Episode 2

At the end of your time at Kapooka, you do this Exercise called The Challenge. I’m sure it’s changed since I went through, but from memory, it started with a pack march, included a section attack, the seemingly HUGE obstacle course, a dam crossing, bayonette assault course and more forced marching. I think it was around 20km long and incorporated almost everything we learned during basic training.

The night before The Challenge, you get a bit of a special treat. The Challenge came after a few days out bush practicing our fieldcraft skills. Around dinner time, we were told we were “non-tac”, short for non-tactical, which usually means the Exercise has ended or is going through an admin phase. So, it’s a time to relax.

We got to light a fire, eat a hot meal and relax with our Section Commanders. It’s also the night when you get a bit of come-uppance on your platoon staff, and you get to partake in the Army’s favourite passtime – skit night. There are pretty much no limits and nothing is sacred. The recruits get to do little skits to take the piss out of their staff. It’s great fun.

It was at this time that – in any other situation – I could have faced a trip to jail. I remember standing right at the edge of the fire, having a drink. Morale was high and everyone was having fun, but we were just at the end of a few days out bush and getting psyched for The Challenge, so tempers were still a little high, too.

There had been some arguments through the Platoon during the night, but nothing serious. I was standing there, minding my own business, when someone barged into me from behind, pushing me forward and causing me step into the fire. Naturally, I was pissed. I spun around, instantly aggressive, and said “Don’t fucking push me”, only to find my Section Commander standing behind me.

My Section Commander was CPL Marks. Only a little guy, but he was Infantry, covered in tattoos and had shown himself during our training as a guy not to trifle with. When I saw him standing there, and realising I had just sworn at a Corporal (punishable by having your pubic hair removed by an angry great white shark), I quickly added “…..Corporal” to the end of my remark.

CPL Marks looked me up and down and said “You’ve got guts, recruit” and walked off. That may not seem too significant to a civilian, so let me explain something to you. In Defence, there are only a handful of offenses that can result in instant arrest and escort straight to jail. Obviously, violent things like assault, but the other two are disobeying a lawful command and insubordination.

Insubordination is a catch-all phrase for disrespecting someone with more rank than you. If you give someone a threatening look – you’re being insubordinate – and they can arrest you and lock you up. So, me swearing at my Corporal like that was DEFINITELY insubordination, and I could have faced a quick trip to jail – meaning a fail at Kapooka. Or even worse, CPL Marks could have thrown a punch at me. Illegal of course, but given a choice, I would probably have chosen jail.

Ironically, the skit that I took part in that night was taking the piss out of Corporal Marks and his favourite phrase during our training “Fuck off, c**khead”. Aaaah, the memories.

The following morning, The Challenge went as well as you could expect. It took forever and by the end of it, we were all buggered. The beauty of it is that The Challenge is like your final test at Kapooka, so once it’s over, you start to relax a little. That night we even got to go to the Boozer (Army speak for pub) and have a few too many drinks.

About a week after The Challenge, you get do your March Out parade. Family and friends are invited, and you spend days and days practicing the parade until it’s perfect. My father and step-mother came to watch my March Out parade and then aftwerwards they get to meet you at the club, where they put on a BBQ and a few drinks.

I got to share a few beers with my old man, which I’d never really gotten to do before. After the BBQ, we were taken back to our rooms for another talking to, before we were allowed out on the town. I remember Dad coming back onto the base and meeting me at the Boozer, where we had a couple of drinks together. It was then that I found that I had learned the magical art of drinking beer – to the point where Dad actually asked me slow down because he couldn’t keep up with me!

The last few days at Kapooka were still action packed. You do a final uniform and room inspection – carried out by the Camp Commandant (Commander) of the base. It’s funny, but the preparation you do for that final inspection is ridiculous. Things like polishing the floors and then covering them with blankets so you don’t ruin them.

During your time at Kapooka, you make some very tight bonds with people. You work and live with these people 24/7 for months on end, so you quickly learn what people are really like. Some you discover will never get to be your friend, while some might be your friend for the rest of your career or even your life.

Australia Sucks II

I got a bee in my bonnet today. I was reading the news online and things just started to shit me. Why? Because the Australian government sucks. In my opinion, it’s full of arse clowns that are only interested in making themselves look good, and have no f**king idea whatsoever about how to make this country great.

My first case study is that health insurance in Australia is about to be means tested. What the f**k is that all about? Next, they’ll be means testing petrol. Our government can get f**ked. The WHOLE WORLD knows how expensive Australia is. It’s the main reason our tourism is starting to die off. It costs people a million dollars to get here, and then we rip them off once they arrive.

I’m in the Army – I’ve mentioned that before – and that means that I am at the mercy of civilians running the Defence of our country. Maybe if they picked someone who had done some military service, life wouldn’t be so shit for the ADF. But politicians are all soft and couldn’t handle it. Ergo, our lives are dictated by ignorant assholes.

The latest bullshit decision to effect Defence is that they are going to remove the Rising Sun badge from our slouch hats. The Rising Sun seems to date back as far as the 1820′s, although it’s difficult to pinpont exactly when it became associated with the Aussie Digger.

And why is it that we are losing this MASSIVELY iconic insignia? Because the government needs to save money. Apparently, they are going to save money by not holding stocks of this badge in our military clothing stores. Mind you, at least we get to keep THE HAT, the discontinuation of which was another one of their ideas.

This is just the latest in a string of reasons why military personnel are doing it tough. We’re constantly being shafted by the government when it comes to our entitlements and conditions of service. Why can air hostesses claim hair cuts and make-up on their tax, when soldier’s can’t claim haircuts? If I don’t get my hair cut according to our doctrine, then I can be charged: resulting in a fine.

When a married Defence member separates from his/her spouse, the spouse gets a Defence-funded removal to a new home – while the serving member gets NOTHING. Oh wait, what they DO get is 28 days to get out of their house and move into somewhere else (at their own expense).

And why does the Prime Minister get a free trip to Gallipoli on ANZAC Day, when soldiers have to pay their own way? Why do politicians get 20% pay rises, when Defence personnel have to FIGHT for 6% over 2 years? It’s a f**king joke.

In the words of the infamous Bill O’Chee: “They can root my boot”

More about Kapooka

I was checking my site stuff today and saw that a couple of people found their way here by asking about what happens if you have to leave the Army DURING basic training. And the answer – like most things – is: it depends.

Firstly, you can’t just decide you don’t like it and leave. If they allowed that, we wouldn’t have an Army! I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have stayed if I had the chance to just walk away.

But some of the questions obviously related to injuries. Basically, if you leave Kapooka by being discharged from the Army, that’s really about the end of it. You might be required to join the Inactive Army Reserve, but generally, if you are discharged medically, then it’s like Defence deciding they can’t get you back to full health.

If you get hurt at Kapooka, they have a hospital there where you can spend time. If you break or tear something, you can stay there and recover and then build your fitness back up and pick up where you left off – maybe dropping back a week or two, depending on what stage you were at.

So the bottom line is that if you get hurt, and they decide they can fix you, then you will stay and eventually finish your training. If they decide they can’t fix you, they will get you to a suitable standard, discharge you and then PROBABLY take care of the bills for that injury once you’re out.

F**king scammers

What is it with these f**king people? Why do they feel the need to f**k with your otherwise-normal day? Seriously, why don’t they just F**K RIGHT OFF?!?!?! I wish I could meet these people in a dark alley. Maybe I could bring scamming to an abrupt end.

My regular readers will know that last year, I broke my toe – quite seriously, in fact. I needed surgery to repair it, and they inserted two tension bands and a wire to hold my toe back on. Well, about two months ago, I had the wire removed – FINALLY. I can’t tell you how good it is to be free of it.

Anyway…. while I was on leave after the surgery, I got a random SMS telling me that I won £900,000 in a Global Telecom Prize draw thingy. Considering I was laid up for a few weeks, I thought I’d have some fun with these guys and lead them along for a bit.

It was all good until I honestly just got sick of the idiot and sent him a rude e-mail. But not before I reported his details to about five different fraud and scam agencies in both Australia and the UK.

But tonight I just got another SMS from a c**ksucker “offering to buy the couches I have for sale”. To be fair, I do have couches for sale right now, but they send you a text, asking to send photos.

I replied and told him that photos are part of the ad. Then he SMS’s me again, asking when can he pick them up. Not come see them – pick them up. So I ask him how much they were advertised for and the price he gives me is a little short of my negotiable price. So I asked him where he saw the ad. He tells me that he’s looked at so many he can’t remember, but he wants MY couches.

So I sent him the price I wanted – telling him almost double the advertised price. Then he asks me for photos again.

So here’s my questions: Are scammers so F**KING STUPID that they think they’ll get something out of their texts? And if they DO, just what is it they expect to get? My home address – maybe from the geo-thingy if I send them a photo?

OR……are some people so stupid, that they can’t spot this kind of shit as a scam?

You know what? I’d happily send these people my address. If they turn up at my houose with nefarious plans, they’d learn what a can of whoop-arse REALLY f**king looks like. I can’t stand arseholes who think they can scam innocent people. I think they are the lowest f**king filth on the planet.

Have YOU been approached by one of these arse-clowns? Did you give in to them and suffer some detriment? Or do you have a way to get back at them? Leave some comments and tell me your story – I really would LOVE to hear it.

Leave after Kapooka

Strange title for a post? Yes indeedy. But it’s actually a search term used quite a bit lately that has brought people to my blog. So I thought I’d throw up a quick post to explain it.

Basically, it all depends. It depends on the time frame between when you finish Kapooka and when your IET course starts. The general process is to get you to your IET course location as soon as possible, and then you wait there. That could be a couple of days, it could be a couple of weeks.

So the Army has this thing called Holding Platoon. If you arrive at your IET location, and there’s a bit of a wait until your course, you get posted in to Holding Platoon and they look after you until the course starts.

Generally speaking, you’ll be given random administrative tasks to complete during the day. You could be helping out at The Mess preparing meals, or you could be working in the Orderley Room (the HR office) helping file paperwork, or you could be out there painting rocks and doing some gardening.

In VERY rare cases, you may actually be able to take REAL leave and go somewhere else. But like I said, that is VERY rare. There would need to be an extended period of time before your course AND you would need to have been hanging around long enough to accrue some leave AND you would need a pretty damn good reason not to stay where you are.

Once your course starts, you probably won’t get any real leave until the course ends. You may get the occasional weekend off – again, depending on how long the course is and how intense it is – but you won’t be able to go anywhere further than the local town.

Once your IET course ends, the intent is to get you to your new posting as soon as possible. Generally, you’ll be sent there within a couple of days of completing your course. And then, depending on what’s going on in your new unit, you might get leave – or you may not.

Another thing I should point out – as raised by “Joel” – at the bottom of my “What happens at Kapooka” post, is what happens with people who are married when they join the Army.

Defence is really quite open-minded these days when it comes to relationships. We no longer talk about Married or Single, we talk about a Member (soldier/sailor/airman) that either does, or does not, have dependents. Defence recognises that you might be a single parent, you might be a step-parent or even have adopted kids. They even recognise same-sex relationships these days, as well as common law de facto marriages.

So, if you are “single” and have no dependents (kids, spouse, person you care for, etc) then you are known as a Member Without Dependents (or MWOD). If you DO have a dependent, then you are a Member With Dependents (or MWD). Easy enough?

If you join up as an MWOD, then life is simple. If you’re an MWD, then things get a bit more complicated. When an MWD is separated from their dependents FOR SERVICE REASONS, they are considered “Unaccompanied” – so now you become an MWD(U). During Kapooka, you obviously need to leave your family at home, so you are an MWD(U) member during basic training.

If you go to a “normal” IET course, then this will continue to be the case throughout your course. If you join a Corps with an extended IET course (and some can go for a year or more), then you may be allowed to bring your family and be an MWD again. There are a few entitlements for MWD’s, and you can read about them here.

If you remain MWD(U) during your IET course, then either immediately after your course – or shortly after arriving at your new posting – you will be given the chance to “reunite” with your family and arrange to have them move to your new posting location. Naturally, all this is at Government expense. If this happens to you, your admin staff will guide you through the process and tell you what to do.

So does that answer more of everyone’s questions? If not, drop me a line – or keep those funky search terms coming – and I’ll post more info to clarify what happens to you when you join the Army.

More driving woes

I hate reverting to posts about bad drivers, but you know what? Sometimes it’s just not possible to avoid. After all, I started this blog just so I could rant and rave and get things off my chest. We all need to vent to someone, don’t we? Sometimes, there are things in life that shit us to tears, but there’s nothing we can do about it. And when that happens, we reserve the right to bitch about it.

So here it is: the Stop Once Concept. Even the name tells you what it’s all about. And when you consider that I’m writing about drivers, I’m sure that most of you can work out what I’m talking about.

You know when you’re driving in heavy traffic? You might be on your way to work, on your way home, or maybe trying to get out of the city on the weekend. The traffic is moving at a snail’s pace as it is and it’s driving you crazy (no pun intended there).

You approach a red light and gradually the traffic comes to a halt. You stop your car at your preferred distance from the car in front of you and begin the wait. You’ve been sitting there for a minute or so, and then it happens. The car in front of you rolls foward about a metre. F**KHEAD!!

And he’s a f**khead because now YOU have to make a choice – and no matter what you do, you can’t win. It’s a f**king lose-lose situation. Your options are following along with this ARSE CLOWN and roll forward a little bit – pissing off the guy behind you; or you can stand your ground – and leave a full car-length in front of you, attracting the anger of everyone behind you.

So my rant is simple: STOP ONCE, for f**k’s sake! When you approach a stopped vehicle, get as close as you feel comfortable and then stop. And then STAY WHERE YOU ARE. If that means you get a little closer than usual, then f**king do it.

Vegas Baby!!!!!!

I went to Vegas with my (then) girlfriend (now Fiance) about 9 months ago and I miss it like hell. Like when you go away to some remote place and you can’t get your hands on a KFC burger – or a Passiona!

We did as many of the “usual” things you do when you go to Vegas as we could, although I had a walking stick back then, so couldn’t walk forever. As a result, we didn’t get out at much at night and we only visited two casinos per day. Admittedly, that’s probably a decent pace to see Vegas at anyway.

But as I said, I miss Vegas. They say that once you see it, you’ll never be the same. Even Elvis put those words into song. And it’s SO true. The week after I got home, I was already missing it.

We’re planning our next trip for early 2013 and I SO can’t wait. It will be the start of our honeymoon, so as far as I’m concerned, the world will be our oyster. So we’ve been coming up with a list of the stuff we want to do next time we go.

Top of my list is to see the Bellagio fountains – by day and night. Sadly, we missed that last time because of my damn foot. Next, I’m hoping that Ron “Tater Salad” White will be in town. If you don’t know Ron, check out his website here. He’s probably my favourite comedian and I would LOVE to see The Tater live on stage.

Visit some clubs. Again, we missed that last time because of my foot. And it’s not that we’re big on hitting the town, but I’d just like to see what it’s like to party Vegas-style.

Take a gondola ride at The Venetian. It’s costly, but where else in the world can you go on a genuine gondola. In a casino. On the second foor. With the guy singing Italian opera?

Go to Coca-Cola World. Admittedly, I AM a fan of the drink, but who the hell ever heard of Coca-Cola World? It’s something I have to see.

Snort coke off a hookers butt. Actually, I DON’T want to do that, but I’ve been told of a nightclub where you can. If you want.

The other place we’re going back to is The Big Apple. NYC. What a great place. But the list of things we plan to do in NYC is way weirder than anything in Vegas. Check out this list:

Go back to a Walgreens;

Visit a shopping mall;

Go to wallmart;

Eat a twinkie;

Photograph a squirrel;

Visit the zoo in Central Park (Yes, non-Americans, there is a f**king ZOO in central park!);

Visit a Wholefoods (it’s a supermarket about the size of Bunnings);

Eat New York pizza (the best in the world IMO); and

Go see a movie.

Weird, right? But they’re all things that we wanted to do last time but didn’t get a chance to. Damn foot.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of “normal” things we plan to do as well, but NYC isn’t NYC unless you immerse yourself in the culture. And after all, the things on my list are things we see in movies and TV shows here all the time, yet we have no appreciation for.

For instance, in Australia it will cost you over $100 for a family of four to see movie (including snacks). But I have no idea what it costs in America. Or how big the popcorn is. Crap like that.

And we always hear about how huge the shopping malls are in America, but never get to experience one. And if you haven’t had New York pizza before, then you’re sadly missing out, my friend. It’s awesome. If you happen to live in Brisbane, there are some small pizzerias opening up called New York Slice. The pizza is good, but it’s just not quite the same. We’ve been there a couple of times to ease our pain.

So what strange things do you do when you visit foreign lands? Anything as seemingly weird as my list?

I hate the media

They sensationalise every f**king thing. God forbid they wrote an article praising emergency services or the military. There is a story on www.news.com.au this morning about a South American man who “allegedly” stole a packet of biscuits, got tasered three times by police – and then died. You can read the story here.

But as always, I ask my standard question: What was this guy doing, that saw police need to taser him? The answer in this case is that he resisted arrest, then ran from police. They tasered him, but he recovered and was able to fight off up to five policemen before running away again. So, he was tasered again.

I see this as completely legitimate reasons for tasering. Police are empowered with catching criminals and seeing that charges are laid. And that’s exactly what they’ve tried to do in this case. If we were in any number of other countries, the guy would have been shot. But because of all our civil libertarians, the cops have to use tasers. And when they do – they get interogated by beaurocrats.

There’s a line in the article that asks why the man wasn’t just crash-tackled or over-powered. If Mark Morri (the author) read his own work, he’d see that the cops TRIED that. But despite being tasered already, the crim was able to fight these guys off.

And there was a story on the same website a few days ago where police tasered another guy – who subsequently died. There was a call from civil liberties groups to put a suspension on tasering. But you know what? It’s because of these groups that we have tasers in the first place! THEY are the ones that wanted a “less than lethal” alternative. But it seems that if someone with a bad heart dies from a taser – that’s the police’s fault.

It’s all well and good for the public, or these groups, or politicians to sit back after the fact and analyse every second of the incident and seek explanations as to why police followed the course of action that they did. But when you’re THERE, and shit is going down – you don’t have that luxury.

If a guy is able to fight off FIVE cops, he deserves every f**king thing he gets. If a crim continues to resist, the cops need to put them down. I don’t mean that in the euthanasia way, but in the sense that they need to bring the struggling to an end. Thanks to the civil liberties groups, they can’t just draw their weapon and shoot – they have to use a taser. And if the crim is uneffected by the taser, then the cop needs to decide AGAIN – do we taser or shoot?

In my opinion, regardless of who you are, where you’re from or what your background is: if a cop draws a gun or taser and tells you to stop – YOU STOP. And if you don’t – then face the consequences of your actions, champ. I have no problem with cops tasering anyone until they comply. If death comes as a result of bad choices by the criminal, then so be it.

Really, that means one less person we taxpayers have to pay to keep in jail. I am behind the police 100% on this. I think these guys (and gals!) do an amazing job in a world that is going mad. We want the police to do a better job, but the government cuts their funding, gives them bullshit payrises, continues to impose tougher and tougher restrictions, and then complains when things go wrong.

It’s the same in the military – our budgets get cut, our training gets cut, our powers get taken away. But the government expects us to do a better job than before – and then hangs us out to dry when things go bad.

I think the media should be singing the praises of these guys and girls. It wouldn’t have been hard to write that article, stating that police had to defend themselves to bring the guy down, or to state that they were being overpowered and potentially had their lives in danger. But no, it has to be negative about the police, doesn’t it.

Arseholes.

What happens after Kapooka?

Ok, so I’ve seen a few people checking out my post on Kapooka, which is the basic training location for the Australian Army. It seems that people keep coming back to see what I wrote (you can check it out here), but haven’t been leaving me comments or questions!

But from some of the search terms people are using, it seems that there’s a few of you out there that want to know what happens AFTER Kapooka. In the Army, we call this “marching out”. We use that term when you leave a unit, and then you naturally “march in” to your new unit.

Kapooka is a bit different to when I was there (in July 1990!!). These days, I think most people know what job they’re going to either before they get to Kapooka, or it’s confirmed while they’re there. When I went through, all that was decided while you were there. Your performance and aptitude dictated which jobs were available to you after Kapooka.

After your trip to Kapooka, you still need to undergo more training. Kapooka is all the basic soldiering stuff – like drill, fieldcraft, weapons, radios, first aid and all that jazz. Everyone at Kapooka does exactly the same training, regardless of what job you’re going to.

So once Kapooka is finished, you do your “Initial Employment Training” (IET’s). Just so you know, in the Army, most of the anagrams are pronounced using the letters – not turning it into a word. So IET is pronounced EYE-EE-TEE, not Iyet, lol.

Your IET’s will be totally dependent on what job you will do in the Army. Some only take six weeks (like clerks), while some can take a year or more (like Signals or Engineers). Generally, once you finish your IET’s, you will be posted to a real unit. Sometimes though, you need to do EVEN MORE training after your IET’s. For example, if you want to become a Tradie (like a carpenter or plumber), then you do a normal apprenticeship – taking four years to complete!

During IET’s, you will usually be visited by your CM (Career Manager). That’s a person who now sits in Canberra, and is responsible for the postings of everyone within a Corps. They have a chat to everyone on the course and will let you know where you can expect to be posted at the end of your course. But a word to the wise when it comes to CM’s and postings: Don’t believe a word of it, until you arrive at your new unit. CM’s are famous for promising the world and NOT delivering.

IET’s is A LOT more relaxed than Kapooka – unless you’re off to Infantry or Artillery. Those guys are pretty regimental. You’ll probably be able to have a little more time to yourself and will even get to go into town and see a movie or go to a bar. Just remember though, that apart from a few IET courses run in big cities – all of the locals see IET’s in town EVERY day. Don’t make a fool of yourself, and don’t think that you are better then them. That will only get you into trouble.

Most people enjoy their IET course, because you are finally learning all the skills you need to do the job you want to do for the rest of your life (maybe). There’s still room inspections and drill and PT and all the annoying stuff that you did at Kapooka, but it’s a little more relaxed.

I mentioned before about CM’s looking after a Corps. Here is a wiki link to read about all the different Corps in the Australian Army.

So I’m going to lay this out to you again: If you have ANY questions about Kapooka or IET’s, then leave a comment. I don’t have to let your comment go public, so if you think it’s an embarrassing question, let me know and I’ll answer you privately (include your e-mail address).

Our bodies are so vulnerable

How easy do our lives get turned upside down? Sure, there’s tragedies like losing your job or a loved one, but when a simple little thing ends up in serious bodily harm, that’s when we realise just how feeble life is.

Last year, I was putting out my recycling bin and broke my toe. How sad is that? You see, our front yard is on a pretty drastic slope and the road is on a significant perpendicular slope. When I tried to maneuvre the rubbish bin, it over-balanced. I put my foot out to balance myself and it clipped the edge of the gutter and rolled.

The pain was excrutiating. The injury is known as a Jones Fracture and is most common in basketball players. My break was one of the more intense versions of the fracture and required surgery. I had to have two tension bands inserted into my foot to hold the toe back in place AND have a wire inserted.

I needed six weeks off work and spent about the first five of that on crutches, finally graduating to a walking stick for another four or five weeks.

Following the surgery, I had a hard lump on the side of my foot which meant I had to get larger boots for work, and it meant that I couldn’t sit in any position that had the outside of my right foot against the floor – like sitting cross-legged (when playing with my kids). Having pressure against the side of my foot caused the wire inside my foot to move, poking from INSIDE my foot. Ouch!

That was almost a year ago, and last week I had the wire removed. The site has been healing quite quickly and only 6 days after surgery, I can walk short distances on it already. I now have two weeks off work, plus there’ll be a period of sedentary duties, followed by a lengthy return to fitness program.

And it all happened SO easily and SO quickly. The last year of my life had turned upside down in a fraction of a second. I don’t think I’ll ever forget laying on the road in absolute agony, unable to get up or even to call out for help.

And my Stepfather has recently realised how quickly things can go badly. Yesterday was his 65th birthday, and he spent it in hospital. Just recently, he and my mother built a house, and after they moved in they were making finishing touches and doing a few things here and there.

My Stepfather hurt his back and like most of us do, he figured he just lifted something wrong and that it would fix itself after a few days. But it didn’t. And it got worse. After a few days, he was still not able to stand up, have a shower, or walk anywhere. He spent about two days on his knees at home, unable to do a damn thing.

So my mum called an ambulance and off he went to hospital. Initially, he was diagnosed with a bulging disk in his spine and sent home with some pain killers and told to rest. But after a few days, it wasn’t getting better. He was back on his knees, and couldn’t even manage to get to the radiologist to have a scan done.

So mum helped him get there, and even then she had to help him get into the room for the scan. After the scan, he still couldn’t walk himself to the car and ended up in excrutiating pain once more, so an ambulance was called again and off he went to another hospital. This time they worked out that he had a slipped disk, and was admitted immediately.

He is currently undergoing pain relief and rest, which is the base treatment for this injury. If it doesn’t resolve itself after about 5 days, they will try giving him injections near the injury site. And if THAT doesn’t work, they have to consider surgery.

So once again, his life has been turned upside down after a simple little accident. He could be facing a long, drawn-out period of treatment, followed by easing back into his normal lifestyle. It’s amazing just how quickly everything can change.

So what about you? Have you had an injury turn your life upside down in the blink of an eye? Tell me about it!