Smiths Hill Principal David Deitz is two weeks into intensive rehab in hospital in the hope he may regain some movement and strength in the lower part of his arms.
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Speaking about his confronting and life-changing experience after the January cycling crash at the Unanderra Velodrome, the well-known member of the Illawarra's cycling community said he had been told to expect that he would have no use of his hands, arms and legs after the accident.
But, from the Prince of Wales hospital physio gym, Mr Dietz told ABC Illawarra he was in the second week of rehab and was "really putting my athlete mindset back to a different way of getting fit and better in my recovery".
"I'm trying to strengthen that which I can, to ensure when I do leave Prince of Wales I have the greatest amount of mobility that I can expect from the injury that I have," he said.
"At the moment I've got basically movement and feeling and strength from my elbows upwards, my lower arms are fairly weak, [with] a little bit of movement and some sense of feeling."
"But [from there] down to my feet there's no feeling there at all."
After his surgery following the accident, he said the news from doctors had been blunt and "very black and white".
"It was pretty confronting." he said.
"Basically they told me that I could expect, being a quadriplegic, having no use of my hands, and arms and legs."
"But I was also told that by working hard there is hope for more than just no hand movement or arms as well. So I'm working on that and keeping very positive."
He also said he could not have imagined his situation on the day of the cycling race.
"On that day, it was the furthest thing from my mind," he said.
"On that day, I was feeling fit, invincible almost and everything is now just turned 180 degrees."
"From being so independent, I'm now a person who is highly dependent for everything from from feeding, to brushing my teeth, all of those things, so it certainly has been life-changing.
"But I must say that there has been so much support extended to me by so many people from the schooling fraternity, my church, the cycling club - just so many people who are just reaching out and giving me and my family so much support.
On Friday night, Mr Deitz gave a Q and A through his church, St Michael's Anglican, where he wanted to give people the message that "I haven't gone missing in action. I'm still alive and still working hard and being positive."
He told the church he could be back in Wollongong within three to six months and said he wouldn't rule out returning to his principal role at Smith's Hill, saying "I'll be burning the corridors in my wheelchair".
He also said it was "highly unlikely" he would be able to return to his home in Mangerton, as he would need a modified living space to allow him to do everyday things, and spoke about the challenges of being in hospital in the days after the accident.
"I would just be lying there, and I'd think to myself 'Is this a dream, can this really be happening?'," he said.
"Four weeks ago I was able to do anything, feeling invincible and now I'm dependent on other people to do basically everything for me, so that's tough."
In a tearful message to his wife, he said he also felt challenged by being a burden to other people, but that if the tables were turned he would give everything he could to look after his loved ones.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
