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2015 London Keynote - Martine Wright - A Story of Suffering, Recovery, Determination and Self-Belief — Transcript

by International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare · 6,939 words · 941 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:14the International Olympic Committee
0:17there's the honor of announcing at the
0:20games of the 38 Olympian 2012 awarded to
0:26the City of London
0:31we've been been celebrating in the
0:32afternoon that London and Romney olympic
0:34bid and which I saw was a good excuse to
0:36go out and have a few drinks ready to
0:39celebrate
0:44following morning my alarm went off and
0:48I'm usually very good in the morning I'm
0:49quite a morning person that morning I
0:53decided to have 10 minutes embed those
0:5710 minutes would come at a price on July
1:01the 7th 2005 Martin ride was just
1:04another passenger and the london
1:05underground until she sat next to a
1:08suicide bomber I just had a white flash
1:11in front of my eyes and I felt like I
1:14was being thrown from side to side and I
1:18remember consciously thinking what the
1:22hell is going on
1:24today the chilling sound I've son of
1:27totally guilty vehicles the pole shift
1:30out of birds a name
1:31encourages killing maiming suddenly it
1:37was just black devastation you know it
1:41did blackness
1:47I don't remember the pain I just do not
1:50remember any pain all I could see was a
1:55sort of metal going down into me I
1:59didn't realize that my legs were were
2:01caught up in it there was just an
2:03electrical sort of burning smell and it
2:06was getting a little quieter and quieter
2:07as well and I can only really equate
2:10that to in the beginning of people were
2:13dying and things
2:17I could see this figure coming down
2:20towards the door that been blown off and
2:24this was Liz Liz Kenworthy the off-duty
2:26policeman
2:28um I am basically this was the the lady
2:33that saved my life
2:42she that's why I just yeah I just think
2:48I'm so lucky just so lucky oh she she
2:55came through and I can't imagine again
2:59what she was faced with but because you
3:02know I was there and she and she saw the
3:04state of my legs and I remember seeing
3:09her and I just kept saying to her my
3:12name's montine right please tell my mom
3:14and dad I'm okay my name is Martine
3:16right on 77 2005 Martine rights began a
3:20quite extraordinary journey a very
3:22personal stories inseparable from
3:24London's public preparations for the
3:26games by 2007 as London's often
3:29embattled organizers were bruised by
3:31budget issues and battered by a hostile
3:33response to the games logo Martine began
3:36to reveal her irrepressible spirit
3:38learning to ski and fly then in May 2008
3:42as Boris Johnson became mayor of london
3:44the Beijing Games provided Martine a map
3:47for her own journey I knew that I had to
3:49do something as a result of losing my
3:51legs that day otherwise to me it would
3:53have been all a complete waste of time
3:55so I was actually looking at the
4:00paralympics in a very new light in a in
4:02a light of a disabled person and
4:06and thinking my god wouldn't it be
4:08amazing to do something like that so I
4:11started playing for a Sitting Volleyball
4:14Club what I did enjoy about it is that
4:17you're not in your chair you know you
4:19you move on on the floor it's very
4:22dynamic game very fast game I came into
4:26politics in 2010 Britain elected its
4:29youngest prime minister in nearly 200
4:31years with little experience herself
4:35Martine tried out for the first gb
4:37sitting volleyball team she was selected
4:39to play in the World Championships in a
4:43chilling coincidence they traveled to
4:45the tournament in the USA and she lie
4:47the seventh that's when I sort of
4:51realized oh my god I could be on such a
4:56special journey or not you know I could
4:59actually end up at the Paralympics
5:03as the mood turned roared you're in the
5:05riots of 2011 it was a tense time for
5:09Martine and her teammates who still had
5:11to persuade the british paralympic
5:12association they were good enough to
5:14appear at the games the news a dreamed
5:17of finally came in March 2012 I just
5:21think back and I actually can't believe
5:24the journey that has happened and is
5:28happening now that I'm on and you know
5:32maybe I was always meant to get up late
5:34that morning maybe I was always meant to
5:36run up the escalator and jump on that
5:39carriage that I got on you know maybe I
5:42was always meant to see this journey I
5:43don't know I can't I can't answer that
5:46all i can say is that i'm just lucky to
5:49be living this dream now
5:56good morning everyone you'll definitely
5:59sufficiently warmed up i feel choir did
6:02a great job that don't worry I'm not
6:04going to make you sing a sing a song
6:05although you didn't do very well hello
6:08ladies and gentlemen and let me start by
6:10saying thank you for inviting me in but
6:13you know what it's an absolute honor to
6:16be asked here today to be surrounded by
6:19healthcare professionals that make huge
6:22differences to people's lives every
6:26minute of every day you go to work as
6:29you've heard from the video my name is
6:32Martine right and I'm proud to say that
6:35I'm now captain of the Great Britain
6:37sitting volleyball team
6:44and I did actually have the huge honor
6:47of taking part in the London Paralympics
6:52actually within this building here
6:54within the XL so so this this building's
6:57got very special memories for me and
7:00that was a dream i was working towards
7:02over the last few years but there hasn't
7:05always been my dream and there's as he
7:08heard from the film 10 years ago now i
7:10can't quite believe it is 10 years ago
7:12but 10 years ago I was on the way to
7:15work as an international marketing
7:16manager and I stepped on a Circle Line
7:20chew in London and it changed my life
7:23forever I was SAT just four foot away
7:26from one of the suicide bombers that
7:27decided to hit London that morning I was
7:32actually the last to be rescued from the
7:34Circle Line train i was i was down there
7:36for about an hour and 15 minutes
7:38something that i still can't comprehend
7:41but my family frantically searched for
7:44me for nearly two days again something
7:47that I can't quite get my head round but
7:49they finally found me at the Royal
7:51London Hospital completely
7:53unrecognizable I'd lost both my legs
7:56above the knee at lost eighty percent of
7:58my blood been resuscitated several times
8:01and was in a deep coma and after 10 days
8:05and came out this coma to look down in
8:08my hospital bed and to see that my legs
8:12were gone I can't really describe to you
8:16how I felt at that moment but I pretty
8:18much felt like my world had ended I just
8:22couldn't believe that out the millions
8:24of people that travel on the tube every
8:26day I was the most injured survivor it
8:30seems so unfair I i often thought back
8:32then i'd probably have more chance of
8:34winning the lottery than sitting where I
8:36was sitting that day but the medical
8:38staff and my family kept reassuring me
8:42but I remember that then all I all I
8:44kept saying was but I've got no legs
8:46I've got no legs and I remember this one
8:50day where as I was saying but I've got
8:53no legs my mum who is a fantastic
8:56and my inspiration she grabbed hold of
8:59my face and she said but Martine you are
9:03still here and you could have been
9:06paralyzed or you could have had a brain
9:08injury but you didn't so you survived
9:11you are still Martine and you can get
9:14new legs and I'm sure there's people
9:18here today who have been through
9:20something equally traumatic or obviously
9:24I know all of you in your daily working
9:27lives come across patients that have
9:29been through something like this and I'm
9:32sure that they would tell you that there
9:33was one thing that they were faced with
9:36and that was a turning point my turning
9:39point came on a day when I was actually
9:41supposed to be chief bridesmaid to my
9:43best friend Alex but instead I was I was
9:47strong enough at Royal London it was
9:48about two months after to go up to the
9:51video for the first time and I remember
9:55looking at round this room and seeing
9:57all manner of different people and I saw
10:00a girl who's won my very good friends
10:02now she lost both her legs and both
10:05their arms through meningitis I met
10:08other victims of the bombings who might
10:11not have been as physically injured as
10:12me but psychologically they were
10:15completely traumatized and this was the
10:18day that I found out how many people
10:20died that day 52 people innocent people
10:24on their way to work had been killed and
10:27I had no idea at all before this point
10:31so I think this was pretty much the day
10:34we're not pretty much this was the day
10:35that I sort of said to myself Martin
10:38pull yourself together you got two
10:42choices either you can feel sorry for
10:46yourself for the rest of your life and
10:47keep asking that question why me why me
10:51and decide never to walk again or to
10:55think ripe well life carries on and and
10:59yes it was it was an awful thing worse
11:01than anything I could have ever imagined
11:04but there are always people worse off
11:06than you
11:07I didn't die that day I had a choice and
11:12I had a choice to live my life whatever
11:14it may hold I also realized I was lucky
11:20that day not just because I survived
11:22that day and Liz Kenworthy the off-duty
11:24policeman saved my life but I was lucky
11:28because of the support I had around me
11:31and it would be this support that played
11:34such a huge part in my recovery so
11:38obviously that that support was was from
11:40my family from my friends but also all
11:43the emergency services the medical staff
11:46and all the health care professionals
11:49that put me back together again and
11:52saved my life so whether they were top
11:55surgeons doctors nurses physios OT
11:59psychologists or even back office people
12:02office some ward managers in fact just
12:06like people all of you here today
12:09supporting patients medically but
12:12providing so much more on an emotional
12:15and psychological level so with this
12:19support I decided right I am going to
12:21start to walk again and I went off to
12:23the Douglas body unit and quit i don't
12:25want pointing at you I'm assuming that's
12:27going to work the slides yes I went off
12:30to the Douglas body unit at Queen Mary's
12:32Hospital and started my rehabilitation
12:35and I first of all walked on these what
12:39he called rockers I'm sure there's quite
12:41a few health care professionals out
12:43there that have come across these I
12:44thought my physio was completely winding
12:47me up when she showed me these because i
12:49thought they actually looked like
12:49Douglas barda's legs from the 1940s they
12:53look so archaic but they turned out to
12:57be a very good tool to walk on and I'm
12:59not saying it was easy obviously for my
13:01facial expression it's what it was the
13:04hardest thing I've ever had to do but I
13:08did persevere and I finally got my sea
13:13legs C stands for computerized not see
13:18as in i thought i was going to put them
13:19on filler I was
13:20walking on water or something that C
13:23stands for computerized and after a year
13:26in hospital a long time and it was time
13:30for me to leave and I think for me as a
13:34patient this was the hardest time at all
13:37out of all of it I'd been in an
13:40environment where it's completely normal
13:42to have legs and arms missing and now I
13:46was back to normal life but not living
13:48in my flat in London and having to move
13:51in with my with my mom in in a house
13:53that I couldn't even walk out of and I
13:56remember this one day again it sticks in
13:59my memory where I just couldn't stop
14:01crying and my sister came to me and she
14:05said what's what's what's wrong I said
14:07all I want to do is walk out this house
14:10and go home all I want to do is walk out
14:12this house can go home and I think when
14:15you go through something traumatic and
14:17again obviously with what you do every
14:19day you come across this on on a daily
14:21basis but for me the hardest thing to
14:24deal with was the memories the memories
14:27of how I used to do things before you
14:30know one day you're one person the next
14:33day you're someone else so I decided in
14:36order to get over these feelings I had
14:38to make my life different and I had to
14:41grab every opportunity I could because I
14:44could because again I will always
14:45remember those people that day that
14:48didn't have that opportunity and I also
14:51knew I had to do something as a result
14:53of losing my legs otherwise I supposed
14:55to me it would have all been in vain
14:57being being involved in that in that
15:00awful atrocity so the third first thing
15:03I did literally and it was literally
15:05weeks after I left hospital I was off to
15:10South Africa to learn to fly planes as
15:13you can imagine told my mom and dad you
15:17know my mom literally sort of fainted on
15:20the floor yo you've just been in
15:21hospital for a year and you're going off
15:24to fly planes my my husband or my
15:28boyfriend the time Nick was really
15:31worried about the prospects of me fly
15:33the plane I've got no idea why although
15:35when I do look at this photo up here but
15:39sure it might might come up again I'm
15:41sure he might have been right because
15:45I'm sure I'm supposed to be facing
15:46forward was flying a plane instead of
15:48smiling into the camera but as well as
15:51the opportunity to fly plane completely
15:54on my own it also gave me my strength
15:56back and my independence back something
15:58that I'd lost when I when I lost my legs
16:01so I came back from there and again
16:03grabbed another opportunity to to ski
16:06again which was absolutely amazing but I
16:09still wasn't satisfied so a few months
16:12after this I had the opportunity to
16:15raise some money for charity and I'm
16:17sure there's many of you in the audience
16:19today that have done this yes I decided
16:22to jump out of a plane this was not a
16:26popular choice for my mom and dad's I
16:28mean literally it was you cannot put us
16:30through any more but obviously i did
16:34went up to 10,000 foot jumped when the
16:38most scariest things I've ever done in
16:40my life but absolutely brilliant and
16:43interestingly enough my family said they
16:47heard me before I appeared through the
16:50clouds which apparently was a first for
16:54my instructor so you know Rockwell more
16:59recently as well again within this
17:01building here the Excel I had the huge
17:04honor have been awarded the the helen
17:07rollason award at BBC sports personality
17:08of the year and then
17:18that was an amazing night and then more
17:23recently one of the huge highlights and
17:26the ladies might be slightly more
17:28impressed with this than the men i don't
17:29know but i took part in Sport Relief
17:34strictly and to be able to dance again
17:38with was was was huge for me but also it
17:41wasn't too bad being swung round by the
17:43lovely Ian wait for a few weeks training
17:46so you know things things aren't always
17:50bad so we all know that bad things do
17:54sometimes happen and we've got no
17:57control over certain things in life but
17:59what I've learned over the last 10 years
18:01is that good can come out of bad and all
18:04these things I've done I would never
18:06have done if it weren't for going
18:08through the most traumatic time of my
18:10life and we know life isn't fair
18:13sometimes and again I don't need to tell
18:16you this because you guys must see this
18:17on a daily basis illness affecting the
18:20nicest of people or people dying young
18:23before their time or families just
18:26having to deal with huge life-changing
18:28occurrences but we do have two choices
18:31and I'm not saying it happens overnight
18:33but we do have two choices we can you
18:37know either feel sorry for ourselves or
18:39we can get up and say no I'm not
18:41standing for this and be determined to
18:44get something positive out of it I
18:46believe anything is possible as long as
18:49you believe I think what is forgotten
18:53sometimes and again you guys I imagine
18:57this is you're in the forefront of your
18:59mind a lot of the time is when when
19:02something like this happens it doesn't
19:04just happen to the individual it happens
19:06to everyone around you so they've been
19:09positive to me but also positives for my
19:11family and my friends as well so for
19:14instance my husband realized the life
19:16was too short as a result of what
19:17happened and he followed his dream of
19:20running his own photography business my
19:23family discovered a strength in each
19:26other that we would never
19:28found if it weren't for going through
19:30the most traumatic time of our lives and
19:33my nephew well he could not believe his
19:36luck when I took into Euro Disney and he
19:40realized he didn't have to queue up for
19:41any of the rides because I'm in a
19:43wheelchair so again that's that that's
19:48favorite auntie material you cannot beat
19:51that one for favorite auntie material
19:54but yeah I mean as I said it's not it's
19:57not all that bad so I got I got married
20:00to my lovely Nick and we had our
20:03beautiful son Oscar and I think it was
20:06at this point we're about three months
20:08after Oscar was born but I realized i
20:11needed a goal again in my life and you
20:14know I really missed that ambition and
20:16drive that I used to feel at work so I
20:20was invited to go along to a Paralympic
20:23potential day and introduced to be mud
20:26by my physio a very a very special
20:28special lady who actually digressing a
20:32bit but when she came to my wedding I
20:34made sure that my surgeon the latent
20:36saved my life the policewoman that saved
20:38my life am I and my physio was at my
20:41wedding my physio said to me she wahood
20:43I know what to get to you I don't know
20:45what to get for you for your wedding st.
20:48Maggie you're not gave me anything you
20:50gave me a gift that no one else can give
20:52me and that is the gift of walking but
20:56anyway Maggie introduced me to sport and
20:59she took me along to a Paralympic
21:01potential date where I pretty much tried
21:04every single sport but I fell in love
21:07with Sitting Volleyball and I started
21:10playing for a club in London then in
21:12October 2009 I was asked to try out for
21:15the first-ever women's Great Britain
21:18sitting volleyball team and as you can
21:21see i'm at the front there number seven
21:23is on my shirt not a number because I
21:26chose it because it was David Beckham's
21:28know people think thats like no I chose
21:32it because I think being involved in 77
21:36could be seen as very negative in my
21:38life as well as other
21:39and I was and I still am determined to
21:43make it into a positive positive and
21:46what I love about sitting volleyball as
21:48you might be able to see from this
21:49picture is you don't play in a
21:51wheelchair it's quite liberating sport
21:53someone that's quite reliant on on a
21:55wheelchair we move constantly round on
21:58the floor on our bums it was actually
22:02first called bumble slightly unfortunate
22:08name I feel imagine that you know World
22:11Championships embalm ball I don't know
22:15why they always comes out in American
22:16accent so I apologize for that but
22:20thankfully they changed it to sitting
22:23volleyball although because we do move
22:25constantly round on the floor on our
22:27bums they've now adopt within our
22:29adopted the name floor cleaners which is
22:33in a lot better than bumble but they are
22:35right by the time we've finished a match
22:37the floor is absolutely gleaming and
22:40sport has become so important in my life
22:44as well as the opportunity to obviously
22:47represent my country in a sport I love
22:51in my hometown of London is given me so
22:53much more honor on a physical emotional
22:57and psychological level so for instance
22:59physically apart from the first time I
23:03played it the next morning not being
23:04able to remove my arms past this point
23:07and having to have a bucketload of
23:09sudocrem next to me to put on a part of
23:12my anatomy that was very sore it's gotta
23:15be fit again and I've discovered muscles
23:17in places that I never thought existed
23:20emotionally you know it gave me my
23:23confidence back and it built up my
23:25self-esteem and it got me out meeting a
23:28great bunch of people people that have
23:31been through something similar to me and
23:34psychologically for me this was and
23:36still is the most important thing it
23:39gave me a dream again it gave me a goal
23:41to work towards and I believe that it's
23:44taken me on a journey that I was always
23:47meant to make and I have learnt so much
23:51from being captain to a bunch of very
23:56strong independent people I was in the
24:00commercial world for sort of 15 years
24:02before before i got into sport and I
24:04thought my understood about team's
24:06realize I didn't know a lot at all see
24:11the thing about us is is is that we were
24:13all completely different and we still
24:15are different backgrounds different
24:17cultures just just different walks of
24:19life and we're also a squad squad of
24:23very different ages not too sure whether
24:26you can see from from this but from from
24:2813 years old to 43 years old and I'm
24:33obviously the younger end of the scale
24:35and you know one end of the scale their
24:38priority was to download the new you
24:40know one direction or Justin Bieber
24:42single before their mates at school I
24:44don't even know where they still do
24:45singles actually or and then the other
24:49end of the scale was was balancing you
24:51know a highly stressful career with an
24:53ever demanding home life and ever
24:55demanding training schedule and we knew
24:58that we were going to be facing some
25:00pretty uncomfortable and very high
25:02pressurized situations in order to
25:05embark on our journey to get to London
25:072012 we realized that we were only going
25:10to get there if we stuck together and if
25:13we agreed on some clear and concise
25:16values I suppose that we could all agree
25:19to we all know that we had one thing in
25:22common and that was obviously the dream
25:24to get to London 2012 so he came up with
25:27these values that we all agreed that we
25:29were going to follow and the first one
25:31of those was respect we needed to
25:34respect people's ability to make the
25:37right decisions and respect everyone's
25:40opinions we realized that we could all
25:43learn from each other and I believe this
25:46actually got us to the Paralympics
25:47because we learnt so much we needed to
25:50respect the position that we now found
25:52ourselves in you know we were
25:53representing our country in a in a sport
25:56that we loved the second one was trust
25:59this was a big one we needed to allow
26:02people to be themselves
26:04we were all very different people and we
26:08needed trust and believe that people are
26:10doing everything they could for the good
26:13of the team even though that might not
26:15be the same as you the third one was
26:19commitment but again before I mean you
26:23know we still follow these values now
26:25but these were really important for
26:26before getting to the Paralympics
26:28commitment that we were all committed to
26:30investing as much time as we could to
26:32the team so again very different
26:35circumstances I had Oscar he was one at
26:37the time we had people at university at
26:39school we had people doing 50 60 hour
26:42weeks so it was really trusting that
26:45everyone was doing everything they could
26:47for the good of the team we needed to
26:50commit to being wanting we were never
26:52going to get to London if we didn't
26:54stick together as a team and we needed
26:56to behave like a professional
26:58professional team and be resilient and
27:01stick together so again whether that was
27:04in training or in competition whether
27:07that was in front of the camera or
27:09behind of the camera we needed a
27:11commitment to stick together the fourth
27:14one of these values was huge for us and
27:16this was communication we needed to
27:20listen and reflect on what was being
27:22said by who and this was a massive one
27:27for us and this is what we adopted the
27:29sort of saying agreed preferences and
27:33this was all about identifying who you
27:35were talking to and how they wanted to
27:37be communicated with so for instance you
27:39know I'm on court it's match point I
27:41serve this doesn't usually happen but
27:44I'd do it straight in the net you know I
27:46don't mind one of my teammates using
27:48sarcasm using humor going you know
27:51you're sacked get off you know and using
27:55that sort of humor but we had certain
27:56people on the team that didn't want my
27:58humor they just wanted positive feedback
28:00so these are greed preferences were
28:03looking at who you were talking to and
28:05how they wanted to be communicated with
28:07so we had respect trust commitment
28:11communication and like many teams that
28:14you're in or many teams that you may
28:16leave
28:16running across all of these values was
28:20diversity as I said we were all very
28:23different and it's it's very rare for a
28:25team to have the same sorts of people in
28:28them and i believe it's those teams but
28:29tend to fail a lot of the time so we
28:32realized that our differences brought a
28:34uniqueness to us something that we would
28:36definitely build on on our journey to go
28:38to London but obviously we weren't there
28:41yet we had to prove to the to the BPA
28:44that we were good enough someone here
28:47from the BPA but we were good enough but
28:49we were strong enough to get to London
28:52and we had a look at our competition so
28:54we had a bit look at the Americans and
28:55the Chinese and the Ukrainians of this
28:58world they've got about 12 to 16 years
29:01experience we had to so we realized that
29:05we weren't going to beat him on a
29:06technical level but what we could
29:08control was our fitness so we had to
29:11make sure that we have a fitter faster
29:14than them and that way we could stay in
29:16the game we realized we couldn't do
29:19anything about the uncontrollables but
29:21what we could control was the
29:23controllable I'm not saying it was easy
29:26and it still isn't easy now we're
29:28ramping up to Rio you know that little
29:30competition this next year and you know
29:34training 30 hours a week before before
29:37London we're doing about 20 at the
29:39moment not being paid for it and there
29:41are sacrifices or choices needed to be
29:45made and there's a saying within the
29:47paralympic an Olympic world which is
29:49I've got talent where's my tracksuit
29:52well we all know that life doesn't work
29:55like that and I don't need to tell you
29:57this within within your your lives and
30:00your careers it's a balancing act so for
30:03instance when this photo was taken this
30:05was our first ever World Championships
30:07and I missed Oscars my son's first
30:11birthday but I knew that that was a
30:13choice I had to make in order to to
30:16pursue my dream and as I said you know
30:19how it is juggling everything life gets
30:22hectic sometimes and we all face those
30:26days
30:27there we do now you know training
30:30towards rio where you just think
30:32sometimes I can't take anymore I cannot
30:36do any more and again I'm sure you go to
30:40work and you get days where you feel
30:42like you're hitting your head against a
30:43brick wall you know on days when it when
30:47it got really tough for me before London
30:49I had an image of my son Oscar in my
30:53head and the image was a very simple
30:56image it was Oscar holding up the banner
30:58at the paralympics no idea what was
31:01going to say on it but it was just him
31:03in the crowd holding up a banner and and
31:06and that image that simple image really
31:08got me through those tough times where I
31:10thought I couldn't take anymore and then
31:14finally March 2012 was the day that we
31:19got a decision of yes from the BPA you
31:22are good enough to take up a host nation
31:24place huge mix of emotions but we knew
31:27that we were edging closer and closer to
31:29our dream but again we'd improved so
31:33much over you know the two years prior
31:36that we knew that our learning curve had
31:39to slow down and now improvements were
31:41going to be a lot slower a lot more
31:44marginal but as important so we realize
31:47that if we only improved one percent
31:50today after three months that would
31:54pretty much add up to one hundred
31:56percent now I say I think pretty much
31:58because I don't wave got any financial
32:00people here nothing against accountants
32:02or anything like that but i know i'm at
32:05healthcare conference don't worry i was
32:09sat in front of a bunch of accountants
32:10the other day said one percent today
32:13after three months that adds up to one
32:15hundred percent all these hands sore
32:17went out my now merilyn rs.100 zone
32:22you get my dear scare one percent today
32:25after three months that pretty much adds
32:28up to 100 stem so we're not talking
32:31about the big things talk about small
32:32things so for me it was it was you know
32:34going to the gym for one more session a
32:37week or getting that rest and recovery
32:39that I always used to find very hard to
32:41get you know staying away from from that
32:44pepperoni pizza or glass of something
32:47cheeky all small differences but
32:51consequences hi and then the tenth of
32:55jun 2012 was the day that we'd all been
33:00waiting for yes this was the day that we
33:02met Boris Johnson which was quite a
33:05unique experience in itself now this is
33:09the day that we found out who was
33:10selected to go to London and I think for
33:13us as individuals and as a team was the
33:16hardest day we'd ever had to face you
33:20obviously had half of the team so
33:22excited so elated that you know all
33:27their hard work had got them you know to
33:30their dream they were going to go to
33:32London and then obviously you have the
33:34other half of the team but for them they
33:36got the decision that we were all
33:38dreading and for them the dream was over
33:43so full-time training started up in the
33:46in the glamorous love bruh whoever says
33:48that life of a professional sports
33:50person isn't glamorous we went up to
33:53luffa and and the pressure was building
33:55and building and building but we just
33:56had to keep in mind our values and you
33:59know just keep keep talking to each
34:01other and then suddenly annotate come
34:04around suddenly 20th of august we were
34:07in we were in the Paralympic village and
34:11there have been so many amazing memories
34:14from that time as i said within this
34:17building and i'm sure many of you have
34:20had your own but there was there's one
34:24memory one night that really sticks out
34:27for me and that was the opening ceremony
34:30of the Paralympics and
34:33it really reminded me of the journey
34:36that I've been on and it reminded me of
34:38mighty mean we all have a team me and
34:42we're part of someone else's team e
34:45mighty me is made up of me and I my
34:48family and my friends and my teammates
34:51and you know all the volunteers that
34:54help us do our sport and and things in
34:57life but you know all the health care
35:00professionals that put me back together
35:03again and have supported me over the
35:05last 10 years so when I was rolling
35:09around in not rolling around on the
35:11floor rolling around in my wheelchair
35:12and in front of 80,000 people that night
35:16going going absolutely mad I was doing
35:19it for me but doing it for them as well
35:21and doing it for anyone that's been
35:24through adversity in their life and got
35:27over it and this is some of my team me
35:31here and I remember that first game as I
35:36said in this building just just stop the
35:38corridor 30 first of August biggest
35:42crowd we've ever played to was about 500
35:44people we were now walking out into an
35:47arena out of the tunnel in front of
35:499,000 people huge mix of emotions you
35:54know nervousness excitement but proud I
35:59felt so proud I remember coming out that
36:02tunnel when I get goosebumps now think
36:04about it come on that tunnel and I
36:06looked over to my left and I saw this my
36:10team me and look there's my son with
36:14that banner that the banner the image I
36:17had in my head and with it saying go
36:19mummy go and I knew at that point that
36:22all the blood sweat and tears had all
36:25been worth it interestingly enough the
36:30top left-hand pitcher you can't actually
36:33see my dad through the size of his
36:35banner yeah I had friends saying to me
36:39after the first game we made the mistake
36:43of sitting behind your family
36:46as I won't they really loud there ain't
36:49no we just couldn't see anything through
36:51your dad's banner but yeah that will
36:56that work but that's the morning that
36:58will always always stick in my head but
37:01we obviously had a job to do our first
37:06game was against the Ukrainians number
37:08one in Europe and they're now bronze
37:11medalists and we we did well we actually
37:15nearly for our first game we nearly took
37:16the second set but the inevitable
37:19happened and they ranked top their
37:21technical skills and they were just the
37:23technical skills are just better than
37:25nails and but we did we did the best we
37:28could and and this was pretty much what
37:30happened throughout the whole of the
37:31Paralympics not saying it was easy it
37:34wasn't you know we were suddenly in the
37:36highest performing sports environment
37:39and and we were winning sets but we just
37:42couldn't convert them to games but as
37:45the old saying goes rome wasn't built in
37:48a day and we had to balance our
37:51expectation with our experience and we
37:55just had to keep in mind what we were
37:56building towards that was to pick up as
37:59much experience as we could at London
38:02but to build on to be able to go off to
38:05that very small competition next year of
38:07Rio 2016 but you know we we we cannot
38:13forget the huge successes that we have
38:15done and we are actually the first ever
38:19team sport it's been done on an
38:22individual sport level before within
38:24within the olympics and paralympics but
38:26not never on a team sport level but
38:28we've gone from a program being set up
38:31just two years before to then performing
38:33at the at the paralympics that's never
38:36been done before so that's something
38:37that we're really proud of and obviously
38:40now with training is is is ramping up
38:43you know we came back from the World
38:47Championships we've got more
38:48competitions this year and we're ramping
38:51up for Rio in the and the pressure is
38:53building and building and there have
38:55been huge amounts of change over the
38:58last
38:59few years you know funding management
39:02team members and it's it's not been easy
39:04to deal with but like any change in life
39:07I believe it's made it into a stronger
39:10more focused team and I think that we
39:15can ignore what happened at the
39:17paralympics with in this country within
39:20any country what happened at the
39:21Commonwealth it had a huge impact on all
39:25of us and I truly believe that we can
39:28use sport in our society yes it to keep
39:32people fit but I believe it's all about
39:34this it's all about the mind and I think
39:38you know we can make people fitter but
39:41we can make them more confident and also
39:43create fantastic social change and for
39:48me well I believe I was always meant to
39:52make this journey there's too many
39:54connections between the 7th of July tube
39:58and bus bombings and the Paralympics and
40:01Olympics you know I'm sure many of you
40:03remember the sixth of July day before we
40:07were all celebrating that London had won
40:09the olympic and paralympic bid you know
40:12that was the whole reason why I was late
40:13that morning on me on the 7th of july
40:16and i remember getting on that too that
40:19morning before the explosions happened
40:22and I remember picking up my paper I
40:24remember you could not turn the page for
40:27something being written on the olympics
40:30and paralympics and I remember thinking
40:34actually on that tube for the explosions
40:37happened I'll go get tickets this go get
40:40tickets I'm a Londoner oh god get
40:41tickets to this and now what I see now
40:44is a journey that I was supposed to be
40:46on and maybe a part of fate that I've
40:49actually come back from taking part some
40:53people say things happen for a reason
40:54and I can only believe that that is true
40:57people say to me but aren't you angry
40:59with what happened and I can truly say
41:03no hand on heart I'm doing things now I
41:07never ever thought possible
41:11but ladies and gentlemen it's people
41:14like you that have enabled me to
41:17experience this amazing journey so
41:21please never ever ever underestimate the
41:24industry you all work in and all the
41:27work you do and the huge support and
41:30huge differences you make to your
41:33patients lives and I know that you've
41:37probably been told this before but I
41:39don't think you're told enough there's
41:42always you know so much news sometimes
41:45turn TV on you watch paper you get Union
41:48you get on the internet and you know so
41:51much news about failing targets and
41:53money cutbacks but I think people forget
41:57what health care is all around is all
42:00about of course we live in a world where
42:02where money makes the world go round but
42:05it's not about number crunching it's not
42:08about head counts it's about people like
42:12you and the relationships you build with
42:16your patients in the I word according
42:19the I word inspiration I felt that's
42:22bounding it sounded about a lot and I
42:26believe it's not about people like me
42:28it's it's about people like you so I
42:33want you to look around the room ladies
42:35and gentlemen and realize that every
42:37single one of you are the inspirations
42:40you are the strength you are the courage
42:44you you you are you know you your people
42:48that put people like me back together
42:51again and there is no question at all
42:54but I would not I wouldn't be talking to
42:57you today if it weren't for people like
43:00you you enable your patients to rebuild
43:03their lives but also conquer new dreams
43:07and as the lyrics that the choir sang
43:10this morning stand by me you've
43:12definitely stood by me and I want to
43:16thank you for that
43:18life changes doesn't it things happen in
43:23our lives good and bad and we need to
43:25accept these changes and we need to
43:28adapt so we can become stronger from
43:31them someone once said it's not what
43:35happens to you that makes the difference
43:37it's what you do with what happens to
43:41you so I believe each and every one of
43:45you does enough in your daily working
43:48lives but i suppose question to say
43:51where does your own journey star and
43:54what differences can you make so make
43:58today the day you choose to be the best
44:01you can make today the day that you
44:04choose to work together to achieve
44:06better patient care and make today the
44:10day you believe that anything is
44:14possible as long as you believe and I'm
44:17just going to finish with a short film
44:19now that I believe you know illustrates
44:23that point which is anything is possible
44:25as long as you believe
44:57just
45:38so
46:17haha
46:20girl star in
46:22thank you ever so much ladies and
46:25gentlemen

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