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2011 Sydney Running Festival with the Walk On Sydney Wonders
Beep beep beep,….. Beep beep beep, and it's 3:50 AM on a beautiful Sunday morning and what else would we be doing except getting up and getting ready to participate in the Sydney Running Festival along with about 35,000 other people! Read more.....
Walk On at SpineCare Conference 10-11th March, Doltone House, Sydney
By Alana Tickle, Walk On Therapist B.App.Sc (ExSpSc) ESSAM AEP
Kierre and I were so happy to be invited as Walk On representatives at the SpineCare Conference, held at the beautiful Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf on Sydney’s harbour. What a fantastic location to have spent 2 days at!
There was plenty to be excited about at this conference. We had the opportunity to listen to some amazing international keynote speakers including Professor Lawrence Vogel, Associate Professor MJ Mulcahey, Professor Randel Betz and Associate Professor Bonita Sawatzky, all of whom are dealing with paediatric spinal cord patient’s day in and out and are leading the way in current research and treatment options in this field.
Alana and Kierre with Assoc. Prof. Andrea Behrman, Assoc. Prof. Dena Howland University of Florida.
Workplace Injuries
Spinal Cord Injuries Australia’s Teamsafe goes out to workplaces in a variety of industries to talk about life after a work-related accident and help prevent workers from becoming another statistic.
Talking about statistics, Safework Australia has just released an updated report on work-related deaths (2007-08) – the numbers are falling, thankfully, but still blows your mind how fragile life is.
From a total of 442 work-related traumatic injury fatalities – 65% people were injured at work, whilst 22% were commuting to or from work. However, a staggering 12% (55 people) were just bystanders – passing or waiting at a worksite who were struck by or fell into something.
In 2008/09 there were 130,000 work-related injuries and illnesses in NSW. 9,000 of these resulted in a permanent disability. Approximately 24% of spinal cord injuries are work-related.
Imagine this...
Presenting a Story
By Pearl Lee - Teamsafe Manager and Mark Marchiori - Teamsafe Ambassador
Our Teamsafe Ambassador, Mark Marchiori was recently asked to speak to construction workers on the Kempsey Bypass Alliance. This was a mass Toolbox Talk with 150 guys (and girls) in the middle of the Pacific Highway - which comprises the construction of about 40 km of four-lane divided highway south of Kempsey to north of Eungai Rail.
Mark talks about his experience at Kempsey – as a presenter;
“The time comes to be in front of a number of people to present a story. What you are going to say, the way you feel is all in order ….. Then it starts, look at all the people, I find my mouth goes dry and I even go blank with the story I’m presenting. It does get better.
Mark at the Kempsey Bypass Alliance Teamsafe presentation
The devastating floods in Queensland this week are undoubtedly going to have lasting effects for an enormous number of people. People have lost personal property, their homes and, in some cases, their lives. The efforts needed to help people rebuild will be tremendous.
At times like these I can't help but think of my own preparedness, or lack thereof, in times of crisis. My ability to head for the hills in a flood or other natural disaster would be severely compromised by my disability. I thought about this a lot in the aftermath of the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria. For many people with disabilities, accessible taxis are their only mode of transport. Most wheelchair users know that accessible cabs can't even be relied upon to get us to work on time, let alone to safety in a life-threatening situation. Read more...
Evacuating to avoid disaster zones can be difficult for people with disabilities.
Photo Credit: Jodie van de Wetering (Flickr)
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