Paralysed leader moved to Australia from NZ in 2021
Finsure executive Phillip Donaldson has returned to work just over a year after a tragic car accident in New Zealand left him paralysed from the neck down and resulted in the loss of a leg.
Donaldson, who moved from New Zealand to Australia when he was 21, was back visiting family and friends for Easter 2023 when he was involved in a severe vehicle rollover near Auckland.
After 10 months in hospital and extensive rehabilitation work following significant damage to his spinal cord, wheelchair-bound Donaldson has resumed working as NSW business development manager in the company’s white label division, Finsure Loans.
During his recovery, Donaldson also married his long-time partner, Kathleen, in a beautiful ceremony held on the grounds of Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.
Finsure CEO Simon Bednar said Donaldson has shown remarkable courage and resilience and continues to do an “amazing job despite all the challenges he has faced”.
“Phillip Donaldson is an incredible person, and he has shown unbelievable bravery and determination to try and deal with this devastating situation,” said Bednar, the leader of Finsure, which has recently just recently opened its doors in New Zealand.
“He has been aided by some wonderful support from his wife Kathleen, his family, as well as the broking community which rallied to support him with more than $400,000 raised through a GoFundMe page to provide much needed financial assistance for his recovery and ongoing care.”
An outpouring of support from industry
One month after the 1970s Datsun rolled over while Donaldson was in the back seat, his then-fiancé Kathleen created the GoFundMe page in a plea for help.
“There’s no easy way to say this, Phil is paralysed. He has suffered significant damage to his spinal cord, specifically at the C4 vertebrae and has a badly damaged leg,” she said in the initial post.
“Whilst we will never give up hope, the devastating prognosis at this stage is that Phil will be paralysed from the neck down.”
