Episode 5: Full episode - Lloyd Polkinghorne - Recovery from a firearm accident (Blast injury).

In the final episode of this 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.

Whilst this is the final episode for the year, I've got some great interviews lined up which I'm looking forward to recording 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

Lloyd's recommendations:

• 25:10 & 35:15 & 41:00 & 59:40 - Get your hormones checked. In Lloyd's case this was the turning point which allowed him to begin to recover. Testosterone and growth hormone were significantly missing following his firearm accident,
• 34:30 & 1:00:50 - Believe in yourself - you're the only one who knows you,
• 44:45 - Botox injections helped reduce and lessen Lloyd's migraines and headaches, 
• 47:00 - Yoga, meditation and leaning into his spiritual growth were beneficial for Lloyd further along on his recovery. He suggests trying things to see what works for you, and taking the little bits that work for you, 
• 53:30 - Goal setting is one of Lloyd's key pieces of advice. Set goals and make them small & realistic...as Lloyd reminds us: 'How do you eat an elephant?....One small bite at a time'. An example of Lloyd's: "In 12 months I want to have lost 'some' weight",
• 55:00 - For Lloyd, his kids were a fundamental goal that helped him keep going during the toughest of times: "To be there for them & to show them that anything is possible & that they could, despite the challenges, rise above whatever they're going through". Find what motivates you, and use that.
• 1:00:45 - Lloyd's greatest investment: Time spent on self development, meditation, quietening his mind and spending time in nature,
• 1:02:40 - Work on your mindset - look for the opportunities, stay curious and rephrase the questions that you ask yourself,
• 1:05:20 - A book which helped Lloyd: Autobiography of a Yogi (a good description of it). Parts of the video Enlightenment by Anthony Chene were also helpful to Lloyd,
• 1:07:12 - Helpful quotes for Lloyd:
  • "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time",
  • "A lion doesn't lose sleep over the opinions of sheep",
• 1:12:00 - Remember that change is always possible, and as Winston Churchill wisely said: "When you're going through hell... keep going",
• 1:16:20 - Beware of charlatans and look at treatments and practitioners holistically,
• 1:18:55 - Become aware of when you are getting wound up. What are the indicators? For Lloyd this is spending more time on his phone, or buying things online. Then look for them and take action to intervene, like: meditating, spending time in nature like Lloyd, and being strict with time spent on your phone,
• 1:23:03 - Be compassionate to yourself.

For more detailed show notes, see the individual chapter sections on the podcast website.