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University student Anna Parsons suffered horrific injuries in a climbing fall accident in the US. In...
Bulletproof: Bailley Unahi
Bailley Unahi was crushed when a balcony collapsed on her at an outdoor concert in Dunedin. Paralyse...
Bulletproof: Peter Cowan
Peter Cowan lost his right leg in a hit and run accident when he was a teenager. Now this champion o...
Bulletproof: Lee Warn Part 1
Lee Warn has never let the fact he is in a wheelchair slow him down. He is a wheelchair marathon ath...
Bulletproof
Adjusting to life with a disability after an accident
Bulletproof: Sophia
Sophia Malthus became a quadriplegic after being thrown off her horse. Follow this sassy young woman...
Bulletproof: Gareth
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Bulletproof: Ephraim
A 35-metre jump off a waterfall left newlywed Ephraim Gudgeon with a spinal injury. The self-confess...
Bulletproof: Dinesh
Halfway through medical school, a car accident left Dinesh Palipana tetraplegic. Despite huge hurdle...
Bulletproof: Ashley
30-year-old Ashley Treseder dived off a pier in NSW and broke his neck. Now fresh out of rehab and i...
Bulletproof: Amanda
It’s been seven years since Amanda Lowry broke her neck while surfing. Accepting a new normal with t...
Bulletproof: Jezza
A canyoning accident in Switzerland left Jezza Williams a tetraplegic. An adventurer at heart, just ...
Bulletproof: Sophia Takes Life On
In 2016, a horse-riding accident left Sophia Malthus tetraplegic. But determined to turn her situati...
Bulletproof: Bailley
Bailley Unahi was crushed when a balcony collapsed on her at a student concert in Dunedin. Paralysed...
Bulletproof: Anita
A life-changing quad bike accident at 18 left Anita Kendrick paraplegic. But with determination and ...
Bulletproof: Matthew
Carefree farmer Matt Bryson lost his leg in an accident on the family farm four years ago. He contin...
Bulletproof: James Littlejohn
James Littlejohn lives with partial paraplegia after a motorbike accident. He loves mountain biking,...
Bulletproof: Khadag Bista
In 2018 Khadag suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. Incredibly, this Nepalese chef h...
Bulletproof: Mitch Joynt
Mitch Joynt is lucky to be alive. The young arborist lost his leg when he was dragged into a woodchi...
Bulletproof: Shaz
Less than two years after losing her left arm, Shaz Dagg became the first female amputee to complete...
Bulletproof: Ryan Gibb
After a motorbike accident leaves outdoor enthusiast Ryan paralysed, he adapts with a change in care...
Bulletproof: Tim
Tim Young was on the trip of a lifetime in Canada when a snowboarding accident left him a tetraplegi...
Bulletproof: Scott MacDonald
Motocross enthusiast Scott MacDonald was 14-years-old when he broke his back after a jump went wrong...
Outdoor action and adventure junkie, Jezza Williams has always pushed his limits, seeking out his maximum capacity. Working as a canyoning instructor in Switzerland during 2010, he slipped on a rock during a routine descent and broke his neck, but nothing, not even quadriplegia could have stopped him.
“The body works its wonders and I’m still here and rockin” he says.
Born and raised in the South Island with New Zealand’s adventure playground as his back yard, he has always been out seeking adventure, “I got an addiction for pushing my limits and my limits were right there on my doorstep.”
Jezza’s mum Marion says he was always destined to be an outdoors kind of man, “he was just a very out there kid, he was born face-up as if to say, “hello world what have you got for me?”
"The body works its wonders and I'm still here and rockin"
After finishing high school, Jezza had no plan so he did an outdoor recreation course, which opened his eyes to the possibilities of the world.
Taking full advantage of those possibilities, he headed to Switzerland, working for ‘Swiss adventure’ for five years. Loving his adventures so much, he returned at 33 to ‘the canyoning scene’ as an instructor, but such are the risks of adventure sport, one wrong step can have a permanent effect.
“adventure is the most awesomest thing anyone can do. It’s the only time in life where you can go and do something without planning or knowing what’s going to happen.”
“It was just another day at work,” says Jezza, “I just rocked up to that jump as you do every day, instead of doing what I was supposed to do I just slipped. Didn’t quite get the distance I wanted and hit my head on a rock on the way down, I knew what had happened and I accepted it right there and then, bugger!”
The resulting stay in hospital proved it would be a long recovery. But the determination of a mind like Jezza’s is a powerful device and convinced himself he just needed to find new ways to keep life as exciting as possible.
After returning to New Zealand, Jezza bought a house and set about re-making his life with his new level of abilities. He is motivated to continue pushing his limits, “If I go for a day without achieving one small thing then it frustrates me, I always have to achieve one small thing.”
Jezza still thrives off getting outdoors, “adventure is the most awesomest thing anyone can do. It’s the only time in life where you can go and do something without planning or knowing what’s going to happen.”
From his own interests in the outdoor world he created ‘Making Trax,’ a business which seeks to create opportunities for people with different abilities to go on adventures.
They look at outdoor companies and their products and see what they can do “through adaptation, cooperation and training,” to create inclusive tourism ventures.
His ultimate goal is to, “get all the adventure companies to come to the party, cause if this body can do it any body can do it.”
Thinking of his own abilities he says, “of course I’ve got a disability, but I’m not disabled I’m really abled, I can do a lot of stuff, about five years ago I went on a tandem paraglide in Queenstown.”
Since then, five years of careful planning later Jezza got a specialised buggy made to let him paraglide whenever he wanted to, “I’m the only licensed quadrepleigc paraglider in New Zealand.”
The glider has been adjusted so he can steer it with his arms, “all I’m doing is feeling the glider and pulling it down with my shoulders.”
Jezza has a positive outlook on life and does not let his abilities hold him back; “I think anybody that has an ability like mine is limited by imagination, it’s all about perspective, it’s all about using exactly what you’ve got to run to the best you possibly can.”
Being Me: Jack
At 18, Jack Brown made a decision that would put him in a wheelchair for life. Facing his new realit...
Bulletproof: Jezza
A canyoning accident in Switzerland left Jezza Williams a tetraplegic. An adventurer at heart, just ...
What's Your Possibility? Rebecca Dubber
Rebecca is an accomplished Paralympian swimmer, with 4 medals over her career. Shakti and Rebecca ta...
Question Time: Surviving Meningococcal
In our new series, we answer some of the commonly asked questions relating to disability. Thanks t...
Love Is Blind: Tim & Helen
Tim was a professional athlete with the Wheel Blacks and didn't want a girlfriend. But when Helen he...
Paralympic Highlights Day 01
Day one of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics sees our athletes in the pool, on the cycling velodrome and on...
Paralympic Highlights Day 02
Powerhouse Sophoe Pascoe begins her gruelling campaign at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, with New ...
Paralympic Highlights Day 04
Lisa Adams throws a new Paralympic record for gold, Danielle Aitchison qualifies for her sprint fina...
Paralympic Highlights Day 05
The single kiwi performance on day five ends in a silver medal with a superb performance on the trac...
Being Me: Dillon Maydon
Dillon's life was altered at just eighteen when he was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia, a rare ge...
Being Me: Gabby Wright
Gabby Wright suffered an injury from a virus that attacked her spine, dashing her Silver Fern dreams...
Bulletproof: Lee Warn Part 1
Lee Warn has never let the fact he is in a wheelchair slow him down. He is a wheelchair marathon ath...
Bulletproof: Lee Warn Part 2
Last time, wheelchair user Lee Warn joined ‘Team Motive’, Aotearoa’s first disability racing car tea...
Being Me: Claire Freeman
Claire Freeman has achieved a lot since a spinal injury made her a wheelchair user at 17. She has a ...
Bulletproof: Bailley Unahi
Bailley Unahi was crushed when a balcony collapsed on her at an outdoor concert in Dunedin. Paralyse...
