“On a Mish” #324 Snakes and Ladders. Lake Te Anau. Fiordland National Park. 20.4.2022. If you have been stuck in a hole and got yourself out it then you have the ability to do it again. If you have vanquished a foe before then you know you are up to the challenge when the next round begins. Most importantly, if you really love something you are going to do all you can to keep doing it. Unfortunately, an ungripped section of the Te Anau Wharf has taken me back to a world of constant pain…
With team members dropping off daily due to Covid isolation the week was already a tough battle and re-injuring myself was not on the cards. A busy day ended in heavy rain and after tying up the back lines (ropes) on the boat I stepped down onto a un-gripped section of the wharf and began a slippery adventure. My right leg slid on the smooth as ice wood of the wharf and to stop myself I instinctively stuck out my left leg. As I did, for a split second I managed to stop my slide / fall until I felt all of the damaged muscles in my hip flexor snap, crackle and pop. Still warm and still with things to do, I cursed at the situation and then finished my tasks. A slow limp back to my car gave me time to realise I had done some more damage to my already damaged hip. Just as I was nearing the recovery finish line I struck a snake and I was sent straight back to the beginning. We are always looking for ladders to get us a couple of steps further in the game of life, but sometimes we land on snakes and are sent back to square one. Most would think that I probably spent the next couple of days recovering, right? Ha! With so many down due to Covid, I pushed on for the remaining three days of my rostered work. Day one was rather shit. Day two was a pain filled outing I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. And day three seemed to never end. It was the morning of day three that I really questioned whether I could survive to the end. But as I looked around at the epic world I work in I knew I had to give myself a chance to prove that I was still an employable employee. After three of the longest days I have ever worked I got to the point where I was shuffling back to my car knowing I had at least done my best and got my part of the job done. Hopefully I didn’t affect anybody’s (customers) adventure into Fiordland, and hopefully my enthusiasm made up for my lack of mobility?
Oh well, I did my best and managed to knock out the days I was rostered for and now it was time to pay the consequences. After a visit to the doctor on my day off it was revealed that I might need to head back up to the specialist in Christchurch for more scans etc. Muscles shouldn’t make ripping and cracking noises at any stage, and I could not only feel but I heard the sound of damage when I slipped on the wharf. Ironically my injury came just before I was about to begin my annual leave. The irony is that after 16 years working seasonal jobs in tourism, this was going to be my first paid leave in as many (16) years. Now that time will be spent trying to repair myself in the hope I can return to work at some stage during the future. I may be down, but I am definitely not out, and watch this space because my second recovery journey is gonna be EPIC…
