Paraplegic athlete John Maclean says it's often hard to describe in words what it was like to take his first unassisted step after 25 years of being in a wheelchair. While the experience was certainly "humbling," he says he focused on all the steps he knew he wanted to take after.
In his new book, “How Far Can You Go?”, Maclean recounts his incredible journey that saw go from nearly losing his life to now competing in triathlons.
His remarkable story started on a regular training day in June, 1988. The Australian athlete who grew up playing rugby was riding his bike when he was hit from behind by an eight-tonne truck. The devastating accident left him with incomplete paraplegia, with multiple fractures in his pelvis, back and sternum. His lungs were punctured, his arms were broken, and he wound up in a coma.
He said doctors told his father they didn't expect he would survive.
"I guess I was fortunate enough to come out of the coma four days later, and started to realize that life was not going to be the way it was before," he told CTV's Canada AM.
But it wasn't until much later that the full extent of his injuries dawned on him, when he saw a reflection of himself in a wheelchair for the first time. He was still in hospital and caught a glimpse of himself in the washroom mirror.
"I had not seen myself for eight weeks," Maclean said. "Now, looking at a vision which was scary, I almost felt like being physically sick… I was really, really scared. Those early days were tough."
But Maclean was driven to return to what he knew, which was sports. So for the next 12 months, he took to training, swimming and exercising daily.
It was an immense struggle, but one he says he faced with the love and support of his family and friends.
His father, in particular, inspired him to not give up, he says, recalling one moment they shared together that ultimately inspired the title of his book.
Maclean was sitting with his father one afternoon, and he told him how hard he was trying to regain his strength.
"He looked at me, and he said, 'You've come a long way,'" Maclean said. "I started to cry because I realized I wasn't going to live the life I wanted to live."
He said his father then turned to him, gave him a hug, and said "Son, how far can you go?"
Maclean said that inspired him to pursue his dreams. He went on to compete in the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon, becoming the first wheelchair athlete to finish the course, and swim the English Channel. He also competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, winning a silver medal in rowing.
(Photos from John Maclean)
But he started a whole new chapter in his life in 2013, when he approached renowned therapist Ken Ware with a dream of walking again – a dream he had never really abandoned.
"I kept on dreaming it, I thought one day," he said.
After undergoing Ware's "trigger process" therapy, Maclean was eventually able to take his first unassisted steps in 2013. The process is described as a way of using specialized neurophysics exercises to activate the nervous system in a way that “stimulates the body to re-organize itself and return to optimal function.”
Taking that first step in 2013 is a feat Maclean still struggles to describe.
"It's difficult to put into words… it was very humbling," he said, noting that his therapists advised him to move beyond the moment and focus instead on the next steps.
"I gradually took more," he said. "And then I did things I'd dreamed about all those years: to walk on the beach with my wife holding hands, to pick up my son from day care … there are gold medal moments in life."
While Maclean still uses his wheelchair as his primary mode of movement, being able to walk again has given him new opportunities to rediscover life.
In 2014, Maclean completed the Nepean Triathlon, using a conventional bike and walking to the finish line, hand-in-hand with his wife and son. It was the first conventional triathlon he'd competed since he was injured.
(Photo from John Maclean)
Maclean will be walking in the 5-kilometre leg of the Toronto Marathon on May 1. He will also be speaking at the Abilities Centre in Whitby, Ont. on April 26.
