Paul Blundell may no longer be able to drive but that hasn’t stopped him from indulging his passion for classic Ford cars.

The farmer today sees the world through a spot the size of his thumbnail after suffering a heart attack in 2010 when he was just 31 years old.

“He was dead for seven minutes before his partner found him and then she did cardiac massage, or whatever you do, for another seven minutes before the ambulance got here,” Paul’s father, Ron Blundell, told the ABC.

“And when you’re dead for 14 minutes things aren’t too good. But doctors just can’t believe his recovery. They reckon his heart’s bigger than Phar Lap.”

The fallout from the incident limited Paul’s sight to less than 10 per cent and left him with an array of other significant medical conditions, including partial paralysis, that required months of rehabilitation.

“We felt that after Paul had his health issues, he had a love of these cars, so we said, ‘Right, we’ll build a collection of these cars’,” Ron said.

That collection has grown to 70 cars and tractors (some restored classics), which now form the basis of the Blundell Classic Ford Museum. It is housed in five sheds on the family farm and includes a Model TT to the latest 2015 Falcon.

Equity Trustees manages the payout Paul received as a result of his traumatic incident. While the funds are managed prudently to last his lifetime and help with his care, there is also flexibility in how they can be used.

“We look at what income he needs, what money he's got, and what's affordable on a per annum basis,” says Equity Trustees national manager health and personal injury, Katrina Harper.

It means Equity Trustees is able to distribute $10,000 per quarter for collectible motor vehicle expenses on top of Paul’s regular monthly remittance. The money goes towards purchasing new cars for the museum.

“The important thing for us is understanding the client and that every client's circumstances are different.”

Most older Australians can budget for lower living expenses once they’ve paid off their mortgage and retired. However, for people with extra care needs, such as Paul, living expenses tend to increase, which requires Equity Trustees to carefully invest their money.

“Quite often in retirement you'll see people's expenses decrease by a large amount, whereas these clients often see their expenses increase because they're reliant on what we call gratuitous care from family members that top up the care they're receiving professionally,” Katrina says.

“That's not costing them anything – or it's costing them very little – and as the ability of family members to provide that care decreases as they age, then the expense to replace that family member increases.”

The Blundell Classic Ford Museum opened to the public in April 2023 and is located at 109 Cobra Road, Mareeba, in Far North Queensland. Find more information here.