Hi there!
My name is Carly and I am a 21 year old young woman residing in Perth, Western Australia.
My hobbies include reading, playing team sports (particularly netball) and trying out different cafes in Perth. I also love spending time with my partner and my family.
I have a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and I have played, coached and umpired netball for many years prior to my back injury (caused by playing netball). I love the sport and my long-term goal is to return back to it, however it is unlikely that I will be able to play at the same level risk-free.
In April 2018 I severely injured my back by playing netball. I tried physiotherapy, massage, hydrotherapy, pacing/exercise, osteopathy and naturopathy. Nothing seemed to help me and the pain was so consistent and awful that I could no longer work, exercise, bend down, or lift anything. I couldn’t even get out of bed without crying.
Approaching the second half of the year I obtained a referral to neurosurgeon Dr George Wong. I couldn’t stand the pain anymore and on November 29, 2018 I underwent a spinal operation at St John of God Hospital, Subiaco. My biggest fear was that I would permanently end up in a wheelchair. I didn’t. In fact, the operation was the best thing I could have ever done.
I wish I could say that recovery has been easy, or quick, or magical. But it’s not. It’s a very long process and I can’t point out enough that I was a fit and active person before this injury. Netball had really injured me but at the time I could lift heavy weights, had previously trained for a half marathon, and had a great diet, exercise and sleep regime.
This recovery has been slow, and it hurts me mentally to not be able to exercise in contact or competitive sports. However, I have made my journey back into exercise, with the gym’s cardio machines, swimming, walking, cycling and strengthening exercises.
I hope to keep for myself this diary as a reminder of the ways that I improve every day, and the ways in which I succeed through exercise and diet. I need to keep writing it all down, because I want to see how far I’ve come. This blog will tell me everything.
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A Long Recovery 