Research, recovery, recreation and more

00:32 S1

Hi, I'm Louis Bishop. I won a bronze at the Paris Paralympic Games. And you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia radio network.

01:05 S2

It's just gone 5:00 as I welcome you warmly to Leisure Link here on Vision Australia Radio 1197 AM in Adelaide via radio, or online via Radio Digital in Darwin, via Radio Digital in Adelaide, through the TuneIn radio app or the Community Radio Plus app. Look for Vision Australia Radio Adelaide your favourite podcast or streaming service, [?Elvis]. Also, thanks to Australian Disability Media, their platform Powerd media, powerd.media... and our friends listening through 103.9 FM in Esperance in Western Australia, a warm welcome to you too. Coming up very shortly. 

We'll speak swimming with Lewis Bishop, just back with a bronze medal. We'll also catch up with Dr Joshua Pike, physiotherapist, also exercise therapist. A different way to deal with pain, particularly for kids, will speak to Lily and Joffrid Mackett. They've done something very special in October to raise money and awareness for spinal cord research. Powerful story. They'll share that with us. We'll speak to Belinda Hellyer from Brewed by Belinda, the Brew that is true - talking about blending teas, find out much more about that. John Millen will join us from the Kitsuki podcast Group. They are partners with Vision Australia Radio. John lost his childhood sweetheart, who then became his wife at a reasonably young age. How was life after that? 

Also catch up with Joe Bishop from Cystic Fibrosis Australia. Harry Coffey, jockey, won the Caulfield Cup a couple of weeks ago. Harry lives with cystic fibrosis. We'll catch up with Jo Armstrong and we'll also speak to Jeff Britain from Therry. Their next season of The Actress is coming up. Your personal invitation to attend will be via the radio very, very soon. Let's speak to a first time Paralympian and back with the bronze medalist, Paris - Lewis Bishop. Lewis, welcome and congratulations.

03:11 S1

Thank you. It's great to be here.

03:12 S2

Hi, Lewis. I read a bit about what you were saying before going away, and you were saying you just want to have fun. I guess that happened. Plus a bit of... extra with a bronze medal.

03:22 S1

Yeah, there's a lot of fun, I think, going into the meet with that mentality of just, you know, I'm going to soak it all in. Have have the best time of my life, you know, no pressure at all. I kind of swam my own race and managed to pick up a medal by two milliseconds. So yeah, it was definitely, definitely something that you... pinch yourself about.

03:42 S2

Never in doubt. Two milliseconds. Yeah, but I lost. Take us back. First time we spoke at you. And appreciate you making yourself available. When you had an accident when you were ten, you were in Papua New Guinea. Yeah. What led to that? 

03:57 S1

Yeah. So I grew up in Northern Territory. My dad worked as an engineer up there. And eventually, when I was six years old, we moved to a small island in Papua New Guinea called Lihir. I lived there for four years. And yeah, so we basically lived on the ocean, which was pretty sick. It was it was Paradise, basically, especially for young growing up. And one day I went out with my mate and his family to do some knee boarding, kneeboarding, which is when you kind of like getting on a biscuit on the back of the boat. I went for my second go. I jumped out the back. The boat was in neutral, but the lady driving it, she didn't see me and she put it in reverse and I kind of got sucked into the boat and my leg got damaged to the point where it had to be amputated later. 

So being in the small island, so far away from any good medical help and being in the ocean, there was also infection. So it was... I'm lucky to have survived and had people donate me blood while I was on the island, so... wow, a pretty intense experience, especially when you're that young.

05:05 S2

Of course. When did the kind of recovery start or the surgery start? Did you come back to Australia or did you go to a town in Papua New Guinea? How did that work out?

05:14 S1

So in Papua New Guinea, we flew from my island to Townsville. I had my leg amputated there, but slightly lower than I have it now. So they amputated it there, stayed there for a week, and then I was flown over to Brisbane, where I had a further 11 surgeries because there wasn't, first of all, the water in Papua New Guinea wasn't great, so it was infected and there wasn't enough tissue to save a bit of the leg that I was trying to save. So eventually I had to get cut higher. I was in proper rehab for about three months before I started to walk again.

05:49 S2

Ten years of age.

05:50 S1

Yeah. It was it was... a dark time for me, for sure.

05:53 S2

What about that? I mean, obviously you're just 19 now, so it's not that long ago. Do you reflect back much on it? It's kind of the, you know, psychological as well as the physical recovery from something like that. 

06:05 S1

Yeah. I think one of the things that always bothered me was... the effect it had on my family, it was obviously very hard for them. I mean, I have four siblings and two really loving parents, so I know it was a lot for them to kind of split the family up because we, me and my mum mom were in Australia. The rest were back in Papua New Guinea for a year. So it was it was really hard for them. But I guess being young, you kind of adapt to these things really quick. I accept that it happened and... although it does still... I still think about it every now and then. But it's not... like I have post-traumatic stress or anything. I've kind of accepted that that was a part of life and it was something that terrible that happened. And yeah, moving forward and taking every, every opportunity I have.

06:49 S2

I don't want to harp on it. But what about the lady driving the boat? How was she after it?

06:54 S1

I think there were a few... there was a lot of guilt on their side. And they were... great to me through it all. There's still some things I don't know about it. And... we, I live, being in such a small community was, you know, obviously made it hard for our family as well as theirs. And, uh, I don't think I should get too much into it, but it was... I definitely felt some guilt on my part, even though I had no reason to. I was just young. And it was, yeah, it was hard in that aspect.

07:24 S2

Look, we've been chatting for about four minutes. You seem very mature for a 19 year old, if I may say.

07:29 S1

Oh, sometimes I am.

07:33 S2

Yeah, that's a good answer in itself. So what about... from, you know, the accident at ten to getting to compete at Paris nine years later? What was that journey like?

07:44 S1

Yeah. So while I was in hospital recovering, I met a Paralympian, Brendan Hall, yeah - who was a world record holder and gold medallist at the time and kind of, you know, meeting...  I didn't even know the Paralympics was a thing when I was recovering, so meeting someone the same disability as me, kind of... doing things everyone dreams of, you know, winning gold medals, being an athlete and all that. I thought he was the coolest guy in the world. So naturally, I kind of fell back into sport because I grew up in a very, very sporty family. And, you know, I was always going to have to do well at any type of sport because my parents, you know, was... if you're in my family, you do a sport.

08:29 S2

You're part of the rules. Yeah.

08:31 S1

So naturally, I got back into the pool sort of as rehab at first because, you know, I was pretty frail. I'd been sitting in a hospital bed for a few months, and, yeah, mum kind of pushed me, tipped me out of the wheelchair into the water when we surfed laps. And eventually from there, I got into squad swimming and at the age of 12 or 13, I figured I'd start taking it seriously because I wanted to go to Paris.

08:56 S2

Okay, so you planned Paris, you know, six years out?

08:59 S1

Oh, yeah. It was always the one that I thought I was going to go to.

09:03 S2

And I guess Tokyo might have been a bit too soon.

09:05 S1

Yeah, I was a bit young for that, but I got to go to the trials for that meet, so it was okay.

09:10 S2

Well, obviously you showed a lot of promise from a young age. Meeting Brendan, was that organised or was that just I mean, literally... well, maybe it wasn't an accident. It was meant to happen. But was that a kind of organised, that meeting?

09:21 S1

No, the the physio that was treating me also treated Brendan when he had his amputation. So he called him in. It was it was not only for me but also for my mum to see him because of course my mum was also questioning, Oh what... can he do? What future does he have, like in sport? So it was... also to give her a bit of hope that yeah I can... still live a very normal life.

09:45 S2

That is such a great point isn't it? Because, you know, often we sort of focus on the individual with the disability and what happens and what happens now. But it's such a powerful point, isn't it? I mean, families are and in particular parents, I guess, are asking the very same questions and, you know, probably feeling in a sense helpless because they can't physically do much about it. What's happened has happened, but they want to kind of make sure that the life of their child turns out to be as good as it can be.

10:12 S1

Yeah, and that was definitely a concern. I mean, for every parent... wants their kid to live a good life, and for something like that to happen to them, it does, it definitely makes them more...

10:22 S2

You're listening to Leisure Link here on Vision Australia Radio, radio 1197 AM in Adelaide and across the Vision Australia Radio network. And we're speaking to Paris bronze medalist from the pool, Lewis Bishop. So you obviously realised pretty early that you were pretty good at this. What about the butterfly, Lewis? That's sort of not the most common stroke, I guess.

10:41 S1

Yeah, actually, I used to be my worst stroke growing up, when I was... I started back into swimming because I wasn't really strong enough. But I feel like as you mature, as you grow it, it comes definitely becomes a lot more natural. And I definitely think it's the, although it's probably the most painful stroke, it's the most enjoyable because...

11:01 S2

I guess if you're mucking around at the pool or at the beach or whatever, you're not kind of doing butterfly, are you?

11:06 S1

Are you doing the doggy paddle? Yeah.

11:10 S2

What about the journey to become a Paralympian? Then you said, 2013, you thought, I'm going to start taking this seriously. It is pretty serious. I mean, you know, we know how difficult it is to a be chosen for Australia and then to win medals. It's a very disciplined, structured sort of life that you have to lead. You're obviously ready for that, even though I guess there might have been a few distractions, dare I say Lewis.

11:33 S1

Yeah. So when you're training, it's a very you have to sacrifice a lot. A lot of... you know, you can't just go out on the weekend, every weekend. You gotta live that. You got to go to bed early, eat really healthy. So, it sometimes it doesn't seem, it seems like it's a bit too much, and it can be hard, but... when you make a team or you win a medal, it's the feeling is, you know, it's worth it. Like times 1000. It's... the best feeling in the world. And you also realise that while you're living this healthy lifestyle, it's also very fulfilling. And you've got a great mental health because you're eating healthy enough. You get fulfillment out of it every day. You see your mates at training and you're pushing yourself to the limit every day. 

So yeah, it isn't easy. I've dealt with a lot over the past few years. I've had glandular fever a few times. I've been taken out of the pool and that was really hard. But when you think it's going to be an easy journey, it never is and it's always going to have ups and downs. But for me, realising that it was all worth it in Paris was was the big thing for me, yeah.

12:37 S2

Were there any family members in Paris, would watch you swim?

12:40 S1

Yeah, my mum and dad were there, they were.

12:41 S2

Oh, well!

12:42 S1

Seeing them while I was on the podium was the highlight for me, was... no, it was a great experience.

12:48 S2

It's hard to hold back the tears.

12:50 S1

Yeah. For sure. Definitely one of them... I saw my, yeah, saw my dad cry for the first time.

12:57 S2

Oh, wow.

12:58 S1

Yeah.

12:58 S2

That kind of says it all, doesn't it?

13:00 S1

Yeah it does. Yeah.

13:02 S2

Amazing. You talked about, you know, being fit and healthy and that of course you're obviously a very good time manager as well because, you're starting away from your swimming to...

13:10 S1

Yeah. Especially in school, it was pretty full on because you'd wake up five in the morning, train for two hours, go to school, then come back to training and then go to bed. So I've kind of been able to develop a bit of discipline with study and training. At the moment I'm deferred from uni, but I did the first semester, but I plan on going back next year. But, I find when I'm busy, that's when my mental health is the best. I always have something to do, and I enjoy that kind of lifestyle because I feel like it's very fulfilling. And it makes you enjoy the times where you do have a good break.

13:46 S2

Does what you do away from the classroom, influence what you're doing in the classroom? I'm thinking about the the course that you've chosen to... undertake.

13:53 S1

Oh, yeah. So I'm doing exercise physiology. So that's very like gym-based and exercise, which definitely relates to swimming.

14:03 S2

And thoughts about what you might do on a day one semester. But would you like to kind of work at that elite level? I guess that's kind of maybe the ultimate goal as far as a career goes.

14:13 S1

You mean as an exercise physiologist? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I'm so, I'm planning on doing an exercise physiology course. If I want to keep doing it, I'll stay in it and maybe do a Masters and get into physiotherapy. Yeah, that would be pretty cool job to have, considering I work with physios every week.

14:31 S2

So on that, very interesting. Yeah, we sort of have work experience before having work experience.

14:37 S1

Yeah, for sure.

14:39 S2

Lewis, you talked about having fun and the guys are such a wonderful thing. What about that side of things? I mean it must be kind of easy to well, maybe it isn't fair if you're an elite athlete like you are, but kind of to get caught up in all of it and kind of forget what you're there for, is that a bit of a thing that you need to work on?

14:55 S1

Yeah, that's definitely a big problem in Paris, because you're in a village and you literally have everything. There's not like you're a kid in a candy shop. There's they had a tattoo machine there, a guy doing free tattoos and crazy food court and just everything you could think of. So my race was on like the second last day, so...

15:16 S2

Oh no.

15:17 S1

So I had to really focus and stay in my... room, focus on eating healthy, going to bed at a good time, and, yeah, I think I did a great job. I don't think everyone does a great job every time, but I managed to kind of lock in and stay there.

15:37 S2

Yeah, because I mean, you know, those that are finishing can kind of kick back, relax. And we had the chocolate muffins were kind of a bit of a hit in Paris. So, you know, you're sort of waiting right until the end to... experience all that.

15:51 S1

Yeah. For sure. It's... very difficult, but yeah, you just gotta you gotta deal with it. It's part of being an athlete, you know.

15:57 S2

Well you got a bronze medal to show for it. And we'll ask you about what you got to do in the future in a second, but we'll come to that. But... what about as far as the pool itself goes, because we often hear about, you know, fast pool, slow pool. What was the Paris like?

16:10 S1

I don't like to think of a pool as fast or slow because, okay, I feel like everyone in the race has the same pool. Yeah, and it's not necessarily at an academy like this. It's not necessarily the time that matters, but the place. And even still, I thought it was a pretty good pool because I got a... PB by half a second. So I was pretty happy with that. But it definitely was very shallow, I would say that.

16:36 S2

Because the deeper, the faster. Is that the kind of theory?

16:38 S1

Yeah, well, there's more turbulence when the water is shallow, so I guess that makes sense. But then you look at the Olympics and there were still world records broken. So a bit of a debate.

16:50 S2

That's a great attitude. We're all in the same pool, so it doesn't really matter what it's like. Yeah, just get on with it. 

S1

Yeah, yeah. 

S2

A few footie teams could probably take that attitude rather than Oh, we're playing Hawaii or We're traveling a lot. Maybe, you should have a chat to them. What about as far as the future goes for swimming? I mean to say, you're only 19, you've been to your first games, you've got a bronze medal. Do you look to the future and being... I know you're in Queensland at the moment, do you look 2032? Is that too far away?

17:17 S1

2032 would be the pinnacle of my career, I would say. I feel like for now, though, I can look eight years in the future. I can just focus on one year at a time, and then I'm focusing on world champs next year, and I'm on a little bit of a break right now, which is really nice. But no, I'm kind of itching to get back into it because I've kind of got a taste of what it's like.

17:41 S2

So I reckon Brendan competed in Sydney, didn't he, at the Sydney Paralympic Games?

17:45 S1

No, his first was Beijing.

17:47 S2

Okay, well, I'm maybe I'm thinking about Brendan Burkett.

17:51 S1

Oh, yeah. And I know Brendan Burkett, too. Yeah.

17:53 S2

Yeah. I was going to say they'd be telling you how good it was to compete in front of a home crowd.

17:57 S1

Yeah, well, I can only imagine. I saw how the French crowd was with the French people over there. And I know how much Australia loves sport, yeah.

18:04 S2

Yeah. Lewis, thank you so much for speaking to us. It's really been an absolute pleasure and delight. You've made some wonderful points that I'm sure anyone listening in can take a lot from, be they an athlete, be that individual, and maybe particularly if they're a parent of a person with a disability. We wish you well for the future, and I'm sure this won't be the last time we speak, Lewis.

18:25 S1

Yeah. No, definitely. It was nice talking to you.

18:28 S2

Lewis Bishop there, back from Paris with a bronze medal. 

Let's welcome to the program Dr Joshua Pate, who's talking about pain - and maybe different ways we can look at it, particularly as far as children go. Joshua, if I may call you that, thanks for your time.

18:47 S3

Oh, thanks for having me, Peter.

18:48 S2

Now, you've written books. You've made videos. Tell us about pain. And particularly with children, it's more prevalent than we might think.

18:56 S3

Yeah, there's just some recent data, and I guess it's been building over the years, that about five kids in every classroom, at some point in their childhood are facing the challenges of chronic pain. And when I mean chronic pain, it's pain that lasts longer than you'd expect. So more than three months or after the body parts have healed and families are kind of left going well, like, why do I still have pain? Why does the kid still have pain? And... it can be a really, really challenging time, not just for a child or for the family, or for the whole household, or for the school or for the sporting team. It affects everyone. 

And a lot of this burden has kind of been hidden or invisible. As I'm sure people thinking about it right now are probably going, Oh yeah, I haven't really noticed that before.

19:39 S2

And kind of the absenteeism, if I can call it that, is pretty prevalent as well, which you probably don't think about, or I certainly wouldn't have thought about.

19:45 S3

Yeah, one of my PhD students reviewed all of that literature and the number was 22%. So that's like every fifth day on average. Or it adds up like a year over high school. And imagine if you missed out on a year of schooling. Yeah, obviously that alone has lots of burdens associated with it. Things like missing work when you're older. But yeah, the pain in itself, that challenge is also predicting lots of bad things if if it's not addressed well in childhood. And the guideline-based care, like the best available care, has a pretty good prognosis. 

But the the issue is, and the reason I'm doing interviews like this, is that not many kids are able to access it. It's kind of, it's hard to get there. And I think the system is set up in the health system, set up in such a way that we constantly are looking for one fix, one cause one little thing, when in fact, the latest research would say that there's lots of different variables that are turning the volume up and down on someone's pain. And so that's the research work I've been working on since my PhD.

20:44 S2

The proverbial silver bullet. Josh? Yeah.

20:46 S3

I don't think there's one. I think it's many things. Yeah. Yeah.

20:49 S2

So what are some of the things? What's wrong with our approach? Or more importantly, how can we improve our approach?

20:54 S3

Yeah. Well, I think a big part of it is the way that society thinks about pain. Like there's quite a few big misconceptions, based on the latest research. So, for instance, a lot of people think if I have more pain, that's because I have more damage in my body. But in fact, it's actually more about the amount of threat or the perceived threat. And when I like let me give a really simple example. There was a study where everyone in the study had their, a really hot electric pad put on their arm, and they had to rate how much pain they felt. And the ratings, like the average rating was about 73 out of 100. But there were people who felt 100 out of 100, and some people felt four out of 100, and everywhere in between. 

And there was no tissue damage in that study. But people had varying degrees of pain. And if we did that again tomorrow and the next day, all those ratings for each individual would be changing because of all these other things. So like Doctor Google or your childhood memories or the news headlines or what your parents say or if your coach is demanding. Or maybe one parent says this and a grandparent says that. Or like you spend 40% of your waking life with your teacher. So like, it's not only that we need one child to rethink pain, it's that we need everyone to try and try to change the way we think. 

And and I guess you might be thinking now, like, why do we need to bother doing that? And how could that possibly help? And I suppose one of the key things recently that we've realised is that pain is a social phenomenon. And so social things are influencing someone's pain. For instance, there was a paper just last week about the rate of bullying with pain. And I think the first step to addressing some of these social influences, things like having to go to the school nurse or getting sent home or bullying, all these different variables, is if everyone knew about pain and the complexity of it, we would be more likely to be validating and and better listeners and empathetic. And we've seen that. 

And one of my PhD students was just finishing up the pilot study in some schools, and the principal recently called us to tell us that, he said the kids without pain are also benefiting, like they're becoming more empathetic and the language that they use was pain is becoming less invisible in our school. And this was just like us. The research team, clinician experts, went in and did a brief professional development with teachers, and then we let the school roll it out however they wanted. And so one school mapped it to the science curriculum, like the latest neuroscience, one school mapped it into the health curriculum with younger kids. 

And so there's not going to be one perfect way that we are identified yet, but there's so much that we can do to kind of bridge that gap between what the research says and then what's happening in the real world. And that's kind of what my work is all about, is trying to bring that that lag time as short as we can. 

23:46 S2

Is it a bit like peeling an onion, though? There's just, you know, another layer, another layer, another layer?

23:51 S3

Yeah, to some extent there is. I think it is always complex, like even just a simple graze of your knee is influenced by many different variables. And in the kids' books I've worked on, one of them actually talks about that. But the thing is, when the the complexity massively increases, when someone's pain lasts longer than they expect, and then when a trusted authority figure like a doctor or a physio says The scans look fine, I don't know why you've got pain anymore, you've healed or whatever that can come across. Like the research shows families saying things like we felt really dismissed. It's like no one's listening. Yeah. And so that's why I think it's really important that we think hard about the language we're using.

24:32 S2

So even the professionals should be more empathetic, Josh.

24:34 S3

Yeah, but... yeah. And I think across the board... like I'm a dad, I've got young kids and just, it's quite hard to respond. Well, like if you're frustrated and you've got other kids and it's busy and it's a hard thing to do... and so we developed this series of children's books to have a think more about that and what it does. What we're finding is it creates a safe kind of environment for the kid to actually lead the conversation, and it provides them a common vocabulary. The parents then aren't feeling like they're forcing information down the child's throat. And so it's been really exciting. 

So those books are called Zoe and Zach's Pain Hacks, if people want to get them from the local library or you can buy them online. But yeah, I'd love to hear what your listeners think of them. It's been a really exciting couple of years, kind of launching them and seeing how that plays out in, particularly in the school setting. I think it's having a lot of growth and potential.

25:26 S2

We'll give a way to get in touch with you in a second. But what have people said so far about them?

25:30 S3

Like one of the big things that we hear from parents is like, We were so stuck and... these books gave my child the ability to to know what to say. Like as in, they were able or often it's as simple as what Zoe's opens the character is going through. They say, Oh my pain's a bit like Zoe's, or It's not like hers. I'm in the fifth book, so it builds up throughout each little adventure. Zoe has witnessed her cousin do really well, and you see him get back to school. His name's Zach. And so Zoe and Zach... in the fifth book, we see Zoe. She's seven weeks into her action plan, and I think she has something like 53 strategies. 

And in the clinical setting, what we see is that's really empowering for a child to feel like they're taking charge and they're trying 50 something different things is much different than sitting in an appointment where the doctor is saying, try this medication now, we'll do this injection. Now we need another test. And it's all these things being done to the child. And so we're just flipping that on its head and we're empowering the family to tackle these challenges. And so a lot of the good stuff that's happening there, we're trying to bring into this kind of preventative space, I suppose. 

And... I guess it gets framed like in a public setting. I suppose what I need to say is, pain is a wellbeing challenge, and we kind of want to shift it away from overmedicalising it and starting to think about it in terms of danger and safety and... kind of that idea of wellbeing, rather than making it a thing where we want to rush to get tablets and all that kind of stuff that doesn't really have any long-term evidence yet to say that it would be helpful. And it, certainly the risks outweigh the benefits in the data that I've read.

27:10 S2

Well, that kind of identifying with what Zoe had gone through, or identifying with Zoe's pain, I mean, that could kind of be relevant in sort of any walk of life. I mean, if someone shares a lived experience with you, it's much more powerful than you hearing about it from an OT or reading about it in a book.

27:25 S3

Totally. It's funny, I... a lot of adults who have chronic pain, which is like 20% of Australia, when I worked in the adult pain clinic and we were developing these books in the earlier stages, they'd be like, Where's that Doctor Seuss book again? And it's that idea of, it's so much more accessible than a flyer or a... like a fancy textbook or something like that. And so I've been able to work with TedEd on doing some animations and they've had millions of views. And I recently did a Ted Talk. And so doing some of this work with adults, I'm realizing that what we're finding in kids actually also translates into that world. 

And... I think the appeal is... that we don't need everyone to become a neuroscientist to get to do well and to thrive. But there is some level of kind of taking ownership. And I think the learning does help in that piece of the puzzle.

28:14 S2

Fascinating. Joshua, we could chat for hours. How can people find out more?

28:17 S4

I have a website, so people could go to joshua.com - so my middle initial is W and Pate is spelled p a t e ... or if you just google Dr Joshua Pate it will come up. I work at UTS in Sydney, yeah there, my email address will be there, or there's a contact form on the website. And if you're looking for the books, it's Zoe and Zach's Pain Hacks. So there's a website with all, like, free, like, lots of resources for teachers and for clinicians and for parents and for kids. Different videos with me doing silly magic tricks and all that kind of stuff. That's great, I think, to get people to start the conversation. 

But yeah, it's a it's a learning journey. And I think we're really in, it's early days. But what I'd love to leave you with is, we've never had more scientific reasons to be hopeful about this huge challenge that's ahead of us. And this costs Australia $137 billion a year. Like this is not a small issue, but I think we do have good reason to think that we can improve things in the future.

29:15 S2

Josh, a great note to end on. Keep up the great work and hopefully we can speak in the future. 

29:20 S3

Oh, I'd love that. I'm happy to keep the conversations going. Thanks for having me.

29:22 S2

That's Dr Joshua Pate there, physiotherapist, talking about pain... at Joshua W Pate dot com ... all that information up on our Facebook page. You're in elite company listening to Leisure Link here on Vision Australia Radio, VA radio digital, the right and through the TuneIn radio app. 

Let me introduce you to Lily Mackett and her dad, Joffrid, who have been involved in Lily's Legs fundraiser. Lily, thank you for your time and lovely to meet you.

29:58 S4

Lovely to meet you too.

29:59 S2

And thanks for your time Joffrid. Yeah.

30:00 S5

Thanks very much, Peter. Great to meet you.

30:02 S2

Now, Lily, you had an accident about eight or so years ago. Are you happy to share a little bit of what happened and what your injuries were from that?

30:10 S4

Yeah, well the accident happened when we were living in Dubai on the 22nd of April, 2016. I had snuck out late one night to meet up with the older Arabic boyfriend that mum and dad knew nothing about. And, well, it did, what didn't help was the street lights in our community were all down because it had flooded the month before And so I was crossing the dark road over to the hotel where I was meeting him, and I... well, the road that I was crossing, the speed limit was 60km an hour. The four wheel drive that hit me was going 140, and the injuries I got from that were a complete spinal cord... injury at what's called the T4 level.

31:13 S5

And so "complete" means that the... entire spinal cord was... severed and, and Lily... also had a traumatic brain injury, which... is called a diffuse axonal injury. And the level that lily had was a type 3, which is quite a severe... brain injury. And if you'd indulge me... when I was waiting in the, or when we were waiting in the... ICU in the hospital... and Lily was in a coma at this stage, the literature that I found talked about, 90% of patients with that type of brain injury never regaining consciousness and the remaining 10% remaining in a vegetative state. So... Lily's sort of beaten the odds in in that regard.

32:04 S2

Spectacular way. Lily, you were in a coma for about a month, I believe.

32:08 S4

Yeah.

32:08 S2

So did you... spend that time in Dubai or did you come back to Australia?

32:13 S4

We spent a year over in Dubai after the accident, but... well, those weren't my only injuries. I also broke my jaw in three places, so I had to get three titanium plates put in. I shattered my hip and I did some major lung damage.

32:37 S2

That sounds absolutely dreadful. Now, you've made a pretty remarkable recovery. What do you put that down to?

32:46 S4

As evidence in part. And, well...

32:50 S5

So one of the things Lily Lily said when... so one of the... things that occurred early on was, that the spinal cord damage or the the damage to the vertebra was not obvious. And... so all of the... signs that Lily was displaying in terms of... lack of lower limb feeling and... movement, when she regained consciousness, they put down to the brain injury. And it wasn't until November... when we finally were able to get a more fulsome scan done of her spine, that that we realised that her spinal cord was... severed. And the doctor at that point, because up until that point, we were hoping through neuroplasticity and in fear that she might regain the ability to to walk. 

But the doctor at that point said, You'll never walk. And Lily's immediate response was, you just watch me. So... she's got an amazing amount of resilience and... determination and perseverance.

33:54 S2

So that led you to this idea for Lily's Leg fundraiser?

33:58 S5

So we we did this for the first time in 2020.

34:04 S4

And that was to raise money for me to go over to London for a neuroplasticity conference. But that was, well, the conference was postponed or cancelled because of Covid. Mm, so yeah.

34:20 S5

And with the original... virtual marathon, we did the first two in... March, one in 2021, in 2022. And the first one, we we had this idea or I had this idea that... maybe 10 or 15 of my friends who... run locally in Canberra or elsewhere around Australia might... participate, and... Lily as part of her physio knits... beanies. So people may have seen Lily down at the Pierce Community Markets selling her beanies, but I thought all the participants could get a free beanie. 

35:04 S4

And... we ended up with about, we...

35:05 S5

We ended up with about 200. And so if you have a look on the... website, Lily's website, there's a photo of her covered in beanies, which...

35:16 S4

That took up the first lockdown.

35:18 S2

Yeah, I can imagine, I can imagine. Well, what what do you do? The beanie thing. People's favourite colours or team sporting colours? How do you do that?

35:25 S4

Well, for the first virtual marathon, I just used whatever wool I could. But like, when I get orders, I get them for team colours, favorite colours, flags. Like I've done green and gold for Australia in Kyoto.

35:44 S5

I'm part of a running group in Canberra called AMROC, which is the Ultra Mediocre Runners of Canberra. And in, their their colours are... blue, pink and yellow. And so then she's made beanies for... most of the members of that group. And one of the things she does is... she tries where possible, to use... leftover wool.

36:10 S4

So like if someone has a whole heap of wool and they don't know where to wear it, like they're getting rid of it, it usually goes to landfill.

36:21 S2

Yeah.

36:22 S4

And... a lot of the markets and things, people will go, So do you... like the first time, I think a lady said like What... do you use? And I was like, Well, anything I can get my hands on. And she says, Well, I've got all this, all that needs to go somewhere. Would you like it?

36:41 S5

So the... Virtual Marathon is essentially that between, in this instance, the 1st and 31st of October, all of the people who participate essentially have the whole month to complete at least one marathon. And it's not limited to walking or running.

37:03 S2

I say that it's, yeah, if you can move an inch, you can be part of it. Exactly. Doesn't matter what format you take. Lily, does the knitting help in terms of... I guess, you know, exercise or... ?

37:17 S4

Well, from my brain injury, my right hand, which is my dominant hand, is greatly compromised. And that's actually how I originally got into the... knitting, because one of mum's knitting friends in Dubai was like, Let's give this to like, try and see if she can, you know, knit that. And I took, really took to it the first time. It took me 18 months. And now they take me a couple of hours.

37:54 S2

Wow. That... you can measure the success just in that, can't you? Now you're raising money with this to help spinal cure. And there's a trial in Canberra that's happening. And that's where you live, as we found out. I know October is kind of gone, but can people still contribute to the fundraising?

38:15 S4

Yes.

38:16 S5

Most definitely. So we have, or Lily set up a website which talks about... her story, and our previous fund fundraising, previous virtual marathons and also has links to a GoFundMe page that that we've set up to raise funds for spinal cure and that'll be open for for another month or so. So we, if people are able to to donate... that would be absolutely awesome.

38:47 S2

What's your website, Lily?

38:49 S4

lilyslegs.com.

38:52 S5

And so that's just how you spell it. How it sounds. So L-I-L-Y-S-L-E-G-S dot com. So Lily's Legs.

39:01 S2

Lily and Joffrid, thank you so much for speaking to us. Obviously, it's a traumatic story, but you're giving back to the community, and hopefully giving hope to people who might have spinal injuries. And to you and Spinal Cure, we wish you well. We've spoken to some of the people that have taken place and taken part in some of the trials, and they seem very, very promising. And it's only fundraising and, work that goes into it that will make it to hopefully eventually one day be an even bigger success story. Thanks so much for speaking to us. We wish you well. 

39:31 S4

Thank you very much, Peter.

39:32 S5

Really appreciate it.

39:33 S2

That's Joffrid and Lily Mackett. They're taking part in that Lily's Legs fundraiser, helping spawn a cure and hopefully finding a cure one day. We can only hope - and fundraising like that will make a huge difference. 

39:48 S6

[It's just a song. It's just a song.] Hi. I'm Nathan Pelissier, Paralympic table tennis player, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network.

40:19 S2

Ah, it's so good to hear Polly Put the Kettle On. Music to my ears, as indeed it is, speaking tea with. brewed by Belinda's Linda Hellyer - the brew that is true. 97A Old Port Road at Queenstown. Linda, always great to catch up.

40:33 S7

Hi, Peter. How are you?

40:34 S2

Going especially well. Now, you've got an interesting topic for this afternoon. You're going to talk about tea blends or blending tea.

40:42 S7

Yeah, I thought that would be a nice topic to explore, because I guess it creates an opportunity for people to learn a little bit about how, you know, accessible it is to create your own tea blends and... personalise teas that are suited to you and your tastes and also, you know, an opportunity to unleash your creativity a little bit.

41:07 S2

So how do you go about it? I guess you maybe picked the flavours or the teas that you like most and kind of is there a bit of (quote unquote) experimenting that goes on with it?

41:18 S7

Yes, absolutely. It really is a bit of trial and error. I think the, probably the key is to getting is getting to know your ingredients on their own sort of first. So what different tea types, you know, taste like or, you know, just getting to know what different herbs and petals kind of bring when you add them to a blend. So yeah, that's probably a good starting point. But really it's, I think it's sort of calling on a little bit of intuition. So trial and error, intuition and yeah, just sort of... trying different things out. 

But I guess in a nutshell, we sort of have a few different styles of tea. So there's something called true tea, which is, you know, black, green, white styles of tea from the camellia sinensis plant. So that's true tea. But then you can have other styles of tea which are tea blends. And that can be there's a few different types. There's like what's called a true tea blend, which is like blending the tea plant with the tea plant. And an example is English Breakfast tea is actually a blend of different black teas. So it's not just one single like one single farm or estate. It's actually a blend of black teas. 

And you know, it's said to kind of when you combine these certain, um, black teas that all have different characteristics, it's said to kind of create, you know, the loveliest kind of breakfast tea. So in that black breakfast tea, there's sometimes, you know, 4 or 5 different styles of black tea, you know, there might be like a really strong malty Assam tea from India blended with some Ceylon, which is a bit lighter and fruitier and brings fruity notes. And, so yes, that's one style of tea blending, where you blend tea with tea. 

And an example is your English breakfast. Otherwise, you can have what's called like a flavored or an aromatised tea. And this is where you blend the tea plant the white tea, green tea, black tea, Camellia sinensis, the plant. You blend that with other things. So that could be fruits or flowers or herbs or spices. And so you're creating something new. And so some examples might be like a jasmine green tea where you take a green tea and you blend that with... jasmine or, you know, if you we have a tea in our range, which is a beautiful white tea with rose. So this is where you're blending the tea plant with other herbs, petals and peels. 

And finally, there's one more sort of style of blended tea, which is actually technically not a tea. It's an infusion or a tea tisane. And this is like a herbal blend. Where there's no tea plant, there's no Camellia sinensis tea plant, no caffeine. That means that it's a blend of, you know, any kind of plant matter like herbs, petals, peels that make a non-caffeinated herbal infusion or herbal tisane. So they're the sort of three different types of tea blends that you can create - tea with tea, tea with other petals, peels, herbs or just petals, peels, herbs.

44:51 S2

Now, obviously you can be lazy or, you know, maybe, a bit inexpensive if you like, and go to a shop and buy some teas like that that are sort of in tea bags. We've spoken about that in the past. We might revisit tea bags in the future, but that's probably not the sort of thing that you would be suggesting. You're kind of saying it, to do it with... natural tea or with loose leaf tea or loose leaf, other additions and putting them together yourself?

45:18 S7

Yeah, that's exactly right. So there are different sort of herb wholesalers or tea wholesalers where you can purchase different teas and herbs and petals and pills. And then you can, you know, create your own little blending sort of kit at home where, yeah, you can... create your own blends. We actually have a whole workshop that we do in, in person and online, which is dedicated to creating your own tea blends. And we even have a kit that kind of includes all these different tea bases and then other ingredients to blend with. 

So you can buy these ingredients at all sorts of places and just start to, I guess, you know, compile a bit of a... library in your... pantry of sort of herbs and teas and then, yeah, when you feel like it, you can get creative and start sort of feeling out what you might like to put together to your taste.

46:18 S2

Depending on what your taste is. It'll be the sort of things you could maybe do, you know, with a friend or as a family. I mean, maybe even during, say, holidays, something the kids can get involved with if you're doing, you know, sort of more... sort of lighter, fun things as well.

46:33 S7

Absolutely. That's what I love about this. The great thing is that it's a really hands on, creative way to create really healthy beverages. So whether you know, with the family, you could create some combinations that you might like to ice up through summer or, yeah, you could even make Christmas gifts for people, you know, package up little tea blends that you've made yourself, you know, for... friends and family. Just another sort of creative but also healthy option for sort of do-it-yourself gift ideas.

47:11 S2

You can do it yourself, as you said, but you do have actually sort of formalised, if you like, sessions where I guess you're giving your years of experience as to how to, sort of best blend teas together.

47:24 S7

Yeah, that's absolutely right. I am a certified tea blender, so I've done a lot of study and have a lot of experience in this. So, you know, you can sort of do it yourself, but then, you know, you can sort of learn a little bit deeper. So yeah, as you said, I do sort of run classes to teach people, you know, the main... I guess, tips and tricks, or knowledge about how we bring a tea blend together - because, yeah, it can be as simple as just feeling it out and putting some things together and trialling things, but you can actually approach it with a lot of... you know, knowledge and expertise where, you know, you really are kind of putting together blends that, you know, help all the different ingredients kind of come together in a beautiful harmony. 

So yeah, we can approach this, I guess with lots of things in life, you can do it as a little bit of fun and a bit of a hobby, or, you know, you really can delve into what each ingredient brings to the table within a blend, how you can create colour with ingredients, how you can create sweetness without sugar... and it really is about just getting to know different ingredients really well and understanding what they bring to the table and yeah, how to best combine them.

48:44 S2

Have you got such a session coming up soon?

48:46 S7

I actually do have one in November. Alright, November.

48:50 S2

This coming Saturday. Yeah.

48:51 S7

Yeah. Yes that's right. At our tea studio and we've got a couple of little tickets left for that. But we do these quite... regularly, you know, a few times a year. We just love, you know, gathering people, drinking lots of tea, and and people... learn about how you can put together your own tea blend. So yeah, I think it's just another way to get creative and learn a bit more about tea.

49:20 S2

All right. Now you're at 97A Old Port road at Queenstown. So pretty easy to find. You're on the main road there, and if people do want to find out more about any of the things that you've spoken about, and particularly maybe get into blending teas either with the family or friends or on your own. I guess the other great thing about making a tea blend like this is, Belinda, they keep for a while, don't they? So you're not going to be wasting much, because you can be assured that the teas are going to last.

49:48 S7

Absolutely. You know, when you're buying in sort of fresh ingredients and blending them together, you know, these things will last at least a couple of years.

49:57 S2

If not... oh, okay.

49:58 S7

Well, if they're stored correctly, which is sort of a way they don't like moisture, they don't like sunlight. But yeah, teas stored correctly will last a long time if you're... buying them in and blending them fresh. So yeah.

50:10 S2

And if you're really enjoying it, it probably won't last that.

50:13 S7

Long. That's right. And then you have to make more.

50:16 S2

How can we get in touch with you?

50:17 S7

You can contact me via my website, brewedbybelinda.com.au - or over the phone, 0419 839 702. Or as you said at my studio in Queenstown.

50:31 S2

Linda, great to catch up. Really interesting. And I know you've got something a little bit special lined up for December as far as particularly when the hot weather gets here and it might well be on the way. So we'll look forward to catching up with you then.

50:42 S7

Thanks, Peter. Always lovely to chat with you and your listeners.

50:45 S2

Linda Hellyer there from Brewed by Belinda, the brew that is true... 97A Old Port Road at Queenstown. 0419 839 702. 

50:56 S8

Keep in touch with Vision Australia Radio in Adelaide... on 1197 AM.

51:01 S2

Vision Australia radio is very pleased to be in partnership with Kintsugi Heroes. I'm sure you've heard us talk about it in the past. Let's speak to the podcast host and also community engagement from Kintsugi, John Milham. John, lovely to meet you. Thank you for your time.

51:16 S9

Fabulous to chat, Peter. Thank you for having me on.

51:19 S2

Now, I know part of the thing about Kintsugi Heroes is to talk about people's personal lives and some of the trials and tribulations, and then how they've come out the other end. I guess your story is... pretty powerful in terms of, you're flying high in the corporate world and... then your childhood sweetheart passed away, as your wife.

51:39 S9

Yeah. Yeah. So it's... strange. I was, I'm now hosting some of the conversations, but I was the first person on kintsugi heroes telling this story. Which is a little incestuous, but it was, you know, I had an opportunity to share, about the process of grief. And of course, I don't think men are very comfortable with that. So telling those stories, you know. Revealing and exposing themselves. You know, the true emotions of grief, right? The weakness, the anger, the feelings of insecurity, of fear, those things that all come up. 

So, you know, my wife and I have been together since 16. So, you know, I sat in front of her in English of and of course, essentially we'd grown up together. So I was only sharing this just the other day with someone who was asking the question. Essentially, I found myself at 42 with my wife, we'd been through a year of... I have to describe it as a fight. And you fight cancer. You have that aggressive anger. So she had bowel cancer and she fought it beautifully, but lost that battle. We had three kids. We, I was, as you mentioned, in the corporate world, I was an IT corporate manager and, you know, tick boxes and had houses and material things and, you know, had thought life was pretty stable and set. You know, we were on a certain path. 

And then her illness took all of that away. And what I realised was, having been together for so long, even at, you know, at that age, we'd been together 27 years. I'd never grown up without having a partner, you know? I didn't know how to do a lot of grown-up things. I certainly didn't know just how much I didn't know. You know, I was, essentially realised what a self-indulgent wanker I'd been. I'd been all the time, you know, I thought I was, you know, yeah, confident. And, you know... an effective husband and father. I had no idea how little I'd managed to do on my own. Right. So, you know, it was an incredible tearing away of all... my understanding, all my beliefs, and all of my masks around who I was. 

So I was left, after my wife passed away, I was left completely lost. I had no idea who I was. I, you know, I didn't... have friends that were alone. I didn't have purpose, you know, I didn't know what my future was anymore. And if that makes sense.

54:30 S2

It does. I've heard people talk about, you know, when their partner passes away, all of a sudden, you know, their invitations to dinner parties or their invitation to kind of anywhere kind of dries up because what we normally invite both of them, now there's only one of them, so we won't invite them.

54:45 S9

That's so true. And in fact, men find, I'm pretty sure it's similar for men who break up and, you know, or separate, right, that we don't realise that we've often abdicated responsibility for the social side of our lives. Right? The network our friends organised, you know, activities are often organised by our partners, right? And so when you, when your partner's gone, your calendar dries up pretty quick. And it's not just logistics. This was the interesting thing, Peter. It was like, I became a difficult... connection, right? For people particularly, you know, when all your friends are partners. Mhm. And you're now the... odd one out. You don't kind of fit into those models of friendships anymore. 

So, you know, I didn't have a wife who was friends with other wives. The guys, they... were being sort of directed by their partners. If you're at a dinner party, you're sort of the person sitting at the end, and you're, it's kind of awkward. And people don't want to talk about how you're going. They, you know, they want you to be good. And they're very, you know, they're kind and they're concerned and they show care, but they don't want to have to talk about it, you know?

56:05 S2

So I guess that's the thing you probably do want as the person who's going through it, you probably would be happy to talk about it or would would like to talk about it.

56:13 S9

Oh, that's a... really perceptive comment because in many ways, if... when you're grieving and certainly my experience was, it was the most important thing I'd ever gone through, right? It was like overwhelming on my entire... I needed to discuss this, I needed information, I needed support. Sometimes I just needed a shoulder to cry on. Right? But there wasn't a time where it wasn't the the biggest thing happening to me. And so people were kind of, after a few weeks or even a couple of months, people were kind of expecting you to get on with things. Yeah, right. And I didn't know how that worked. 

So... it certainly was... it was a challenging place to be. You feel very isolated. You feel very under-resourced, very confused. And it's quite a dangerous place, you know, in that moment, because, you know, everything hurts. I'm psycho-emotional, you know, every, all of your... habits, all of your expectations, all of your plans are out. So everything is difficult and everything hurts, you know, and reminds you of things that you had that you don't have anymore, and times and of course, your number one supporter, the person who you were most available to, the person who you shared and had your moments of weakness and relied on for those moments of encouragement, they're gone. 

So it's certainly in my case, I've found... that kind of personal support, and the intimacy and sort of understanding that I would gain from my partner when that left, I felt very alone and very vulnerable.

57:59 S2

John, we appreciate you sharing just a little bit of time with this. You're on, as you said, the first episode of Kintsugi Heroes. We'll put the information up about the podcast on our show notes, but we appreciate you spending some time with us. I know you've come through the other end, and I guess you're in a better space now than you were, if I can put it that way.

58:18 S9

The learning, that journey is was the greatest, and most powerful and most exciting thing. You know, it's one of those strange things, Peter, that the worst day of your life contains the elements of some of the most amazing things that you'll never give up now. You know, my relationship with my kids and my contribution and mission to the world and all of that comes out of those terrible times. So, you know, I touch on it in the podcast, if anyone's interested in listening to the full podcast, it's that arc... of recovery and of finding, you know, new understanding, new ways of moving forward and in some cases, finding new life that is even more sort of rich and contains more mission and purpose than the old one.

59:08 S2

Thank you for speaking to us, John.

59:09 S9

It's been fabulous. Thank you Peter.

59:11 S2

John Milham there, the podcast host and also community engagement with the Kintsugi Heroes, a partner with Vision Australia Radio. If that interview with John has raised any issues, please contact Lifeline, 13 1114. Any issues? Always consider calling Lifeline, 13 1114.

59:37 S10

On the Vision Australia Network through your favourite podcast service on 1197 AM in Adelaide, you're listening to Leisure Link.

59:47 S2

Let's speak about cystic fibrosis. We haven't spoken about that for a while in this program. Let's speak to the to CEO for Cystic Fibrosis Australia, Jo Armstrong. Jo, thanks so much for your time.

59:57 S11

Thanks, Peter, for having me today.

59:59 S2

Now, for people who might not be aware of the condition, give us a bit of an idea of what it is. So what are some of the symptoms and what about some of the impact on people's lives that have it?

1:00:07 S11

So cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition, so people are born with it. There's currently no cure. It actually impacts the whole body, including, uh, sinus digestion and also the lungs. A lot of people with cystic fibrosis have a constant cough because of a build up of sticky mucus in their lungs. It's... a really an awful condition and life limiting as well, Peter. 

1:00:33 S2

Is it fairly easy to diagnose? I'm assuming it is from birth that there'd be people that would be aware that the child has got it from a very young age.

1:00:41 S11

Diagnosis for cystic fibrosis does happen... usually in the first few months of birth with a heel prick test. It's a simple and quick blood test where little ones are tested for a whole range of different diseases, but cystic fibrosis is one of them.

1:00:57 S2

And it's the sort of thing that can affect different people in different ways, or sort of to different degrees, different severity.

1:01:03 S11

Absolutely. The cystic fibrosis looks very different from one person to the next. I've actually met identical twins, both with cystic fibrosis and both presenting in completely different ways. It's very unique to the individual and it's difficult, you know, Peter, because cystic fibrosis, you can't see it. It's not like you've got a broken arm or something visual. It's it's all happening internally. So it's really hard for people to really, I guess, understand what someone else is really going through.

1:01:35 S2

Well, I guess, yeah. For parents, for example, if they go to Doctor Google, if they get the diagnosis, it can be, you know, a very drastic sort of future or maybe, you know, one that could be quite manageable.

1:01:47 S11

I would always say, don't go to Doctor Google. Go to a professional. We're very fortunate in Australia. We've got a range of leading like globally leading clinicians in the cystic fibrosis area. We're very, very fortunate. But certainly always seek medical attention and follow the advice of your clinician. Most people with cystic fibrosis actually have a range of multidisciplinary team of people looking to support them, whether it's physio, nutrition, as well as the respiratory side of things and sinus as well, and even fertility and reproduction. There's, you know, a whole... it impacts the whole body. 

There's a whole range of different specialists to help people with cystic fibrosis. We are fortunate that there are a range of new medications that have recently become available. For some people with cystic fibrosis, some people aren't eligible, unfortunately, or some people don't respond to them... the medications that is. So it's a really tricky journey and certainly very individual from one person to the next.

1:02:48 S2

And the way a person kind of lives their life, if I can put it that way, can that make an impact? I mean, if they look after themselves, to all intents and purposes, pretty well, can that make a big difference to you?

1:02:59 S11

Yes, certainly to some degree that's right. You know, there's no sort of a hard and fast rules in terms of people who do look after themselves. Well, with cystic fibrosis still may not get the outcomes that you'd hope for. But I remember there was one man in the community who's in his 50s now, which is... a very good long life from a cystic fibrosis perspective. And he said to me, I'll never forget it. He said, With cystic fibrosis, you must respect the disease. You know, you have to look after yourself. You have to do all the right things, take all the medication. You have to... eat well. And and I think that has certainly helped him on his journey. But I'm aware there are people who have done a lot of those things and and maybe they haven't had the same, the same outcome. So it's very, very challenging.

1:03:53 S2

Life has a way of handing out those sort of cards, doesn't it? Sometimes you see people that do the right thing and, you know, it doesn't always work out the way that one might expect in any walk of life.

1:04:03 S11

Well, that's true actually. I mean, you do the right things and you hope for the best. Yeah. And you don't always know.

1:04:10 S2

That's a good mantra. Well, Jo, tell us a bit about the work that you do and how you can kind of come into the life of a person who might be diagnosed with CF or indeed their families.

1:04:20 S11

Absolutely. So Cystic Fibrosis Australia, we are the national peak body serving all Australians around the country with cystic fibrosis. There's just under 4000 people with cystic fibrosis. And about 1 in 25 people actually carry the gene. So it impacts a lot more people than we realise. So what we do at Cystic Fibrosis Australia is, we advocate nationally to federal government and to pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders to really push the agenda so that people with cystic fibrosis get the best possible health outcomes. So we do a lot of advocacy work with government. We run the national standards of care so that hospitals throughout the country are providing a minimum standard of care at a certain level to help people get the best health outcomes. 

We also run the Australasian Conference, where we support researchers and cutting edge developments in cystic fibrosis, because a lot of research still needs to be done. So we do a whole range of different things to help people on the national scale to be able to get long lasting impacts. This includes even things like access to new medications and therapies. It's a really diverse range of things that we do.

1:05:37 S2

That national standards for hospitals, that must be very reassuring, both for those who might be going into hospital and again, their families.

1:05:44 S11

It's really important to have national standards that that all the facilities around the country adhere to. And it does have a direct correlation to getting better health outcomes for the patients. So absolutely, Peter.

1:05:56 S2

Fantastic. What about... you talked about being in touch with governments. Do you get government support? How do you kind of (quote unquote) survive?

1:06:04 S11

Most of the support we have is actually through the generosity from the community. We have people all around the country who do fundraising for us, whether it's getting involved in a marathon or a race or getting people to sponsor them for something, even sometimes as little kids in school doing wonderful things where they're raising money for us. You know, a lot of people, making even a small contribution actually makes a huge difference to us. We are a small organisation... and we do rely on the support and generosity of people across the country to really help us do our work.

1:06:39 S2

Well, as you said, that next door, that might be the door that... makes that next breakthrough happen?

1:06:44 S11

Absolutely. And it's possible there's some really exciting things, and developments happening, particularly in cystic fibrosis research at the moment. And some of the data that we're seeing through the work that we do is suggesting really great outcomes. So I really believe the work that we do is, is actually life changing, I'm sure.

1:07:02 S2

And worldwide, particularly as far as research goes, the research is worldwide.

1:07:06 S11

Yeah, absolutely. Global research because cystic fibrosis is a rare disease, there's not the cohort of people that you might get for other types of diseases, such as certain types of cancers for example. And so we actually collaborate globally. And our database of people in Australia with cystic fibrosis is actually globally recognised. So I feel like we're really batting above our weight here in Australia, Peter.

1:07:33 S2

Well, keep up the good work. And certainly it sounds like you are doing a great job and you've got a website where people can get more information, maybe even if they feel so inclined to help out.

1:07:42 S11

Yeah, that would be great, Peter. Yeah. Our website is cysticfibrosis.org - dot org - and we'd appreciate any donations or support that people may... feel moved to give. And anything above $2 is also tax deductible.

1:07:56 S2

That's always important.

1:07:58 S11

Absolutely. Every bit makes a difference. Like I was saying before, Peter.

1:08:01 S2

Yeah, definitely. So keep up the great work, and thanks for spending a bit of time with us.

1:08:05 S11

Thank you so much.

1:08:06 S2

Jo Armstrong there, the CEO for Cystic Fibrosis Australia and certainly doing some great work and a lot of work to be done, but certainly making a difference to people's lives. And that's a very powerful message.

1:08:19 S12

Hi, I'm David Mitchell, health commentator, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on Vision Australia Radio Network. His wit, wisdom, knowledge and compassion make his show real.

1:08:30 S2

Oh, Doctor, Doctor. Well, Therry Theatre's next show is coming up: The Actress. The award-winning director is on the line to tell us more about it - Geoff Britain. Geoff, great to catch up again, catch up with you. Now what gets underway this week? The kind of... title says a lot, doesn't it, about the show?

1:08:51 S13

Yes it does. It's it's called The Actress. It's by Peter Quilter. It's actually a comedy... and it's basically about... the actress of the title, Lydia Martin, who is giving her final performance before retiring. And it's set in about the 1940s, in the UK. And she's not really sure whether she wants to retire or or keep going in the theatre. But as she gets older, she realises she doesn't get the roles anymore. And she's got a fiance who's a very old Swiss banker who's willing to take her away to Switzerland and let her retire. And so she meets all these different people who come to her dressing room for a final performance, and that's basically what the play is about.

1:09:41 S2

Now, Geoff, you've been in this game for a little while. Is there a lot of truth in what goes on in the dressing room before the show?

1:09:48 S13

I think so. I think that people, I think for people who are involved in theatre, there's certainly things in there that are recognised, especially when they talk about the directors and things like that. But I think for a general public, it's just a fun play, and it's probably not the thing they imagine goes on as well.

1:10:10 S2

Now, when it gets underway this Thursday, you've got a preview on the Wednesday as well at the Arts Theatre, which has been certainly a great stomping ground for theory for for many, many years.

1:10:21 S13

Yes it has. That's in Angus Street.

1:10:23 S2

Now we'll give people details as to how they can book before we wrap up. Now, I believe there's a few new chums, as far as theory go, that are part of the cast.

1:10:32 S13

We've actually got quite a seven in the cast. I think four are probably old stagers, if you can say that because of the play being about older actors and and that sort of thing. But we've also got, um, three newish people who I'm not sure whether they've done anything for Terry before. But the daughter, Nicole, is being played by Lisa Loeb. And Margaret, the theatre manager is being played by Michelle Weston. And Olivia Jane Parker is playing the agent Harriet - our older performers, a lot of your listeners will probably know Julie Quick, who's playing the main role of Lydia Martin and Jean Walker, who's trying to address her.

And... Norm Haddock, who... a lot of rep people would know because he was on the board there for quite a long time, is playing the... fiancee, the Swiss banker... the older character. And Malcolm Walton is playing her ex-husband, who turns up and causes quite a bit of issues for her throughout the play.

1:11:45 S2

Just to add a bit of intrigue and... excitement about the whole thing.

1:11:49 S13

Yeah, exactly... because there's this whole thing of, you know, Does she want to go back to him or, you know, Does she want to move on with her new fiancee? And, yes, you have to see it to believe it.

1:12:03 S2

What's it like directing a show like this, Geoff? Did you, obviously you still get a buzz out of it?

1:12:08 S13

Oh, definitely. Yeah. And particularly with theory, because, you know, when you work with theory, they have their own rooms where they build the set around you as you're rehearsing, which is not the case with a lot of places because they don't have the space. So right from the beginning, you've got, you know, practically your whole set there in the rehearsal room to rehearse on, which makes it much easier when you move into the theater because everybody's familiar with, you know, where everything is. So... it's exciting in that sense. 

And also, you know, working with the people who auditioned for the roles and... that sort of thing. You go through that whole process of auditioning and picking people for particular roles and that sort of thing, and then you get into the rehearsal period itself, which is, um, you know, generally three times a week for probably eight weeks. And... you watch the play develop in front of you.

1:13:08 S2

Of course, these are amateur actors, aren't they, Jeff? So kind of dips our lid to the... commitment to that because they may well have a full time job or other things as well as this going on. So it's a real commitment to the cause, isn't it?

1:13:22 S13

It certainly is, because, as you say, a lot of people do work during the day. And luckily we've got a few older actors in our cast properly retired. But but generally yes, they they work and then they come to rehearsals, you know, three times a week usually. And then that's for eight weeks and then you've got the season itself, which is pretty full on because it's night after night for, um, a couple of weeks. So, yeah, it's a big commitment. And... we particularly have trouble with backstage people and stuff like that, because it is such a huge commitment for people to give up their lives just to come in and, you know, run around backstage and things like that. So we're always on the lookout for people who are interested in coming to work in theatre. We can always find things for you to do.

1:14:13 S2

I guess it's a good starting point, isn't it? Maybe start doing stuff backstage - and who knows what it could lead to in terms of opportunities?

1:14:20 S13

Exactly. I mean, we've got... a couple of people working on our show who do shows ago started off sort of just turning up and thing, I'm interested, and we have one lady who then went on to do props and stage management, and then we find out that she has a, you know, her experiences in interior design. So now she's designing sets for us. So. All right. It can be, yeah. So there's, you know halfway through. And then of course, there are other people who turn up and just want to be actors.

1:14:53 S2

And it's a bit like in football, everyone wants to be the person that kicks the goals.

1:14:58 S13

Yeah, exactly. And that's because that's who you see, isn't it? Yeah. Of course. I mean, the people who work backstage, I mean, particularly for this show, the set is a multi-levelled set. It's also got a lot of props in it, a lot of flowers and stuff like this. And, so the props people are particularly busy because there's lots for them to do, lots of drinking of champagne and brandy and making cups of tea and, and all that sort of stuff. So, you know, they keep busy all the time.

1:15:29 S2

Well, I'm sure the rest of the staff are very thankful and grateful for the work they put in. Jeff, you said set in the 1940s. So I'm assuming the the costumes reflect the era.

1:15:39 S13

Yeah they do. Yes... they've got a very good costume section down at three and, yeah, we've got a couple of people working on our costumes and, in fact, we've had a couple of costumes made for the main actress because of the period and because of the fact that within the play she's performing in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. So we've got our costumes for that as well. So, and you actually see her perform scenes from Cherry Orchard at the same time. So we've had a couple of costumes made for that.

1:16:13 S2

Jeff, did I read it right that... the show debuted in Argentina... in about 2015?

1:16:19 S13

I'm not sure about that. Okay.

1:16:22 S2

I thought the publicity debuted in Argentina, which I thought was an interesting place to debut a show like this.

1:16:27 S13

I wouldn't be surprised because Peter Quilter does write the sort of plays that a lot of groups would do. And I guess even in Argentina they do these plays as well.

1:16:38 S2

So yeah, I'm sure they would have enjoyed it. So it's a comedy, pathos, tragedy. It's kind of, all rolled into one and, you know, have a nice enough bad stuff going on in the world at the moment, Geoff. So a bit of escapism would be very, very welcome.

1:16:52 S13

Yeah. That's it. That's exactly right. Yeah.

1:16:55 S2

So you get underway, preview on Wednesday, then on Thursday you got a couple of matinee performances over the next couple of weekends as well.

1:17:03 S13

Yes, we've got the date for the seventh of the 16th of November, and that includes three matinees, both on the Saturdays within that period and on the Sunday of the 10th of November is also a matinee. We find that a lot of people who go to the theatre these days tend to like to go to matinees rather than the evening performances. And there's a preview on the Wednesday the 6th of November.

1:17:28 S2

Well, people can book by searching the actress on trip booking, or they can always call your secretary or your ticket secretary on 0412 924 566 ... 0412 924 566. And we'll put that information up with the show notes about the program. Geoff, good luck. I think it's okay to say Break a leg.

1:17:52 S13

Yep, it certainly is.

1:17:54 S2

All right. Were you in the car? Break a leg. And I know we're very, very, very popular. Have been so for a long, long time. You always get big crowds, so I'm sure you will again. Thanks for your time.

1:18:04 S13

No worries. Thank you for having me.

1:18:06 S2

That's Geoff there, the award winning Geoff Britain, the director for The Actress - being put on by Therry. Sounds like a lot of fun. If you get a chance to go along, I'm sure you'll have a great night or a great day. Time to take a little bit of housekeeping before we go. Great job by those involved this morning with the Christmas pageant and the audio description. So to the team, well done team. Very enjoyable, very descriptive. So well done all. 

Also, normally the first weekend of each month we catch up with David Mitchell, a health commentator. Sadly David not able to be with us, but to all being well, David with us back next month. So a big cheerio to David Mitchell. Now... from now on we'll get to information about links and other things from the guests of the program. We'll put them in our show notes for Leisure Link. So if you're looking for information such as the links or other information regarding our guests, if you go to the show notes, all that information will be there. 

Now you would have caught up with the news regarding Tegan Fredericks, that dreadful, dreadful, sad story from Port Augusta, very early to tell what happened. I can certainly say two things. One is that Des Bray, the police that are looking after this particular case, it is the best hands that can be in very much involved with the Anne Marie Smith and also the Wynarka situation. A number of years ago. So that is going to be handled extremely well by Des Bray. Lots to play out. We'll speak to some people in coming weeks about it, but still very, very early stages. So we won't be saying too much about that, only to say that if you are yourself in trouble, please seek help. 

I know it's not that easy to get help, but if you are in trouble, please speak to someone about it. Whether it's your GP or someone you're very, very close to, there is support out there so please seek it and hopefully you will receive it and situations like that will be avoided. 

A couple of quotes before we go. We've got one from Jamie Carrigan, who is a player with Liverpool, he said I think just retired from playing football, or soccer as we call it here. He says Leave football before it leaves you. So a bit of a message that the end is nigh, so maybe you should pre-empt it. And Mark always sends through some quotes regarding headlines or captions in newspapers that he's seen. This is one regarding Donald Trump and the time he spent at McDonald's last week. The caption read Would you like lies with that? So a bit of a play on words about not so much fries but lies with that. So Mark, thank you so much for sending that through. 

Now normally at this time, the sad day or the week before the Melbourne Cup, we have a bit of a crack at tipping the winner. We'll have another go and see how we go. All care, no responsibility. Gamble very responsibly though, if you're going to have a little flutter, we're going to go with the Geelong Cup winner to win it. One Smooth Operator. We'll put Sea King in for second, Land Legend to run third. Sharp and Smart loves Flemington. Maybe that can be a bit of an outsider and the map to represent South Australia also amongst our tips. So just repeating those one smooth operator Sea King Lad legend, sharp and smart, and also the map from South Australia to do hopefully pretty good for us. 

Some birthdays before we go. We opened the program with Lewis Bishop talking swimming, Justine Vinson having a birthday. We spoke to Justine back in 1992 after coming back from Spain. So Justine, I know you often listening. So a very big happy birthday to you. Also, Dylan Littlehales, another person on the water - more as a rower. So Dylan, a big happy birthday to you. Hope things are going well. And Brianna Petrarca is having a birthday. What a tremendous athlete and ambassador for people, particularly with autism. But anyone with a disability, anyone, indeed any tennis player. Andriana Petrakis a very big happy birthday to you. Hope life is going well. I think we're catching up with Andrea in the next few weeks, talking about some of the great work that Andrea is doing. So a very big happy birthday to you, Andrea. Ana Petrakis and speak about swimmers. Ben Austin also having a birthday. So happy birthday to you, Ben Austin. 

That's it for the program, reminding you that Leisure Link is available on your favourite podcast platform. As we like to say, if you like the program, please tell your friends about it. Like Oliver Twist, we've always got room for one more listener. If you're listening through 1197 AM in Adelaide, coming up very, very shortly, Vicki Cousins is here with the wonderful program known as Australian Geographic. Sam, Richard, thanks so much for your help. Pam Green, thanks so much for yours. Reminding you, be kind to yourselves, be thoughtful and look out for others all being well. Leslie looked back at the same time. Next week this is Leisure Link on Vision Australia Radio, supported by Australian Disability Media. Check them out on Powerd media - powerd.media.

1:23:49 UU (THEME)

Oh, Johnny boy. Let's go. Oh!