Robyn

Robyn Ryan – SCI Australia Ambassador

“I was injured at a young age and I want to make young people aware that they are not invincible - I want to encourage other people to speak up and not fall down due to peer pressure - I want people to think about the risks they take, to think about their responsibilities - and to pass on my experiences”.

Robyn Ryan has an important message that could help others avoid the type of life-shattering event which put her in a wheelchair. As an SCI Australia Ambassador she relishes the opportunity to join people in their place of work and talk through the many safety issues which affect their everyday lives. For Robyn, life changed dramatically in 1975 when she was a student nurse, just 17 years old, and fast asleep.

“It was during our annual holidays and I was travelling from Sydney back home to Lismore in my boyfriend’s car. We were accompanied by his brother who was too young to drive and, because I had no experience in a manual car, my boyfriend decided to do the12 hour drive in one go stopping only for petrol. After keeping him company until late at night, I fell asleep on the back seat, which in those days was not required to have a seat belt. It was 2 am and only 40 kilometres from our destination when he fell asleep at the wheel and ran off the road and crashed.”

The driver escaped from the accident uninjured while the younger brother was later treated and released from the casualty section at Lismore Hospital with minor injuries. Robyn suffered severe damage to her lower spine at level T/12 and was flown by air ambulance to Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital.
After 5 months in hospital Robyn returned home to her parents in a wheelchair as a complete paraplegic.

“Apart from undergoing extensive periods of rehabilitation, the two hardest things for me were changing my career and suffering a break up with my boyfriend. But everything slowly turned around as I managed to finish my HSC, complete a course in Social Welfare and regain personal independence with a modified car”.

Now married with two children, Robyn works in the administration section of a private welfare agency and looks forward to her regular presentations as an ambassador.

“I really enjoy the chance to meet people socially or at their place of work, to share my story and then talk through all the issues concerning safety. It’s terrific to get the feedback and know you are making a difference”, Robyn said.