"Anything I can do to promote the dangers of chemicals is important to me. At the time I wrote my book Chemical Cowboys, I chose a chapter called 'finding a purpose', I've always thought this may have been the reason I didn't die in hospital. l feel privileged to associate myself with your cause, thank you."

Bills Story - Chemical Cowboys

I was working in a vineyard at Wakool in October 1999 when I got sprayed. My life will never be the same. I was working in the vineyard for approximately five months before I got sprayed. The day it happened I was working with the leading hand de-budding vines. The vines we were working in run from row 1 to row 123. At 10.00am we were close to the top of row 68/69 and stopped for morning tea. We had only sat down for some 2-3 minutes when the owner of the property arrived in an octopus double lane sprayer down row 70/71 and sprayed us. The thick vapour was impossible to escape and the smell was repugnant. The owner quickly took off down the next available row and left the property.

I do not believe that this incident was an accident. The owner knew exactly where we were working. He had not been spraying all morning and why would you start spraying in the middle of the patch. I was so disgusted that I expressed my anger to the leading hand and left my employment the same day. Several days after being sprayed and I was eating more and still losing weight. Five weeks after being sprayed I woke and could not manage to put my shoes and socks on to go to work. By lunchtime that 9th day of December 1999 I was quadriplegic.

Read the rest of Bill's story here.