Campbell Gray will never forget his 19th birthday. But at the same time, he can’t remember it.

The Waikato premier hockey representative suffered a traumatic brain injury during training which meant celebrating his birthday is just a blur. It proved to be a life-changing moment.

“It’s a hard one because I don’t remember much of the day,” says Campbel in his typical low-key fashion. 

“My last memory was going out for lunch and everything after that was recollected from others.” 

That afternoon, Campbell went out for a round of golf with some mates. He came home for dinner and then went to hockey training.

His team ran through attacking drills when a shot on goal went astray and hit Campbell flush in the head.

“It hit me on the right temporal bone,” he says pointing above his ear. “I went down pretty hard.”

He was behind a couple of defenders, and they got out of the way in time. Campbell picked it up late and there was nothing he could do.

The impact fractured Campbell’s skull, his optical bone, and also fractured his jaw. He suffered a brain bleed, an aneurysm, which could have been fatal. 

Campbell was in no man’s land.

He had no idea what was going on and he was fortunate that his girlfriend at the time Brianna, who had experience in First Aid, was “extremely onto it”.

One of the boys in his team called her saying that he couldn’t drive home and asked for her get Campbel.

He never lost consciousness, but he knew he wasn’t right. 

“I struggle to wrap my head around it, how you get that much damage and not lose consciousness is beyond me.” says Campbell.

He was drowsy and had normal concussion symptoms. His girlfriend brought a few friends, and they were planning on going out to have a few drinks after training to celebrate Campbell’s birthday.

But his condition deteriorated quickly on the car trip and Brianna recognised the signs early. 

She took him straight to Waikato Hospital and by that point he was nauseous and vomiting. 

She alerted the Emergency Department team that things were critical, and he had a CT scan.

“They discovered a bleed that was putting a lot of pressure on my brain,” says Campbell “I was in a bad way.” 

Campbel underwent brain surgery to save his life.

“It was a terrifying time for me and my family.”

Meanwhile Campbell’s parents – Dave and Louise - heard the news in Napier and drove straight to Hamilton.

“We were in total shock when the phone call came through from the neurosurgeon,” says Campbell's mum Louise.  “I kept thinking: ‘This can't be happening’.”

A million thoughts were running through their minds on the journey north.

“We had a huge fear of losing Campbell,” says Louise. “We were also really worried about the long-term effects of the injury. Would he have the same life he had before?”   

Campbell was placed in an induced coma post-surgery for two days to allow the swelling to subside and ensure there were no complications. The first week of his recovery he doesn’t remember.

He spent two and a half weeks in Waikato Hospital before he was transferred to ABI, Acquired Brain Injury, Rehabilitation in Auckland.

ABI Rehabilitation is the only ACC contracted intensive rehabilitation provider for Traumatic Brain Injury in the North Island.

Campbell says his experience at ABI was life changing.

In many ways, he had to start his life again. His balance was shot. He couldn’t get anywhere without holding onto something. And his speech was compromised.

“You would say something to me and I’d take five to ten seconds to process it and another five seconds to process what I’m going to reply to you. And by then it’s all a bit slow,” says Campbel.

His mum stayed with Gray for a month at ABI, living in an apartment to support him in his long road to recovery.

“It was fully catered and everything which was super handy because all you had to worry about was rehab,” says Campbell.

According to Louise it was a huge relief to see him making progress with his cognitive function.

“We both learnt a lot about the brain and brain injuries,” says Louise. “You could see Campbell progressing well and also his perspective on his injury and outlook improving. He had a very positive attitude right from the accident.”

ACC played a leading role in Campbell’s rehabilitation and his ACC recovery partner assisted with the transition home in Napier.

The visits to the physiotherapist continued for four months post-injury.

Campbell says that enabled him to achieve his rehabilitation goals. But he was frustrated with the slow progress.

“I was really naïve, and said ‘yeah, I’m going to crack back into it in a couple of weeks’ time and I’ll be good to go again’.

So just having someone there to bring me back to earth and let me realise that it’s not going to be a fast recovery, it’s going to take some time.”

He wrote down three goals – to get back to work, to return to university fulltime and to get back into his exercise.

He got back into the university classroom, battled anxiety and his memory was poor.

His occupational therapist taught him to be organised and write everything down to help with his memory.

"In the times when he felt he had too much going on he took a step back. Sometimes that meant having an afternoon nap or being in a quiet dark place," says his occupational therapist

“That’s the awesome part about ABI,” says Campbell.  “Not only are they rehabbing you to get back to your way of life, they’re also equipping you with the strategies to help you but not only that you’re learning about the brain and why you’re having these symptoms.”

He was not allowed to play contact sport for two years – which ruled out hockey – but he got into multisport.

It wasn’t easy says Campbell, "I struggled with fatigue and high-intensity exercise gave me intense headaches."

“So, I said ‘I am just going to take my time and gradually build the intensity until it no longer causes a headache’.”

And that’s what he did.

In December last year he competed at the Mount Monster, a surf lifesaving event in Mt Maunganui. And now he has signed up for the two-day event of the Coast to Coast in 2024.

“It’s a true test of yourself and it will be a cool milestone to complete. Prior to this, it was just that I wanted to say I’ve done it.

Whereas now, I want to smash it out of the bloody park because it takes on extra significance.” 

His parents are impressed.

“I’m very proud of his motivation and drive,” says Louise.  “After a very serious injury – he was just at the wrong place at wrong time – but he has never given up.  We have been fortunate to have great support on this journey.”  

Campbell has lived by a simple mantra this past year – “the roughest roads lead to the most beautiful places” and that has been his catch cry for his training. 

The injury has put things into perspective, says Campbell.

“As a person, it’s definitely changed me for the better.”  

“That might sound weird, but I didn’t bring it upon myself and that’s what I learned at ABI. There are accidents where people have made silly decisions and hugely regret them and find themselves in a dark place.

“As much as I was in my own dark place, I had the idea of it just being a freak accident and there was nothing I could’ve done about it. 

“I had to motivate myself to keep going and now I look back on it and I’m actually so stoked that it happened because I’m a different person in all aspects.

"The fact that it’s a challenge to get back to where you were, and I live for that challenge.

“I know it could’ve been a lot worse, it could’ve been a lot different, and you’ve just got to say yes to some things, and make the most out of life, because things can change just like that.”

ACC encourages all sports to practice the Four Rs of Concussion Management

• Recognise (the signs and symptoms of concussion)
• Remove (the person from play)
• Refer (to a medical doctor to confirm diagnosis and provide treatment)
• Recover (before returning to school/work and sport)