In early 1994, whilst a fourth-year medical student Justin Welsh sustained a severe closed head injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident. This resulted in several weeks on life support in intensive care.
When he came out of ICU, his injuries were so severe that he couldn’t read, write, walk or talk.

He needed inpatient and daily outpatient rehabilitation for nearly a year. Rehabilitation included speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy and more. He had to relearn how to read, write, walk and talk.

His brain injury has also resulted in permanent double vision. With the assistance of the Transport Accident Commission Justin returned to his medical studies a year later. Whilst this was a huge feat, it was also a huge struggle. But with persistence and passion, Justin adapted to his impairments and moved on.

Dr Justin Welsh graduated from Monash University in 1998. Justin's medical career so far has largely been at the pointy end in acute care medicine.

Being a practitioner of what is essentially “reactive medicine”, Justin came to realise that to maintain health and happiness and to maximise their true potential, what people first need is the stable foundation on which to build these qualities. These lifestyle strategies are the building blocks to a healthy and successful life. Too often he would see patients and their families’ wanting answers to problems that should have been addressed many years beforehand. Too often he felt that a bit of intervention when they were younger, and fitter would have paid far greater dividends than the life-support they were on now. Hence, he is a proponent of disease prevention through health promotion. Chronic disease, including pain, is the greatest burden on our health system today.

It is far better to maintain a healthy and well life than to sustain an unhealthy and unwell one. Not only does Justin extoll the virtues of a healthy life, he also lives it. In 1990, he was 3rd Junior in the World Cup Triathlon. In 1994, he was the Victorian Track and Field Champion over 10,000m, and was ranked number 3 in Australia.

Since his accident Justin has completed 12 marathons and continues to run daily, for nothing more than the pure enjoyment of it.