TRUNDLING in a motorised wheelchair over the hills and dales between Toowoomba and Brisbane to raise funds and awareness for fellow sufferers of asbestosis, Ray Colbert was mainly thinking of a miracle.
Only 10 months earlier he lay comatose in Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital and was not expected to survive the night.
Then he, wife Helen and at least one of the three doctors present that rainy night, as Brisbane’s flood crisis also worsened, agreed – God intervened.
The intervention came in the form of a priest Helen had summoned to drive through the city’s flooded streets from their parish in Loganholme to the hospital on what she calls “a perilous mission to administer the last rites to Ray”.
Today Ray is sitting in the same wheelchair that covered an often painfully jarring 142 of the 158km of the fundraising journey over four hot days last November.
He’s in the office of the Queensland Asbestos Related Disease Support Society (QARDSS) at the Bowen Hill headquarters of the CFMEU (Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union).
With him is his wife Helen, QARDSS president.
Little gasps of oxygen from the respirator, to which he’s permanently connected, punctuate his words.
His asbestosis-scarred lungs, legacy of his nine years in the navy when he constantly handled asbestos lagging in boiler rooms, ceased to function effectively years ago.
His arms are darkly mottled with bruises.
“That’s from the heart medication,” he said.
Other health problems emerged- including failing eye sight and cancerous lesions on his head, hands and shoulders – partially linked to sun exposure during his naval career.
Shrugging off his many ailments, he’s able to state: “What I want to say is that God is great”.
He and Helen then return to that evening at the Wesley Hospital.
“I had bi-lateral pneumonia on top of everything else,” he said.
“I was in a lot of pain and was holding on to Helen’s hand.
“The last thing I remember is turning to the male nurse and saying: ‘If this is life, I’ve had enough of it.’
“The next couple of weeks don’t exist.
“I was not aware of the priest’s arrival, but what I can say is the anointing was the quickest cure-all of the lot.”
For Helen, sending for Fr Marce Singson was a tough decision.
“I was asking him to come out late on a pitch-black night in the pouring rain to put his life at risk.
“Yet he didn’t hesitate when I asked, and he was so helpful.
“When he arrived, I was next to Ray with my rosary beads wrapped around both our hands just clinging to hope.
“Immediately after the anointing, Ray went into a very peaceful place and slept in a way he hadn’t for ages.
“He continued to improve from this point.
“It was the most wonderful thing to watch and I feel quite honoured to have witnessed such a beautiful thing.
“Two of the doctors didn’t know what to make of his recovery.
“The other one had faith and had always believed Ray could make it.”
Ray summarises: “When I got to Heaven’s door they said: ‘It’s not your turn yet. You’ve still got work to do.'”
Ways to help other asbestosis sufferers were very much on his mind as he recovered.
He knew the fatal disease had spread its net far and wide – from tunnel workers sometimes exposed to underground asbestos dumps through to those caught up in Brisbane’s home renovation boom.
Then there were the family members exposed to deadly asbestos particles thrown into the air as affected clothing was discarded.
“It was a matter of raising awareness of the plight of these people,” Ray said.
“I was trying to think of doing something outrageous enough to get media coverage.
“That’s when I thought of riding in my wheelchair from Toowoomba to Brisbane.
“I Googled ‘wheelchair rides’ and could see nothing connected to fundraising so I thought whatever I do is going to be pretty original.”
The event was to become known as Ray’s Asbestos Awareness Ride.
“From this point everything pretty well much fell into place,” Ray said.
“We’d no sooner told the police than they had a route worked out.”
The whole trip, from its “go” in Toowoomba on Monday, November 21, to its “whoa” in time for an ecumenical service at St Stephen’s Cathedral on November 25, was definitely in God’s hands, both Ray and Helen agree.
Helen, who followed in a support vehicle, said: “We prayed for strength to manage whatever challenges came our way during the attempt.”
Also in the support vehicle were their son Christopher, a paramedic, and grandchildren Matthew, 10, and Emily, 8.
Ray’s crash into a pothole on a badly rutted section of Ipswich Road was definitely one such challenge.
The impact buckled a wheel and left him hanging from his wheelchair.
“I thought I was going to kiss the bitumen,” Ray said.
“It was incredible … when we reached him, he was hanging out of the wheelchair as though held by some invisible force,” Helen said.
After safely negotiating what is believed to have been a record-breaking journey, Ray arrived at St Stephen’s Cathedral to be met by a crowd of well-wishers including 11-year-old grandchild Lucinda.
An ecumenical memorial service was held for all who have died from asbestos-related disease and those suffering from the disease, their families and carers.
It was the 19th service and among guest speakers were State Education and Industrial Relations Minister Cameron Dick and State Member for Bulimba Di Farmer.
Since then donations following Ray’s remarkable ride have continued to roll in to the tune of about $70,000.
Donors’ generosity has already brought a benefit to asbestosis sufferers.
“We now have enough money to employ a research fellow,” Ray said.
“She starts research into mesothelioma management on February 13.”
Ray also wants to create awareness among students at school and TAFE manual arts courses of the dangers of exposure to asbestos.
He’s happy to visit these institutions to talk on the topic.
“It’s about getting to these young people before it’s too late – they can also educate their parents about things like the need for adequate protection when involved in home renovations,” he said.
The road ahead is uncertain for Ray. Health problems continue.
An operation to remove cataracts looms.
Then there are ongoing problems to do with his heart put under strain because of his struggling lungs and more treatment for the cancerous lesions which include an open wound on top of his head.
“You’re only as handicapped as you want to be,” Ray said.
“What the future holds is unknown but we know we’re not alone.
“God is with us.
“There’s nothing religious about all this … it’s just true belief.”
To contribute to Ray’s fundraising effort visit the website www.raysride.com.au
