Leading Seaman Marine Technician Iain Swinton (Navy)
Although he was in a coma and can’t remember many details, LSMT Iain Swinton, of HMAS Huon, is well aware that receiving donated blood products helped save his life.
Now as the blood ambassador for Navy for 2012 he hopes to help promote how vital being a blood donor can be for people in many different situations to help their quality of life.
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“I realised there was a program out there but I didn’t realise how important it was or how low blood stocks can be,” he said.
On Anzac Day 2009, LSMT Swinton was near the end of his post deployment leave and had the privilege of being the HMAS Hawkesbury life ring bearer for the parade through Sydney.
Tragedy struck a day later when he was riding his motorcycle to work and was hit by an oncoming car that crossed into his lane.
“It knocked me off my bike and I received serious multiple injuries,” he said.
“I was transported to the Royal North Shore Hospital intensive care and placed into an induced coma.”
Bruising to the brain, multiple back fractures, a broken wrist, shoulders, shoulder blades and catastrophic leg damage were LSMT Swinton’s main injuries.
He was not revived from the coma until May 9 and was told immediately his right lower leg would need be amputated.
“The head surgeon said because my leg had so many broken bones I would have a better quality of life with a prosthetic limb rather than live with a severely handicapped leg,” he said.
“I was so messed up, I remember being told things, but I didn’t have any real concept of time.
“I spent a long time trying to recover. I was in a spinal suit for eight weeks and was totally dependent on the nurses and medical staff.
“I was literally broken from the top down. I went through a bad patch there.”
Gradually, LSMT Swinton regained the use of his arms and a few weeks after the spinal suit was removed, he progressed to being able to use a wheelchair for simple tasks such as going to the toilet.
When he became more stable and his pain medication was reduced, he was moved to the Royal Rehabilitation Centre.
LSMT Swinton said this was when he was at his lowest.
“It was the first time I was by myself and away from the support I had been given by Defence personnel,” he said.
“I just wanted to get out of there, which was one thing that gave me my motivation, but I didn’t start home visits until October.”
There were complications with the amputation and pain issues and it was nearly a year before LSMT Swinton was able to use a prosthetic properly and start moving around independently.
Getting back to work was also a gradual process. He started by working only half days a few days a week before building up his endurance to be able to work a full day.
LSMT Swinton secured a full-time position at the Navy’s hyperbaric chamber and, with conditioning, said his goal was to be able to pass his fitness tests as normal and prove he was still an asset.
“There was all the regular training to complete as well such as fire-fighting, basic combat and survivability and the swim test,” he said.
“It took me another year to work out the medical employment classification system, tick all the boxes and by February last year I had passed my physical fitness test and was again ready for sea.
“I still train in the gym as I did before, but now I also have to do a lot more core strength exercises and make an extra effort to stay in peak condition.”
In April, he returned to sea with a posting on board HMAS Huon as a maritime systems controller.