88. Quadriplegia and Medicine with Dinesh Palipana OAM

Trigger warning: depression, agoraphobia, panic disorder and spinal cord injury

 

Welcome to Episode 88 - Quadriplegia and Medicine with Dinesh Palipana OAM

 

What kind of mindset and process does it take to live through a catastrophic car accident that leaves you with a cervical spinal cord injury?

That’s exactly what we’re finding out this week with our guest Dinesh Palipana OAM.

Having experienced depression and agoraphobia in his early 20’s, Dinesh is familiar with the how low our minds can take us.

Combine that with the experience of becoming a quadriplegic right when he was training to be a doctor and you can imagine the adversity he has had to overcome.

Since then he has risen above it to become a doctor, lawyer, author, Gold Coast Titans STAR Ambassador and 2021 Queensland Australian of the Year.

In this episode Dinesh shares:

 

-      His definition of disability and what it means to him

-      What happened when he experienced a dark period of depression and agoraphobia

-      What drew him to a career in medicine, even before his accident

-      The moment a catastrophic car accident left him with a cervical spinal cord injury.

-      The hit and miss experiences he had with doctors hearing and supporting him

-      What made him keep studying to be a doctor after his injury

-      Why he would sometimes have his wheelchair taken away and not be told when it was returning

-      How life changing accessible housing has been for him

-      The mixed opinions he received on trying to be a doctor with a disability

-      The response he has had from patients to his disability

-      How he handled working as a doctor during covid

-      How he became the doctor of gold coast titans physical disability rugby league team

-      What he would tell his younger self about life after the car accident

Key quotes:

 

“It (depression) was actually more paralysing than the spinal cord injury was.”

 

“I didn’t know I was depressed, I didn’t know what it was, I didn’t know what I was going through. I had no idea.”

 

“I don’t think we do the right thing by medical professionals…these people give their heart and soul for our community and I don’t think we look after them as well as we should.”

 

More about Dinesh

 

Dinesh LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dineshpalipana 

Dinesh Instagram: http://instagram.com/dinesh.palipana

 

If you’d like to read Dinesh’s book you can find it here: https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760984786/

 

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***If anything triggers you from today's episode, please reach out to your support networks or seek professional help***

Cheers, Simon