Lloyd (Blast injury): Chapter 2 - The turning point & moving forward

Episode 5: Chapter 2 - Lloyd Polkinghorne - The turning point & moving forward.

In the final episode of this initial series we meet Lloyd Polkinghorne, a 36 year old newspaper owner and editor and a former mixed irrigator from Barham in NSW. Lloyd was injured by a misfiring shotgun in 2013 whilst assisting neighbouring farmers to clear birds from their crops. Whilst the injuries he received were largely invisible, the effects upon him were significant. He's a tough, resilient and courageous man and an incredible community advocate.

In this chapter Lloyd describes the turning point which enabled him to begin getting better.

Whilst this is the final episode for the year, I've got some great interviews lined up in the months ahead and I look forward to sharing these with you next year. In the meantime, if you have any interview suggestions or feedback on the series thus far please feel free to reach out at: [email protected]

Stay safe... and keep going :)
Cheers, Robbie

Full transcripts and show notes are available for each chapter on the podcast website: storiesofrecovery.buzzsprout.com

Shownotes:

• ^00:30 - Following an interview on 'Landline' about the accident and the gun, a horse trainer (and jockey) from the Mornington Peninsula contacted Lloyd to note that he appeared to be experiencing the same symptoms as he'd experienced following being kicked in the head by a horse. He explained that in his case his pituitary gland had been affected and advised Lloyd to have his hormones checked,
• 02:06 - Lloyd describes how his deterioration had progressed in the meantime (whilst searching for answers), and how ultimately he had had to sell their farming business,
• ^08:00 - Lloyd explains how a number of Dr's he saw couldn't find anything wrong with him and inferred that he didn't want to work. As Lloyd explains, this was a very difficult period and advises others that 'You need to believe in yourself... you're the only person who really knows you',
• ^10:23 - Lloyd went to see an endocrinologist following the advice from the horse trainer and discovered that he had the testosterone of a 91 year old and no growth hormone. Accessing hormones to rectify the issue still proved difficult however. Lloyd rang the horse trainer and he referred him to a clinic he'd been to in Melbourne. The clinic Lloyd attended was implicated in the Essendon football club drag scandal and so Lloyd suggests the key advice is 'to get your hormone levels checked' and to get these levels right. It took some adjustment (and about a month to get levels right) however this made a significant difference to Lloyd's health and got him up to "about 60%",
• 19:40 - Lloyd explains that he had improved, but that there were still many other things to investigate and resolve,
• 20:00 - Lloyd had botox injections (every 3 months) at a clinic in Melbourne which helped reduce and lessen his migraines and headaches, 
• ^22:35 - Lloyd describes how his healing journey also turned into a bit of spiritual growth at this point and involved yoga, meditation and various other things. These were incredibly beneficial for Lloyd and further assisted him along on his recovery. He suggests trying things to see what works for you and taking the little bits that prove beneficial (he notes too that what is of value and what helps varied at different points along the timeline of his recovery).

^Lloyd's main learnings