which held significant value to him during his treatment .
Monty fondly ranks it as the most humbling and memorable experience he ’ s ever had .
After that , Monty he set his sights on the 2011 World Transplant Games in Sweden , where he smashed World Records in the 400m and 800m and earned 3 gold and 2 bronze medals .
The Australian Transplant Games was next on Monty ’ s radar , where he put his name to all records from 200m to 5km .
Although many of us would think this was enough , Monty also undertook tertiary study in Exercise Science and
Business Management at University of Queensland , and began looking for a vocational challenge to insatiate his yearning to make a difference .
MONTY SUMMERS
Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association
WORDS : JULES STEER / IMAGES : SUPPLIED
Monty Summers final year at school didn ’ t pan out quite the way he had planned it .
Diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia ( A . L . L ) at 17 , he then spent the next two years in and out of hospital .
In 2007 , he received a bone marrow transplant and spent nearly 100 days in isolation , waiting for his body to accept the transplant . “ The transplant was one of the toughest processes of the journey where I was most alone ; treatment was at its most intense ,” Monty recalls .
“ There were plenty of highs and lows , but I kept reminding myself that , while leukaemia was a large part of my life , it was not the entirety of it . I wanted to live and to give back to those who gave to me .”
Less than 18 months after his transplant , Monty did just that . He ran 1200km from Brisbane to Longreach , raising just under $ 100,000 for the Leukaemia Foundation and A . E . I . O . U - two charities
Wanting one more chance to prove that he was stronger than leukaemia , Monty won 3 Gold , a Silver and a Bronze medal , and broke three world records at the 2013 World Transplant Games in South Africa . Monty recalls that having his dad screaming at him from the sidelines to use his heart to get over the line was a major motivation for his success .
Tragically , just hours after seeing his son achieve such sporting greatness , Monty ’ s dad suffered a major haemorrhage , and would never return home from South Africa .
Whilst Monty admits that he entered a depressed lull after the loss of his father , the downtime allowed him to refocus , and gave him a refresher of his values . And with a renewed vigour , he applied for a position with Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association in Cairns . It was an opportunity to work with a people to take their dream as far as possible . Their perspective on life is infectious , by just being a part of that environment inspires me to conquer my own mountains .
“ I ’ d also be lying if I said the Cairns lifestyle wasn ’ t also an incentive to come up here . There are so many adventures to be had up here , and so many good people to share them with .”
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