In 1988, Mark Dorrity went for a run on a 35-degree day in regional New South Wales. He was leading the race when severe heat stroke caused his body to shut down.

Mark spent 70 days unconscious in intensive care. He lost most of the muscle in his body, underwent a high-level leg amputation and was given little certainty about what life after hospital could look like.

But this is not simply a story about survival.

In this episode of ListenABLE, Mark joins Dylan Alcott and Angus O’Loughlin to share how he rebuilt his life from the ground up. From learning to stand again, returning to full-time work and confronting inaccessible public spaces, to retraining his brain through Toastmasters decades later, Mark’s story is a powerful lesson in resilience, neuroplasticity and choosing to keep moving forward.

Mark also reflects on how far disability access and inclusion have come in Australia since the late 1980s, why accessible parking matters far more than people realise, and why he refuses to live with regret.

• What happened when Mark collapsed from severe heat stroke during an eight-kilometre race

• Waking up in intensive care 70 days later

• The moment Mark learned his leg had been amputated

• Rebuilding strength after losing most of his muscle mass

• Returning to work after a life-changing injury

• Living with a high-level amputation and why a prosthesis was not sustainable for Mark

• How disability access and inclusion have changed since the late 1980s

• The reality behind accessible parking and public spaces

• Neuroplasticity, Toastmasters and retraining the brain later in life

• Why resilience is not about avoiding difficulty, but choosing to keep showing up

  
  

00:00 The moment Mark’s life changed
01:31 A race, extreme heat and collapsing near the finish line
04:35 Waking up 70 days later in intensive care
07:14 The decision to amputate or let Mark die
09:48 Accepting a new reality immediately
11:10 Learning how to live again after intensive care
13:06 Seeing his story on the front page of the newspaper
14:55 Why a wheelchair was not practical for Mark
16:39 The first time using a walking frame in public
18:11 Where Mark’s resilience came from
19:02 What disability access was like in Australia in the late 1980s
21:42 How Mark views disability today
24:59 Prosthetics, pain and adapting to life without one
27:05 Returning to full-time work
27:46 Cognitive recovery, speech and Toastmasters
30:20 Neuroplasticity and retraining the brain
32:08 Seeing his body after amputation
33:25 Would Mark warn himself before the race?
34:50 Mark’s message on risk, resilience and living fully

Mark Dorrity, heat stroke survivor, amputation recovery, high-level amputation, disability podcast Australia, disability inclusion, accessibility Australia, neuroplasticity, resilience story, life after amputation, Dylan Alcott podcast, ListenABLE podcast, disability advocacy, rehabilitation journey, Toastmasters recovery

Spencer West returns to ListenABLE for an honest and powerful conversation about disability, accessibility and what it really means to be seen.Four years after his first appearance on the podcast, Spencer joins Angus O’Loughlin in person to talk about Melbourne’s accessibility, able-bodied assumptions, language around disability, social media advocacy and the moments from his life that people often romanticise from the outside.Spencer opens up about growing up without legs, rejecting prosthetics, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, feeling excluded from inaccessible queer spaces and learning that he does not always have to share his story just because someone asks.Guest Links: Spencer Westhttps://linktr.ee/spencer2thewesthttps://www.spencer2thewest.com/https://www.instagram.com/spencer2thewest/https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer2thewesthttps://www.youtube.com/user/Spencer2TheWest00:00 Spencer West returns to ListenABLE02:04 Melbourne accessibility and public transport03:28 When accessibility is gatekept04:42 Should people get praise for accessible spaces?05:52 Spencer explains his disability07:43 The assumption about disability people need to drop09:04 Disability language and using the word disabled11:32 Learning to advocate for his own body13:49 The truth about climbing Kilimanjaro16:21 Social media, responsibility and disability advocacy17:17 Feeling more visible than misunderstood17:47 Using humour to educate

Australia’s winter Paralympic star Ben Tudhope joins ListenABLE for one of the most honest and emotionally grounded conversations of the series.

From becoming Australia’s youngest ever Winter Paralympian at just 14 years old, to returning home from the 2026 Winter Paralympics with two medals, Ben opens up about pressure, identity, confidence, loneliness, disability, and the mindset that helped him compete on the world stage.

In this episode, Ben shares what it actually feels like to perform under Paralympic expectation, why he refuses to let medals define him, and how growing up with cerebral palsy shaped his resilience, humour, and outlook on life.

He also speaks candidly about loneliness as an elite athlete, travelling the world away from family, learning to enjoy his own company, and why being “inspiring” is often misunderstood when it comes to disability and Paralymic sport.

Whether you love elite sport, mindset conversations, disability advocacy, or simply hearing incredible human stories, this episode is packed with perspective, vulnerability and moments that will stay with you long after listening.

Follow Ben: https://www.instagram.com/bentudhope/

Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/listenable_podcast/

In This Episode

- Ben Tudhope’s journey to becoming a Paralympic snowboard medalist

- Competing at four Winter Paralympic Games

- The pressure of backing up success after Beijing

- Why Ben doesn’t define himself by medals

- Growing up with cerebral palsy

- The role Ben’s parents played in his confidence

- Snowboarding, identity and elite athlete mindset

- Loneliness and sacrifice in elite sport

- The overuse of the word “inspirational”

- What people misunderstand about Paralympians

- Learning to control the controllables

- Confidence, humour and living with disability

- Ben’s reflections on success, pressure and happiness

About ListenABLE

ListenABLE is hosted by Dylan Alcott and Angus O’Loughlin, sharing raw, funny, vulnerable and powerful conversations with people living with disability and the people reshaping how Australia thinks about disability, identity and inclusion.

Follow & SubscribeFollow ListenABLE on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube for new episodes every week.

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