On the 40-year anniversary of his spinal cord injury (SCI), PA Hospital outpatient Bill Dodd has thoughtfully donated a trio of his personal artworks to the Queensland Spinal Injuries Unit (SIU) in honour of his longstanding connection with the service.
Born and raised in the regional Southwest Queensland town of Mitchell, Bill is a proud Aboriginal man from the Gunggari tribe, a husband, stepfather, writer and artist.
Bill’s connection to SIU traces back to 1983 when, just shy of 18, he sustained a high-level tetraplegic SCI in a diving accident that nearly claimed his life.
In 1992, Bill wrote and published his autobiography Broken Dreams, in which he shares stories from his early life and details his struggle to come to terms with his disability.
Having discovered his love of drawing later in life, Bill has committed countless hours to meticulously creating his artworks, using his mouth to hold and guide the pencil. Dedicating an average of 25-28 hours to each artwork, Bill says drawing is not just a creative outlet, but so much more.
“Drawing is a form of creativity, mindfulness, escape, meaning and purpose,” he said.
With his connection to PAH enduring through the Spinal Outreach Team (SPOT), Bill says he is honoured to give back to the service that has supported him over the decades.
“I’m proud to finally give the SIU some of my work.”
Earlier this year, SPOT Social Worker Bettina Power visited with Bill and his family at Mitchell as part of SPOT’s regional visit service, and accepted the artworks on behalf of SIU.
Bettina had the artworks framed along with Bill’s photographs and story.
Upon sharing images with Bill and his family, Bettina says Bill and Tracy were overcome with emotion.
“They responded immediately, thanking me and saying they were both emotional after seeing the photos,” she said.
After 40 years in the service, Bill is the longest surviving Aboriginal person with tetraplegia on the Queensland SCIS client database.
While he continues to manage a challenging daily life with complex care needs, Bill is proud to continue his connection with SIU and looks forward to creating more art.