Paralympic Gold Medallist Alexa Leary says reuniting with the two doctors who saved her life after a near-fatal cycling crash was “incredible”.
She has described the emotional meeting as something she had long hoped for.
A LifeFlight helicopter flew the world-record-breaking swimmer to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) following a high-speed crash in Pomona in July 2021. Now 24, Alexa, a Medal of the Order of Australia recipient, lives with the impacts of a traumatic brain injury and is advocating for a national awareness day to help Australians better understand the invisible disability.
“They’re the big reason why I’m here,” she says.
“LifeFlight is a massive reason.
“It’s just a big moment in my life that I finally met him.
“It’s incredible. I was like ‘I’m going to shake your hand; I’m going to give you a hug!’. It just made me feel so good.
“Of course, I had a few little tears. But I just loved it.”
LifeFlight critical care doctor Andrew Hughes was responsible for Alexa’s care during the 30-minute flight from Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) to RBWH.
Alexa was heavily sedated because of her head injury, so she was on a ventilator to keep her airway safe and control her breathing.
Dr Hughes says the reunion was equally special for him. “Alexa is a prime example of why we do what we do,” he says.
“The last time I saw her, she was very broken. And to now see her happy, healthy and not just thriving but excelling is a really fabulous feeling for me.
“We can’t always tell how people are going to go when we collect them, but we give people the best chance.”
Someone else who gave Alexa the best chance was Dr Hughes’ next-door neighbour – off-duty nuclear medicine physician Andrew Paszkowski who was riding his bicycle across the road from where she crashed.
Dr Paszkowski surprised Alexa and her parents Russ and Belinda Leary at the reunion.
“I just wanted to do the basics to keep her going until the ambulance arrived,” Dr Paszkowski says.
“My thought was this girl was in a lot of trouble. It was clear she’d had a significant head injury. Her helmet had a crack in it.
“We were just saying: ‘Alexa, help is on the way. It won’t be long now. You are going to be fine’.”
Dr Paszkowski encouraged Queenslanders to sign up for LifeFlight’s free emergency trauma First Minutes Matter program.
