Video Transcription

Step Back Think – Ben O’Toole’s Story

On Thursday night, life for Ben O’Toole could have ended. He had gone back home to Geelong for his birthday and had dinner with his family before going out with his mates. Around midnight, he was bumped into at a bar by a guy who was going around looking for fights. Ben wasn’t interested, so he ended up leaving. A couple of hours later, the guy found him on the street, and a conversation happened before his friend assaulted Ben. The punch threw his body down to the ground, and the side of his skull hit the concrete. He quickly lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital.

After a few hours, doctors ran scans and discovered the severity of his injuries; he was hemorrhaging in his brain. When Ben woke up in the hospital, he initially thought he’d just fallen asleep somewhere unusual. His family came in to see him, and his brother tried to keep everyone’s morale up. Thankfully, Ben was able to leave the hospital in a short time and went back to his parents’ house in Geelong. This was a reality shock after living independently for four years with a full-time job. He had to return to feeling like a school kid again, with his parents making his meals every day.

For four weeks, Ben’s mornings began with a 5 a.m. headache, reminding him of what his brain was going through and needed to repair. Two weeks after the operation, Ben saw his doctor for a follow-up. The doctor was blunt, telling him that, despite being able to walk and talk, these basic things were not something he expected Ben to be able to do. The experience had a massive effect on Ben’s perspective on life. He realized how lucky he was to be alive, which made him appreciate his life and his health in a way that most people might not.

After recovering, Ben felt more tense and constantly looking over his shoulder. He realized that you never know what others are thinking or what their motives are. Soon after getting out of the hospital, he felt motivated to talk about what had happened to him. He was grateful for his recovery and wanted to share his experience. He contacted his old high school in Geelong and spoke to classes. Over the following years, he did similar presentations, and eventually, he found an avenue to do this more regularly by volunteering for Step Back Think.

For the past two and a half years, Ben has been going into schools and sports clubs to share his story and raise awareness about social violence. He’s doing his best to make people think differently about it. Although he sees the culture of social violence changing, he acknowledges that it will take a long time because changing cultural attitudes is not easy. Ben and his team are committed to the long haul and will keep working until they see real change.

Video by Step Back Think