John Savinov is getting on with his life, coaching trampoline, after an accident left him in a wheelchair.By Sarah Schwager
A FORMER circus performer from Hampton Park is helping raise awareness of spinal cord injuries after a trampoline injury left him a quadriplegic.
John Savinov is a client of ParaQuad Victoria, which provides support for people with disabilities, and is running its Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week this week.
The child trampoline star joined the Moscow Circus when he was 16 and came to Australia to perform with the circus.
He left the circus at 18 after getting married and began coaching children and competing again.
While practising what the then 20yearold said was possibly the most difficult trampoline tricks, Mr Savinov fell and landed on his head. He broke his neck in four places and was paralysed from the chest down and spent the next six months in hospital and rehabilitation.
Mr Savinov said he had started with ParaQuad the day he came out of rehabilitation and the carers had been good.
“If I have any questions I can always just give them a call,” he said.
He said he had done a bit of travelling interstate with the club he worked for, and ParaQuad had always sent someone with him.
Mr Savinov coaches trampoline at a gymnasium in Donvale and at the YMCA in Endeavour Hills.
“What I know from my experience I can give to the kids and they can actually learn something from me,” he said.
He said the reason he had not gone straight back into teaching was because of his disability and his fear after the accident.
“You need to be there for the kids, give them a help up (onto the trampoline) and show them what to do,” he said. “But once I started I can see that it’s still possible. I do my best. I try to do my best.”
Mr Savinov said he was not extra cautious with his students because of his accident. “You can’t be too careful. Accidents do happen,” he said. “I was doing a trick that not many people in the world would do.”
ParaQuad assists people with physical disabilities and their families, and their services include personal care and counselling to help people with disabilities achieve their desired quality of life.
