Monday Muses ~ insights and updates

Last Saturday I was most fortunate to attend the wedding of Ruth and Chris It was the first time I had flown since covid 19 arrived in Australia, so I knew the trip would be "trying" but nothing was going to prevent me from being in place to witness a wondrous and joy filled event. It really was a celebration unlike any other I have attended, it was just amazingly beautiful .

A short time back I was called to speak with a person who whilst doing the simplest of tasks (changing the cord on a whipper snipper) knelt on what he thought was the solid part of the garden path. Instead he knelt and slipped of the edge of the garden path. A simple slip, nothing "earth shattering" so to speak. Within a short space of time his knee had swollen and nothing was easing the intense pain. My first bit of immediate advice was to get to a doctor as the incident as described should not have progressed to what I was seeing. My concern was not just the swelling but the red and purple tinge that was showing around the knee. The injured person had done everything that up till then he had been told to do, he had gone to the nearest medical clinic, he had been given some pain killers, he had the leg elevated, but the swelling kept increasing and nothing was stopping the pain. On top of that he had developed a fever- not something that is associated with a swollen knee. By the time I looked at the knee about 10 hours had passed and it was clear that there was something very wrong. Finally he was convinced that whatever was wrong was a lot more than just a slip.

What no one had seen was a small puncture wound just under the kneecap. Bacteria had gotten in to the area. The swelling and the red tinge was diagnosed as Septicemia Thus what was just a "slip" turned into a 2 week stay in hospital. Had he not gone when he was finally unable to contain the amount of pain he was in he may have faced a partial amputation or worse, he may have lost his life. Now he is facing a long battle just to get himself back to health again. I saw him just before I traveled to Melbourne, it is 7 weeks post incident, he is not able to walk without crutches. Fortunately the prognosis is good, the recovery time is within an expected time frame. My reason for writing this here is to simply say that even the smallest of injuries has the potential to turn into something incredibly serious.

Over many many years the constant direction I have given to members of the injured worker community is to keep track of everything that happens. The medical providers need to know about even the most subtle of changes and observations from family and friends. I tell them, don't rely on memory, write it down. Hence the reason that Craig's Table Toolbox was created was to simply put everything in one place.

The injured worker biggest challenge was how to fill the normal working hours. When I spoke with him he asked what else could he do besides what the medical team was allowing him to do. He said he had had enough of watching TV, his family and friends all work during the day. Have to admit I had a bit of a giggle as it is a question that is asked a lot. My advice was not to do extra physical therapy he suggested he might be able to do as it will take as much time as required for his body to heal as it takes.

Injured Worker Well-Being Week is getting closer.

The list of presenters is growing, but if you are interested in presenting or sponsoring (or both) please send an email to information@craigstable.net.au

The conversation in regards to the Injured Worker Well-Being Summit for 1st June 2022 has started with the appropriate people. I was not surprised that the very people who need to understand that ACOSS needs to be involved didn't quite understand just who or what or why ACOSS should be involved.

Time for me to have some dinner, it is going to be a short week for me this week before I head to Adelaide for the weekend then Melbourne (again) for a very serious discussion with a University then Adelaide for International Day of Mourning next Wednesday. If you are in Adelaide the memorial balloon release will be at 12.30pm South Australian time by the Memorial Wall. Sadly in South Australia there were 15 workplace deaths for the calendar year of 2020.

Yours in service

Rosemary