Page 7 - Just Better Care Possible Magazine - Issue 3

Almost two years after the day their lives changed forever, Linda and Chris hopped aboard a cruise ship for a destination honeymoon in New Zealand. The salty fresh air on their faces, a holiday never felt so free as it did from the deck each night.
Linda always wanted to travel to New Zealand. Making the journey with her soon-to-be husband Chris seemed like the perfect opportunity. However, their plans to visit Australia’s mountainous neighbour were scrapped just ve days before their wedding due to a horri c fall that left Chris a paraplegic.
Just under a week before he was due to marry the love of his life, Chris lost his balance and fell off the front verandah of his home. Injuring his spine and head, he spent the next six months in hospital recovering and coming to terms with his new way of living.
Chris has experienced epilepsy since he was seven years old and was no stranger to periods of ill-health. But nothing could have prepared him for the aftermath of his accident.
“The day he fell, that was the day Possible
that our lives changed forever. The fact that we had to cancel our wedding was the least of our worries,” Linda said.
“I quit my job immediately to look after Chris. We had to learn to navigate a whole new world together.”
After six months of rehabilitation in hospital, they moved back home and began to re-plan their dream wedding.
Just over a year after the accident, Chris and Linda nally tied the knot.
“The day of the wedding was very cold, but it didn’t matter, I was nally marrying Chris. It was a day worth waiting for. I wouldn’t have changed anything for the world.
“We were wed in my aunt’s backyard surrounded by 40 of our closest friends and family, who had stuck by us through that year of hell. It was perfect.”
Family came from all over New 7