Gabe's Story

Imagine this ...

It's 1999 and you are a 16 year old guy.  You've got your first car (a Honda City); you've got a girlfriend; you've just enrolled at polytech to undertake a computer course, and you're mad about skateboarding ... and in fact, quite good at it too.  Good enough for a local business to want to sponsor you.

Life's pretty good huh!?

Well then, imagine this ...

You've just spent some time with your family out at the beach.  You have come back into town to drop your girlfriend off at work and to go and visit your grandparents.  That all done, you're making your way home about 3.00pm in the afternoon when your life changes forever.

That's part of Gabe's story, you see Gabe was hit by a drunk driver that afternoon.  He was just 2 minutes from home ... can you imagine?  Just 2 short minutes from home, driving on a residential street and he's hit, head on.  The driver of the other car is not only drunk, but he's traveling at 100 kms per hour in a 50 km zone.  

Gabe can't remember much of the crash or the (what must have been) hair-raising hours following.  But luckily for him, the emergency services arrived to cut him free of his vehicle and carefully bundle his broken body into an awaiting ambulance.  

Can you imagine?

And his day didn't end there.  Gabe was then airlifted from one hospital to another, over 200kms away.  Sat beside him is a trauma specialist who is doing everything possible to help Gabe make it safely to his destination.  

Meanwhile, Gabe's family have heard the news and they are now having to make the trip from the beach to the hospital, over 3 hours drive away ... all the time wondering if he'll be okay when they get there.

Gabe has a fractured hip, leg, pelvis and elbow, along with liver damage, bruised lungs and a severe concussion ... and that's just the beginning of the story!

Gabe's story is one of survival ... a long road of recovery and of discovery - of finding out how to now live when things (when he) will never be the same.  

We are so proud to be offering our conference delegates the chance to meet Gabe at this year's SADD Conference Season, and to hear first-hand his amazing story.  We are immensely grateful to Gabe for being brave and generous enough to share his experiences, so that we may learn.

We know Gabe's story will further inspire the hundreds of students who dedicate their time each year to running the SADD programme in their schools and communities. 

Plus - there's a twist to Gabe's story that you won't believe! 

To find out more about our 2011 Conference season - download this registration pack