On behalf of myself and the rest of the team at CNB Safe, can I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2022. It’s been an interesting and somewhat tough year but let’s try and put that aside for a few days over the festive season and try and enjoy yourself wherever you are.
Merry Christmas from my family and team to yours. Woody
Well I don’t know about everyone else, but I am really going to cherish my time at Christmas for 2021.
Whilst I personally found 2020 to be very challenging with COVID-19 changing our world overnight, 2021 has been a very busy year and therefore it’s time to practice what I preach in my talks, which is to keep a “Work / Life Balance”.
I’m going to take a couple of weeks off this December/January by utilising this time to reflect, rest and connect with family and friends. For those that know my story and my journey, I have certainly learnt the hard way in understanding the importance of taking time out of our busy lives to cherish the time we have. It’s been this change in the way I work and live that has supported my Mental Health and Wellness in a positive way. A message I continue to promote across Australia during my mental health talks with CNB Safe.
Did you know that the lead up to Christmas is a high-risk time of year? We have so many distractions, parties, extra traffic, kids on holiday, shopping etc., so some workplaces put in an extra effort to make sure people don’t get hurt at this time of year.
I saw this recently at the Western Sydney Airport site and I thought it was a good little reminder of why we need to stay safe at this time of year.
Okay, so try and imagine this, you hurt yourself at work (or anywhere really) and you end up with an injury that you learn to live and cope with. But what about after living with your injury for years you end up with an injury that is caused by your initial injury?
Let me explain, I got thrown out of a truck over thirty years ago, I broke my back and damaged my spinal cord. I’ve used a wheelchair since my injury. This means that my arms and shoulders have had to do the work that my legs should have been doing for this time.
Your arms and shoulders are not designed to do this much extra work. So recently I’ve had shoulder pain that I went to see my doctor for, he sent me to have an ultrasound and then some intensive physiotherapy and a cortisone injection directly into the joint.
Vanessa was cleaning out the office and she came across these the other day. In 1997 I was asked to talk to the kids at Parkhill Primary School in Ashwood.
The kids sent me some thank you notes and I kept them. Most of these kids will be in their 30’s now, I wonder if they remember my visit?
