How surfing and an unlikely friend helped Sam recover from severe spinal injury

Suddenly wheelchair-bound after leading an active lifestyle of surfing, mountain biking and travelling the world, she felt like her life was over.

But in the 12 years since the accident, Bloom has become a four-time world para surfing champion and inspiration for a bestselling book-turned-Hollywood movie.

With the support of her husband, three sons and another unlikely saviour - an injured magpie chick called Penguin - Bloom was able to heal.

But Bloom isn't one to gloss over the hard truths, and mentally piecing herself back together was one of her most difficult and rewarding challenges.

"I was in such a dark place, it was like I had this dark cloud over me the whole time," she said.

"It took a while, to be honest, to feel okay again."

Growing up on Sydney's Northern Beaches, about 100 metres from the water, meant exercise and activities were part of Bloom's identity.

"After my accident, I thought I'd never be able to surf again. It took me about five years to get back into the ocean and on a board again," she said.

She went on to fulfil her childhood dream of becoming a nurse and met her future husband, Cameron.

Bloom and Cam, a photographer, travelled extensively together and when she was 21, the couple travelled to Turkey and the Middle East, which still holds a spot in her heart.

"Cam and I spent years travelling and then we had three boys. We wanted to show them the world," Bloom said.

Her sons were seven, nine and 10, when they were on a family trip. The initial plan was to visit Egypt, but instead, they stopped in Thailand.

"We were staying in this really nice hotel and one of the kids spotted this stairway going up to this big observation deck," Bloom said.

She leant on a railing that had, unbeknownst to her, rotted through and fell six metres onto concrete, fracturing her skull, breaking her spinal cord and rupturing both lungs.

"I was just glad it wasn't one of the kids or I wasn't holding one of them," she said.

Bloom spent three weeks in a hospital in Thailand where the main focus was on her brain injuries - but it wasn't until she was back in Australia, in a Sydney hospital, that she realised she was paralysed.

"It never even occurred to me that, 'Why aren't I getting up? Why can't I kind of move my legs or feel anything from my chest down?'" she said.

"It wasn't until I got to Sydney and I had a scan, and that's when the doctor told me that I wouldn't walk again.

"As far as I was concerned, my life was over."

Sam's saviours

From thinking she would never again lead a life full of "epic days" of sport, activities and travelling, movement has been integral in rebuilding herself physically and mentally.

"If you're having a really bad day, just doing exercise makes you feel a million times better," Bloom said.

"I remember early on after my accident, I missed those epic days so much."

But a few weeks after returning home from rehab - and with some constructive nudging - Bloom began kayaking.

At first, it was just one day a week, but as time went on, she was selected for the Australian paracanoe team.

"That's when everything changed because it felt like the first time since my accident that I actually had a purpose, a reason to get out of bed because I was training every day and going to represent Australia," she said.

After some years, Bloom left her canoeing career behind and switched it for her childhood love of surfing, winning Gold for Australia at the 2018, 2020 and 2023 World Para Surfing Championships.

But also helping Bloom to heal was a magpie chick called Penguin, who might be the only magpie in the world to have a Hollywood movie named after her.

"I was home for about three months and I was so sad all the time - I thought life sucked, to be honest. That's when we found a baby magpie," she said.

While the family nursed Penguin back to health, Bloom's husband Cam began taking photos and posting them to Instagram - a journalist saw their page and the rest was history.

Bloom, who has visited Tasmania before, returned to Launceston to be a guest speaker at Clifford Craig's International Women's Day (IWD) Luncheon on March 4.

Three women who she draws inspiration from are Turia Pitt, London bombing survivor Gill Hicks and Bloom's volunteer kayaking coach.

Bloom said Ms Pitt, who survived burns to 65 per cent of her body, was one of the bravest people she had ever met.

"What I love about her is that she's so honest and she keeps it real," Bloom said.

"It's so nice to meet someone else who doesn't sugarcoat her injuries or what happened."

While Bloom said she still gets pretty frustrated, her injury has taught her to appreciate the little things and her "epic days" are back in full force.

"Mate, I'd do anything to be able to just go for a surf on my own. But on the flip side, I'm really lucky that I can get out on the board and get down to the ocean and hang out with friends."