Latest news with #MarkStephenson
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Health
- The Advertiser
'Too much of a risk': Mark kept being turned away until he found his people
After having the door slammed in his face time after time as his disability was deemed too "risky", Mark Stephenson finally found his tribe with a volunteer sports organisation. When the father-of-five was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and Young Onset Lewy Body Dementia at just 54, he had to give up his beloved career as a Station Officer with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, as well as his driver's licence. "It was a bit of an adjustment, being home everyday with nothing to do," Mr Stephenson said, now aged 57. Read more in The Senior The grandfather-of-two told The Senior Lewy Body affects younger people differently than those with more life experience. "For older people, it's more slower in the progression of the disease normally, whereas for younger people, it's quicker. So life expectancy for someone under 60 getting it is three to seven years," he said. After diagnosis, Mark wanted to use his extra time to give back to his community as a volunteer - but over a two-year period all the organisations Mark approached shut their doors to him. They told him he was "too much of a risk", due to the hallucinations he can sometimes have with dementia. After the once-active fireman tried his local sports groups - and was given the same answer - he felt very isolated for the first two years following his diagnosis - only going out if his wife or friends took him. "By this stage, I was starting to lose a lot of mobility. Lewy body attacks the brain and the spinal cord," he said. "I'd pretty much given up and just thought, ok, I'll just sit at home and watch the world go by and wait for the Grim Reaper to knock on the door." But things changed when Mark's wife saw a Facebook ad for wheelchair cricket and "pestered" him too give them a call. The result changed his life. Initally, Mark was worried Sporting Wheelies would shut their door too once they knew of his condition, but they didn't. "It was like, 'G'day, how are you going? Yep, this is a sports wheelchair, jump in one'," he said. "Very welcoming, very inclusive. Pretty much straight away accepted me as part of the community. No-one's judged." Sporting Wheelies in Queensland has given Mark a "sense of purpose" and it wasn't long until he started playing wheelchair basketball, as well as wheelchair AFL. "Sporting Wheelies is also a gateway, so they can put you in touch with wheelchair AFL, the wheelchair rugby league, wheelchair rugby," he said. Through AFL, he is learning new skills, but it's the support and friendship that's been most rewarding. "I'm basically a paraplegic now. But the community down there are able to help you adjust to things very easily, because people down there have lived experience," he said. "And whether it's through accident, through injury or by disease, everyone's in the same boat, just at various stages. So there's a really good support network." Mark wants everyone to be able to have access to sport and specialised wheelchairs, and is hoping Sporting Wheelies will attract donations and corporate sponsorship so it can include more regional areas in Queensland and then into other states. Individuals and organisations can make a 100 percent tax-deductible donation to Sporting Wheelies before June 30 at Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send a Letter to the Editor by CLICKING HERE. After having the door slammed in his face time after time as his disability was deemed too "risky", Mark Stephenson finally found his tribe with a volunteer sports organisation. When the father-of-five was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and Young Onset Lewy Body Dementia at just 54, he had to give up his beloved career as a Station Officer with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, as well as his driver's licence. "It was a bit of an adjustment, being home everyday with nothing to do," Mr Stephenson said, now aged 57. Read more in The Senior The grandfather-of-two told The Senior Lewy Body affects younger people differently than those with more life experience. "For older people, it's more slower in the progression of the disease normally, whereas for younger people, it's quicker. So life expectancy for someone under 60 getting it is three to seven years," he said. After diagnosis, Mark wanted to use his extra time to give back to his community as a volunteer - but over a two-year period all the organisations Mark approached shut their doors to him. They told him he was "too much of a risk", due to the hallucinations he can sometimes have with dementia. After the once-active fireman tried his local sports groups - and was given the same answer - he felt very isolated for the first two years following his diagnosis - only going out if his wife or friends took him. "By this stage, I was starting to lose a lot of mobility. Lewy body attacks the brain and the spinal cord," he said. "I'd pretty much given up and just thought, ok, I'll just sit at home and watch the world go by and wait for the Grim Reaper to knock on the door." But things changed when Mark's wife saw a Facebook ad for wheelchair cricket and "pestered" him too give them a call. The result changed his life. Initally, Mark was worried Sporting Wheelies would shut their door too once they knew of his condition, but they didn't. "It was like, 'G'day, how are you going? Yep, this is a sports wheelchair, jump in one'," he said. "Very welcoming, very inclusive. Pretty much straight away accepted me as part of the community. No-one's judged." Sporting Wheelies in Queensland has given Mark a "sense of purpose" and it wasn't long until he started playing wheelchair basketball, as well as wheelchair AFL. "Sporting Wheelies is also a gateway, so they can put you in touch with wheelchair AFL, the wheelchair rugby league, wheelchair rugby," he said. Through AFL, he is learning new skills, but it's the support and friendship that's been most rewarding. "I'm basically a paraplegic now. But the community down there are able to help you adjust to things very easily, because people down there have lived experience," he said. "And whether it's through accident, through injury or by disease, everyone's in the same boat, just at various stages. So there's a really good support network." Mark wants everyone to be able to have access to sport and specialised wheelchairs, and is hoping Sporting Wheelies will attract donations and corporate sponsorship so it can include more regional areas in Queensland and then into other states. Individuals and organisations can make a 100 percent tax-deductible donation to Sporting Wheelies before June 30 at Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send a Letter to the Editor by CLICKING HERE. After having the door slammed in his face time after time as his disability was deemed too "risky", Mark Stephenson finally found his tribe with a volunteer sports organisation. When the father-of-five was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and Young Onset Lewy Body Dementia at just 54, he had to give up his beloved career as a Station Officer with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, as well as his driver's licence. "It was a bit of an adjustment, being home everyday with nothing to do," Mr Stephenson said, now aged 57. Read more in The Senior The grandfather-of-two told The Senior Lewy Body affects younger people differently than those with more life experience. "For older people, it's more slower in the progression of the disease normally, whereas for younger people, it's quicker. So life expectancy for someone under 60 getting it is three to seven years," he said. After diagnosis, Mark wanted to use his extra time to give back to his community as a volunteer - but over a two-year period all the organisations Mark approached shut their doors to him. They told him he was "too much of a risk", due to the hallucinations he can sometimes have with dementia. After the once-active fireman tried his local sports groups - and was given the same answer - he felt very isolated for the first two years following his diagnosis - only going out if his wife or friends took him. "By this stage, I was starting to lose a lot of mobility. Lewy body attacks the brain and the spinal cord," he said. "I'd pretty much given up and just thought, ok, I'll just sit at home and watch the world go by and wait for the Grim Reaper to knock on the door." But things changed when Mark's wife saw a Facebook ad for wheelchair cricket and "pestered" him too give them a call. The result changed his life. Initally, Mark was worried Sporting Wheelies would shut their door too once they knew of his condition, but they didn't. "It was like, 'G'day, how are you going? Yep, this is a sports wheelchair, jump in one'," he said. "Very welcoming, very inclusive. Pretty much straight away accepted me as part of the community. No-one's judged." Sporting Wheelies in Queensland has given Mark a "sense of purpose" and it wasn't long until he started playing wheelchair basketball, as well as wheelchair AFL. "Sporting Wheelies is also a gateway, so they can put you in touch with wheelchair AFL, the wheelchair rugby league, wheelchair rugby," he said. Through AFL, he is learning new skills, but it's the support and friendship that's been most rewarding. "I'm basically a paraplegic now. But the community down there are able to help you adjust to things very easily, because people down there have lived experience," he said. "And whether it's through accident, through injury or by disease, everyone's in the same boat, just at various stages. So there's a really good support network." Mark wants everyone to be able to have access to sport and specialised wheelchairs, and is hoping Sporting Wheelies will attract donations and corporate sponsorship so it can include more regional areas in Queensland and then into other states. Individuals and organisations can make a 100 percent tax-deductible donation to Sporting Wheelies before June 30 at Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send a Letter to the Editor by CLICKING HERE. After having the door slammed in his face time after time as his disability was deemed too "risky", Mark Stephenson finally found his tribe with a volunteer sports organisation. When the father-of-five was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and Young Onset Lewy Body Dementia at just 54, he had to give up his beloved career as a Station Officer with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, as well as his driver's licence. "It was a bit of an adjustment, being home everyday with nothing to do," Mr Stephenson said, now aged 57. Read more in The Senior The grandfather-of-two told The Senior Lewy Body affects younger people differently than those with more life experience. "For older people, it's more slower in the progression of the disease normally, whereas for younger people, it's quicker. So life expectancy for someone under 60 getting it is three to seven years," he said. After diagnosis, Mark wanted to use his extra time to give back to his community as a volunteer - but over a two-year period all the organisations Mark approached shut their doors to him. They told him he was "too much of a risk", due to the hallucinations he can sometimes have with dementia. After the once-active fireman tried his local sports groups - and was given the same answer - he felt very isolated for the first two years following his diagnosis - only going out if his wife or friends took him. "By this stage, I was starting to lose a lot of mobility. Lewy body attacks the brain and the spinal cord," he said. "I'd pretty much given up and just thought, ok, I'll just sit at home and watch the world go by and wait for the Grim Reaper to knock on the door." But things changed when Mark's wife saw a Facebook ad for wheelchair cricket and "pestered" him too give them a call. The result changed his life. Initally, Mark was worried Sporting Wheelies would shut their door too once they knew of his condition, but they didn't. "It was like, 'G'day, how are you going? Yep, this is a sports wheelchair, jump in one'," he said. "Very welcoming, very inclusive. Pretty much straight away accepted me as part of the community. No-one's judged." Sporting Wheelies in Queensland has given Mark a "sense of purpose" and it wasn't long until he started playing wheelchair basketball, as well as wheelchair AFL. "Sporting Wheelies is also a gateway, so they can put you in touch with wheelchair AFL, the wheelchair rugby league, wheelchair rugby," he said. Through AFL, he is learning new skills, but it's the support and friendship that's been most rewarding. "I'm basically a paraplegic now. But the community down there are able to help you adjust to things very easily, because people down there have lived experience," he said. "And whether it's through accident, through injury or by disease, everyone's in the same boat, just at various stages. So there's a really good support network." Mark wants everyone to be able to have access to sport and specialised wheelchairs, and is hoping Sporting Wheelies will attract donations and corporate sponsorship so it can include more regional areas in Queensland and then into other states. Individuals and organisations can make a 100 percent tax-deductible donation to Sporting Wheelies before June 30 at Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send a Letter to the Editor by CLICKING HERE.
SBS Australia
16-06-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
Sport pathway to social connection for people with disability
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . When Mark Stephenson was diagnosed with Young Onset Lewy Body Dementia a year after also being diagnosed with Parkinson disease, his 32-year career as a professional firefighter came to an abrupt end. "That's what the doctor told me was, unfortunately, you won't be able to do your job anymore and you can't drive home. My full professional career on the fire trucks, plus training and all that stopped in an instant. Plus my love was riding motorbikes as well, so that stopped in the instance as well. So that was a bit difficult to deal with as far as your world, which was big, became very small." Lewy Body Dementia is a brain disorder that can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behaviour and mood. It's a progressive illness, meaning it worsens over time, and common symptoms can include visual hallucinations, memory problems, sleep disorders and declining muscle strength and mobility. Mr Stephenson, who was in his mid-50s when he was diagnosed, says the loss of his career left him feeling directionless. "I made endless phone calls to charities or to people who feed the homeless or to do some form of sport and was knocked back at every occasion. And that was more hard to cope with than the initial loss, I think, because then it was like, okay, I can't volunteer anywhere because I'm too big a risk. And when you keep getting doors closed in your face after the first big loss, and it was like, oh, what do I do? And then I just basically gave up on trying." When Mr Stephenson stumbled across a Facebook post from an organisation called Sporting Wheelies encouraging people with disability to get involved in sport, he initially feared he'd once again be rejected. With a gentle push from his wife, he decided to give wheelchair cricket a try. " So, I went down and tried with cricket and yeah, it was very, after having so much rejection, it was very weird to walk into a place. It was very accepting. And then to look around and realise that there was people with all different abilities and disabilities. They were all there playing sport. And once you hopped in the chair, no one really saw the chair. You were just people playing sport." More than 1 in 5 Australians have disability - which accounts for around 5.5 million people. Sporting Wheelies Chief Operating Officer, Dane Cross says only a relatively small number of people with disability currently play sport, despite most having an interest in becoming involved. "25 per cent of people with disability currently participate in sports, so one in four. But what we also know is three in four or 75 per cent want to participate, but so there's a gap there in I guess the sporting environment is that people want to play but currently face barriers and are unable to play." He says the cost of adaptive equipment like wheelchairs and other supports can be prohibitive, and many clubs and community sports organisations aren't well equipped to make sports accessible. "What we do know is that there aren't currently enough opportunities for people with disability to be participating in sport. Currently, the sporting environment is not entirely inclusive and so mainstream sports are not that suitable for all people." According the Mr Cross it's not just physical barriers that dissuade people with disability from becoming involved in sports. "There's actually a gap in the attitudes and the stereotypes that exist in the space where people with disability aren't necessarily seen as athletes. And so attitudes, community attitudes, community sports club attitudes are required to change, to adapt, to enable more people to participate." Sport4All is another organisation working to shift public perception around disability and sport, and facilitate more inclusive environments. The organisation works with community sport clubs and schools to provide support, training and practical tools to make sport more welcoming. Sport4All National Manager Carl Partridge says a significant part of his organisation's work is tackling a lack of understanding around the many forms disability can take. "You've got to remember that only a relatively small proportion of people have a disability that you can see. But it comes into things like financial limitations, community attitudes, many programs are designed, aren't really designed with inclusion in minds so people are unintentionally excluded." Mr Partridge says more programs are needed to bridge the gap that currently exists between people with disability who want to participate in sport, and those who are currently involved in sports. He says through making sports more welcoming, programs like Sport4All and Sporting Wheelies are showing just how diverse the benefits of sport can be. "Well, I think the benefits are so much more than just the physical health benefits. I think people think about sports physically, but for people with disability, there's other layers to as well. It's a gateway to social connection. It builds confidence, independence, but it also builds that massive sense of belonging." A 2019 study by Paralympics Australia found one in four people with disability identify social interaction as one of the top two benefits of getting involved in sport. This is true for Mr Stephenson, who is now involved in cricket, AFL and basketball through Sporting Wheelies. He says through sport, he's rediscovered a sense of purpose, belonging, and community."You find that new social network. I think that's really important for mental health as well. Having that community there. It's reason to keep engaged in living, which is good. Everyone says I'm happy, so that's good."
