Profound lessons to be learned through life challenges – Dean’s Easter story
Easter 2023 is a challenging time for many, with economic stress, natural disasters and distressing international news. However, as a regular guest speaker at The Salvation Army’s GSA Brisbane, Dean Clifford says there is always a valuable life lesson in the midst of hardship. This is not theory for Dean, but his daily reality. At 43, Dean is one of the oldest known living survivors in the world of a severe form of a rare and painful genetic skin condition.
Diagnosed with Epidermolysis Bullosa 18 months after birth, Dean was not expected to live past the age of five. He survived, but at the age of 10, he and his family were told he would never walk again.
With paper-thin layers of skin with no ‘binding’ between layers, even the slightest brushing against an object can create wounds and pain.
Dean explains: “I’ve got wounds that come and are with me for one week or two weeks, six months, 18 months, then heal only to leave fragile, weak skin to break down the second it’s all healed over and then go through the same process all over again. It heals and breaks open, just by the slightest touch or the slightest movement. Then I’ve got wounds that I have had for my entire life that will most likely never heal.”
Even with the greatest care, Dean’s skin is constantly breaking down, with blisters forming between the skin’s layers.
Decision to stay positive
Despite constant pain and seemingly insurmountable hurdles, Dean has risen above challenge after challenge and mindfully stays positive, looking for joy and opportunity in every day.
Determined to live life to the full, Dean is currently an ambassador for the Brisbane Broncos football club; an ambassador and spokesperson for EB Awareness and a Disability Employment Australia Hall of Fame inductee (after 10 years’ involvement in the disability employment sector). Dean is also a successful Australian and international motivational speaker, running his own company DMC Motivational.
He also shares his story widely in a voluntary capacity with charities, school groups and for awareness campaigns and says: “I am so passionate about getting out there and spreading what I hope is an important message for everybody. That drives me!
“There are those days when things are working against me, or are really hard … [but] … it all comes back to that mental attitude and that focus to never admit defeat.”
Sharing hope at The Salvation Army’s GSA
In his adult life, Dean was able to move from using his wheelchair, to walking unaided and, through the process of building fitness, discovered another ability – as a weightlifter. He is now internationally recognised as one of the strongest powerlifters in his weight class.
Over the past 13 years, Dean has regularly shared his story at The Salvation Army’s GSA (God’s Sports Arena), an innovative church and support community for many struggling with or working to maintain addiction recovery.
Run by Dean’s good mate Bill Hunter (who was chaplain to the Brisbane Broncos football club for many years), Dean says: “I’m a big fan of what Bill does at GSA and what happens at [nearby] Moonyah (Salvation Army Brisbane Recovery Services) – so I’m always happy to put my hand up to speak and try to motivate and encourage.
“I know my story is quite unique and powerful, so if I can help people in difficult times and dark places, I want to support people who are really struggling.”
Dean says there were many times of bullying in his childhood, and even now he gets rude and nasty comments and reactions at times. However, surrounded by a loving family and strong friendship group, Dean says while it can hurt, he doesn’t let such things ‘penetrate’.
Despite enormous physical pain, he focuses outwards and says: “I do presentations at schools [talking about] bullying and different mental health issues, through to meeting with prime ministers. I know whatever audience I’m speaking to they’ve not heard anybody with a story quite like mine and the highs and lows I’ve had to face.
“So if I can have an impact in a positive way, it is a calling of mine.”
Hanging in and moving forward
For those struggling in life, Dean understands that times can get overwhelming, but says: “I think there are always lessons to be learned about ourselves in the challenges we face. We can shy away or we can embrace the challenges and grow as a person.
“The key is just hanging in there for one more minute and one more day and looking for every lesson to learn out of the smallest experiences through to the heartbreaking, insurmountable experiences we face. It’s about taking stock and then moving forward in a positive way.”