A Journey of Strength

Where The Comeback Is Greater Than The Setback

Strength does not begin when your world falls apart, strength is a constant, held deep within and activated when you need it most. For Tim Perkins and Norina Kent, their journey of strength has always been a constant in life and their powerful connection is at the heart of what has propelled their business success over the past 20 years.

Beginning with a ute, a mower and a small post contract, Tim began operating his business Whitpro, in the Whitsunday community. Norina, a talented professional photographer, with a background in horticulture having owned a 70 acre orchard in Victoria, joined the company when cyclone Debbie devasted the community in 2017. Her role further cementing Whitpros success and supporting its growth.

Jump forward to 2025 and they now employ over 35 staff. They service 200 properties in the garden maintenance division, own over 60 vehicles servicing the transport and delivery industry and deliver water to residential properties in the dry season. WhitPro also has bulk supply products, plants, an extensive array of pots, irrigation supplies and hopes to open a café in the future if the right parties are interested in renting the developed space.

Both high-functioning entrepreneurs, this well-respected couple were given a life-changing blow in December last year, when Tim fell 10 metres from a palm tree and nearly lost his life. Having spent the last five months at Townsville Hospital in spinal rehabilitation, he is now confined to a wheelchair but still fighting strong. Norina has not left his side during this time, committed to Tim’s best possible recovery.

Ever proficient and ever resilient, the couple is not only dedicated to Tim’s rehabilitation, but also to continually providing the local Whitsunday community with Whitpro’s services and products. Working around the clock and with the help of their fantastic team on the ground, Tim and Norina have successfully achieved what many would give up on. They are continuing to operate Whitpro while rebuilding their lives one day at a time.

On that fateful day on December 3rd last year, Tim still remembers every second and in those terrifying moments, he was acutely aware that his life had just changed. As he plummeted towards the ground, he had a fleeting thought: “This is going to hurt.” And it did—Tim’s body hit the ground with such force, that bounced him from his back to his chest, breaking 26 bones and crushing his spinal cord.

In an instant, Tim’s world went silent. He could no longer feel his legs. The gravity of the situation was clear: his life had taken a dramatic turn, but the true extent of his injuries was yet to unfold.

When Norina arrived on the scene, Tim's first words to her were, “Will I walk again?” With a heavy heart, she replied, “I don’t know, it’s not looking good.” The visible bulge in Tim’s back was unmistakable—it was a broken back. But what Norina didn’t yet realise was that Tim’s internal injuries were worsening by the second, compounding the danger he was in.

As the local emergency response teams rushed to his aid, Norina recalls the tireless work of the Whitsunday ambulance and fire brigade crews. They acted quickly, stabilising Tim as best they could and preparing him for transport to the PCYC, where a rescue helicopter awaited.

It was here that another heart-stopping moment occurred: the paramedic told Norina that Tim’s chances of surviving the flight were slim if they did not operate there and then.

The team performed emergency surgery right there, on the field, before he could be airlifted to Townsville.

“She told me I could say goodbye,” Norina shares, her voice heavy with emotion.

But as difficult as it was, Tim was about to show just how much fight he still had left in him.

Tim was placed in an induced coma, and the paramedic worked on him, on the PCYC field to save his life, draining blood from his lungs and giving him a fighting chance. He was then airlifted to Townsville Hospital, where, despite all the uncertainty, hope remained.

Norina, accompanied by their son, embarked on the 3.5-hour drive north, not knowing if Tim would make it through the flight.

“The paramedic called me when they arrived in Townsville,” Norina says, her voice a little steadier now. “She told me Tim had made it. He was in the best hands possible.”

Though Tim’s injuries were severe, his cognitive abilities remained intact. There was remarkably no head injury, which was a blessing. After a seven-hour surgery in the days following the accident, Tim was faced with the harsh reality that he may never walk again.

The news was crushing, but the couple’s resilience has only grown stronger.

Now, five months on, Tim and Norina are beginning to look to the future, A new future that is much different to what they had planned, but one they are bravely stepping towards with a new strength they did not even realise they had.

Physically fit and mentally astute, Tim is well and truly at the driving seat of his recovery. Calm enough about the future to crack terrible jokes, but also honest enough to realise it’s a big journey ahead. Tim is determined to be an active wheel-chair user and his physical fitness means he can learn to operate one with proficiency, training for which he is undergoing every day as part of his rehabilitation.

Tim, however, has a dream bigger than a standard wheelchair.

He wants to stand again one day, with the help of a specialised chair which will mechanically lift his body to a standing position. Not only will this enable him to conduct a relatively normal life, picking jars on the top shelf or reaching a shirt hung in the wardrobe, it will also keep the flickering flame of hope alive for him. There is always the hope that in the future, with medical advances in stem cell research allowing for spinal regeneration, that Tim could one day walk again.

For Tim to be a candidate for this kind of surgery in the future, he must look after his fitness, bone density and muscle strength. Spending time in an upright position will support these goals.

Currently, Tim has use of an active-user wheelchair which he is learning to master, he does however wish to get a special off-road wheelchair that can mechanically rise him to a standing position. The cost of this specialised, custom chair is around $75K.

People in the community have been asking Tim and Norina how they can help, what they can do to make their lives easier. Firstly, the answer is to continue to support their business Whitpro as they wish to assure the community that they are both 100% committed to their business and thank everyone for their support through their custom.

Secondly, if you would like to contribute funds towards Tim’s recovery, there is a GoFundMe page dedicated to getting Tim the specialised wheelchair that he feels would make a big difference to his future and mobility.

While we all know how strong we could be, many of us are not tested. Tim and Norina were, and they have risen from the ashes stronger than they ever were before, both as a couple and as successful local business owners.

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