“It was the second heat of the night, I was leading and I went to pass another car on the inside.
“It was a clean pass but he clipped my right rear corner and that sent me into the wall.
“I was going fast so I knew it was going to be a big hit just before I hit the wall.”
Brenden was taken from the track to the helipad at Hastings Hospital and from there to Taupo, where they changed choppers, then to Hamilton for a refuel and then finally to Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.
The crash happened at about 9.30pm that night and at 6am the next morning he was on the operating table at Middlemore.
“The L1 vertebrae was shattered but the spinal cord was still intact. The surgeons were able to repair the damage.
“The surgeon’s assistant told me afterwards that I would probably never walk again.
“But I didn’t believe it because I could feel tingling in my legs.”
So that was when his long journey back to mobility began.
He was transferred to Burwood Spinal Hospital two days before Christmas.
“A few strings had to be pulled to get me in there, but it was the best move ever.
“The nurses and physiotherapists were so efficient with all their recovery programmes and I made up my mind right from the start that I was there to work and not muck around.”
He underwent two intense half-hour physio sessions a day, at 10am, and 1pm, for nearly four months.
“I never knew that half-an-hour could last so long. I was buggered when the afternoon session finished, and slept most of the rest of the afternoons.”
The early recovery work concentrated on his upper body strength so he could lift himself in and out of his bed and wheelchair.
“Then about two months into rehab I got up on to my feet, with help.
“It felt unbelievable to be standing again, but I never thought it would be so hard.
“Another 2-3 weeks and I was able to walk assisted, and again I never thought walking would be so hard.”
Brenden said there were a couple of days where he felt down, but he was able to shake that off and keep moving forward.
“In my last month at Burwood I was walking unassisted with my specialised walking frame, my gutter frame as it’s called.
“Walking around the ward with it was pretty overwhelming. Things had fitted into place in terms of moving around.”
Overwhelming was the word Brenden used to describe his welcome home at Gisborne Airport on Thursday April 7.
“It was amazing.”
Now he is home the recovery work continues.
“So far so good.
“The experts tell me I am way ahead of where I should be in terms of my recovery.
“So I’m ready to crack into more physio at Gisborne Hospital, working on my glutes and legs, to eventually get to a point where I can walk without the gutter frame.
“Then I’ll move on to crutches and finally a walking stick. I know I can do it.
“The doctors cannot put a time frame on how long that’s going to take but I’m 100 percent determined to keep doing what I’ve been doing and keep achieving my goals, for myself and for my family.”
He said his son Brodie, daughter Kaylee and partner Kaz had been so incredibly supportive.
Kaz said she was proud of the way Brenden has tackled his journey.
“I’ve been so very positive because Brenden is so very positive. He has made it quite a lot easier for me with his positive attitude.
“He’s been amazing, and right from day one.”
ACC has fitted their home in Kaiti with temporary wheelchair access ramps front and back, and more modifications will be done inside the house.
“I cannot thank everyone enough who has helped me and Kaz and the kids since the accident.
“All that incredible support has been so appreciated.”
So what now for his speedway career?
“You can never say never again when it comes to getting into a streetstock again. I will if I can.
“But right now my focus in that respect is on our son Brodie because he will be ready to drive Youth Ministocks in just over a year, and I plan to help him.
“In fact I can see myself mentoring young drivers in the future.
“That’s something I intend to do because speedway has been such a big part of my life, and always will be.”
