Category seven – Injured worker achievement award (serious injury)
While Jordan was carrying out repairs and maintenance work on a conveyer, it moved without warning. He was dragged between the bottom of the chute and the conveyer until he was able to grab a pipe, stop his movement and save his life. He was just 22 years old.
He suffered severe injuries to his eyes, cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine and almost completely obliterated the spinal cord. Jordan also suffered injuries to his left ankle, left knee, left and right foot, stomach, intestines, bladder and bowel.
Jordan was bed-ridden, then wheelchair bound and in a Brisbane hospital spinal unit for nine months. His support network including family, friends and work colleagues were living over 1000 kilometres away in Bowen and the reality was they had limited ability to visit. Nevertheless, they gave Jordan the strength and motivation to push beyond doctors' expectations.
He was told he would never walk again. With sheer determination and hard work at rehabilitation, Jordan can now walk with an ankle-foot orthoses and crutch. His drive was fuelled in part by his desire to return to work.
Unable to return to his trade as a boiler maker, Jordan's workplace fully supported his new ambitions to become a draftsman/estimator. His employer offered him the opportunity to follow this path and relocate to Mackay. Ready to embrace this challenge, Jordan is now undergoing computer and software training in a new city, giving him a clear, long-term career path.
