Steven Ball has a long road ahead after horror brain injury in Biloela fall

Steven Ball can still not remember his wedding day, nor the birth of his children, but he is making incredible progress. His wife has shared his remarkable recovery after a horror fall from a tree.

Steven Ball can still not remember his wedding day, nor the birth of his children but he is making incredible progress, according to wife Kate.

The 43-year-old continues his recovery at his Biloela home after spending five months in total at the Royal Brisbane Hospital and Brighton Brain Injury Service after suffering a traumatic brain injury in June 2020.

He was trimming a tree when the branch he was standing on broke, sending him crashing to the ground, his head taking the full impact of the fall.

Steven still has a long road ahead but he and his family enjoyed a beachside Christmas holiday which meant so much and was another notable milestone.

Kate said that was something they planned after Steven returned home.

“We set a goal last year that we wanted to go away camping to a beach and just relax for a week,” she said.

“We didn’t know where Bally would be at in his recovery but we bought a camper trailer and we booked a holiday not knowing – but we made it.

“We went to 1770 for Christmas and camped for eight nights and he did amazingly well.”

Kate said things were “going well” but conceded it was not always easy.

“He’s already passed the stage where doctors said he would be so anything is a bonus from here,” she said.

“It’s just a matter of doing what we’ve been doing, taking it day by day.

Steven Ball was in the Royal Brisbane Hospital for three months, and continued rehabilitation at Brighton Brain Injury Service for another two months before returning home in early November 2020.

“I’m still very determined to get him as close to Bally as he was; it’s just a matter of time and it’s a matter of him having to relearn everything.

“It can be really difficult, we have really sh***y days, I won’t lie. Most days are good but those sh***y days I just have to make sure that we’re all safe.

“He’s doing really well but mentally it can be really tough for him, for me and kids but we have wonderful support.

“As you know we’ve got a community that’s behind us and our family is just amazing, they’re there in a heartbeat if I need them.”

Kate said Steven still struggled with memory loss but his speech was continuing to get “better and better” and his physical strength was also improving with regular sessions with a personal trainer.

“He’ll get told something and remember it but then he’ll get told something else and he can’t remember it,” she said.

“Things do pop back. He still doesn’t remember our wedding day but he sees our video and remembers some of the moments and says ‘I remember that place’.

“He remembers the littlest things, the things that really don’t mean a lot and I’m like how do you remember that and you don’t remember the kids being born or our wedding day.

“We were at the pub having some dinner with some mates and he said let’s put some Keno on; if we put three numbers on we’ll win $44. He remembered that and we ended up winning the $44.

“I don’t know how the brain chooses what it remembers – it’s hard to explain.”

Steven and Kate Ball with their children Cooper, Kaely, Summah and Nate in a family portrait taken in November 2021. Photo: Lizzy. D Photography

Kate said it was wonderful watching Steven’s independence grow.

“I can now leave the home and feel safe that he’s okay on his own, whether it’s for an hour or half a day, I feel comfortable doing that now.

“He can get up, he can do things, he can get his own meals, he knows how to ring me, he can text his mates so watching that independence grow is amazing.

“We bought him a bicycle and I’ve sent him to the shops a few times. I give him a list of things and he rides to the shop and he purchases those things and he comes home and he loves it.

“Some of the things he can do just literally blows my mind every day.

“The other day he built a fence and put a gate at our home.

“Right now he’s mowing the lawn and putting together a soccer goal net.”

Kate said Steven’s next goal was to get his driver’s licence again.

“Every single day he amazes me,” she said.

“There’s something little that might not mean a lot to other people but it means so much to me and it’s like wow, you’re still there, you’re still Bally.

“We’re very grateful and still so happy that we’re home and get to be together as a family.”