Two years ago, 23-year-old Dylan Czeladka was living the dream. He was earning a six-figure salary as a fly in fly out worker in WA, and spending his time off partying with mates, travelling the world and planning his future.
But all that came to an abrupt halt when a drunk driver mounted the median strip and ploughed into Dylan’s parked car, crushing his skull.
Dylan was comatose for five days, and when he woke up, the things that made Dylan Dylan – his personality, his drive, his enthusiasm for life – were not there anymore.
Dylan had suffered a traumatic brain injury and in the following months Dylan had to relearn how to walk, talk – and even feel – again.
Source: SBS
While Dylan doesn’t look any different or have any obvious physical injuries, he’s now on a cocktail of drugs, struggles with motivation and his parents say he’s a totally different person to the guy they’ve known for 20 years.
“I was so impulsive, I had to say whatever was on my mind and I didn't feel any sort of emotion whatsoever. I wasn't happy, sad, anything… just numb. It was like nothingness,” says Dylan.
“It's like being a child. When a child wants something and doesn't get it he gets upset and angry and loud.”
When you’re surrounded by an incredible support network like I have, whether you like it or not, you end up with a sense of responsibility to be better, to grow, to move forward for them.
But it’s not always like that. One of the challenges with Dylan’s condition is the inconsistency. Without knowing Dylan has a brain injury, if you met him on a good day then saw him on a bad day, the two characters don’t match. And he’s not always in the frame of mind to explain himself to everyone – and neither should he need to.
Even for Dylan himself, the idea that he isn’t as capable as he used to be, that he no longer has full self-control, is difficult to accept. Hitting the gym to work on his physique has been a lot easier than trying to measure his emotional and mental progress.
And sometimes, it’s too much to handle.
Dylan’s brother, Corey, remembers a time he had to physically restrain his brother from leaving the house, “because I was that scared he was going to go and hurt himself.”
“It’s been a hell of a journey,” Dylan admits.
Source: SBS
“I've been in some very funny, very sad, very angry situations at times. I remember the first time I started to get my emotions back. Everything was inappropriate. I was inappropriately sad, inappropriately angry and inappropriately happy. I couldn't really go into social environments and know what to say or how to interact with people.”
Lucky for Dylan, he has an incredibly supportive family and a loving partner to motivate him on his intensive recovery journey. But for someone who was so independent, relying on people, even if they want to help, has been hard.
Enter Mr. Parker. He’s a French bulldog.
Dylan says that having Mr. Parker by his side has helped with this recovery more than anyone had hoped.
“The idea was that if I had something else to depend on other than myself that that would get me motivated and active and I'd want to train him and play with him. It was this idea that he would be able to give me this unconditional love and affection and that’s where it started and it just grew so much.
“He learns to respond to my emotional cues, he knows when I need him, whenever I feel like I’m getting anxious or I'm losing myself, he's right there beside me and I can turn to him and he knows. He can put his paws up on me and make me feel so much better.
“Funnily enough, we’re surrounded by water and he’s absolutely afraid of it and in some ways we learn to support each other. You know, I’m not the only one who has anxiety and fear and depression, everyone does. Even animals have fears.
“It’s funny, when you’re surrounded by an incredible support network like I have, whether you like it or not, you end up with a sense of responsibility to be better, to grow, to move forward for them.”
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