Scott's rehabilitation journey

Scott, more commonly referred to as Scoot or Scooter, was diagnosed with epilepsy two years ago, after a period of debilitating neurological signs and symptoms. Numerous anti-convulsant medications were trialled to eradicate his increasingly severe seizures so that he could get back to a more normal life with his wife Jenny and their three school age daughters. Not being able to drive when you live on a farm in rural Australia and work at a school further than running distance away has its challenges. With the support of Jen and the local community, Scoot continued to find ways to work every day to fulfil his role as a School Principal in Orange.
As it became clear that medication alone could not control the seizures, Scoot was given the option of undertaking a week of epilepsy testing, to determine if he would be a suitable candidate for surgery to cure his seizures and he jumped at the chance. The week-long testing was gruelling, he was taken off his medication, sleep deprived, and confined to a bed whilst being hooked up to an EEG machine to induce seizures. Following extensive analysis and review, his medical team recommended he undergo brain surgery on the left temporal lobe, to cure his epilepsy and provide the opportunity to live seizure-free. Scoot underwent this surgery at a Sydney hospital on the 19th November 2020.
The surgery went according to plan, however after only one night at home post-discharge, Scoot developed severe headaches and confusion. He was flown back to hospital in Sydney via Orange and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Following seizures and further neurological deterioration he was put in an induced coma and medical treatment commenced for suspected viral encephalitis (the medical team estimated this was a <1 in a million occurrence). The virus was attacking his brain, causing swelling and extreme pressure build up. Emergency life-saving craniectomy was performed, removing part of his skull, to relieve the intracranial pressure to give Scoot a chance of surviving; the medical team warned Jen and the family to prepare themselves for the worst possible outcome.
After a long 3 weeks, Scoot was slowly bought out of the coma, taken off the ventilator and fortunately was able to breath on his own. On Christmas Eve he stood up and took a couple of steps and hugged Jen in exhaustion, and was able to impress the Speech Therapist by drinking water and swallowing some pureed apple. Further complications of pneumonia and continued brain swelling have slightly delayed progress but the determination and can-do attitude that Scoot is known for is shining through and he is now on the ward at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and is physically very stable, with progress evident every day.
Scoot is going to need extensive rehabilitation to give him the best chance of returning to some sort of normality that can return his independence and enjoyment of family, friends and sport. Options and locations for his rehabilitation are now being reviewed, which will include the need for specialist brain rehabilitation, and speech therapy. The location of these services is likely to be far from his home and his local support network, but it is critical to choose the option providing the best chance of the maximum physical and mental recovery.
The target amount of $50,000 is to be raised by Matthew Hotchkis, Jarred Brown and Ian Callaghan training and running the Canberra marathon. They each plan to run a total distance greater than that of Canberra to Melbourne (over 500kms). This is a small sacrifice for the selflessness, passion and vibrant attitude that Scott shows everyone involved in his life.
Sharing this page and donations of any amount are greatly appreciated, and every contribution will help Scoot to be able to receive the expert rehabilitation care he needs to return to some sort of normality.