From the Weekly Times
SURFING the local break eight months after becoming a quadriplegic didn't strike Beau Vernon as particularly extraordinary.
For this gutsy Victorian, it was simply another case of mind over matter.
Wheeled into the water, the determined 24-year-old braced himself on a body board and rode a wave back to shore.
The breakers would have barely raised a Phillip Island grommet's eyebrow - but for Beau the cold sea had never felt so good.
It was a little piece of the life he once knew, long before a freak clash during a country footy match changed it forever.
The accident crushed his C-5 and C-6 vertebrae, leaving him unable to feel anything from the shoulders down.
It was almost incomprehensible for a kid who was always on his feet.
But things are slowly returning to normal, albeit with a few adjustments.
In recent weeks, Beau has moved in with his girlfriend Lucy and waved goodbye to full-time care.
He has started his own blog, showing his progress, and posted videos of achievements including swimming, bowling, trialling a handcycle and playing darts.
There are plans to get back behind the wheel and he will be cheering on his Leongatha teammates from the sidelines this season.
It's been far from easy, but Beau stays positive.
"One of the greatest things I've learned is to focus on the things that you can do, not the things that you can't,'' he said.
He said the situation had strengthened his relationship, which had been forged when they were both teenagers.
"It's definitely brought Lucy and I closer,'' Beau said.
Home chores aren't high on his list of challenges - he escapes washing-up but Lucy has him pegged for other duties like doing laundry.
They are a normal couple in every sense, but together have already weathered more ups and downs than any pair should.
A supportive network of family and friends has helped lift them both when they were at their lowest.
"We have met a lot of kind-hearted people who have given their time to help,'' Lucy said.
"It is support like that, when you need it most, that you really appreciate.''
