Source : ABC NEWS
After going from being a beginner snowboarder four years ago to being on the cusp of representing Australia at the Paralympics, Aaron McCarthy is still pinching himself.
The 31-year-old barley farmer from southern New South Wales lost his lower right leg in a harvest accident in December 2021.
He saved his own life by tourniqueting his leg with a shirt and calling emergency services and his wife.
Snowboarding was part of his rehabilitation at a mobility clinic in Thredbo.
“If I can get up and get outside and get moving — that’s where I thrive the most,” he said.
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Having only tried snowboarding just a handful of times before the accident, the sport has since become more than just rehabilitation for McCarthy.
“The amount of doors that losing my leg has opened has been unreal,” he said.
“Snowboarding’s just given me a whole new sense of freedom, and it’s a completely different feeling to walking.“
Becoming a para-snowboarder has not stopped Aaron McCarthy from his farming gig in The Rock. (Supplied)
‘Hopeful’ of Paralympic dream
McCarthy’s push for selection in the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games looked like a sure thing late last year.
But in January he suffered a collarbone injury in a crash at the Para Snowboard World Cup in Canada.
To get selected with certainty he only needed two more points to reach the qualification criteria.
“I needed to finish that race, any position except for last, which I believe I would have,” he said.
Now he is waiting to hear if he will be offered a bipartite spot instead — a discretionary spot for athletes who did not qualify through conventional methods.
In January, Aaron McCarthy suffered a collarbone injury in a crash at the Para Snowboard World Cup in Canada. (Supplied)
A broken collarbone has not dampened his spirit.
“Every sport’s got its risks, and that’s one of them. It was unfortunate it happened so close to the Paralympic Games,” he said.
“I’m hopeful with the rehab that we’re doing I’ll still be fit enough if I get selected.”
The father of three said the accident helped him develop resilience.
“From the very start when I lost my leg, from the moment my family walked into the hospital room, I knew I had to have a good attitude about it,”
he said.
“I’ve tried to maintain that the whole way through.”
Father-of-three Aaron McCarthy said it took a while for his oldest child to adjust to a new version of his dad. (Supplied)
He expects to learn whether he has qualified for the Games before the end of the month.
A sport that ‘saved’ him
McCarthy debuted for Australia during the 2024–25 European winter season, finishing as a European Cup champion in his classification.
He said getting himself on a snowboard helped him accept his changed reality.
“It’s probably the one thing that’s saved me from going down a dark spiral of depression and mental illness,” he said.
“If I get stuck in my wheelchair all day, that’s when the intrusive thoughts can start to creep in a little bit.”
Aaron McCarthy’s push for selection in the upcoming Winter Paralympics is uncertain, but he remains hopeful. (Supplied)
His wife, Tahnee, said that while the road had been challenging, adversity revealed new strength in her husband.
“It’s really sad that sometimes it takes something hard and challenging to bring that out of people,” she said.
“I think in Aaron’s case it’s definitely a situation of post-traumatic growth rather than post-traumatic stress.
“He’s definitely changed as a human. We all have.”
Community crucial
Becoming a para-snowboarder has not stopped McCarthy from working on his farm just outside the Riverina town of The Rock.
He said he would be in a “very different position” without the support of this town of just under 1,500 residents, especially since the accident.
Aaron McCarthy says it is important he keeps a good attitude for his family after his injury. (Supplied)
“Everybody comes together in a time of crisis, and it’s been unreal,” he said.
“A few people chipped in here and there and helped me get back on my feet — so to speak.”
Tahnee said her husband’s journey was made possible through collective effort.
“We’ve all, as a family and as a community, shown a great deal of resilience. I’m not just proud of Aaron, but proud of our whole family,” she said.
“We are better people now than we were before the accident.”
