After falling three storeys from a rooftop onto concrete in March last year, Paul McMahon’s loved ones feared the worst. Would he survive? And how much did the fall affect his brain?
It’s a miraculous tale. SameSame.com spoke to Paul, 28, on the phone from Brisbane, and he told them how after months of rehabilitation he is the “very best case you can imagine” for returning from a “very, very bad brain injury.”
“My doctor’s now given me clearance to go back to work,” he says proudly, hoping the dawn of 2015 will mean a fresh start for him.
The accident happened the night after his birthday. “I was at a friend’s place on a roof entertaining area with no railing,” he explains.
“I got up out of my seat, took the wrong footing, and that was it. It was very quick. Within a second, I just fell.
“The reason I can talk to you here today is that I just fell one floor, hit an awning, and then I fell the other two-and-a-half floors. So that awning is the reason I survived.”
Paul woke up in hospital, some days later. “I was totally drugged out with medication in the first three weeks, but I had a few little moments. At one point, my brain convinced me that I was a secret agent and I was in prison!
“I had fallen onto my left side, so that side of my face was very painful. I had to have surgery on my wrist. But the big thing physically was that my left leg had snapped. They initially said to my parents that they weren’t sure if they could save my leg – they might’ve had to remove it.
Paul faced many challenges in his recovery, but knew he had to get better, so getting on with rehab didn’t require too much soul-searching.
“I’ll be honest and say that I was very positive throughout the recovery process, because I knew how lucky I was to survive,” he says. “I kept doing better than they expected. I’m so lucky to be able to have this conversation with you right now, because my brain injury was so bad.
“My message to anyone struggling with their health would be to stay positive. My accident was cured by nature, and staying positive was the only way I got through.”
Almost a year on from his accident, Paul says he’s back to running again – “I used to do 10kms, but now I’m back up to 2.1kms” – and he’s writing a book on his experiences.
“I could’ve been depressed and upset and hating life, but instead I’ve been doing things like starting to write my book. Making myself work has helped my brain get back into the mode of living normally. Therefore I think I’ve healed quicker.”
He’s even met a nice guy. “Once I left the hospital, I visited Sydney a couple of times while in recovery,” he smiles. “And I randomly just met up with this guy for a coffee. He’s Brazilian, he’s really lovely, and it was nice. So I invited him up to Brisbane, and it was really good seeing him here. Then we went away together around Australia for a month, and now we’re doing the long-distance thing. I want to move to Brazil eventually – hopefully sooner rather than later!
“I didn’t tell him what had happened to me right away, but when I did tell him, he didn’t treat me any differently. So it’s a nice story.”
It really is. Well done, Paul on your incredible recovery, and thank you for sharing your story.
As Paul prepares his book and other projects, you can keep in touch with him via his Facebook page.
This article was first published on ‘Same Same’ and has been reproduced with Paul’s approval.
