Kadeem

Meet Kadeem (KD)… a family man and animal lover living in regional Queensland after the amputation of his legs. Learn about KD’s life and his advice for others who may be living with a similar experience.

KD’s accident

In October 2023, KD was in a serious truck accident in which he sustained serious injuries including the amputation of both legs. KD was in a coma for 22 days following the crash.

“I am very blessed to have a family that support me and don’t treat me any differently after the accident.”

My wife and I have been together for 12 years. She is a nurse and extremely hard working. She has supported me through a lot over the years and in the last 7 months has been right by my side through it all. We have two kids, Matilda who is 9 – she is a fun-loving, out-there, little girl who is very committed to her horse-riding competition in western pleasure (western style competition at horse shows). She also does dance and swimming. She is very mature for her age and is always trying to help me to make sure I’m ok.

Our son Sebastian is 7 – he is very caring with a kind heart. He just wants to make sure everyone is “ok”. He plays NRL footy and does swimming as well. I am very blessed to have a family that supports me and do not treat me any differently after the accident.

Our pets are also part of the family. We have my daughter’s quarter horse, Jimmy. He is an amazing horse who is gentle around me when I’m in my wheelchair. He just rests his head on my lap for me to give him a pat. We also have my dog Belle, she is a French bulldog cross pug. She never leaves my side and if I call out for help, she will go bark at someone to get them to come to me.

We also have a highlander cow, named Theo, that the kids hand-raised. He does not know he is a cow and acts more like a big dog.

“Every milestone big or little is a win and should be celebrated.”

I’ve had some really big milestones over the last 7 months. I was told it would be a year before I worked up the strength and had enough body movement back to get prosthetics. After 4 months, I got both my prosthetics. This was very life-changing and showed my kids that Dad was fighting hard to get home.

Getting home to my family was very important to me. When I was discharged from hospital it was a very emotional day as I was told I would be there for 18 months at the start. I also believe that the milestones that help with day-to-day living are a big deal.

Learning to swallow, being able to feed myself again, writing – learning how to slide out of the wheelchair with a sideboard so I was able to get into a car or onto a couch is a big deal. These skills are ones we take for granted until we are unable to do them and have to rely on someone else to do these for you.

“The NIISQ Scheme has been amazing.”

The support that not only I have received, but my family as well has been amazing. Just ringing to check on my wife and getting my kids help for them to deal and understand the accident. With the funding from NIISQ I have been able to get more access to better quality equipment. They are very supportive of helping me get back to the stuff I was doing before the accident.

Helping me get better quality feet for my prosthetics so I would be able to walk. Our home needs renovations for me to be able to be safer and have access to the home. Without NIISQ support we would not be able to do these and that would mean I could not use the bathroom or even get into the house as the doorways are too small for the days I have to use my wheelchair.

“Living outside the metro area definitely has challenges.”

When the accident happened, my wife stayed in Brisbane for 8 weeks. That’s two and a half hours away from our kids.  When I have appointments with the hospitals and for my prosthetics, I have to travel anywhere from one and a half to two hours to see them. Even for equipment trials, we have to travel at times the hour and a half. Some days sitting in the car for this amount of time is very painful. 

“Celebrate every little win no matter how small you think it may be as any step forward is still moving.”  

There will always be days that you think you’re going backwards. These days you need to remember where you started and how far you have come. It’s ok to have bad days – it’s how you move on from the bad day that matters. Wake up and tell yourself that today is a new day and a new start. Move on from the bad day. 

Thank you, KD, for sharing your incredible journey with us.