Canyoner reveals secret to remarkable survival after falling 8m in Blue Mountains National Park

A simple technique helped an Aussie canyoner survive after falling 8m onto rocks in the Blue Mountains and suffering serious injuries.

Gemma Macaulay was lucky to survive a 8m fall onto rocks earlier this year but she says a simple technique saved her life.

The 25-year-old experienced canyoner, fell in the Blue Mountains National Park while abseiling along the Grand Canyon walk in February.

“I was trying to slowly bring myself down the canyon when I suddenly lost control,” she told news.com.au.

It was a terrifying ordeal that could have killed her.

When she landed, she could not feel parts of her body.

The rescue operation. Picture: Supplied

With help hours away, she focused on the only thing she could control – her breathing.

“The more I focused on the pain, the more pain I felt,” she said.

“So I focused on my breathing and imagined myself in a warm hospital bed while denying my need for control and convincing myself that I would trust the process, and it alleviated some of the pain.”

While her companions provided some comfort, it would be an hour before help would arrive. Huge fog prevented a helicopter from landing safely.

It would then take two hours and 40 volunteers to carry her 2km through the trek.

Her injuries were significant: she had fractured six ribs, an elbow, and punctured her spleen and kidney.

She was to be getting married in May, and suddenly she couldn’t eat, walk or do basic things. But she was strangely optimistic.

“I was so grateful to be alive because I don’t know how I survived such an ordeal,” she said.

The wedding a few months later would go ahead. The relationship with her fiance John would be strengthened through the ordeal.

“He was my rock throughout it,” she said.

Macaulay suffered significant injuries: she fractured six ribs, an elbow, and punctured her spleen and kidney. Picture: Supplied

“It brought us closer together because he showed me I could trust that he was going to take care of me, especially when I’m most vulnerable.”

Macaulay said she was particularly grateful to have done mindset training before the accident because it allowed her not only to survive but to recover quickly as she focused on what she could do, instead of thinking “if only”.

“I found myself in a position where I was completely out of my control, but I still had control over my perspective,” she said.

“So throughout my recovery I reinforced scripts to support my mental health, which then had a physiological effect on my recovery. ‘I trust the process’, ‘There is a reason why I’m still alive’, ‘Progress over perfection’. All these intentional thoughts helped me remain a more positive person.”

A primary school teacher by profession, she said she came across a personal development course during Covid called The Woman School, which exposed her to the work of mindset training.

“I’d always been interested in personal development and so it appealed to me,” she said.

The Woman School founded by best-selling author January Donovan, a self-worth strategist, gives women practical skills, scripts and strategies to become the woman they want to be.

Macaulay said she found it life changing.

Despite the accident Macaulay married on May 6 this year. Picture: Supplied

Gemma Macaulay is a Sydney teacher and mindset coach. Picture: Supplied

“I went all in, and I found that because I channelled my focus into studying the content, I received a lot out of it and I came to learn about the power of the mind and how much it influences your outcomes in life” she said.

Growing up in south west Sydney, Macaulay said she battled with low self-esteem.

“I was around toxic people, and when you’re trying to find your place in the world your identity develops from what others say about you, and it becomes hardwired” she said.

“If we can strengthen our self-image and confidence, we will influence everyone else in an empowering way.

“It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves, of our minds and bodies and souls and part of that is learning a structure that allows you to feed those parts of yourself so you can be more integrated and whole.

“When you learn to gain awareness of your thoughts and its influence on your behaviour, you naturally develop the fundamental skill required to take control of your life.”

Macaulay is running a coaching group for The Woman School every second Monday at 7-8pm starting July 31 till November 13.

The 16-week course involves an hour online lesson a week and a fortnightly coaching session via zoom with a group of like-minded women studying the course over a four-month time frame.