Having a Crack: My Uluru Challenge – Five Years After My Stroke
By Crooksey
Note: This event has been cancelled due to flooding in the NT.
After my stroke, I used a wheelchair. I went from that to a walker and then a wobbling walk.
I have learned - recovery takes time - there’s no shortcuts.
In the last two years, I’ve slowly built up some distance. First, I cracked five kilometres, then six.
Then seven… eight… nine…
Two weeks ago I hit ten kilometres, which felt like a pretty solid milestone - just about where I need to be to take a walk around the base of Uluru in April.
After years of learning to walk again, I’m still not flash, but I’m a lot better than I was. Fatigue still knocks me around sometimes, but you’ve just got to keep going.
This whole training journey has been tough, but to be honest every day for a stroke survivor is a training session. The mountain in front of us is a big one.
And we all face it in our own way.
I often think about all the other survivors I’ve met around Australia since my stroke, especially here in the Territory. It seems to be happening more and more.
So, I’m going to do my best to conquer the 10.6 kilometre walk around Uluru. There will be some uneven and sandy patches, so I’ll need to focus on staying upright and steady.
And now the monsoon has rolled back into Darwin; training has gotten a bit tricky. So, I’m doing my laps in the Casuarina Shopping Centre. It’s cool, it’s dry, and there’s no plovers chasing you.
But after nearly 60 years living here, everyone wants to stop for a yarn. I smile and wave - I hate not stopping to say g’day - but I’m on a mission, and if I stop, with my balance the way it is, I might not get going again.
My walking might not be pretty, but I’ll get around that Rock - one step at a time.