap. Sometimes you have to stay focused when the doubt turns up.
That week in 1997 didn’t change the injury. It changed the trajectory. The photos from the UN, the World Trade Center, the team who made the trip possible, and the date that comes around every September are a reminder that the first step was simply getting on the plane.
Everything is possible. But only if you put the work in after you decide it is.
