09May 2010 by mforbes

Petition Closing Date – 17 May

We have had a wonderful response thus far to the petition with over 500 signatures already received. I would like to see us at least double this number by the end of next weekend. If you have petitions out there that have been signed please send them in no later than 17 May so that I can start to collate the results and present the petition to the council. In line with this date, I would like to maximise the number of signatures that we can obtain over the next week. If you meet a group of friends for a ride please take copies of the petition with you and get them signed. If you join a group ride on a regular basis please take a copy of the petition and…

19Apr 2010 by mforbes

Bayside Council Petition to Implement a No Stopping Zone on Weekends and Call for Volunteers

Cycle Safety

At a Bayside Council meeting in either May or June the council will be ruling once again on the implementation of a No Stopping Zone in the Bayside Council area from 6 AM until 10 AM on weekends. Most of you know that if this had been in place on the morning of my accident I would not be a quadriplegic. I am aiming to gather with the help of volunteers as many signatures as we can to show the councillors how many people (Bayside residents or otherwise) want this parking restriction in place. Please see the Cycle Safety page for more details or to download the petition. If you would like to volunteer to assist in distributing copies of the petition or in getting signatures please e-mail me on…

10Mar 2010 by mforbes

Updates to the Rehabilitation Page

Rehabilitation

For those of you who missed it I have added at the Channel 7 video that I featured on in 2009. I have also added some information and a link to Project Walk on the Rehabilitation page. Enjoy, Mike.

23Feb 2010 by mforbes

My First Hate Mail!

Cycle Safety

Following my attendance at the Bayside City Council meeting last week someone found it pertinent to send me my first hate mail! I am flattered by this as it is wonderful to be treated as a normal human being as opposed to somebody who has broken his neck and is confined to a wheelchair most of the time. Just so that you are aware my website is not about hate mail. It is about recovery, persistence, determination, defying the odds and the application of the human spirit. It is an important outlet for me to share my achievements and I know others look at it in the same way. Any further hate mail in relation to my involvement in the community will be deleted as soon as I am aware…

17Feb 2010 by mforbes

Bayside Council Ruling Last Night

Cycle Safety

There was an ordinary council meeting last night to make a judgement as to whether the Bayside Council would follow suit with the Kingston and Port Phillip councils to make Beach Road a no stopping zone between the hours of 6 AM and 10 AM on the weekend to allow clear passage for cyclists to avoid negotiating parked cars. Obviously if this ruling had been in place in the Bayside Council area during my ride in June 2008 I would not be a quadriplegic today. I attended this meeting with Monica and a friend and spoke about my experience. Please see the Cycle Safety page for more details.

15Feb 2010 by mforbes

A New Era … Ashley at School and a New Website!

General

Welcome all to the new look website. Since my accident there are a number of topics that I am getting approach to be involved in. To address these more easily, I have worked with my brother and his girlfriend to construct a new website which has topics and pages to address them. I am hoping that the additional information is more relevant to where I am at in my recovery and adequately discusses things I want to be involved in as time goes forward. Since my accident and having made a reasonable recovery I'm getting asked a lot of questions regarding the rehabilitation that I have undergone and methods we have used. The rehabilitation page will contain information that will hopefully assist others inflicted with spinal cord injury. I am…

18Jan 2010 by mforbes

We All Need Some Cheering up at Some Stage!

Rehabilitation

Well Monica, Ashley and I returned from holidays late last week and I began my rehabilitation routine for 2010. It has been great to have a break from the routine but I discovered that my body needs regular manipulation and movement in order to not rust and be thrown in the scrapheap! By the end of the holiday my shoulders were basically seized up and could barely move. There were however some great achievements from our holidays from my perspective. It was wonderful to revisit the wonderful holiday home of my parents-in-law who worked for months to modify the home so I could stay and they did an amazing job. In addition to this they worked tirelessly to help me have a break from my regular care routine and be…

16Dec 2009 by mforbes

Don’t Try This One at Home!

Rehabilitation

It has been a little while since the last post (and that does not mean it is Anzac Day) but I have uploaded another video of some exercise that I'm doing at the gym with my trainer Patrick. It is a seated rowing exercise while sitting on a Swiss ball. I am quite proud of this exercise as it is taken quite some time to even be able to sit on a Swiss ball. In addition to this, it has taken a long time to get my shoulder blades to move at all let alone under my own muscle control. So here it is, enjoy and don't try this at home! I hope you are all well and Merry Christmas to all. Be good to family and friends because trust…

26Oct 2009 by mforbes

A Walking Update

Rehabilitation

Just a quick post to give you an update of the walking. My lovely Mum took a video last time she was down to visit. It gives you an idea of the improvements I have made since being in the US. The biggest improvements for mine are being able to do it without gloves, being able to talk whilst I walk, and not having to lock my knees with every step. Aside from this I can turn around and walk a lot quicker and have just started learning how to do steps. Enjoy, Mike.

03Oct 2009 by mforbes

Time to Open the Next Chapter!

General

Apologies for it being a month since my last post but it has been a difficult month for me to write a post as the legal proceedings between myself and the TAC were held last week. As a result of this I have not been posting information that may have jeopardised these proceedings coming to an end. Finally some closure has been achieved in relation to the accident. Since my accident I have been going through a process with TAC where they are given time to investigate the accident, its cause and its effect on me as a victim. This process culminated last week with a mediation hearing between my lawyers and the TAC and I'm happy to report that the process is now over. My lawyers and TAC have…