Brook’s Story – At Home Care Grants | Youngcare
Fourth generation cattle farmer Brooke was only 25 years old when a surprise diagnosis changed her life forever. A trip to the emergency room revealed Brooke’s niggling back pain was actually a spinal tumour.
“I was a typical rural kid. I didn’t want to go to the doctor. I kept putting it off because I’d actually been knocked over by a bull, and I just thought I was losing mobility because of that. But I got to the stage where I literally could not get around. So, my mum and my sister drove me to hospital and two days later I was being flown with the Royal Flying Doctor Service”, said Brooke.
Within a week, Brooke went from working on her family’s 124 year old cattle property, with dreams of raising her own herd, to being bedbound in hospital with a C3 incomplete spinal cord injury, and many months of rehab ahead of her.
“When I woke up from my 12 hour spinal surgery, I was paralysed from neck down. But since rehab, I can use a hopper frame and have regained strength in my arms. It took a long time to be able to use my left hand. I cried the first time I could hold a fork.”
Faced with a difficult recovery, and the new reality of being a wheelchair user, Brookes return to the farm tested her mental and physical health. No longer was she able to roam the paddocks and tend to her beloved animals, instead, she was confined indoors, unable to manoeuvre far from home in her wheelchair
“It was really difficult for me, because I was very much, still am, an outside person. It took me a long time to even approach my cows because I was frightened that I would get hurt. I just really lacked a lot of confidence.”
“It was near impossible to go anywhere… I absolutely love my chair, but it’s definitely not an outdoor safe set up.”
It was Brooke’s furry family (5 sausage dog and multiple herds of Brahman cattle) that kept her focussed on the future and determined to live a ‘normal cowgirl life’.
“My cattle are the things that get me out of bed. They are probably my saving grace when it comes to my health, other than my family and friends. I struggle immensely with my mental health and that’s where my dogs and my cows have really been the glue that sort of stuck everything together for me.”
The final piece of the puzzle in Brooke’s recovery fell into place when she discovered the Youngcare Grants Program. Not long after submitting her application, the life-changing news arrived — she’d been approved! At last, Brooke could purchase an all-terrain vehicle, giving her the freedom to move easily around the property and reclaim her independence.
“It’s definitely made a massive impact, not just for me, but for my family as well. My nephews are my everything. So, for them to be able to do stuff with me and know that they’re going to be safe is super important.”
This new addition also means Brooke can return to the show circuit and continue her family’s proud legacy. In 2027 Brooke plans to exhibit her own bred bulls at Rockhampton Beef Week – the first of many planned trips to the ‘big city’ with her business, CR Cattle Co.
For many young people with complex and permanent disabilities, Youngcare’s Grants Programs offer a lifeline, funding items that can’t and won’t be funded elsewhere. Brooke’s story is a powerful example of how this support – made possible through the generosity of Youngcare’s donors – can transform lives. Not just by funding equipment, but by restoring freedom, dignity and choice.
“There’s people out there that are helping us have that little bit of normality and encourage us to follow our dreams…chase things that we would have chased if we were able bodied, or didn’t have a disability, or disease, or whatever it may be.”
“I can’t find the words. It opens the door to a massive number of opportunities. When I first came home, I was thinking about my life and what I wanted. And, you know, the life I’m living right now is everything I imagined.”
