For Noosa local Rebecca, 46, the sand at the very end of Noosa Spit has long been just out of reach. On a Sunday morning in late January, that changed.
At 9am, Rebecca met supporters at the Noosa Spit to trial a new all-terrain wheelchair that will allow her to return to the beach she once walked daily with her son.
Rebecca was halfway through her Bachelor of Education when a serious medical diagnosis changed her life.
She is now fully fused through her spine, with additional bone growth affecting her facet and sacroiliac joints, along with a meniscus tear in her right knee.
Sitting low or rising from the ground is impossible without a hoist, making most beach access unsafe.
“The undulating soft sand is just too dangerous for me to try to walk across,” Rebecca said in her application for support.
“But I don’t want to access the water — I want to spend time on the beach again, walking along the water’s edge like I used to.”
The specially designed 4×4 wheelchair will allow Rebecca to do just that, without taking away water-access wheelchairs that are needed at surf clubs and visitor centres.
The $5000 wheelchair has been jointly funded by the Tewantin Noosa Lions Club, which contributed $2500, and the Australian Lions Foundation, which provided the balance.
For Rebecca, the impact goes far beyond mobility.
Her son, who has autism and a mild intellectual disability, works part-time at Woolworths and attends programs at Sunshine Butterflies.
He also participates in events with Disability Surfing Australia and Surfers Healing.
“This is my best opportunity to access the community again,” Rebecca said.
“Not be stuck on the boardwalk — but back on the beach, with my son.”
If you would like to make a difference in the community – contact Tewantin Noosa Lions Club.
www.tewantinnoosalions.org.au/contact/ or tewantinnoosa.qld@lions.org.au
