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When Corbin Hart of Red Beach was cleaning up at the end of his day as a road construction worker in December, 2019, he had no way of knowing that his life was about to change forever.
Working on a remote rural road, he lost his footing, his leg was dragged into a machine, and a horrific ordeal began.
He lost most of his right leg, “the nerve pain was insane and nothing could help”.
While at first he almost gave up, the 27-year-old adopted a positive mindset and says his life is actually a lot better now, than before the accident.
Part of that is a new focus – becoming a world-class competitive kayaker. Ten months after first getting into a kayak, Hart qualified for the Paralympics and this month he will represent NZ in Tokyo.
During his recovery, ACC paired him with a psychologist and Hart says that’s when his Paralympics dream was born.
“The psychologist said, ‘if you had died, would you be happy with the life you’d led? What would make you happy now?”
“Back then, my life was all about working and trying to get ahead, but now that’s flipped around. Money is not a huge thing to me at the moment. It’s more about trying to value my life and what I’ve actually got.”
When it comes to kayaking, Hart has friends in high places. He is a long-time friend of Olympian Caitlin Regal, who won a gold medal with Lisa Carrington in the K-2 500. Hart and Regal are both former students of Ōrewa College, and were members of Red Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, where they raced surf skis.
Regal encouraged her friend to get into kayaking, providing advice and support along the way and he took to the sport immediately.
Hart was the only Para paddler in his first competitive race and beat all his able-bodied rivals. He qualified for the Paralympics at a regatta in Hungary three months ago.
With Tokyo just around the corner, he has been putting his body through a gruelling daily routine of gym workouts and paddling sessions.
“I want to be the best and I don’t like to do things by halves,” he says. “I’m very excited to represent my country.”
The Paralympics begin on August 24.
Knee with smarts Hart says key in getting to Tokyo was the support of ACC, which supplied him with a joint made using modern prosthesis technology – a ‘smart/bionic knee’ – and another leg designed for kayaking. Motorised knees use microprocessors that do things such as adjust resistance and motion. They allow a person to walk more smoothly and naturally, including up stairs and ramps, and backwards. The prosthetic can be configured using a phone app, with settings for specific activities, as well as to check the level of battery charge. ACC also covered medical fees, financial compensation, occupational therapy and counselling.
