Ella Delaney

When Ella was 16, she suffered a spinal injury while competing in an international-grade sailing regatta. Over the following weeks, she slowly lost motor function beginning with her neck and was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). After three weeks at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, she regained use of her arms, but it took a further seven months of intensive therapy before she had the slightest movement in her legs.

Ella had no choice but to return to school in a wheelchair, in severe pain and heavily medicated. Her altered brain state also made concentration and learning difficult. With reduced school attendance of just 2-3 hours per day—and only on days she could manage—it was a dramatic change from her previous fast-paced elite training routine. Watching her teammates compete without her was heartbreaking, yet it inspired her determination to return to the sport she loved.

Recovery turned out to be gradual and hard-won. It took almost two years for Ella to perform the basic functions of walking, sitting, and standing unassisted. Today, she has returned to competitive sailing, racing in both inshore and offshore events, most regularly at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and is a member of the Elite Athlete Program at UNSW.

Ella is now a third-year Engineering (Honours) and Commerce student at the University of New South Wales, specialising in Bioinformatics Engineering. Her personal experience drove her to this field of study, which focuses on developing computational methods for life sciences research. She hopes to use these skills for healthcare innovation alongside her finance major.

Ella is currently an advocate involved in the formation of a new complex pain and physical rehabilitation clinic at The Sydney Children’s Hospital (Randwick), with hopes of one day expanding these services to public hospitals throughout NSW. In the long term, Ella plans to develop residential rehabilitation centres for 13-25 year olds impacted by serious incidents or complex medical conditions. Through a combination of innovative and traditional approaches in a home-like environment, she aims to improve quality of life and support full recoveries for patients.