Flying Breast Peak in January

I wasn't up to flying this day, so I went along as a driver along with a couple of other keen para-groupies... We sat at the top of the hill drinking a rather nice Pinor Noir Rose wine and nibbling some cheese while the lads and ladess' took off. It was a perfect day.


Kat taking off.

Jan, Ruth and Quentin were other para-groupies on the day.

Grant took Tom the station owner for a flight, he got to spend an hour cruising around his farm enjoying the veiw from a new perspective!


You can almost see my house from here!!

Back in Nelson

So finally i put some more words on the page.

I have been meaning to update this for so long, and the longer it waits the harder it is to figure out where to start. I wanted to get some photos downloaded and actually write about some of the things I have been up to, but never got there. Grant and I have had some great adventures this summer and autumn.

- We spent a great week sea kayaking in Stewart Island, and some shorter trips on Lake Wanaka and the Abel Tasman National Park.

- I have carried on flying, and had some fantastic days flying around Wanaka and Nelson (and one flight at Taylors Mistake in Christchurch)

- We have got out on the mountain bikes in Westport, around the Port Hills in Chch, and of course Sticky Forest in Wanaka.

I have healed up nicely since my adventures last year. It is almost 6 months and I am pretty much fixed. I just have to get fit and strong again... I was very lucky to have injuries that could heal fully.

Now i have a job and I am working in Nelson for a couple of months. It is great to be living in Nelson again (my home town) and I am enjoying the fact that i keep bumping into people I know. I will hopefully head back to Lake Hawea in a few months and have enough work to do to pay the mortgage. By then the ski season will be in full swing which will be great!

12 weeks to the day

On Friday i had my first flight since the crash back on 30 October, twelve weeks after that day.
We are up in the Wairarapa on holiday and so i had a short but lovely flight from a local hill here. Since then i have managed a couple more short flights and some thermalling... i am very happy to be airborne again!!!

Anyway some pictures etc might eventuate if i can get organised with a good connection and my camera any time soon...

It is 30+ degrees hot every day, with light northerly winds and cloudless blue skies at the moment, this feels like what summer used to be like! Long may it last.

Stuff I've been up to

Another big improvement in my recovery has meant that i can now do some stuff that i really love. I have been out swimming, kayaking, biking and walking now... all relatively small adventures (generally 20 mins is enough to tire my out) but all good to be there.

The weather has now come right after a long period of crap and I am loving the hot days and the compulsory (and still really chilly) dips in the lake. There has been a terrible number of drownings in NZ this year, 12 since Christmas, and we witnessed a near drowning at Lake Hawea the other night when we went for a quick swim. The young girl is very lucky to be alive by the sounds of it but the volunteer fire brigade, a quick response st johns and a normal ambulance turned up.

On Sunday Quentin Kate and I took out some kayaks on the lake and blatted over to a wee island. Quentin has a fancy video camera that is waterproof and he recorded this wee clip - check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEdfuHfwA3Q&feature=channel

He has got some other pretty cool videos on there now too - check it out.

Life in the southern hemisphere

I got back to NZ two weeks ago and this is my first attempt to update the blog, bad I know.

The flight home was long (as usual) and a bit tiring (also usual), it was made challenging by the fact that I had 5 large pieces of baggage and I couldn’t lift a single one of them… the saddest part of this story is that I couldn’t buy any duty free alcohol as I was carted around on a golf cart!

I acquired a walking stick which I used to my advantage, it makes a big difference with injuries like mine when there is something physical for people to see… otherwise they push you around like normal. I got special treatment by the airhostess – they were great! I was also upgraded to business class (which is the only way to travel long distance I am telling you!!!).

It took a few days to recover from that trip when I got home. My energy leaves have been very low and I haven’t been keeping up with communication.

I am definitely improving on the energy front, I am managing to last some days without nana naps most days now and I am definitely more active. I am going to physio. I had my first 10 minute session on an exercycle yesterday and will be doing more today and after New Year I start a rehab programme in the local pool which will help fitness.

Yesterday I went 24 hours without taking any strong pain killers, it wasn't particularly comfortable. The one good thing to come from this accident is that I am lighter than I have been since I was a teenager; I am down to 66kg which means I have lost about 8kg over the last couple of months. Only problem with that is that I will have to carry ballast on my paraglider as I will be too light now.

I have sent my glider away to get fixed, it will still be a few weeks before it is all together and flyable and I am thinking I will be ready for it then. Grant took me for a tandem flight a few days ago. I was a little nervous in the air but that is to be expected. I think I have a healthy regard for the ground at the moment!!!

It is funny being a minor celebrity in the paragliding world, everyone has heard or wants to hear about my crash… shame the celebrity status isn’t for something a bit more impressive or skill related!

More Lucy Happenings

Another week or so has passed and i am still on a rather too slow for my liking recovery (but at least there is progress). I have got to the point where i can walk/sit/hang out for several hours at a time which is nice.
I went for a check up at the hospital on Thursday and got the all clear. My back is healing well, my ribs etc are on target and i am going to have problems in my shoulder/collarbone area for a while yet. I also got the go ahead to fly to Armenia. I had to wait to do so as i had to allow my burst lung to recover fully.

I managed to get through Heathrow airport on Friday and travel to Armenia, where i am now. It is SO nice to be back in Kapan where i have so many friends pleased to see me. I am really glad that i came back. I had a hassle with returning after my accident as the General Manager didn't want me to come back (he made me redundant a month ago...). He wanted my posessions packed up and sent surface to NZ which would have taken 3-4 months.

Anyway after some discussion which didn't go very far (it wasn't actually a discussion if we are honest) he allowed me to return at my own expense and pack up. So, here i am.

I am packing and hanging out with people and convincing them that i am not half dead (i dont know what the rumours were around here but there were obviously poorly informed!). It is the first time in a really long time i have been in Kapan and not been stressed. Work had become extremely stressful over the last few months and i am rather grateful that i dont have to return to that environment.

I am flying back to London on Thursday then flying to NZ on Sunday the 14th Dec.

I am organising dinner on the 12th in London for anyone who is arround and wants to come - so if it isn't too late and you are in london keep the date free!

Take care all
Lucy

Home, Sweet Home

Almost anyway - i am staying at my mum and sister's bedsit in London. It is another good milestone to leave hospital. Another of my sisters is also here, she is helping me out and waiting for her new job to start next week.

I am walking every day but not that far yet, it is improving everyday. On Saturday we walked to the new Westfield mall in Sheppard’s bush. It was a little further than we realized and when I arrived I was pretty sore. Even getting into the building was a problem – we had to walk another block to find an entrance with a manageable number of stairs … It was once I got home I realized how much I had overdone it…I couldn’t even reach for the loo paper I had stiffened up so much!

I am constantly having to be more realistic with my goals... But everyday i am improving. This part of the journey isn't particularly fun or exciting... I am aiming to be on a plane home to NZ by mid December (Already pushed out later than i orginally planned, hopefully this is a realistic timeframe this time...)