I grew up in Woodberry (25 minutes from Newcastle), and moved to Newcastle when I was 21, chasing work and sporting opportunities.
I played Rugby League from when I was just 5 until I got tired of being MONSTERED by opponents when I was 15. I was a late developer.
After that I played Basketball both socially and for Newcastle until I was about 30 years old. At the same time as Basketball, I took up Triathlons, which eventually led me to Bike Racing (Road).
I began working at 15 as an apprentice electrician and continued with my studies in the electrical field and now I am employed as an Electrical Engineer in the Water/Wastewater industries.
I married my wife (Christina) in 1998 and we started our family in 2000. We now have 3 children 2 boys, Mason (11) and Kellan (9) as well as 1 girl, Sienna (3).
I retired from Basketball and Cycling at 30, and in trying to get back into Basketball 6 months later I noticed that everything had become awkward, and this led me to my GP and onto a Neurologist who ran a whole bunch of tests that eventually led to a diagnosis of HSP.
I am still able to walk unassisted, use handrails when going up and down stairs and love not standing for long periods of time.
I too have no ‘documented’ family history of HS. I keep as active as possible and live a healthy lifestyle trusting that this helps keep me as mobile as possible.
Edtor’s Note: Rick shared his exercise program in an article in the Spring 2011 edition of the website.