9/13/2017 0 Comments That chapter has finally ended!1 – 4 – 1. Yes, it has been one year, four months and one day today since that fateful slip as I went to retrieve a bucket dropped overboard and ended up in hospital with a broken tibial plateau, and today, a year-plus, and two surgeries later, I have had my final x-ray, seen my surgeon for the last time, and finally been pronounced ‘fixed’. Six weeks ago, I had a second surgery to remove the plate and screws which were so essential to repair the break, but which had become less-than-favourably aligned to the bone and painful on movement. I was scared to have the surgery and had put it off a little, worried that despite the doctors’ assurances that I would be ‘on my feet’ the same day, that I would in fact spend many more months recovering and possibly not be able to go home for some time – just like before. So I let things go on much longer than I could have, and allowed myself to be in pain for longer than was necessary, but in the end, had to agree to the surgery regardless of what might happen. I am so glad I did. I was on my feet hours after the surgery, and while I had some pain, it was nothing compared to the joy I felt at knowing I could return home that same day. I spent a few weeks hobbling around, walking gingerly, but more and more comfortably each day, and only four weeks after surgery was able to head off to the Keppel Islands with a friend where I could walk and explore and be pretty normal! Today marks the final episode in the Mrs Argos Breaks a Leg saga, with the final x-rays showing the screw holes all healing up nicely as my bone fills them in, and no evidence of any stress fractures. The wound has healed beautifully and looks better than the earlier scar as the surgeon used internal sutures and my range of movement (ROM) is almost perfect. I could not be happier. Injuries, surgeries and recoveries aside, things have all been on the up-and-up aboard Argos. I remember saying to someone when I was getting close to returning home last year, that I would be needing to learn again how to anchor the boat and having to get back to all the learning I had been doing, learning which had been seriously interrupted by the whole catastrophe, and I had said to them that I could never imagine myself anchoring or moving Argos alone, that she just wasn’t a boat you could really manage single-handed. I never saw myself having that kind of skill, or anyone for that matter. And while it is true that Argos is a handful, it turns out that she isn’t as hard as I used to believe! I have been so fortunate to have made the bestest friends and been able to learn ways to do things that I would never have seen myself doing – including anchoring alone – and regularly. Thanks go to the lovely Robert, Kym and Andrew for always being there for me in this learning! And that’s actually how I started my day today – waving goodbye to Liam as he set off up the Broadwater to work (he is doing his marine electrical apprentice-ship with Oddessy Marine Electrical at Runnaway Bay) before pulling up the anchor and setting off for the Marine Stadium in our regular movement around the Broadwater. It was an early start as I wanted to catch the tide, and have Argos safely anchored before the forecast 25-30kn wind picked up. Mrs Argos has definitely come a long way! I even had the privilege of encouraging another solo female live-aboard the other day who didn’t know how to let out more chain on her anchor, when another boat came a tad close to hers. And while there is always more to learn, and definitely always more to do, I am happy to say that I am in a much more confident position now than I was before the accident! And of course, through all this, I have learned a lot about recovery – the other subject that is, as many of you will know, close to my heart – things that enable me to support, encourage and inspire others in their various recovery journeys. I have been working very hard on my web presence in the recovery arena, launching my brand new web site, www.recoveringyourife.com.au recently, along with a recovery app for iPhone, called Recovery Helpers, tools which I hope will enable the people I support to move forwards into a recovered life. I continue to pursue this passionately and promote the possibility that all people can find some measure of recovery from trauma. If you are not familiar with my recovery work, please feel free to visit the web site or the Facebook page, Recovering Your Life and leave a like or a comment! We often say that life can change in the blink of an eye and it is totally true. One year, four months and two days ago I had just returned from my first ever trip to Tipplers with a couple of friends – the first time I had taken Argos very far – and I was only cleaning up the boat after the trip when things all came to a complete halt! It’s been quite an epic journey but certainly one I am very happy to finally put to bed! I will always have the scar to tell the story, but this is one chapter that is finally over!
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September 2017
Our life aboard Argos has been seriously challenged this year with the surprise departure of our skipper. As a writer, diesel mechanics and the complexities of many aspects of Argos’ on-going maintenance are way beyond me! We would like to see Argos continue to sail and eventually hope to use her to offer support, encouragement and a break to people who are struggling in their lives. Any on-going help towards maintaining Argos would be greatly appreciated and enable us to achieve this goal.
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