Lucy talked to us about her experiences of healthcare in both the UK and Australia, the importance of exercise for her mental wellbeing, and her feelings on support for sport-related injuries.
Busy. I’m always very busy. I work Monday to Friday, I get up early and go running and then I’ll come back and shower and I’m like, oh my God, I’ve got ten minutes until my next meeting, and I need to eat breakfast! So that’s a typical day for me. I feel like my brain’s forever going.
I have tried to make [weekends] less frantic, but then you’ve got to fit in all the things that you enjoy. You’ve got to fit your friends in, you’ve got to fit your family in, but I couldn’t not exercise because I’d feel like I’ve wasted my weekend. If I wake up one day and I haven’t got anything to do, it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.
I love being organised. I always have a pen and paper, colour code everything. I’ve been on a lot of wellbeing courses and things, and they say, like, you know, the to-do list and the whole crossing off your to-do list is you being in control, and that’s probably why I do that because I do like to be in control. Sometimes it can be a good thing, but sometimes it can be a negative thing. Especially with my partner who is the most laid-back person ever. Nothing bothers him. He’s just relaxed and happy to wake up and see where the day takes him. Whereas I’m like, no, we need a schedule. But that’s probably why we work.
I feel content. There’s probably not a lot of people who could say that.
I’m from Dorset, but I lived in Australia for six years. I was meant to be going for five weeks. Ended up out there for six years! I came back in 2019 and we bought our house in December 2020. I never thought I’d be able to buy a house, because I’ve always been this person that’s wanderlust. And now I do feel very grounded, and very happy in my job. Very happy at home. I feel content. There’s probably not a lot of people who could say that.
My family are massive to me. I’m one of six children. My partner thinks I’m a bit odd about how much I spent with my family. But yeah, that’s really, really important. And my friends. I’m lucky to have my friends that I went to school with. We’ve got a little WhatsApp messaging group that we chat with all the time.
I do miss Australia very much, and there’s lots of things out there that I wish I could bring here. I’d bring the weather, my two best friends. I’d bring the whole culture around healthy eating and fitness. It’s another level out there. I don’t know if it’s because of the weather or that people love being outdoors, but it’s not pushed upon you. Everybody just seems happier. If I go on my Instagram and flick through, straight away I can tell if someone’s in England or in in Australia. It’s not just because of the weather, their skin looks healthier. I remember when I first came back here, I was like, everyone looks grey and grumpy. Everybody’s friendly here and lovely, like I love living here, but it was just something, I don’t know, just something brighter.
Do people cry at this point? If I talk about myself, I get emotional. I’m really good at supporting other people, but once I start talking about myself, for some reason I might start crying.
So… difficulties. Yeah. Last March, March just gone, I had a miscarriage, my first one. That was really hard. But at the same time, it’s like, well obviously it wasn’t meant to be. Like my sister, bless her, she’s pregnant now and I think she found it hard to tell me because she knew I’d had a miscarriage. But I was over the moon for her.
derstand that running might not be an important to you, but for my wellbeing, for everything like that, it’s what I do. Like, I don’t just want to go to work and come home, exercise is my fun, and if I can’t do that, what? I just go to work, to live, to eat.
At the end of the day, if you’re going out running, it is something they should be promoting, isn’t it? We should be encouraging sports.
The healthcare system were brilliant… really, really supportive throughout it. I didn’t feel like a number.
The healthcare system were brilliant. I registered to have a home birth because my sister had two home births and she said how amazing it was. They were brilliant. The moment I started bleeding, they said contact the emergency department at the hospital. So I went in and had my scan, and they were just lovely. Like obviously had to tell me the bad news, but really, really supportive throughout it. I didn’t feel like a number. To be honest, I was like, I’m fine. They were like, no, you’re not fine. It created a form of permission to be like, it’s not okay. And they explained everything really well and they explained it in a way that I’d understand.
It didn’t feel rushed. I was the one that was like, okay, I’m going to go now. They put us in a private room, they didn’t just put us back into the waiting room where everybody was. They did regular check-ins with phone calls to see how I was going, and when they said they were going to call, they called. I always felt like I could contact them if I wanted to, which I did. They checked in on my partner as well, because even though the woman’s going through it, we were doing it together as a couple.
When I first found out, the lady said to me – she was incredible – she said to me, “You’re going to blame yourself… ‘I shouldn’t have done this; I shouldn’t have gone running here. Maybe I shouldn’t have dyed my hair’… it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.”
I still don’t talk to many people about it. You hit this age, and everybody wants to talk about children. A lot of my friends have told me how they’ve had miscarriages. I don’t know why, because they don’t know I’ve had one, but maybe we are just hitting that age where it’s quite normal. But I haven’t shared that with my friends. I don’t know why; I think I will when I am pregnant and I’m having a baby. So yeah, that was horrible. That was this year, and I started a new job the same week. That was tough.
Tearing my hamstring [in Australia] was huge, but I’ve taken so many positives from it. Rehabilitation out there is incredible. My running for example, it got way quicker after my injury than it was before, because I went through rehab, physio, everything, properly. And I really appreciate my body more. I’m not just running around like a piece of jelly; I do strength and conditioning. But it’s just readily available these things, like I had an ultrasound, a CT, and an MRI all in the space of a week, and that’s just the process out there. Somebody came to my home to help with how things are set up to teach me to walk up and down the stairs. They just give you those tips and tricks.
In Australia when people signpost to others, they understand what they are signposting to. They even know people’s names… There was no point where my injury’s getting worse because I am waiting for something.
Sometimes [in the UK] you find you get put through to one person and then they don’t know, and then you get put through to another person. But in Australia when people signpost to others, they understand what they are signposting to. They even know people’s names. Like, go and see John downstairs. He’ll sort you out. I didn’t feel lost at any point or not knowing what the plan was, or not knowing what to do. There was no point where my injury’s getting worse because I am waiting for something. It’s not like you get a letter in a week’s time and then they’ll let you know, and then your appointment’s in four weeks’ time. Like, what do I do during that period?
My poor mum, she’s got osteoporosis, the bone thing. She was having all different medication given to her because she had a bad back and they didn’t know if it was a water infection or if she pulled a muscle. I said, well if they do your scan, they’ll know what the problem is. But it took us six weeks to get a scan. They approach it in completely the wrong way. They think, here’s some painkillers, just cover up the pain. Here’s some antibiotics, it might work, and when we get you a scan, it’ll be fine. That costs more than just giving my mum a scan and then giving her the right medication. Like what is the root cause of the problem? That’s what we need to focus on. When we talk about physio, I think people think physio is luxury, but it’s not – you are getting to the core of the problem and resolving it so it doesn’t happen again.
Sports injury specifically here is like, “Oh, well you just won’t be able to run then”. Well, okay, I understand that running might not be an important to you, but for my wellbeing, for everything like that, it’s what I do. Like, I don’t just want to go to work and come home, exercise is my fun, and if I can’t do that, what? I just go to work, to live, to eat.
At the end of the day, if you’re going out running, it is something they should be promoting, isn’t it? We should be encouraging sports.
