A tragic snow-removal-machine accident in California a little over 18 months ago may have taken Lieutenant Commander Dave Miln’s life in a different direction, but it has also opened doors to a number of opportunities.
One of those opportunities was an introduction to adaptive sports, which has enabled the Navy officer - who lost both his legs, fractured his pelvis and smashed six vertebrae in a selfless act to save his children – to once again participate in the physical sports he always enjoyed.
This, in turn, has led him to the 2024 Warrior Games, currently underway at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando until June 30.
It was during a visit to an Invictus Games training camp at Narrabeen before the Düsseldorf event last year that Lieutenant Commander Miln, who first joined the British Navy in 2005 before officially joining the Australian Navy in 2019, got to see adaptive sports in action.
This was after considerable time spent in American and Sydney hospitals undergoing surgeries, receiving prosthetic legs and carrying out extensive rehabilitation.
“Seeing people play sports with many different injuries resonated with me and I knew this was something I was going to do as soon as I was able,” he said.
“I am very goal-oriented, so in terms of my motivation to do things, having something to aim for is a really good driver.”
As a Navy diver, it made sense that swimming would be one of Lieutenant Commander Miln’s chosen sports.
He was, however, also open to trying different activities, hence powerlifting, athletics, cycling and wheelchair basketball were added to the repertoire.
Lieutenant Commander Miln has even joined a local wheelchair basketball club in Manly and is keen to accept an invitation from Australian Paralympic athletics coach, Fred Periac, to work with him at the Australian Institute of Sport.
The father of two young daughters, aged five and three, admits that his circumstances have changed since the accident.
“It’s closed some doors, but opened a lot of others and it would be remiss of me not to make the most of these opportunities and enjoy it. Success for me is about pushing myself and trying to better myself,” Lieutenant Commander Miln said.
“It’s also about being part of an incredibly supportive community.
“I am doing more team-based sport than I have done in the past, which is allowing me to meet so many people with different stories. Hearing about their individual journeys motivates you because you think, if they can do it, then I can do it too.”
This positive motivation is extremely important to both Lieutenant Commander Miln and his wife, Clare, who are conscious of their responsibility to be role models for their daughters.
“We now have a family motto – ‘Nothing is impossible’,” he said.
“While the last 18 months have been difficult for me, they’ve also been incredibly difficult for my family. Clare and I think it’s vital that we show the girls that things happen, and that picking yourself up and making the most of a situation is the most important thing in life.”
The Warrior Games is an annual adaptive sporting event hosted by the US military, where wounded, injured and ill serving and former-serving members from the US and Australia compete to demonstrate their exceptional physical skills and mental toughness.
