Keen surfer Barney Miller, 38, became a quadriplegic after a car accident near his home in Sawtell, NSW, in 1999. Eight years later, he met Kate “Kada” Southwell, 27, whom he encouraged to sing.

KADA: I met Barney at a bar in Sawtell, on the NSW North Coast, in 2007. I had only just moved there to start a new life, because I’d had a difficult time during my teen years growing up in Cowra, in inland NSW. My parents thought a change would help me. I was waiting for some friends when Barney came over and introduced himself. We started chatting and when I asked him what happened, he said he’d broken his neck in a car accident.

I knew something was special about him when I asked if his situation was a “forever thing”. He said, “No, I’m going to find a way to walk.” His certainty was something I’d been searching for: he knew what he wanted out of life. There was a spark between us. We started hanging out and became inseparable. I thought, “What is this?’ ” We fell in love pretty quickly.

To read more click HERE! and read the article written by Georgia Cassimatis on the Sydney Morning Herald website.