‘We got a different daughter’: How speed demon Lex cheated death

‘Just you wait until the 100m finals. I’ll be a speed demon. I’ll be a weapon,’ says Alexa Leary.

Alexa Leary has come a long way from a hospital bed – where eight times the doctors thought they might lose her after a horrifying accident – to competing at the Paris Paralympics. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Alexa Leary crashed her bike at 70km/h. Landed on her head. Slumped unconscious on the road. Blood was everywhere. Her skull, scapula, ribs and leg were broken. A lung was punctured. First to arrive at the hellish scene was a bloke called Russ.

Perhaps you could only properly comprehend what went through the neurotransmitters in Russ’s brain, the atriums of his heart, the deepest corners of his soul and every breath of earth, wind and fire in his spirit if you had witnessed something so horrifying yourself.

He ached and panicked. He screamed for the young woman and then he did the right thing by calling her an ambulance. Russ was distressed beyond all measure and understanding because the crumpled figure at his feet and in his arms, most likely deceased, was someone close.

His daughter. Lex.

Russ and Lex’s mum, Belinda, were told on eight occasions during her 111 days in hospital to say goodbye to their girl. Eight times she was probably about to die, but eight times she hung in there.

When Lex finally returned home from a marathon hospital stay of surgeries, more surgeries, the high of staying alive, lows, bigger lows, fevers, blood clots, the lot, she had permanent brain damage. Weakness down her right side. Her memory wasn’t the best, as far as she could recall, and her emotions could be all over the shop.

The young woman who had entered a two-week coma in July 2021 wasn’t the same young woman who came out of it. “We got a different daughter back,” Belinda said when Lex qualified for the Paralympics at the trials. “I love her personality. She’s funny, she’s crazy, but most importantly, she’s fulfilling her dreams and what she wanted to do prior. She always wanted to go to the Olympics. That was her thing. Always.”

Alexa Leary in hospital. Picture: supplied

It was all too much for Russ at those trials. He leaned over the railing at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre and hollered to his girl, “You’re a bloody legend!”

She was just as impressed. “Yeah, Lex! Woo!” she hollered with the most beautifully wide-eyed expression. “I’ve actually come so far. I’m so impressed I’m even in the water. I’m like, ‘Yeah, Lex! You’ve come so far!’”

Three years after her catastrophic accident, the young woman who cheated death stood on the starting blocks for the 50m freestyle S10 final on a rousing, high-decibel night of Paralympic swimming finals at La Defense Arena on Thursday night.

Russ and Belinda were in the stands. A shunt in Lex’s brain extended to her stomach to drain excess fluids. Parts of her scalp were held together by nuts, bolts, sticky tape, glue, string, you get the idea, the result of all the surgeries that ensured none of the eight goodbyes from Russ and Belinda had to stick. She came sixth.

“I’m a little bit disappointed if I’m being honest with you,” she said while leaning on her crutches.

“But it’s OK. It’s my first Paralympics and I’m proud to be here. I’ve pumped myself up for this moment for so long that I think it got to me. It was nerve-racking but it’s awesome to be involved. I’m finding it so inspiring being around other para-athletes. There’s been so much support from back home! I love it. I’m one of seven siblings and they’re all here, all my family and my boyfriend are here, and I just want to see them.”

Yeah, Lex. Woo. You’ve come so far. Bloody legend. Leary’s main event is the 100m freestyle S9 on Wednesday.

“That will be the speed demon moment for me,” she said. “That’s my go-to. It will help me having been in this race tonight. I know more about what to expect now. I’ve got some experience. This is just warming up. Just you wait until the 100m finals. I’ll be a speed demon. I’ll be a weapon.”