Joshua's Story

In 2008 Joshua Clift was involved in two serious accidents that changed his life forever.

He broke his neck at the C4 and C5 on July 12 2008, in a tackle playing rugby for his home team, Scone. As a result he was left paralysed from the neck down. After two major operations fusing his neck Joshua was fortunate enough to walk out of hospital a few weeks later, with nearly complete function. The only setback was he had limited arm movement, which he was told would improve over time. He was instructed to wear a neck brace for 12 weeks and rest. During this time his arm movement improved dramatically. After this period Joshua saw his surgeon Dr Ruff and his neck brace was removed his life was soon back on track.

Less than two weeks later on Sep 29, Joshua’s life took another turn. While driving to his parent’s property, he fell asleep at the wheel only 2kms from home. The car ran off the side of the road and rolled numerous times. Joshua was found unconscious, lying outside the vehicle with severe head and spinal injuries. He has no memory of what happened. He will never know. He was extremely lucky to survive the crash and if he hadn’t been found he would have bled to death in a short space of time.

What followed was 72 hours of uncertainty. Joshua was in a coma, fighting to stay alive. The doctors were unsure if he would survive, let alone escape without brain damage. Being the fighter he is Joshua woke three days later, scared and confused. He couldn’t feel or move anything from the neck down. Joshua had broken his neck at the C6 and C7 level, which was fused with another plate. His lung capacity was functioning at 20 per cent, he had developed pneumonia and a series of blood clots in his lungs. He had 70 staples and dozens of stitches in his head.

Amazingly he suffered no brain damage.

After careful assessment Joshua was told he is an incomplete quadriplegic. His spinal cord was not severed in the accident, but it was badly bruised and in a lot of shock. He was given a two year period to recover from the accident. The amount of movement he will get back is unknown.

The next six months were spent at the Royal Rehabilitation Centre, (RRC) at Ryde, where he worked tirelessly on the repair of his body. During this period he committed extra time and resources traveling to other specialists to receive extra treatment including acupuncture, physiotherapy, massage treatment and kinesiology. On most days this was two or more hours more than the daily standard treatment he was allocated at Ryde.

The Royal Rehab Centre is the best available rehab facility in NSW, however due to lack of Government financial support the facilities lack the full range of equipment and staff required to help Joshua regain the maximum use of his lower extremities. There was, and still is, nowhere in Australia that can offer these facilities to patients with Joshua’s injuries. Joshua contacted the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of the world’s best spinal rehabilitation centres, offering state-of-the-art technology and dedicated staff to maximise recovery. After a three month application and acceptance period Joshua received confirmation of a placement.

On the 12^th of April 2009, Joshua left his home, his family and friends, support network and all things familiar in his life to face his challenge in Atlanta, USA. This was a very big commitment, not only financially, but emotionally too. On arriving at the Shepherd Center, his decision was affirmed. Both the facilities and the staff were better than he could have ever imagined.

Joshua immediately embarked on a four-week Day Program, which was five days a week from 9am to to 5pm. He learnt more in four weeks at the Shepherd Centre than he had in a full six months at RRC in Sydney.

Currently, Joshua is enrolled in Beyond Therapy, which is an intense physical rehabilitation program that focuses on regaining movement and strength. This program aims to activate muscle memory with the use of electrodes and machines such as the locomat. This is a robotic walking machine that is not found in Australian rehab systems but which is used extensively in rehab centers overseas, this influenced his decision to go to The Shepherd Center. As part of the regular evaluation process, Joshua is reassessed every 12 weeks. As long as he can keep improving he is committed to staying at the Shepherd Centre until the job is done.

The last twelve months have been an indescribably difficult time for Joshua, not just on a physical level but emotionally and mentally. He has found himself in a situation that not even those closest to him can fully understand. He describes every day as the ultimate test of strength and commitment, which leaves him exhausted and completely drained. Joshua has demonstrated herculean determination and embraced aspects of his character that he didn’t know he had.

Joshua has been a true inspiration to everyone who knows him or has heard his story. When given so many reasons to quit, Joshua has done the opposite. He has approached his situation head on, with the unique and loveable grin those who know him adore. Joshua is determined to walk again.

Joshua’s family has experienced the trauma and grief that goes hand-in-hand when witnessing someone you love endure this kind of hardship. Joshua’s father Jonathon, and his family, have already experienced the effects of quadriplegia at close range. Joshua’s Uncle, Adam Clift, became a quadriplegic in 1986 after a rugby accident while playing for Scone. Adam passed away in 1989. For Jonathon to have witnessed both his only son and his brother become quadriplegics is heartbreaking. Spinal care has come a long way since 1989, and with more awareness and support Joshua would like to see some of the rehabilitation facilities he has been lucky enough to access through the Shepherd Center made available to other people who are in his situation here in Australia in the not too distant future.