Glen's story
As a long-haul truck driver, Glen Bennett was used to calling his family from the road to say goodnight.
Support for when life gets tough
When life gets hard – whether with financial stress, health concerns or personal struggles – there’s help and support available.
So, in early August 2020, when Glen called his wife Roni to say goodnight from a truck stop near Bundaberg, he couldn’t have known that the next time he’d be calling her would be from an ambulance to say goodbye, because he thought he wasn’t going to make it.
As he drove around 60km north of Gin Gin, Glen hit a dense patch of fog or smoke as he came around a bend.
Visibility was non-existent on that stretch of the Bruce Highway, and as Glen slowed down, his truck slammed into the back doors of another truck stopped on the road, knocking him unconscious.
‘I thought I was dead’
When he woke up, the inside of his truck, including his own body were engulfed in flames.
Glen threw himself out of the window of his truck, a split-second decision that ultimately saved his life.
Glen suffered burns to 70 per cent of his body, and broke his jaw, cheekbone, ribs, elbow and forearm in the crash. He also broke his shoulder due to the impact of his body hitting the road from the height of his truck.
In the back of an ambulance on the way to Gladstone Hospital, Glen made an unthinkable phone call.
“I got in the ambulance and asked the lady for her phone to ring my wife and I just wanted to say goodbye because I thought that was it. I thought I was dead.”
‘Not knowing if he was going to make it’
WorkCover case manager Anita Bevis received Glen’s claim while he was still in an induced coma in ICU.
I still remember the first conversation I had with him once he was discharged from rehab and to see where he has gotten from there and from the beginning - it is just really great.
Anita Bevis, Case Manager
Glen woke up after 24 days in an induced coma to learn that both his legs had had to be amputated due to the severity of the burns.
He then spent seven months on the burns ward at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, before undertaking seven weeks of intensive rehabilitation.
‘One step forward, two steps back’
Now, nearly three years on from the accident, it’s been a steep but steady road to recovery with many setbacks, but Glen’s positive mindset and strong support network have been crucial.
Rehab is still a central part of Glen’s life. He’s learning to walk on prosthetics, a process made more difficult by the severity of his burns and the position where his legs were amputated.
Glen says setting himself smaller goals has helped him to focus on what’s right in front of him.
“I always have set myself goals, which has really helped me to get through everything. And that just helps me mentally because I know I'm doing good, I'm getting better,” he said.
WorkCover has covered Glen’s wages while he’s been unable to work, while NIISQ, the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland, will cover his treatment, care and support for life.
I always looked at it that the money that WorkCover was paying me, I was getting paid to get better. You know, I was getting paid to go to the gym and rehab and I was getting paid to go to the hospital and learn to walk. And that's how I've looked at it. That's my job at the moment.
Glen Bennett
The support of his five-year-old son Hugo and his wife Roni has been crucial to his recovery, and as he adjusts to a new normal, Glen is grateful for the small silver linings. These days, he gets to pick Hugo up from school and tuck his son into bed, after many goodnights said over the phone.
Glen also encourages anyone who is struggling with the effects of a physical injury to seek the mental health help they need for their recovery.
“The biggest thing is your head… which for me is having a really good support network, that’s really one of the biggest things. It really starts with your head, because if you’re not in a good headspace, you’re not going to put in the effort, or feel like yourself,” Glen said.
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