Cairns Hospital speech pathologist Lauren now has firsthand experience as a patient after recently sustaining a bad break in a hiking incident.
While descending Kahlpahlim Rock at Davies Creek National Park last month, a step down on a bad angle resulted in a right leg tibia spiral fracture, a fractured ankle, and a very difficult retrieval by emergency services.
She underwent an operation at Cairns Hospital to insert an intramedullary rod, also known as an IM nail, along with screws to realign the leg and support the fractures to heal.
‘It’s shown me a whole different perspective for what people are going through when they are in hospital,’ Lauren said. ‘The staff are phenomenal. I cannot thank them enough for looking after me so well during my hospital stay - especially the nursing staff and allied health.’
For now, Lauren is recovering at home following a multidisciplinary approach to her care – involving numerous units including the emergency department, medical imaging (X-ray), the orthopaedic team and perioperative team; and for post-operative care, the Surgical Orthopaedics Assessment Unit and the Acute Pain Service among others.
The biggest challenge for Lauren is the slow recovery process, which will delay her return to work as a speech pathologist at Cairns Hospital.
‘I love my job. It will be hard to be away from it for so long but hopefully we can find some workarounds to get me back to work as soon as possible,’ she said.
Lauren and her hiking mates had already navigated the most difficult terrain and were about 800m into the hike back from the summit when the incident occurred.
‘I’ve never broken anything before, but I knew straight away. I could hear it, see it, and feel it,’ Lauren said.
It was about a four-hour wait for emergency services to arrive – during which time Lauren’s hiking mates kept her warm and held her leg elevated in place. It took a group effort to navigate the difficult terrain and find a suitable winch spot for a rescue helicopter retrieval.
‘It will probably be nine to 12 months before I could even contemplate doing another hike. I am not sure if I will be psychologically ready,’ Lauren said.
‘The best-case scenario is after three months I may be able to go for very gentle walks on flat ground and at six months there may be some undulation or different levels of ground under my feet.
‘I am sure one day I will get back to hiking. I do love it. I’ve said to friends don’t let this put you off. I think it will be a tough road ahead, but I will get there.’