Serena Kirby, Denmark Bulletin

Much-loved local GP Alex Sleeman is back home and learning to adjust to life with a disability. Alex has spent the past six months in Perth receiving medical care for serious spinal injuries from a tractor accident in September.

He has regained significant mobility but is still unable to move his feet or ankles and he believes this aspect will remain unchanged.

“I have splints on my lower legs to help keep my feet in position for walking and I use crutches to support me but I still need the wheelchair a lot of the time,” Alex said.

Alex is thrilled to be back with his family but his return has forced him to consider the town’s level of accessibility for less able-bodied people.

“I’ve been thinking about all the reasons we moved to Denmark and it certainly wasn’t to sit inside; it was to get out and about and go to the beach,” he said.

“I managed to get to Greens Pool once using the crutches and it took a lot of time, care and effort but there’s no wheelchair access, and no beachwheelchair available, at any of our main beaches.

“I’m not trying to paint a contentious picture but accessibility is an issue.

“There’s also no supermarket trolleys for wheelchair users or any for people with limited mobility.” 

Alex thankful for pool therapy for recovery

Alex said he was fortunate to have use of a local private heated pool for his hydrotherapy but that not everyone was so lucky and a publicly accessible hydrotherapy pool would benefi t the town.

Learning to live with a newly-acquired disability required physical adaptation but Alex said it also required major mental adjustment.

A great insight on ‘adjustment’ came from a psychology session he attended before being discharged from the rehab facility in Perth.

“People approach an adverse situation in two ways – they either see it as a threat or a challenge,” he said.

“If you see it as a threat then it’s hard to overcome as it’s all too much whereas if you see it as a challenge you feel empowered to beat it.”

Alex said these words had resonated with him and he’d considered his injury a challenge not a threat since day one.

The next challenge on Alex’s list is to return to ‘very part time’ work later this year, potentially seeing a handful of patients a couple of mornings a week.

He’s also in the process of donating his tractor to Denmark’s Machinery Restoration Group.

“The tractor was my grandfather’s and I learnt to drive it when I was really little,” he said.

“I still have the original receipt and owner’s manual but obviously I’m not able to drive it anymore.”

In keeping with Alex’s approach to his life-changing injury, his comment on the tractor was light-hearted: “If I keep it, I’ll be divorced, so that would make it the most expensive tractor ever.” 

This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 17 April 2025.
Related stories: Alex back on his feet; Tractor horror – Alex’s eyes on the future; Dr Alex Sleeman – diving into a country practice.