This Sporting Life

00:31 S1

This is Studio 1 on Vision Australia Radio.

00:43 S2

Hello, I'm Sam.

00:43 S3

And I'm Lizzie.

00:45 S2

And this is Studio 1, your weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view, here on Vision Australia Radio.

00:50 S3

On this week's show...

00:51 S2

We're dusting off the sneakers, freshening up the activewear, and getting a little sweaty.

00:55 S3

Well, not us specifically, but we ask our Choir of Angels what role sport plays in their life. 

01:02 S2

As we always say at this point, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of any of the issues covered in this episode of Studio 1, or if you think there is something we should be talking about, you never know - your story and insight may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar.

01:16 S3

You can contact us via email at studio1@visionaustralia.org - that's studio number one at Vision Australia dot org. Or perhaps you can drop us a note on our Facebook page. Just go to facebook.com slash VA Radio Network.

01:31 S2

Well, Lizzie, how are you on this fine spring day?

01:34 S3

I am stiff, sore and feeling quite sorry for myself. And you?

01:38 S2

It's Phlegm City as far as I'm concerned at the moment. I know, I know, the listeners don't want to hear that. But this is the time of year when all the pollen comes and decides that it's going to live at the back of my nose.

01:48 S3

Yes. Didn't you share a little interesting factoid with me off-air about Adelaide being... what was it again?

01:53 S2

It's the allergy capital of Australia. Yes, yes, it's designed to make you sneeze.

01:59 S3

It is. It kind of makes sense, too, when you consider the geographical,... setup or design of this city, if you will.

02:06 S2

Yes, dear listener. So if you are anywhere else but Adelaide, you may not realise that the whole city is built on a plain, but there are mountains which have these lovely flowers, and also all sorts of other lovely things that blow in from the mountains, and especially designed to make people like me sneeze.

02:25 S3

I'm lucky I don't deal with hay fever, but hey, that's okay.

02:29 S2

In case you hadn't noticed, we're not doing a show about the NDIS this week, even though we advertised it.

02:36 S3

No we're not. What happened, Sam?

02:39 S2

Well, I made the executive decision, because it's got nothing at all to do with the fact that we don't have enough material for it yet. So nothing. Nothing? Nothing at all to do with that? Nope. Nope nope. So I made the decision that because the last three shows really have been quite, quite an intense subject matter, really, that maybe we should go with something a bit more light and fluffy and enjoyable.

03:03 S3

So that's why you picked sport. 

S2

That's why I picked sport. 

S3

Oh, I love sport. I don't know about you, but I love talking about sport. I love participating in sport. And that's why I'm a bit sore and sorry for myself today, because we had two races this weekend, or I won the road race yesterday, but we also had some track racing on Friday.

03:21 S2

Sport for me is a love-hate relationship, I've got to admit. I mean, it's something I used to do, and I'm very glad to see the back of it. I've got to admit, I enjoyed doing it at the time, and there are experiences that I had that I will not swap for anything else - but well, that was all 24 years ago now, so I'm quite happy to leave it all behind and leave it to other people to do all the heavy, hard, sweaty stuff.

03:48 S3

Okay, but don't you still run occasionally?

03:50 S2

I do run occasionally. And occasionally... occasionally I get injured as well. So. And this is... the other thing as well, is that being a former athlete, when you got injured, you had people that could treat you.

04:01 S3

Of course.

04:02 S2

I used to, like I used to see hot-and-cold-running-physios, but nowadays you've actually got to find someone who's going to treat you and you've probably got to pay for it as well. Which is, yeah, it's not as easy as as it used to be. So yes, I do run occasionally to try and stop myself from turning into an absolute complete blob, but... yeah, it's a losing battle.

04:26 S3

I think that's one of the good things about being an amateur athlete. And because I think often we forget that sport isn't just about, you know, the top of the top like you were. It's all about us middling ranks as well, who just like to get out and enjoy it. Is that it's easier for us to recover than it is for someone at the higher level, because we're probably not doing as much. We're probably not putting as much stress into our bodies.

04:50 S2

Well, that's the thing. I'm 53 now and I've got the knees of a 73 year old, so...

04:54 S3

Well, I was going to say we're not all as old as you, but I thought better of it also.

04:59 S2

Yeah, I don't I think I've never really quite worked out how to do things on a light level. So if I go out for a run, I will automatically drop into what would have been back in the day a four minute, 1k pace.

05:12 S3

That's funny you should say that.

05:13 S2

And then the entire rest of the run is me getting slower and slower and slower and slower.

05:18 S3

I feel like that was me when I first started cycling. You got this point to prove, so you blow yourself out of the water within the first like ten or so minutes, and then you're just like, Oh, well, I should have... had an easier day today or something. He regretted instantly.  

05:34 S2

Oh yes. But anyway, enough about us. We have some people that have well, mostly cyclists, as you said. But yes, that's if you out there, dear listener, want to talk about anything...

05:47 S3

Other than cycling...

05:48 S2

Other than cycling... or if you want to be part of our Choir of Angels. So yes, it will take that that from... Matthew. We'll continue to call them the Choir of Angels. Right... if you want to be one of one of them, then just email us and we will organise a chat over Zoom. And... yes, you can have your opinions known as well. Yeah.

06:09 S3

I mean, I would love to... meet.... well, I'd love to talk with everyone and hear what they have to say.

06:15 S2

But anyway, enough of us. Here's Stephen Kemp.

06:22 S4

I find it very motivating. So when I had some eye surgeries when I was about 19, I couldn't ride a bike and couldn't couldn't do anything. So just because I needed to be still and couldn't hit my head and all those sorts of things. So I found that quite hard and got quite depressed and got in a bit of a spiral there. Took a while to get out of that, and the main thing that got me out of that was was exercise. So I think, I think it plays a big part in me. I enjoy that. I enjoy the environment, I enjoy the... other disabled people who come out and have the can do attitude. Most people who do sport with a disability tend to have the attitude of, I'm going to have this, have a go and do what I can, rather than sitting on the couch thinking they can't do something. So I really enjoy the... attitude of people who do do sport and have a disability. They tend to be much more... yeah, proactive, of course.

07:20 S3

And just for the people that don't know what sport is it that you participate in, tandem cycling?

07:25 S2

And was Lizzie, a good point, actually... there. It's not that... all disabled people are physical, active people. A lot will be confined to the couch because they don't think they can do it. Mm.

07:46 S3

I find just generally... there is a massive barrier that a lot of blind and visually impaired people hold about the things that they can and cannot do, not just in relation to sport but life. And I don't know if it's because they themselves believe that they can't, or whether we are conditioned to believe that just because we are disabled, we're not able to. Well, you're unable to do those sort of things, but people who come out and try sport, they... generally have a level of resilience about them anyway, and that increases the more that they participate because they they crush their goals, whatever they might be, or they feel good afterwards. And I think that just builds up character resilience. I don't know.

08:34 S2

I've always said to people and when I used to coach, I used to say this to my athletes as well is, blind people are used to having things done for them.

08:42 S3

Yeah.

08:43 S2

Whereas if you are doing a sport, whether it be athletics or cycling, you have got to do this yourself. No one can go out there and train for you. You may need a guide. So finding a guide might be half of the exercise there, but the rest of it, the rest of the training that you do is purely down to you.

09:05 S3

Well, I find this is a great point, Sam, that you've made, especially if you're totally blind. There's not a lot of... sports where you've got continual access to people that will train with you. So, like, I know for myself with the cycling, most of my training is done indoors, on a trainer with a power with power devices and things like that, and it's done by myself. And I'm the only one that holds me accountable. If I don't do the training, I don't succeed.

09:35 S2

But do you like that as well, though? Is that the aspect that you actually enjoy?

09:38 S3

It is because I'm only as good as I am willing to be. I only put in the amount of training that I'm willing to put in. Like, I can't blame anybody else for my successes or failures, you know? I like the fact that it is based. It is down to me to do the training and to put in the hard work.

09:55 S2

And that's what I used to enjoy about athletics as well. I had the opportunity to... well, because I'm a B3, I can actually go out and do things on my own and things like that. And having I mean, we spoke to Philip Devereaux earlier on in the year and it was a problem him finding guide runners and it's a problem with all B1 runners is finding somebody who can not just guide them. But I mean, a guide runner has to be faster than they are.

10:23 S3

That's it.

10:24 S2

So if you're dealing with a Paralympian, they've got to be probably close to Olympic level themselves.

10:30 S3

Yeah. And that's that's again, that's where as an elite athlete you run into more problems. Whereas for us amateur folk out there who, you know, we might aspire to be better, but while we're still at that amateur level, it's a bit easier because there are more people on our level. You know, it's not so hard to get someone who's at the same level of fitness as us.

10:54 S2

And that's what I'm liking about the way tandem cycling in Australia is going. It's a sport that people are enjoying. It's a sport that people are competing against each other for the sake of it. While we do have international representation and there is the possibility of that, it doesn't seem to be the be all and end all, which unfortunately a lot of the other elite sports ended up going that way.

11:16 S3

Yeah, I think there is starting to develop a real community atmosphere around tandem cycling. I know here in Adelaide we've got a club that I'm part of that has a big role to play in developing para cycling or specifically tandem cycling because, you know, we're we're encouraging grassroots racing and grassroots community participation. And that's really, I believe, where all sports start.

11:41 S2

So anyway, let's hear from Carly.

11:48 S5

Now it plays a huge part. I come, like I said, I come from a family where my dad was visually impaired and he was actually the first visually impaired person to do the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.

11:59 S6

Wow.

12:00 S5

So yes, you'll have to Google him. Chad Towns. Oh, yeah. And... he left quite a... legacy in the, in the world of... triathlons, and things like that. He actually passed away in the year 2000. I'm trying to be the first blind man in the world to climb Mount Everest. He died in Nepal. So, yeah, he was he was absolutely... no, it's hey, it's, his attitude was at least he wasn't getting hit by you know, his attitude would have been, Oh, I was doing something I loved doing. Yeah. You know, you're larger than life. And... sport has always been a part of my life. My brother's just completed his fully sighted. There's, he's not got PP, and he's just done the Hawaii Ironman two years ago, and my mum's done a couple of Ironman. 

So I think now because it is in the genes, and I didn't make the best life choices in the past. But now it's like I've been given a second chance and this is opening up doors to so many things as well as them. Tandem bike riding. And that's just a great community I've fallen upon, like I'm blessed. And also I've got the hiking behind me. I have done the Kokoda Trail when I was sighted and I really loved the adventure side of things. 

13:23 S3

Yeah, I also love hiking as well.

13:25 S5

Yeah, we might have to get together and go overseas somewhere and do a hike together.

13:30 S3

Yes, that would be amazing. 

13:32 S5

Let's bring it on. Yeah. It's definitely, I'd love to do Kilimanjaro. 

13:38 S3

And there's... yes, some things in the Balkans to like. Yeah.

13:41 S5

Let's bounce, because that's where my passion lies. Yeah. The adventure side of things I do. The bike's great for getting fit. But look, I'm, like I said, closer to 50 than I am 40. Now, my dream is not to be an Olympian, Paralympian or anything. It's just to be amongst it. I'm trying to juggle, you know, being a single mother, also a professional in my job and also, you know, keep the keep the happy, the scales, you know, aligned with that fitness side. I can't commit to full-time training.

14:16 S3

No, of course not. And I think that's the thing, you know, there are a lot of blind and visually impaired people, and not everybody's going to make the Paralympic team. But if you can go into it with the attitude of, I'm going to be the best athlete that I could possibly be, then that doesn't matter 100%.

14:34 S5

I'm in competition with no-one but myself. Yeah. Person I was, yeah, the day I was before and the work I put in like I've just today and you know how soon we've got this... I've been doing a bit of training at home and trying to get amongst it, but today I've reached out to get a coach just to hit that last six weeks of really committing to hard training, and I'll show up and say, You know what? This is where I'm at right now and this is the best I can do.

15:02 S6

I love that.

15:03 S5

Yeah.

15:04 S6

So absolutely.

15:05 S5

Yeah. So it's, you know, and and I'm proud of myself for making it like, even if I show up and I make my pilot, Sam, do all the pedaling, and I just put my feet up. I'm still in it, you know? Yeah, me first in that, but, um. Yeah, but it's it's just being amongst it for me. I'm. I just want to be a part of. I love showing people that there are no limits. And my life's not what it used to be. I think for me, it was different because I got told all my life I could not get up. You know, I was a definite carrier, but I could not get it. And to get diagnosed that day, just wow.

15:50 S3

I think she's got a couple of really good messages there. And again, we've spoken at length about these that not every disabled athlete is going to make the Paralympic team, because that's top of the top. And there's there are so many of us who just want to be the best athlete we can be and be the best person and show up for ourselves, you know? For some people, they have the... goal of competing at a national or state level. And for some people, it's just the goal is to make better, healthy choices for themselves. And if sport helps them to do that, then I think that's equally as, if not more important than being the best athlete in the world.

16:31 S2

Well... somewhere out there there's usually a sport for somebody. That's what it comes down to as well. So if you are want to be the best of the best, you've got to keep looking. That's what it comes down to. So you may not be the world's best tandem cyclist, but you may be an ace at lawn bowling, for example, which means it's out there for you somewhere if you're willing to put in the effort.

16:54 S3

That's it. And don't worry, Carlie, we'll do those over seas hikes one day, I promise.

17:00 S2

Oh, yes. Oh, there's I mean, we were talking about travel a few... shows ago, and yeah, there are some walks I would like to do myself, And I'm a big walker, I...

17:12 S3

Like maybe you can come with us.

17:13 S2

Oh, yes. Yes, I'll... stow away on your suitcase or...

17:16 S3

I'll carry you if you get too tired. 

17:18 S2

No, no worries, no worries. Yep. That would...

17:20 S3

If you're 73 year old, knees cave in on you. I'll carry you. It's fine. I'm not into team sports.

17:30 S5

Really? Like, although I support my local football team, I never watch the footy.

17:35 S6

But I love swimming. Swimming really gives me a sense of freedom. Just going up and down the pool and body surfing at the beach and sports like rock climbing I love and I'm really into water sports, though I've not done those for a long time now, so. Oh, and also tandem bike riding as well. I do that recreationally. It's a bit of fun on a Sunday morning and ballroom dancing. I just enjoy so much. It makes me feel very great dancing. Mhm.

18:22 S2

Now I was going to talk about... the art of actually watching a sport as opposed to doing it. Yeah. So up until the early 2000 I really was not interested in Australian rules football at all. Mhm. Me and Heidi moved to Perth in 2001. And this at this particular time the Fremantle Dockers were on the bottom of the ladder. They hadn't won a single game.

18:50 S3

Oh dear. Yep.

18:52 S2

And I started falling for them because their fans were saying no one's done this since 1967. We can do it. We can lose an entire season.

19:03 S3

Oh my goodness. Really?

19:04 S2

And I thought, I like that way of thinking. And anyway, so as it was no. They won a game against Hawthorn. And then the very last round the Adelaide Crows came to Subiaco to play the Dockers. And Heidi is a Adelaide Crows supporter. Yep. So this was the team on the bottom of the ladder. And the crows needed to win this game to get a home final. What happens? The Dockers win.

19:35 S3

Oh yes.

19:36 S2

So not only did they did they deprive Adelaide of a home final, but well, all of a sudden it was a big morale booster.

19:47 S3

I bet it was. I mean, considering just not a couple of weeks earlier, the fans were like, I bet we could lose a whole season and suddenly they're winning games.

19:54 S2

So I can remember us taking a train back from Subiaco to Fremantle. And one of the supporters had seen Heidi and her all her crows gear and was talking, but I was saying, congratulations. You've been beaten by the worst team in the league. And there was nothing nasty about it or anything like that. And so anyway, we were walking down the cappuccino strip, heading for a bus, and people were coming out and they weren't taking the mic or anything like that. They genuinely had seen Heidi in her Kroes gear and came out because they had. It was like, Oh no, no, I'm not going to watch this game. I'm not going to watch it. So it was like, Oh, the football's over. How did, what happened? And so she was spreading joy throughout the city of Fremantle. 

20:38 S3

Oh well done Heidi.

20:39 S2

So, and as I said, they weren't, this was no malice whatsoever. It was like, You mean we won? Wow. And that's, that, dear listener, is why I follow the Fremantle Dockers.

20:53 S3

That's a cool story. I was there any rivalry between you and Heidi, you know, before the game or during the game? Like, you know, were you giving each other subtle, subtle jabs and digs about who is going to win?

21:06 S2

Oh, it's part of the fun. I mean, it's if you are a sports supporter, especially with something like football. Yes. Sometimes it can be the thing that unites you. That's great, but it's way more fun if you're if you're going for different teams. Yeah.

21:21 S3

I mean, just before the finals happened, there was a Port versus Hawthorn game. And I'm not really a massive AFL, but I do go for Port because my family goes to Port. And I hadn't watched any of the game. And apparently it was a close game, and I came in for the last bit when Port won. And of course I was jumping up and down and celebrating. And Steven goes for Hawthorn and he's like, But you didn't even watch any of the game. And I'm like, yeah, but my team won and your team lost. And then I was giving him crap about Hawthorn losing.

21:52 S7

I would have to say it's a pretty major role in my life. It's how I met my husband... and it's how I've done most of my travel, most of my sightseeing. Met most of my friends and, yeah, I thought I'd retired a few years ago, but I've just recently discovered tandem bike riding, and it's opened up a whole new a whole new... experience, a whole new set of friends and and, yeah. It's just it's amazing. I, yeah, it's a pretty major part in my life, actually.

22:23 S3

That's amazing. So just for anyone that doesn't know, talk us through your sporting career.

22:27 S6

What's your history with sport?

22:28 S7

I used to muck around with a bit of powerlifting, a bit of goalball, shot put and discus. So I attended six Paralympics... from '88 to 2008, and I was fortunate enough to come away with two gold, two silver and two bronze medals in that time.

22:47 S3

Amazing. Amazing. And what's your plans with the tandem bike riding? Are you just doing that for fun, or do you hope to compete seriously? Or what's the goal there?

22:56 S7

I started out doing it for fun. We have a little group up here which is called the Pink Flamingoes, which is a ladies cycling group. And so that was started by Trixie James. And her aim is to make pink flamingoes somewhat like parkrun, where at a certain... time a month in any particular town or state that, you know, you can have an organised ride that you could you could go and attend. I'm not delusional enough to think that I'm going to make any Paralympics. I'm a bit too long in the tooth for that. And I don't have the money to spend on the expensive equipment that's needed. Having said that, I have just got a new bike... and it would be... almost, state level sort of equipment wise. 

We have the Queensland state championships coming up in my area, shortly. So my main aim at the moment is to compete in the... road race, the time trial and the criterium... and that's really down to the local club that we have two clubs here in Bundaberg. The Bundaberg Cycling Club have been amazing in their... acceptance and wanting to promote people with disability and giving me the opportunity to ride um on the track. The club president has been... my front rider, and then he organised for one of the young boys to jump on the front with me. He's a... a great young rider. Actually turned up to the track this one night, and I.... knew that... Will was going to jump on the front for me. And we'd done two, two club races and we were waiting for the third one. 

And I said, Oh, by the way, Will, how old are you? And he said, 15. Well, I nearly fell off my chair because if I'd known he was 15 before I started, I don't know whether I would have started.

24:52 S3

Wow. That's amazing. Yeah, they're starting them younger like the pilots these days because it's something to really get used to. And the younger you start...

25:00 S6

The more, easier it is to get used to, I suppose.

25:03 S7

Yeah, absolutely. And he's a... quite a tall lad. Like he'd be six foot and he's a a solid lad. So he's, you know, quite capable of handling a bike, a track bike and obviously a track tandem. But who knows, like because of him being 15 and, getting into it early and, and sort of... having me on the back if we had some, some male... track riders, you know, that. And it worked out he, they could be in Brisbane 2032. So, you know, maybe I might have had a hand in starting that, so that, that'll be bloody awesome if that's the case.

25:44 S3

It's funny you talk about young pilots. I recently have started training and racing with a lovely young lady by the name of Annabelle, who's 17, and I have to say, she's probably one of the craziest people I've met on a bike like she's insane. We raced yesterday and I, yeah, it was a crazy ride. That's all I can say.

26:06 S2

When you are a certain age, you don't know any better, and that's often a good thing.

26:12 S3

Yeah, I think it's great because, I mean, she's pushed me hard. She's inspired me to want to go, like, right into The Hurt Locker to achieve these things. And not like I wasn't doing it before. But I don't know, 17 year olds just inspire this level of... gung ho attitude in you that I guess, that you didn't have before.

26:32 S2

Something else that Jody was covering was, the support that the local cycling associations were giving them as far as tandem cycling goes. And it used to be a barrier getting into sport. If you had a disability because you're thinking, Oh, I've got to find a disabled sporting organisation, and if there's nothing in your area then well, too bad, but it's actually law - if you want to compete in a sport, your local club has to take you on.

27:06 S3

Yeah, well, I mean, I remember, yeah, even back about ten years ago, if you wanted to do a sport, it's like you said, you have to get in touch with the sporting organisation. But like here in Adelaide we've got Central Districts Cycling Club who have just done this year, started their um track riding program. And you know, we have a presence at a lot of community club races as well, and it's a lot more of a grassroots community. It's not so much about getting state and national athletes in, but, you know, we definitely have the goal of of promoting para cycling and tandem cycling and getting more young, blind and vision impaired people out there to have a go. So I think there's definitely more of a movement for that development of grassroots sports for people with disabilities so that they've got that pathway.

27:56 S2

So dear listener, also, if you are listening via podcast, we will include the web addresses for the various states. Blind sporting organizations and for Blind Sports Australia itself. So if you are interested, there are people you can contact who can help you out for sure. Now who have we got next? We have the inimitable Sam Colley.

28:25 S8

I absolutely love watching it. I go to... every footy match I can with a pair of binoculars. I... like to sit right up on... the top level of the MCG, right behind the goals. And you can look straight forward and, yeah, just, you don't have to move your head and you can focus your vision just on, on one... area. And that actually, I found, is a lot easier than watching on the wing, where you have to kind of move your head about and you don't have a central vision point that you can reference. And that's been a lot trickier. But, yeah. So watching any sport from from the end, behind the goals... 40 soccer, basketball, what have you. Seems to be the way to go. 

In terms of playing sport, I really don't have much... ability to speak of. Unfortunate. Unfortunately, I've... given a few things. A crack I've had, you know, cricket footy. I wasn't too bad at... handball in... high school, the... European one that sort of taken off there and been a huge thing for decades. That was that was pretty fun. But yeah, other than that, not great in, on, in a playing sense.

29:54 S3

I don't really think that matters, though, does it? If you're great or not.

29:58 S2

If you enjoy doing it.

29:59 S3

If you enjoy doing it, that's all that matters. You could be an absolutely terrible athlete or sportsman as long as you're getting out there and having fun. Mhm.

30:07 S2

Mhm. I mean the one thing to be concerned is I see some contact sports where I did know of someone who was really into the footy, and his parents had to stop him from doing it after the age of 12 because they were bringing in the tackling.

30:21 S3

Oh yeah. Well I mean okay when that's, you know, I guess you got to draw that line somewhere of where safety is concerned. But if it's not harming anybody else and you're not doing any harm to yourself, it doesn't matter how good or bad you are. Just do the sport you love.

30:35 S2

That's right. And you never know. Sometimes there might be ways around it. What seems hard might be easy. Find yourself a decent coach. That's what it comes down to. We are finishing off with Lily.

30:51 S9

Oh, wow. It's it is my life now, Lizzie. It is my life for many reasons. So obviously, I am still living the life of a competing paracyclist at the moment. So I train every day and I get out of the tandem a couple of times a week. I'm on the trainer every other day. I do Pilates, I walk, I go to the gym, and in the summertime when I'm doing a bit of triathlon, I swim as well. This takes up a lot of my life, at the moment, and I do it for many reasons. I do it obviously, so I can stay as peak at my peak performance so I can perform well. So I need to keep all the that in check - my heart rate, my my power, my my aerobic fitness, all that stuff that you obviously know much about as well. 

But I also do it just for general wellbeing, for health. I've learned how to eat to fuel my body, but also eat to look after my body. But I, and I think most importantly, above everything else, I do it for my mind. I do it for my well-being. Mentally. I do it to keep... so, as you would know, we, you, regardless of how well you think you've got it together... as someone with vision impairment or blindness, you always have this level of cortisol surging through your through your veins because you're just, there's an... unsure about every step you're going to take or if you're out and about, you know, not every minute of the day. But you know what I mean? Yeah. 

You know, going into new situations, all that sort of thing. Dealing with people and all that, you know, you're always a little bit heightened. Yeah, now, the ophthalmologist said to me when I lost a big chunk of my vision, I went through quite a stressful period in my life for a few other reasons... and the ophthalmologist said to me quite bluntly, Stress will take your vision faster than anything. And he said, The cortisol hormone is, the stress hormone will basically eat away at your retina. He said, So I don't know what you need to do, but I do know, he said to me, when you leave this office today, you need to start to really think about your mental health. 

Now, I was told that in a very bad point in my life about five years ago, and I the next day walked into a gym in the town I was living in, and I said to the guy that owned it, it was a personal trainer, I said to him, I'm not here because I want to lose weight, and I'm not here because I really need to be, you know, conditioned in any way. I'm here for my head. I need to get my head right. And he smiled at me and he said, you know, Sit down. And I sat down and he said, You've come to the right place. He said, Because I have had demons in my head for many, many years, I suffer anxiety really badly. And this place, this gym, my exercise and everything I do has got my head right. And it turned my life around and I knew then I was in the right place. 

So that's kind of where it started. I was always fairly active. I used to walk and dance and do some stuff, but never to the point that I am now. And man, it's had such a knock on effect to everything in my life, right from from the the way, you know, my body has changed and my my spirit, my... enjoyment of life. But my mind, like my, the mindfulness, I'm very conscious now of everything I do and how it affects... me. So I it's not all the hard, high level training either. I do the Pilates and I do a little bit of meditation. I do stuff that's good for my head so that. Yeah, going back to the question, it plays a vital part in my life and... I will never stop. I might stop doing the really heavy, high level stuff. Sport will always be part of my life to the day that I die now, or activity will be in some way that, no doubt about it, because it's changed my outlook completely. But also, Lizzie, as you would know, it connects you with people.

35:05 S3

It does. People. Yeah. So and so as you know this, you know, loneliness and, and... so, you know, you see it in aged people. I see it with my mum, you know, when they start to lose the connections and friendships, it. Loneliness is a killer, you know, again, not something that is good for you. So having those connections through sport is awesome. I have got a wonderful, wonderful group of friends that have come because into my life, because of sport, for no other reason, but because of sport, because of my riding and my triathlon. And I'm very grateful for that. Yeah.

35:44 S2

That's a wrap for this week. Thank you to Stephen, Kylie, Emma, Jodie, Sammy and Lily. And of course, a big thank you for listening.

35:53 S3

Next week, what happens if you're signed up to my aged care before the age of 60? Can you just walk away and ask to be supported by the NDIS? Apparently not. We find out what happens to a vision impaired person who falls through the bureaucratic cracks of the government.

36:10 S2

But between now and then, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of any of the issues covered in this episode of Studio 1, or if you think there's something we should be talking about, you never know - your story and insight may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar.

36:24 S3

You can contact us via email at studio1@visionaustralia.org - that's studio number one at Vision Australia dot org. Or of course you can look us up on any social media platform at VA Radio Network.

36:37 S2

Bye for now.

36:39 S1

Vision Australia Radio gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation for Studio 1.