I died for 30 whole minutes. I was in a coma for a month. They never thought I would ever survive. Profound words from 19-year-old George Cairney. Two years ago, he was in a drink-driving accident that nearly cost him his life. When George first had his accident, none of us really knew what to expect and the first part was just the fact that George was alive was so amazing and we were so happy about it and had no idea at that time about what George was going to be. We kept being told that it was going to be a life-changing experience for all of us, but we had no real understanding of what that would mean. George was a high achiever on the brink of leaving school. Popular, and good looking, he excelled at everything. George played basketball, he rowed, and was admired by his friends and siblings.
Life was sweet. And he figured, he was invincible. But every plan George had, and every dream, was wiped out the night of that accident. It was a classic cocktail of excessive drinking and speed. Four teenagers in a car, on the way to yet another party. A night that George’s life changed forever. I was a bit of an alchie I liked throwing up and getting drunk. I said this every weekend: “Par-ty!” It was three weeks before his final exams. He’d been studying all day, and wasn’t planning on heading out that night. When a text came through late evening, he changed his mind. He headed to a party, dropped by a couple of bars, and slugged on a bottle of vodka. Just hours later, George and his drunken teenage mates were in a car that was skidding towards a brick wall.
The next thing, it was in the morning, the doorbell rang and it was the police. And the police said to me, “He’s Category One, you need to get there really quickly.” [sirens] He had an operation to have his spleen removed immediately. And the next two days we were just told they needed to wait and see and to make an assessment as to whether… they would let him live. Penny maintained an anxious bedside vigil that went on for a month.
George’s head injury was so severe, no one was sure if he’d live or die. And I went up to the hospital every day and just sat with him, read to him… and just tried to be there… … and hope that maybe he heard a little bit of the love I was giving to him. To help him through. When he finally came out of the coma, he awoke dazed, confused, and a very different George. I said — not a good word when I woke up — I said the F-word, and then “who are you” to my own mum, who was hugging, kissing me, saying how much she loved me. And I really regret that. Substantial brain damage meant George was no longer the bright, capable, sporty George everyone knew before the accident. He couldn’t walk, his speech was affected, and he had no concept of how the world worked. He’s nineteen now, but has the mental age of someone much younger. He behaves, talks and moves like a child, and has little concept of social niceties. So socializing for George is really hard work, it’s gone back to learning now, and learning from scratch as to a lot of what’s socially appropriate.
So he’s very childlike in many ways, for a lot of things. His understanding of how people communicate. And I think he also finds it quite difficult to read people because he can’t see very well, so the sight, his loss of sight was a result of that frontal lobe injury, and damaged the optic chiasm. This left eye — I can only see a tiny bit out of the right hand side of my eye. And my right hand eye is horrible too, but just a little bit better, so I can see the camera, I can see it. And my left ear is deaf, 100 percent deaf. My right ear is bad. My nose can’t smell, normally I’d say good around my brothers but this isn’t the point to say that. [laughs] And the left hand side of my mouth can’t taste.
I feel more than you do, including temperature — if it’s a little bit cold, I feel really cold, and if it’s a little bit hot, I feel boiling. I have a lot — I had a lot of my head missing. And they took fat out of my stomach, mixed it with titanium, and they put it there. Plastic surgery, sure, but I’d rather look like that instead of you seeing my brain pulsing. But it does come with a lot of disadvantages. Such as mental fatigue. I get very tired very easily. [laughs] I go for a five minute walk, I have to go to sleep, pretty much. George’s mates are all now at university. Out flatting, and still partying on the weekends. Two years on, and George’s world revolves around rehabilitation, and rest. I have a physiotherapist, and she’s helping me a lot to maintain energy in the day, and I take half an hour to an hour rest everyday, at around about midday. So, I’m planning on just going out after midday and staying out ’till midnight. [laughs] Brain injury often results in a change of personality. George has developed a childlike nature, and a knack for telling jokes.
Only he can’t quite figure out whether they’re funny or not. I love the jokes, I tell jokes every single day. And I like having fun. It’s the best joke in the world in my view, but everyone else doesn’t like it. – Knock knock. – Who’s there? – I-puh. – I-puh…who. – You poo. Don’t tell me that! [laughs] – Oh…! Since the accident, George has needed round the clock care. His mum, Penny, quit her job and was taking care of him pretty much full time.
But she realized, she couldn’t keep it up alone. The family hired Dave, who works with George four days a week. George’s friends don’t bother to come around much anymore. Without Dave, he’d be isolated. I mean, when I first met George, at the Laura Fergusson Rehab Center, I did not think he was part of the clients, or patients or whatever because he just didn’t look like — he looked like a normal guy, in fact, I first met him when he was walking around the rehab center, offering people teabags. And playing practical jokes on people, and I thought, this guy’s being a little bit mean. And then I was introduced to him as George, and he was the guy I was supposed to look after, I thought “ah wow”. Because he presents so well. – Ah, I thought we weren’t allowed to have those! [laughter] – Come on, George Clooney. My responsibilities are basically looking after George, caring for George, reinforcing things that he’s learning, and he’s learning things in theory with the therapy sessions he’s doing, and I’m just there to basically help him with the different social cues and social filters and debriefs, take him here and there, out and about where he needs to be going, and basically working as a life coach in many ways.
George’s rehabilitation involves re-training him in a wide range of things he once knew instinctively. Teaching him about the supermarket, and about money. Several months ago, it was all pretty confusing. George has made incredible progress. – So, to me it looks like you’re doing a pretty good job, you’re scanning really quickly, and then you went, oh, there’s the mince! – Yeah, I can see that here there’s lots of little pieces of meat, and here, there’s it’s just, over there there’s one big piece of meat, whereas mince is obviously thousands of little pieces because it’s mashed up, so I knew it would be around this section. – So you committed everything to memory. – Yeah. Memory is one of the most important parts of your brain, because you can develop your person, your skills and who you are. – So David, this is not just about shopping, is it, this is about life skills.
– It is, absolutely, yeah. This is why I like to hang back in situations like this and really let George drive it, because it’s important that he learns these kinds of things by himself and not just relying on aid — on other people helping him so it’s part of him growing towards that independent place where he wants to be, you know, he’s got big goals, that has to be part of it. I’m just constantly finding myself saying to him, oh that smells really great or “look at that over there”, or whatever and he has to remind me that he can’t see that, or he can’t hear that, because I’d forget, because when you’re with him half the time he just doesn’t come across that way.
So yeah. I’m constantly blown away by how well he has adapted and does with what he’s got. As George progresses, Dave comes up with new exercises and challenges. Right now, he’s learning lawn bowls. George’s sight was so damaged in the accident that he sees very little. – I say, George, how do you know<br>where the jack is, can you see it? – No. – You can’t see it. So how do you know — – I know it’s centered and I know it’s just beside the ends, pretty much.
So, I can tell just whereabouts it is and I can tell that one was too far and I know how much weight to put on it next time. George decides to challenge the older gents to a friendly game. -Would you guys be interested in a game of bowls with us? – Yeah, just a couple. – Right here? Yeah, yeah I would yeah. The old boys want to get to know their competition first. But they have no idea George has a major brain injury.
And is partially blind. – But what you can do is that’s hot water and that’ll come free, and… Okay. It’s out of character, but George seems nervous. ♪[music]♪ But within a short time, George has charmed his bowling buddies. He delivers a joke that goes down well. [laughs] Life’s carried on much the same for the other teenagers that were in the car with George the night of the accident.
George has been stripped of virtually everything that made up his teenage world. Including most of his friends and his girlfriend. I had…a girl who, well, I was pretty much with, at the time of the accident, the split second the accident happened, do you know what happened? This is me, “whoooosh”. Chucked me away. Is it because I don’t look as good? [shrugs] Oh well. I can find more understanding people. – So what are you doing, are you getting counseling? Yes. I’m getting therapeutic counselling, and I’m going to occupational therapy and such.
Yeah. – Is it helping? – It’s helping a lot. Yeah. It’s helping a whole lot. It makes me think in a better way. I’m almost sure that if I wasn’t going to counselling, then I would be in a lot worse state. Not just in my mind, I’d be in a worse state, physically, as well. George doesn’t remember the accident. Or much at all, about his 17th year. He doesn’t like to talk about the past much, swinging the conversation back to his plans for the future. He knows, he’s paid the price of getting in the car, with a drunk driver. Because it was fun being drunk with them, instead ot them dissing you because you were like a, a “softie” or some stupid thing like that. Yeah, but…then again, what’s the point of getting drunk if it’s dangerous and you can’t even remember it the next day? In the moments when he thinks about the massive impact that alcohol has had, George feels compelled to tell others about the consequences of drink driving.
I have scars everywhere. There, there, there, there, there, well, it hasn’t made life good, so I, please, I plead you to take care in every single way on the road. It is unbelievably important for not your life, not just your life, for others, and the way they live..