Triathlete Alexa Leary who came back from horror bike crash to win Paralympic gold reveals the two words she told her brother after a chance meeting stopped her from ending it all
Australian Paralympic medalist Alexa Leary has revealed shocking details about the day she decided to kill herself – and the two words she said to her brother after deciding to fight on.
Alexa, 23, had a stunning campaign at the Paris Paralympic Games, claiming gold in the 100m freestyle swimming after single-handedly carrying the Australian relay team to first place two days earlier.
This achievement marked another incredible milestone in the increasingly rich chapter of what she calls her ‘second life’.
Once a star triathlete, Alexa came off her bike in a near-fatal accident in Queensland in July 2021, leaving her with brain damage and several long-term injuries.
More than once, doctors told her parents, Russ and Belinda, to prepare to say goodbye to their daughter.
Despite doctors’ bleak prognosis, Alexa began breathing on her own after her ventilator was removed.
Alexa Leary (pictured after winning gold at the Paris Paralympics) has opened up about the mental health struggles she has had to overcome since her life-changing accident
Leary (pictured with her parents Russ and Belinda) had to learn to walk again after a horrific cycling accident came incredibly close to her life in 2021
Her parents remained steadfastly by her side during her 111-day hospital stay as she learned to walk again and adjusted to permanent brain damage.
Looking for answers and hope, Leary’s parents turned to a psychic who made the eerily accurate prediction that the swimmer would go on to become a gold medalist at the Paralympic Games.
The mental battles were immense and at times Alexa found herself in a dark place.
“I was really down – and because my emotions were hitting me a little harder than ever, I was really, really depressed,” Alexa said News Corp.
‘I thought: I don’t want to be here, because there really is no point. I was just really sad most days, and with that comes anger.
“If you are so sad about your own life, you will be angry at the world. So that’s how I saw it.’
On the day she almost ended it, one of her brothers dropped her off at a walking trail in Noosa, and the pair became separated with no phone reception.
‘I was so fond of myself. I did get a hold of this lady, when I tried to hurt myself she caught me. I don’t even know her name. I have goosebumps [talking about this]Leary said.
Leary who used swimming as a way to recover after hitting rock bottom during her long battle to recover from life-altering injuries
Leary (pictured at this year’s Melbourne Cup) said she was 21 when she tried to commit suicide but was interrupted by a stranger
‘She caught me and said, “What are you doing?” She walked with me. I have goosebumps all over. She just walked with me for a while.’
Alexa says it took a while before she was able to contact her brother to let him know she was back from the brink.
“I let him know it would be in two hours for him, so he obviously thought I was gone,” she recalls.
‘I remember when I got in the car I messaged him and said, ‘I’m here.’ He bawls his eyes, and so do I, I cried with him.
“It was just a difficult moment for me because I was happy to leave, because I was so sad.”
Alexa’s father Russell remembers the experience vividly.
“Thank God we found her because she was gone that night. She tried a few more times,” he said.
“We had to remember that we had to fight through this. “Many people with brain damage commit suicide because they lose everyone to their anger.”
Leary’s incredible Paralympics put an exclamation point on her recovery
After winning her second gold medal in Paris, Alexa fought back tears as she received a special video message from the doctor who performed the operation that saved her life.
Dr. Norman Ma recorded the clip so it could be played for Leary when she appeared on A Current Affair after her win.
“It feels amazing,” she said of her double gold medal victory.
“I’m so proud of myself, but I’m so grateful for my family and honestly my mom and dad, who got me here.
‘We really have the medals together.’
Leary’s father said mother was “incredible.”
“He said, ‘If we don’t take her skull off, she’s going to die,’” Russell said.
“He was just incredible and the way the whole staff looked after us for three months, we became family to them. RBWH [Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital]they are legends.’