IN PROFILE
T
he Royal Australian Navy’s clearance diver acceptance test (CDAT) is tough. Really tough. Its 14 full-on days of physical pressure combined with mental turmoil is specifically designed to test the strength and endurance limits of even the fittest athletes. Colloquially known as “Hell Week”, CDAT is the first major hurdle clearance diver candidates need to overcome. Now an Invictus Games athlete, Matthew Brumby, originally found himself in the unusual situation of being part of not just one, but two selection courses; on his way to becoming a full-time diver capable of tasks such as bomb disposal and the clearing of mines. “I was really lucky and unlucky, in a sense,” says Matthew.
recognised that good mental health was equally important to his progress. Keeping active was an important aspect of Matthew’s rehabilitation. Leaving the military, he quickly obtained his truck licence and worked on a farm, but sport was always at the back of his mind. Initially, Matthew dabbled in wheelchair basketball but ultimately found his home in paraathletics, eventually going on to compete around the world. Matthew debuted internationally at the 2011 World Triathlon Championship in China, culminating in winning the 2016 Ironman World Championship Triathlon on the Sunshine Coast. However the high of winning and the disappointment of missing out on the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro forced Matthew to make the difficult decision to take a year away from sport.
At 19, he took part in his first CDAT and injured himself during a canoe ride. “I’d been canoeing in the harbour for six hours and when “I had to find the drive again. When you I went to lift it up, I dropped it on my back.” have a spinal cord injury, your life becomes His soft tissue injury resulted in his immediate about always using your arms,” he says. exit from the course, but Matthew refused to “When an injury happens you might not give up, training for another three years before be able to transfer for the day because being accepted a second time round in 2000. your arms are so sore. I needed to make a decision somewhere along the line about But he was again beset by injury. “The second what was important to me.” time, I was doing sprints with weights above my head and I collapsed on the beach.” He found holistic support with the Invictus Pathways Program, a collaboration between Although Matthew was medically removed The Road Home’s peer support program from the course that night he was considered well enough to be posted to a warship just a few and the University of South Australia designed to provide physical and mental days later. But whilst dropping off his motor bike at a friend’s house, he crashed, passing out support and the tailored facilities needed for veterans wanting to compete in the on the side of the road. Invictus Games. “Athletes within the Matthew’s T6 paraplegia was initially military sometimes feel like they don’t misdiagnosed as result of the accident. It was have anywhere to go when they leave,” only some time later that it was correctly he says, “so having someone guide you attributed to dehydration of the spinal cord along the way is important. You can call resulting in a pocket of fluid building up inside. anyone at any time of the day just to say As a member of the Australian Royal Navy, that you’re struggling.” Matthew felt the communal-style living Matthew says the Invictus Pathway conditions helped him deal with the initial Program and The Road Home are positive stages of his disability. Forced to live with other indicators that the Australian military is people almost around the clock gave him the starting to recognise the warning signs opportunity to forge solid and dependable of potential mental health issues quicker friendships which helped him come to terms than before. Both programs serve as a with his condition. continuous support system Matthew didn’t However, Matthew found it difficult to deal necessarily feel he had the benefit of when with the mental impact of his disability. he was training to be a Paralympian. He Watching fellow military personnel in recovery believes such programs have the effect of equally affected by their experiences, he embracing each athlete’s disabilities and www.scia.org.au
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