Stories & Achievements: Pete’s Story
“I’ve pretty much hit most of my goals. I wanted to get back to driving and I wanted to get back to work. I achieved both of those goals by the end of 2019.”
Pete’s story: A fresh start
I have a tumour in my head. It was discovered in 2018 after I was attacked with a metal bar on New Years day. Since then my world has been turned upside down,” shares Pete.
The head injury caused by my assault meant that I needed to have CAT scans. That’s when they said, ‘Oh, hang on. You got some lesion on your head.’ I lived in Sydney at the time and they took me from Blacktown Hospital to Westmead where I had an MRI and they confirmed I had a tumour the size of a man’s fist. It was at the part of my head where the spinal cord and the nerves meet.
“Thankfully it was a non cancerous tumour and was actually outside of my brain. Strangely I didn’t have a lump or anything.”
I went through the surgery of removing the tumour, but they could only take out about 70% and they left the rest in my head. I was in the hospital for around two months and I had to go through all the rehabilitation of learning how to walk, eat and swallow. It was like being a newborn kid again.
The outcome of all the operation is that I’ve lost my balance and muscle mass on my body, including my face. So it’s been a bit of a rough journey but I’ve just had to come to terms with it all.
My parents are deceased. That’s a walk in life that we all have to do at some point. After living in Sydney my whole life, at 31 years of age I decided to move to Newcastle because I wanted to get away from my past and make some good life choices. My wild life back in the day meant I couldn’t live in that scene anymore, so I had to make a move. I had a real bad scenario with drugs and alcohol.
I’ve been living here since 2018, first staying with my aunty for a few months and then on my own. I do also have a brother who is nearby.
Before Headstart I was with another support agency but if I’m honest they weren’t really doing a great job. Now I enjoy the support I’m getting because they know the role of the job, and they know Newcastle.
I enjoy the Rec group outings every Monday. I really do love the social side of things. I hadn’t been to the Blue Mountains since I was a young kid. It was very cold the day we all went on that trip, but it was good to go!
I like a variety of activities. If something comes up I just go ask the gym to change my days and work around me. Rec is about making friends and I also enjoy the activities, especially bowling. I love that! It’s just a really good vibe with everyone there. It’s great to have such a line-up of different things to go and do with people.
I got my job at the gym through Emily, my OT who works next door to them. She spoke to the gym owner who was paying these cleaners a lot to do half the job. It just wasn’t being done properly. So Emily asked if I could come and be the gym’s cleaner. I’d already done some training and certificates to prove that I had a cleaning role behind me. Simone at the gym said yes and they pay me a proper wage.
I started doing two days a week and that turned into three days a week. Because I’m on Disability I can only work so many hours a fortnight.
“My job involves wiping down, sanitizing, mopping, cleaning bathrooms and showers. I enjoy it!”
It’s a really good atmosphere. Everyone’s always asking these questions about what happened to me. When I tell them my story, some say ‘Yeah, I have a family member or know some one with a similar issue.’ I’m always having a good chat with them and it’s great. I get invited to different things like a Wine Festival this past weekend but unfortunately I got COVID so I couldn’t go.
The first night I had COVID, I really felt like my body was starting to shut down. My body felt so cold. I woke up next morning and my throat was gone, my nose was runny, all my joints were aching. I lay in bed for about three days and then began to feel allright. It’s a week later now and I’ve just tested negative, though my nose still feels a bit congested. Thankfully I did all my shopping just before it happened. I normally buy everything for two weeks, so I was allright there. I’m ready to go out again now though!
Besides cleaning I get trained at the gym twice a week. It’s covered by NDIS which helps me out. I’ve done a variety of exercises, but at the moment I’m just really sticking to cardio so I can burn excess weight off.
“When I started with the gym, I was 137 kilos and now I’m down to around 120 kilos. So I’m losing the kilos. But you have to put the hard yards in to it make an effort to change your eating regime too.”
Diet-wise I’ve cut out a lot of sugar from what I eat and drink. My dietician is going to write me up a list of things that I should cook because I have been eating too much fatty and oily food. I want to try to cut down on that and get more nutrition so I can tone up a bit.
I said to myself at the beginning of the year that I want to get down to 100 kilos, so that’s still a goal. One of my long term goals is also to purchase a house. That might be a ten year goal, and you’ve got to have the motivation for something.
I do gym independently, and so with Daniel, my Headstart support worker, I go to the Monday Rec group getaways and I also have support on a Saturday. On the weekend Daniel will say ‘So what do you want to do?’ We might go to the movies or something. I really enjoy the companionship because, if I’m honest, I don’t know anyone but my neighbour in Newcastle.
Four years after my surgery my balance is still affected, I’m deaf in the right ear, and my facial muscles aren’t very tight. Balance is a long-term thing I’ll be working on, and with my face there’s nothing I can really do unless I go under the knife again or get botox or a face lift. But because it’s not really a major issue they’re not going to do it unless I really want it. Basically I’m unable to smile and I can’t blink my right eye. When I‘m sleeping I’m supposed to put a patch on and three times a day I’m supposed to lubricate it. When it’s windy my eye gets really irritated, but my vision is fine.
My life hasn’t been easy and I’ve had some issues, but I’m just making amends with it and want to stay on the right path for the rest of my journey. The path I should have done years ago.
It’s just about the next day now. Everything can really excite me now. For example, I’m meeting new people all the time at the gym and also through Headstart.
“I’m getting to know all these great people, and even though we have all these little issues with ourselves, we can always have a laugh together.”
Pete Impresses…
Pete is fantastic! He’s been working for me for about three months and he is the best worker anybody will ever have. The man is impeccable! I wish my other contractors had the same work ethic. Now when Pete’s finished his work he’s working out in the gym with personal trainers Milan, Jack and Harry. I don’t think he’s ever done anything like this before. I think that what we’ve done is help get him into gear. He’s doing a lot better than when he first came here - physically, mentally and with his diet too. He is motivated to keep improving. We’re helping him with his goals for better functional movement.
- Simone, Pete’s Supervisor, One Tribe Health & Fitness, Wickham
