- Casey Brady, 32, Mount Maunganui, NZ was an avid motocross rider before her accident
- When she broke her back at a meet and was left paralysed her life was changed forever
- Now she’s built an incredible fitness community and has become a mother
Here Casey tells her story in her own words
Strapping on my helmet, I revved the throttle on my dirt bike.
The satisfying growl of the engine filled my ears.
‘Let’s go, Casey!’ my boyfriend Mitch, then 24, yelled from out in the crowd.
It was June 2017, and I’d travelled to Taupo, NZ, to compete in their annual motorcross race.
Riding through the dirt, my heart pounded as I flew around the track.
I’d been riding motocross since I was 12 years old zooming around our homemade track Dad, Richie, had built for me and my sisters Sam, then 13, Jessie, 11, and Georgia, one, at my family’s farm in Pyes Pa, NZ.
Squeezing the throttle as I launched over a jump at the motocross, the air suddenly shifted, and I felt my body launch over the bike’s handlebars.
As my head collided with the ground, everything went black.
Coming to, I was lying on my back in the dirt.
Lifting my hand to my stomach, I felt a really odd sensation. I wasn’t in pain, but something in me knew this feeling wasn’t right.
This is serious, I thought.
A paramedic had rushed to my side, as I focused on remaining calm.
‘I can’t feel my legs,’ I said.
‘A helicopter’s on the way,’ he told me, holding my hand tightly.
Somehow Mitch found me through the chaos and, minutes later, we were airlifted to Auckland Middlemore Hospital.
The 40-minute journey was hazy as I was given medication to ease the pain now throbbing in my neck.
At the hospital I was rushed into emergency where an MRI revealed I’d injured my spinal cord.
Booked in for surgery, when I came to from the haze of medication, I learned the true extent of my injuries. My parents Julene and Richie, my sisters and Mitch were by my bedside.
‘You’ve broken your back. You’re paralysed from the chest down,’ said the doctor, explaining they had removed my snapped T6 and T4 vertebrae, replaced them with two fake ones and fused my back together.
‘It’s likely you won’t walk again.’
I was so angry at their lack of belief.
I’ll prove them wrong, I vowed.
After a week in hospital, I spent three months in a spinal ward in Auckland doing rehabilitation, learning how to sit up, move, use a wheelchair and drive a modified car.
I still had feeling and movement in my arms, but my legs were frozen.
Frustrated, I didn’t want to adjust to life in a chair. I wanted to walk again.
Mitch was my rock, visiting every day, and keeping my spirits high.
After a week in hospital, he popped the question, and of course I said yes.
‘You’re strong, we can make it through this,’ he’d remind me on my toughest days.
After I was discharged, Mitch and I moved in with his family while our home was renovated to make it more accessible and wheelchair-friendly.
Ramps, a roll in shower and bigger bathrooms were added.
I threw myself into rehab with my trainer Aaron, attending daily sessions of locomotor training – walking in a harness on a treadmill – swimming, electrical stimulation and hyperbaric chamber.
Sometimes I’d train for 40 hours a week.
Adjusting to my new life was hard. I couldn’t work as a preschool teacher like before.
I want to help other people like me, I decided.
So one year on I started studying personal training and opened a gym with Aaron.
Opening the gym NextStep in July 2018 in Mount Maunganui was one of my proudest moments.
It’s accessible to everyone and we specialise in helping people undergoing neurological rehabilitation such as those who have had strokes, Parkinson’s disease or spinal cord injuries.
In April 2021 Mitch and I tied the knot at home surrounded by family and friends.
I wasn’t going to get married until I could walk down the aisle, and with help of leg braces – I did!
There wasn’t a dry eye in the place and Mitch and my family were so proud of me.
My treatment is still ongoing, and in June 2024 I travelled to the US for three weeks to undergo stem cell treatment that would work alongside my rehab.
Aaron had heard about a program, and I was lucky to get a spot.
The treatment has helped replace my damaged stem cells with healthy ones and recently I’ve been able to use my walking frame to stand and move small distances independently.
I’m making progress, and I’m so proud of myself.
Mitch and I dreamed of being parents and because I was unable to carry a baby due to my accident we went through a fertility clinic to create six embryos and found a surrogate, Brooke.
Living just 15 minutes down the road, she was practically our neighbour!
In September last year we were overwhelmed with joy to welcome our daughter Billie.
Hello little one,’ I cooed, holding her for the first time
We’re so grateful for our girl – the most precious gift.
Being a mum is the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. And Mitch is an amazing dad.
Being in a wheelchair, it takes me a little longer to get up and down on the floor to play with her or change a nappy.
While I still have hard days, being sad doesn’t last long.
Every time I see Billie, 7 months, smile, I remember my reason to keep going – determined to be the best mum I can be.
Now, we are expecting a baby boy in November, this time my sister Jessie, now 31, is our surrogate.
My beautiful growing family are my biggest motivation to walk again one day.
I’ll show my kids that anything is possible.
