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Thursday, November 18, 2010

In a place far, far away

This journey started long ago but I'm finally ready to tell my story. This blog is really a dialogue to myself and to my family. I think it is important to both talk and listen to yourself. So here I go!
Anyway, I'm a 55 yr old University Professor with a good life and I'm surrounded by the love of my wife ( Gwen) and 3-children ( Erin, Sean and Ryan). Erin lives in my heart and watches over me everyday. She speaks to me now through nature. Sean and Ryan are early into their careers. Sean has a BSc in kinesiology and manages a sport training facility whilst Ryan is finishing his chemical/biological engineering degree. Gwen and I are active people and try to keep fit by biking, doing the odd triathlon and running. We even ran a 1/2-marathon a couple years ago.
Keeping fit is our way of staying grounded , healthy and sane. Keeping fit is truly our way of keeping mind and body in balance. It is critical to our lives.
On November 4th, 2010, I landed in Brisbane , Australia for a week of work and lecturing at the University of Queensland ( UQ). I had a free day to recover from jet-lag before I met my colleague from UQ so, I headed straight to North Stradbrook Island ( called Stradie by the locals) off the coast of Brisbane. Stradie is sand island that stretches out into the pacific and the far point of land called  Point Lookout  is a magical place for observing sea-life and walking the endless beaches. I've posted a photo of one of the beaches along Point Lookout.
I  made a pilgrimage to Point Lookout because it is one of those magical places in the world where nature surrounds you but more importantly it is one of the places that Erin speaks to me.
I went for a run the morning of November 5th to feel the air and immerse myself in this magical place. I was lost in my mind and not watching my feet! The ground was wet and all of a sudden I fell with my left leg fully flexed. For a second, things seemed to be in slow motion. Upon falling, I saw my quadriceps tendon pull off the knee-cap ( patella).  Thank goodness, I had some tendon fibres still attached  because I was able to lock my knee and drag myself back to the hotel. I took Advil and alternated ice and heat throughout the night and the next day my colleague took me to a 24-hour clinic. After 25-years of travelling , I had never been ill  aboard. This was my first experience outside of the Canadian medical system.  I had immediate care in Australia but the first question asked before seeing a doctor was; " can I have your Visa card , please! I decided that rather than rack-up 10K in medical bills I'd just ask the doctor for enough pain-killers and anti-inflammatories to get me back to Canada.
I re-booked my flight and within two days I was on my way home.  Actually, I was impressed with how the airlines dealt with my disability. I was wheeled from plane to plane and surprisingly the trip home was tolerable.
Gwen met me at the airport and within a day I was booked in for  knee-surgery.
I'll talk about that experience in my next blog but, in closing what did I learn?
I think Erin spoke to me that day. She did not want me to go on to Indonesia which was my destination after Australia. A few years ago I contracted dengue fever whilst in Indonesia and it was Erin whom took care of me upon my return home. Gwen was travelling at the time. Anyway, Erin was the only one whom really knew how ill I was with dengue. So this was the only way to stop me. What did I learn? I learnt to listen to my inner-self and  I was reminded that Erin still watches over me.
On a practical level, I learnt the importance of wearing proper footwear. At the time of my fall, I was wearing flat-soled walking shoes!  Please remember that accidents can happen when the ground conditions are slippery.  



 

2 comments:

  1. Healing always involves painful journeys through darkness and back into light. You know you can count of the love of your entire family to help you along your path. Remember that today is truly a bonus, Love Gwen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gwen,
    I'm 6-days into recovery and following the light!
    Love always,
    Brian

    ReplyDelete