This week 40,000 West Australians will be among the first to receive vehicle registration renewal notices with an extra $99 for family cars and motorcycles under the new no-fault insurance injury scheme. It comes too late for Matt Cook and Greg Willmott but they are telling their stories as a warning to others that bad accidents don't discriminate .
WHAT does Matt Cook dream of? Well, for starters, independence, intimacy, working, playing golf - things he's been forced to live without since a car accident robbed him of daily dreams and a normal life.
"Sometimes I feel like I woke up in a parallel universe. I'm still here, I'm still me, but not as I once was," says the 34-year-old in a voice generated through a Stephen Hawking-style speech synthesiser.
Slouched in a state-of-the art wheelchair, all metal, knobs and wires, in a nursing home in Innaloo, Matt admits he feels like "a retired old man who's skipped a few generations of life".
But he has purpose. He wants to tell his story to "inspire" and "warn" future generations, young men in particular, about the dangers of irresponsible driving.
Matt's life-changing tale is at the centre of the State Government's new Catastrophic Injuries Support scheme, a compassionate initiative for the catastrophically injured.
Debilitating accidents do happen. Drivers have heart attacks at the wheels, animals run into the paths of cars, motorists get distracted, and, in Matt's case, young bucks who think they're "bulletproof" get behind the wheel and drive after a night on the town.
Previously lost in a legal wilderness, not covered by Compulsory Third Party insurance, for the first time, those with catastrophic injuries from crashes after   July 1 will receive lifetime care and support, regardless of who is at fault. The safety net brings WA into line with other states, such as Victoria, which has had its own expanded motor injury insurance for the past 20 years.
"We all think we are great drivers and can manage most road traffic conditions. But it can happen to anyone, anytime in any circumstance," says Julie Waylen, state manager of National Disability Services of WA. "Traumatic injury, as a result of a serious road crash, is absolutely life-changing - not just for the victim but for family, friends and the community around them." Matt Cook can attest to that. "Every moment of every day is beyond frustration. My family has gone through unimaginable emotional pain," he says; heartfelt words, yet ones he cannot physically articulate.
And while the new scheme won't help him, he's happy it will assist others. In his presentation to teenage schoolies through Royal Perth Hospital's The Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth (PARTY) Program, Matt tells it straight.
"What do you think when you hear news reports of serious accidents on the Kwinana or Mitchell freeways? Do you think about all the people like me who didn't die, but didn't quite recover?" his staccato, techno- tones waft over the crowd in a small lecture theatre at RPH.
"Quite often people are just silent, but when he shows the photo of his car post-accident everyone gasps," says Julie Catalini, Matt's sister who has watched her younger brother go from an aspiring AFL player to motionless tetraplegic, paralysed from the neck down.
Slide 1 shows a Holden Commodore parked out front of a brick and tile home - rocket red and gleaming, silver metal.
Slide 2 shows the motor in a wrecker's yard, its body twisted, windscreen smashed, passenger side obliterated and wheels deformed.
"Every day I have to mentally adjust to the physical inconvenience of my situation," said Matt, The former pharmaceutical plant operator and A-grade student remembers nothing of the crash, or even the weeks leading up to it. His last recollection as an able-bodied man is a boys' trip to Melbourne in   April, 2007 to see Essendon play Collingwood at the MCG.
"Then suddenly I was like this, in the Shents (Shenton Park) rehab hospital. I knew I'd had a serious accident, but I didn't know what," says the 195cm former athlete.
AT 4.45am on   May 27, after a night of clubbing in Northbridge, the 25-year-old took the Mill Point Rd exit in South Perth. "Completely wasted on booze and drugs", he didn't see the median strip and clipped the wheels of his Commodore. The car spun, ending up on the wrong side of the road only to be T-boned by a 4WD with a bull bar.
Residents pulled Matt from the vehicle fearing it would explode. Ambulance officers lost Matt several times on the way to hospital. By 5am, he was in a critical condition.
"I had no ID on me. Perth radio reported an "unknown male" had died at the crash site. My mum heard the report in the morning. She hoped it wasn't me," he said.
By 11.30am, Glenda and Murray Cook's worst fears were realised. Their son was in hospital. "He didn't really have any marks on him. It was just plain Matthew sleeping, but switched on with tubes and everything," Glenda says.
Matt's injuries were internal. He had suffered a serious stroke of the brainstem, which connects the brain to the spinal cord, affecting all involuntary movement including heart-rate, body-temperature, swallowing and breathing. It was one of the worst cases of the condition doctors had seen. Talk turned to switching off Matt's life support.
"One of the specialists said, "If it was my son, I would just turn it off", but I just said, "No, no. As a mother, I can't do that"," Glenda says.
Moved to Shenton Park rehabilitation hospital nine months later, Matt became fully conscious for the first time since his high speed crash.
"The complete shock of reality hit me. I remember trying to communicate with my Dad in disbelief, with no idea what was going on, why I could not talk or even move. I can't explain how frightening that was," he says.
Meanwhile on the home front, everything had changed. "It fractured us as a family in terms of how we functioned," Julie says. Weekly family dinners were out. It was logistically challenging to transport Matt. He needed constant care. Plus he could no longer eat solid food (a liquid diet is administered through a tube to his stomach).
As for the emotional cost? "You can't put a figure on it," Julie says. "The new insurance would have been a massive help," says Matt, who has used his savings to survive. Fortunate to receive salary continuance insurance (money which will continue until age 65) many others catastrophically injured in no-fault accidents are not so lucky.
The Insurance Commission of WA estimates the average cost of lifetime care is $4 million but can run as high as $15 million.
"People with tetraplegic injuries such as Matt need 24/7 care for the rest of their lives," says ICWA commission secretary Kane Blackman.
"They need equipment like wheelchairs, their homes need to be modified and there are on-going costs for treatment and medication. If a person is catastrophically injured and not covered by CTP insurance, access to these things may be delayed or unavailable. Some people just miss out." Matt says describes his wheelchair and computer as "my way of life now." " I'm so grateful for these and other technological advancements" He uses the latest in "eyegaze" technology - a reflective silver dot on his glasses which connects with an iPad keyboard suspended in front of him on his wheelchair. Keys are selected by gazing for a specified period at letters to generate speech.
For mum Glenda, each day is a blessing. "We were told that Matthew would be a vegetable and wouldn't live past five years. He's not a vegetable. He got all his charisma back in his personality, and he's got his smile," she says.
What does the former West Perth colts ruckman want us to take away from his story? Not sympathy. Not sadness.
"I would like people to concentrate only on my message that life is fragile. Live, but live responsibly and be aware of the potential consequences. The actions you take at any moment can influence the outcome of your future," he says.
Matt regrets his wrongdoings that led to his crash and admits it is difficult to get an insurance model that will please everyone.
"Unless you experience this only then can you see the benefit - $99 is a small price really."
Read Matt Cook's full story from tomorrow at perthnow.com.au
perthnow.com.au ONLINE TOMORROW GREG WILLMOTT: WHY I HAD MY FINGERS CUT OFF Even a light breeze over the hairs on my hand felt like someone was rubbing it with a wire brush.
THE ACCIDENT THAT CHANGED ROSLIND WITHAM'S LIFE There was no alcohol, speed or drugs involved. I turned around to speak to one of the boys in the back and ended up on the gravel.
KIM DYBING'S FATEFUL DATE I felt pretty upset. I had a big crush on her. Finally, I got on my bike and sped off.
GOVERNMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA Insurance Commission of Western Australia