Caleb Rixon – The Budding Musical Theatre Performer Who Survived A Stroke
Image: Caleb Rixon. Image: Supplied
Caleb Rixon had just turned 24. He鈥檇 recently graduated from the Western Academy of Performing Arts, and had landed a role in the hit Broadway show Chicago. He had a partner听who was also a musical theatre performer, and they were living in Sydney.听
But three days after his 24th birthday, and shortly before he was supposed to start rehearsals for Chicago, he was working out at the gym when he felt an explosion in the back of his head. 鈥淚鈥檇 thought that my eye had fallen out,鈥� he told Star Observer.
One of the gym-goers was a nurse and called an ambulance. He had suffered from a 鈥済rade-five subarachnoid haemorrhage鈥�.听
‘Every Faculty In My Body Shut Down’
鈥淏ut slowly over [those] 25 minutes, every faculty in my body shut down, and my left side spasmed out of control; my speech became slurred, and eventually the lights went out just after the sirens went on,鈥� Caleb said.
What Caleb has is an 鈥渆xtremely rare鈥� congenital condition which in his case caused severe bleeding in the brain-stem and cerebellum. It affected his heart rate as well as his ability to breathe, swallow and see.听
鈥淎ll I understood at that point was a cold. I never thought that reality was like the rest of your life is completely going to be different,鈥� Caleb said.
His career as an onstage performer was over. 鈥淚 remember being half-paralysed, coming out of a coma, and my agent [at my] bedside. I was looking through gauze at a twisted double image of her and listening to her say, 鈥榳hat do you want me to say?鈥櫶�
鈥淪he still amazingly as a manager鈥ave me that autonomy to sort of make the decision. 鈥楧o we decline the offer so that they can recast?鈥欌�� he said.听
Managing A Chronic Injury
: Supplied
Caleb is now managing what he describes as a 鈥渃hronic injury鈥�.
He currently runs a social enterprise called Genyus Network which is a global community and story-sharing platform for all people touched by trauma. He鈥檚 also about to launch the first iteration testing of this platform which he鈥檚 been building for years.
鈥淪troke ain鈥檛 seen as sexy 鈥� I know that much鈥ut I know so many stroke survivors who are living lives maybe slightly uniquely to you. But it鈥檚 totally not an old person鈥檚 thing鈥t鈥檚 just another way of life that we should learn to be curious about,鈥� he said.
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