I need to stop rambling so much in these blogs… CAUGHT IN BETWEEN LOCKDOWNS…

Cue Ramble…

There was a huge learning curve as I grappled with how to live with my disability all those years ago, and apart from the obvious “my legs, they no work no good” (I’m going to assume you did an Italian accent there), I quickly learned that I had to be pretty regimented to survive daily life. I'm sure anyone who knows me is probably laughing at me saying that, as i'm undoubtedly a pretty unorganised person. But, when you’re disabled, you do have to prepare and think about a lot of things in advance, even if it's just going out to meet a friend for coffee. You need to think about things like: How long am I going to be out for? How many times am I going to need to pee? (so I bring enough catheters) Do I need to bring any medications? How much extra time do I need to allot to get in and out of the car? Is it raining? (which can cause accessibility and safety concerns) Will there even be disabled parking and what are my back-up options? Is the location accessible, or is there going to be a step(s) to get in so I’ll need assistance?  

While these things, for the most part, happen as second nature now it does make our current climate of impromptu lockdowns and border closure tag a tad extra stressful… 

I originally started a version of this blog last month when I was supposed to be up in Canberra for two weeks, but, with Victoria going back into lockdown and declared a hotspot, and the training camp in Queensland approaching, my stay went from two weeks to four weeks…then out to six weeks as I tried to avoid the constantly changing border closures. Thankfully, the training up in Canberra was productive. Being able to take advantage of the indoor track for starting practice was pretty nice as Canberra takes its traditional belly flop into winter. However, I had only packed for two weeks. Thankfully, with some strategic catheter borrowing (or more accurately, asking for catheter donations) from friends I was able to tie over the critical obstacle of the “how am i going to pee conundrum” until a new shipment of supplies arrived. No one should have to strategically plan out the amount of times they can pee each day until the post arrives! That’s a recipe for UTIs!

Anyhoo... After a long stint away I was pretty eager to get back home for a while to reset and frankly wear some different clothing. I didn't pack that much training clothes and the wash and re-wear cycle was getting tiresome. Oh, also seeing family... boy are they going to be mad I put my inability to pack properly ahead of them. Sorry, looooove yoooooou! Plus, and I know it's cliche, but how good is that first night back in your own bed?… I’ll stop rambling now, sorry. 

So, as of right now, and as you’ve read none of my pre-Tokyo (hopefully) plans haven’t been holding a lot of stability. But, the plan currently is to be home for a good three weeks before heading back to Canberra for final preparations and a pre-departure bubble. This is all assuming I’ll get named on the team… they don't get announced until later this week FYI. (Also can we go like one month between lockdowns please!?) But, assuming it all goes to plan, and back to the point I've been rambling to make, I'll have to plan and pack for my time in Canberra, the time in and travel to and from Tokyo and then another two weeks in quarantine. I’m glad I got used to wearing the same clothes because frankly my suitcase is going to be overflowing with supplies and not clothing. (see photo)

Well this is the update for now. Like I said above, the team announcements should be made later this week so be sure to follow my socials for all the news as it breaks! Hopefully positive…