Strong as steel: Graeme defies age and adversity

Being able to leg press 300 pounds is an extraordinary feat for anyone his age, but Graeme faces more health challenges than most. 

For Graeme, attending the Newcastle Wellness Centre isn’t just a pastime, it’s a mission. He’s determined to stay strong for his three children and 10 grandchildren.

 

“If I didn’t go to the gym regularly, I’d be in real trouble,” he said.

 

Graeme’s physical endurance is partly owed to almost 30 years at Commonwealth Steel. It was hot and heavy work, with shovels and crowbars, melting and casting metal. Yet, it’s Graeme’s mental strength, that truly makes him ‘as strong as steel’.

Several years after prostate surgery in 1982, Graeme experienced severe pain in his right hip. Doctors initially thought the cancer had metastasised, prescribing intensive radiation therapy.

 

However, further tests revealed chondrosarcoma, a rare cartilage cancer which caused Graeme’s hip bone and part of his pelvis to become brittle. By 2016, doctors were left with no option but to amputate his right leg.

 

The heartbreaking decision was made more difficult by the fact that the remaining leg was the weaker of the two, due to a work injury and operation several years earlier.

 

“It was tough because the doctors had to remove a good healthy leg,” Graeme said.

 

His sense of humour remained intact, jokingly asking doctors to transplant his good right leg to his left side. “I asked them if they would swap it over, but that would mean I’d be walking backwards,” Graeme said with a laugh.

 

Getting through this traumatic time, Graeme needed more than his good sense of humour. It was his inner strength, both mentally and physically, that helped pull him through.

Adjusting to everyday life was difficult. Graeme learned to navigate his home, where he lives on his own, in a motorised wheelchair. Even a routine task like sitting required more balance with only one hip, but he refused to focus on the negatives.

 

“I had two options,” Graeme said. “I could sit at home and sulk, or I could get on with life. I say to people, if you fall over, you either stay there or you get up. People will be there to help you out, but you’ve got to get yourself up.”

 

Graeme drives to pick up his 16-year-old grandson from school, with the car accelerator transferred to the left-hand side.

Recently, he was diagnosed with asbestosis, a condition traced back to his younger years painting boats and later working as a painting contractor on buildings.

 

“My last tests showed I’d lost six per cent of my lung capacity,” he said. “I’m trying to stay as strong as possible. I use a water crank that I turn with my arms and I can do 20 minutes exercising with that to help my lungs.”

 

“You’ve got to take responsibility for your own health. If you want to feel better, you’ve got to go to the gym and work at it. Sitting at home won’t make it happen.”