Once upon a time...

Hi, my name is Grant Sharman, welcome to my world.

In 1977 at the age of 15, I broke my neck as the result of a rugby injury. Not the smartest thing I've ever done and we didn't even win the game! I had been playing in an internal 'house' game during my third year at King's College. I'd wanted to be a pilot and was in the top educational stream, but had to abandon any hope of flying as a result of becoming a Tetraplegic. I continued my education through correspondence school obtaining University Entrance qualifications in five subjects including Art History. Despite completing my education, I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

I spent 11 years at the Otara Spinal Unit in Bairds road, finally moving into the community in 1988. In 1990 I married Jenny Anderson, a nurse I had met while in the Spinal Unit.  We have built a home, Mollybean Manor, located at Waiau Pa, near Pukekohe, where we live and work enjoying life in a rural community.

Despite thirty-four years in a wheelchair, I've lead a very full life and have been privileged to do a number of things, traveled to many destinations around the world and generally ticked off quite a few things on my bucket list. I'm not finished yet!

There's no real secret to success – work hard, seize every opportunity and never give up. Follow that formula and life's great, especially when you keep things in perspective, maintain a sense of humour and try and maintain balance in your life!