'I'M BREAKING BARRIERS'

MEET THE FIRST WHEELCHAIR USER TO COMPLETE A GRUELLING RALLY

- Jodie Wolf

Disability consultant and speaker Mel Harrison has used a wheelchair since she was 14 years old.

An arachnoid cyst on her lower spine combined with scoliosis and kyphosis meant 16 surgeries while she was still a teenager. The multiple back surgeries, combined with complications along the way, ultimately led to Mel using a wheelchair.

But despite her disabilities – she is also hearing impaired – Mel tells WHO that she refuses to be overwhelmed. Instead, she focuses on what she can do and says that her life’s purpose is to “break down barriers for people with disabilities across the country”.

The 41-year-old founded the disability advocacy organisation Sitting Low, Reaching High, and she offers keynote speaking, training and accessibility consulting services. In October 2022, Mel also completed the gruelling S--tbox Rally. She was the first person in a wheelchair to take part.

In the name of charity, participants drive cars worth just $1500 in a two-person team over Australia’s most remote and dangerous roads. Mel travelled in a convoy of seven cars and was supported by her friend Jacob Graham. “It was pretty amazing,” she says.

“I had great support from Jacob,” she explains. “I knew I needed somebody who would be able to physically help me complete the race and he had my back the whole way.”

Having to set up and pack up in a different outback location every day was no easy feat. “Quite frankly, the rally is hard for anybody who does it,” Mel explains. “The days are really long, with huge drives completed in searing heat. Everybody struggles.”