Popular NSW greyhound trainer Neville Brown is facing the fight of his life after a tragic accident at his Bargo property late last year.
The 65-year-old, responsible for steering Tuiaki to Group 2 victories in the Peter Mosman Opal and Gosford Gold Cup over a decade ago, was moving greyhounds from one paddock to another in November when the incident occurred.
A sudden “twisting movement” resulting in significant spinal cord damage.
“I tried to pick one dog up and put him over the fence into another yard but as I lifted him, it felt like a bolt of lightning came up through the ground and dropped me,” Brown explained.
“I fell to the ground and could barely move…the pain was excruciating. Normally it takes me three minutes to walk back up to the house from where I fell but for 40 minutes, I crawled and stumbled and staggered up to the car, climbed in and drove myself to hospital.
“I pulled over a few times because I thought I was going to pass out or run off the road but eventually I made it to Camden Hospital.”
Brown was quickly assessed and shifted via ambulance to Campbelltown to undergo a series of tests.
“They checked me over and sent me for a CT scan but it didn’t show anything significant. The staff said I wasn’t a priority for an MRI but set me up in a bed for about a week,” Brown said.
“Eventually, they gave me some painkillers and sent me home. The pain was so bad that I went to my local GP the next day and he said “you need to get back to the hospital.
“I went back to Campbelltown and they put me in a hospital bed again. During the next five or six days while I laid there, my body started going numb from the belly button down. Eventually, a new doctor came and assessed me and said I needed to be transferred to the spinal care unit at Liverpool for an MRI immediately.
“As soon as I got there, they did the MRI and it showed two discs had pierced my spinal cord. They said I needed surgery straight away but before I went under, they said “you are about to have a major operation and there’s a 50% chance you won’t come out of it alive. If you do survive, you will probably be paralysed.” I got my will in order and went straight in.”
Brown underwent two five-hour surgeries over consecutive days where they performed an anterior cervical discectomy – a procedure that removed damaged discs in his neck that were pressuring his spinal cord.
Surgeons fused the joints in his neck and also inserted a makeshift cage to stabilise his spine.
The operations were successful, but Brown would still wake up to devastating news.
“I was paralysed from the waist down,” he said.
“I had no movement, no bowel function, nothing worked. The doctors have said it could be eight to 18 months before I see any real improvement, but they also told me I might not improve at all.
“They showed me a picture of my spinal cord and a healthy spine was like a black snake that goes down the middle of your body. When something puts pressure on it though, it starts to turn white…well, about 2.5 inches of my spinal cord was white.
“Every day, nurses would come in with a spoon and a pin to test whether I’d regained any feeling in my lower body. They’d tell me to shut my eyes and place the pin or spoon on my leg and ask me to guess which one it was. I’d say, “it’s the spoon” confidently and open my eyes to see it was the pin.
Neville Brown with Eyes To Eyes after winning a heat of the 2023 Million Dollar Chase
“My wife Jenny and my kids Lisa, Paul and Jessica were all crying and obviously upset…it was a really dark time for everyone.”
But as time passed, Brown started noticing some small improvement.
“About a month after the surgery, I started wiggling my toes. Once I began doing that, the boxing gloves went on so to speak and I thought “I’m up for this fight”,” he said.
“My bowels came back online and they’ve given me a zimmer frame that I can sort of slide back and forth from the toilet with. I still have to drag my legs along behind me but it’s better than the alternatives.
“They sent me home for therapy and rehabilitation earlier this week and my brother Ron had already flown down from QLD and changed everything in the house. He put railings all around the place, he changed the shower to have a hose and chair system and he’s made the place so much more accessible.
“The progress I’m making is giving us all hope and I’ve got that strong will in me. The rehabilitation team keep telling me not many people can push through the pain I’m in. They have to stop me because I want to keep working to get better. I’m doing some hard yards and there’s plenty more ahead, but I’m ready to tackle it.”
The greyhound fraternity also wrapping its arms around Brown, with a host of participants rallying to assist one of the good guys of the sport.
“I called Greg Smith when I was in the hospital and asked if he could take care of things and he did everything under the sun,” Brown said.
“For two months, he looked after the dogs, he eventually sold them for me and transported them to other trainers…I owe Greg a lot and I’m so thankful.”
“I had a bitch heavily in pup before the accident and Ken Burnett and Amanda Brunton took her and whelped the pups for me. And Dennis and Ann Barnes contacted me when they heard I was out for the count and said they’d take the litter to rear and raise out at Cudal for nothing.”
“Greyhound people are great people and I’m immensely grateful for everything everyone has done and continues to do help me and my family.”
Yass mentor Neil Staines has also pitched in and trained one of Brown's greyhounds, Seconds Down, to a win on Wednesday at Temora.
"Neil also offered to take any dogs necessary from my racing kennels to ensure they were looked after,'' Brown said.
"Neil has twin grandsons who are enthusiastic about greyhounds and while we were chatting he put one of them, Daniel, on the phone to ask me how I was going.
"I asked him if he had a handler's licence and when Daniel replied that he had just received it, I asked him to handle Seconds Down for me at Temora.
"Daniel, who is 14, was so excited and Neil agreed to let him take charge so all went to plan when Seconds Down bullocked his way to the front at the first turn and won easily.
"It was the first winner Daniel had handled, and I was so happy for the kid.''
