Chief Officer Mike Brown invited me to speak at the Tasmanian Fire Service’s state conference yesterday. The industrious Jarrod Read very kindly chauffered me up and back from Launceston, with Lottie enjoying the luxuries of electric windows and the superior view from a four wheel drive.
I was a little concerned about finding something suitable to wear - I have lost 30 kg over the past three years, and even the trousers I have had altered still tend to have baggy bum syndrome!! At least it means I'm comfortable when travelling.
We snuck into the auditorium when we arrived in Launceston a little bit after 12 noon. Despite Jarrod being worried the sessions might be boring for me, I found it quite interesting, although I was unfamiliar with some of the terminology used. It felt strange being in civvies with a room full of hundreds of people in the black and blue, but at lunch quite a few people were very friendly - introduced themselves to me and had a chat. All of the firies were very chivalrous also - opening doors and pulling out chairs for me, it was lovely.
I presented for 10 minutes immediately after lunch, and was worried about trying to get my message across in a limited amount of time. I was also concerned about how some of the firies may react to how I sustained my burns, but it was important to me to be honest and true to myself and my message about the lack of prejudice shown by the Royal Hobart Hospital Statewide Burns Unit.
My only real muck up was apologising for going over time when I wasn't - I saw that I had 2 1/2 minutes left on the timer, and for some strange reason I thought the community service announcement went for three minutes rather than 30 seconds! So I actually managed to stay within the time limit, quite an achievement for me as I usually always go over.
I hope that what I said inspires some of the volunteer brigades to do some fundraising for Climb to Recovery, or that we gain some more support walkers. It was a privilege to be invited to present.
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