Paul Mckenzie, a C6 quadriplegic, says he feels truly blessed to have his baby girl Eleven Parker Mckenzie. He shares his story as a father with a spinal cord injury.
Paul and his wife chose in vitro fertilization, and Paul had his sperm collected when he first entered rehab after his spinal cord injury twenty years ago. Paul has heard many stories about others IVF journey since opening up about his own. Hearing others stories has made him feel grateful for his and his wife’s success with the process. “I never knew how many people had been through fertility issues and IVF. This makes me feel even luckier to have had Eleven,” says Paul.
Paul started to think about different adaptations for his wheelchair as soon as he found his wife was pregnant. Like a second-hand car capsule and pram combo that fits comfortably between his knees, with a simple t-bar that slotted into a fixture that was welded onto his footplate, to keep his daughter safe. He did some test runs with a bag of potatoes to make sure it was safe! Paul’s first outing with Eleven was when she was a week old.
The father-daughter is now on their second adaptation to Paul’s wheelchair made from a pram seat stand adjustment. Paul states he is always amazed at the comments he receives while out and about with his daughter.
“Some people consider what I’m doing inspirational – the fact that I’m getting out and living life with my family and inventing adaptations for my equipment – but really, I’m just living a day to day, ordinary life.”
Paul continues to go on adventures with his family, like traveling to the Queensland coast!