Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Floating the idea

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  • Sam F,

    I know I became a lot more cautious at surf beaches in general after Dad got bowled at Waihi and came out of the water holding one shoulder at a decidedly odd angle. No fun for anyone concerned, most of all Dad who on top of the dislocation and a bumpy ambulance ride had to wait about two and a half hours before the doctors at Tauranga hospital finally deigned to give him painkillers. (They had been busy chatting about their Fiji holiday plans at the nurses' station. Champions.)

    I still never ‘got it’ properly. I’m not sure why not.

    Me neither - in between lessons at Mt Albert and Henderson, and plenty of mucking around in the ocean, I managed to get to the point where I can do okay in moderate surf but I think proper elegant technique and lap records are going to remain out of my grasp.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Jacqui Dunn,

    I used to love Piha - bouncing around in the waves; skidding up the beach on my bum, getting my togs totally full of sand - (interesting shape it makes your rear end and so hard to get out). Best, but sadly, last day I had was several years ago on Waitangi Day with some friends from Wellington. We laughed all day, being tousled and roughed up by the waves, tossed around like little kids.

    I guess it was the near-miss, inches from my head, by a boogie board and an out-of-control large body (mind you, that's what being tossed around in big waves does - makes you out of control - part of the fun) that made me less keen to enter the water at Piha....went instead to Muriwai and got a real fright when, even though the water was only mid-calf, I couldn't walk against the pull and surge. As near to panic as I have ever felt.

    It's a pity, I think. There's something wonderfully freeing about being turned topsy-turvy, willy-nilly - best fun you could have outside sex perhaps?

    Deepest, darkest Avondale… • Since Jul 2010 • 585 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams, in reply to Danielle,

    (I did grow up in Mairangi Bay, incidentally, but escaped.)

    Escaped? I've visited Mairangi Bay a couple of times on return visits over Christmas and been stunned by how easy it is to get to and how lovely it is for young kids. I'd happily escape from Sydney to Mairangi Bay... or is there something I'm missing from my quick visits?

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Did anyone link to this? Drownings per capita. What's up with Latvia?

    Interesting. Don't know how valid it is but this brief study mentions very high alcohol abuse in Latvia, which almost literally flows into terrifying accident rates of many kinds - that and being a coastal nation with a big fishing industry is a bad combination I suppose. Wouldn't be surprised if that also explains the other nearby ex-Soviet Baltic nations in the top five of the table you linked, along with Russia.

    (ETA: Estonia's statistics for 2010 seem to bear this hypothesis out.)

    We do get regular warnings here in NZ about alcohol and swimming, but I haven't read any relevant statistics myself...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • dyan campbell,

    I know I became a lot more cautious at surf beaches in general after Dad got bowled at Waihi and came out of the water holding one shoulder at a decidedly odd angle.

    Exactly like one of the many, many surf injuries my physio husband sees in his practice a dozen times a week during the summer! He’s quite evangelical about how dangerous surf can be for this kind of injury, and how it can be so, so much worse – though it’s safe enough if you have a decent boogie board. Don’t bother with the kind that aren’t fibreglass reinforced.

    No fun for anyone concerned, most of all Dad who on top of the dislocation and a bumpy ambulance ride had to wait about two and a half hours before the doctors at Tauranga hospital finally deigned to give him painkillers.

    This seems cruel, but there would be a good reason for waiting before they rule out a need for surgery. Anesthetists are understandably nervous about putting patents under if they have been dosed with painkillers.

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 595 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    This seems cruel, but there would be a good reason for waiting before they rule out a need for surgery. Anesthetists are understandably nervous about putting patents under if they have been dosed with painkillers.

    Fair enough. I suppose it was that they were otherwise basically unoccupied and very slow to actually do that assessment that annoyed us the most.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Poole, in reply to Sam F,

    Having been subjected to a dislocated shoulder, fortunately almost directly across the road from Auckland Hospital so the ambulance ride (there was no way I was rising from my position in the gutter and walking back up the road!) was mercifully brief, I can sympathise completely. I have an incredible tolerance for morphine (no idea why, I just do) to the point where it does nothing for me, and by the time they got to the point of doing my consciously sedated reduction I was crying from the pain despite sucking back entonox like there was no tomorrow. That was only 1 1/2 hours from time of impact, so I dread to think what another hour would’ve been like.

    I was given pain relief right from the get-go: Entonox as soon as they got me into the bus, even before we’d taken my shirt off, and morphine was prescribed by the first doctor who saw me on arrival. So I don’t buy the potential surgery line, unless the complicated mechanism of injury (mine was a simple over-the-handlebars fall from my bike, followed by immediate self-immobilisation courtesy of how I landed and “It fucking hurts and it feels really weird, don’t touch it!” self-preservation) indicates that surgery is likely. However, given how much it hurts it’s a pretty dramatic breach of ethical principles not to be trying to expedite assessment as much as possible.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Jacqui Dunn, in reply to Matthew Poole,

    Sympathise for the pain - Entonox sucked back by me, lying on the back step with a badly broken ankle, got to the "extremely funny and I can't feel anything" stage so that the ambulance driver said "It's not that funny!" But it was!!!

    Maybe you didn't have quite enough?

    However, the drug they gave me in hospital so they could put my ankle in a stabilizing cast was amazing. Loss of total consciousness, no memory of anything. Oops, seem to be cross-threading here. Sorry :)

    Deepest, darkest Avondale… • Since Jul 2010 • 585 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Me neither - in between lessons at Mt Albert and Henderson, and plenty of mucking around in the ocean, I managed to get to the point where I can do okay in moderate surf but I think proper elegant technique and lap records are going to remain out of my grasp.

    I expect it's about the hours, by which I mean miles. Most people are a little bit shocked by how fast I swim, but I played waterpolo for about 16 years. By that sport's standards, I'm pretty slow - at my best I cracked 28 seconds for 50m, but died off to 68 secs for 100m, and at 400m I'd probably cruise in half-dead at 6 minutes. My swim training was limited almost exclusively to waterpolo training because I was the goalkeeper, and not required to swim long distances, whereas field players were expected to do at least an hour of pure swim training for every hour of waterpolo training. But just training with them lifted me enormously beyond what I had been capable of before I began the sport. My technique is not good either, a goalie just doesn't have time to get up to an efficient stroke, and is mostly about pure power. And treading water, and jumping, both of which are strength moves.

    The relationship between hours spent and basic speed is not linear, of course, because there are diminishing returns. But the early part of that curve is pretty straight. Muscles lengthen, learn the movement, learn how to make the movement efficient, then learn how to apply real power into the movement. During this the incidentals of how to breathe as required, how to stay on course, how to move from upright position to swimming position, how to switch strokes mid-stroke, how long one can hold their breath, how to go into energy-saving swim-mode, how to dive down, how to stay down, how to come back up, how to get the water out of your eyes, how to keep it out of your nose....all these things coordinate together gradually, and are only very loosely summed up as "becoming a stronger swimmer".

    A lot of it comes quite naturally after reaching a certain level of proficiency, so long as you put the hours in. Ongoing swimming lessons will train you into becoming a really fast swimmer, how to do butterfly stroke, tumble turns, dive starts etc. By then you're turning into an amphibian, rather than "someone who won't instantly drown in deep water".

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    I love love love Christchurch beaches, they are a huge asset for the city: full of natural sand and great waves. Sadly, they’re only swimable without a wetsuit in the hottest part of summer.

    That bloody Easterly ....

    Looks spookily like Freddie Krueger standing at back row centre.

    ...or a very early Where's Willie? perhaps...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Poole, in reply to Jacqui Dunn,

    Entonox isn't a pain inhibitor, unlike morphine, so its effects aren't the same.

    Agreed on the drugs. I have a glaring one-hour blank spot in my memory, commencing with "If that's pain relief, it's not working" to the nurse as they were drugging me up before the reduction and ending with me back in the cubicle in ER admissions, shoulder reduced and x-rayed, and arm in a sling. Nothing in the middle. Fentanyl (synthetic opioid approximately 100 times more potent than morphine) and midazolam (benzo with amnesiac qualities) according to my discharge paperwork. Fantastic stuff.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    I know there is a need to keep from over protecting children, but the point at which they need to explore a water environment and perform feats of daring is after they’ve gained considerable proficiency in the water.

    Dyan? That was one of your "no shit, sherlock" moments, love!

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Fentanyl (synthetic opioid approximately 100 times more potent than morphine) and midazolam (benzo with amnesiac qualities) according to my discharge paperwork. Fantastic stuff.

    Ah, Fentanyl - that would be what they give to US soldiers in lollipop form when they get hit? Not sure if it comes more powerful than that stuff (no, not speaking from experience, touch wood, but Dad saw it do its miraculous thing when working in ED a few years back)...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Estonia’s statistics for 2010 seem to bear this hypothesis out.

    Flys like a brick
    sinks like Estonia...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Christopher Dempsey,

    Last week I stumbled across the Surf Lifesaving NZ trailer which was parked up in Aotea Square- you go in one end and read about the very interesting surf lifesaving history. But at the other end was a tent, and a very good ummm, model which explained how rips worked, and what kinds there are, and how they are formed.

    The aerial photo they used to display a number of rips in one spot was a West Coast beach - Piha I think. I could spot three different kinds of rips along the same beach.

    Fortunately I've only ever been caught once, and that was after I learnt to go with the flow of the rip, then swim diagonally across it towards the shore. Wound up a couple of hundred metres up the beach, but safe.

    Parnell / Tamaki-Auckland… • Since Sep 2008 • 659 posts Report Reply

  • recordari, in reply to Christopher Dempsey,

    Fortunately I've only ever been caught once, and that was after I learnt to go with the flow of the rip, then swim diagonally across it towards the shore. Wound up a couple of hundred metres up the beach, but safe.

    I've only been caught once also, on a boogie board off Papamoa beach. My naivety of such things at the time had me determined to catch every wave I could closer to the shore, while each time drifting equal distance, or even further, out to sea.

    After 30 minutes of strenuous paddling (luckily I don't think it was a major rip) I collapsed on the beach, blacked out momentarily, and decided relying on a 4 foot flotation device in water several metres over my head was a mugs game, and now don't go beyond standing depth. I should say my children are generally more confident, and competent, swimmers than I ever was.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Poole, in reply to Sam F,

    Ah, Fentanyl – that would be what they give to US soldiers in lollipop form when they get hit?

    Sure would. Interesting article generally about how rough it is as airborne rescue in Afghanistan.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Tamara, in reply to Sam F,

    And possibly with the addition of the attitude exemplified in my story about my Dad...

    New Zealand • Since Oct 2010 • 115 posts Report Reply

  • Isabel Hitchings,

    I can't remember a time when I was unable to swim. Even as a scrawny kid I was virtually unable to sink and swimming came as easily as walking. From the age of three I had lessons in the school holidays with the Pattersons of Hampden St Pool who were amazing.

    When my oldest son was born I was determined that he would swim as well as I did. We did all the parent and child lessons every Saturday morning for nearly three years and then "proper" lessons for at least two terms a year from when he was five (there was a year or so when he was too big for parent and child lessons and unwilling to get into the water without us). Unfortunately, while he adores the water, the kid is a "sinker" and not athletically gifted so, at nine, he's only just reached the point where he can swim a few metres. I was always boggled that his father didn't learn to swim properly until he was an adult but now I can see exactly how that can happen without any neglect at all.

    Christchurch • Since Jul 2007 • 719 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle, in reply to Paul Williams,

    I’d happily escape from Sydney to Mairangi Bay… or is there something I’m missing from my quick visits?

    The beach is quite sweet. It's the... culture of that particular part of the Shore I don't really care for. (East Coast Bays is a very safe seat for National.)

    midazolam

    My doctor gives me that for my fear of flying. It is awesome.

    Dyan? That was one of your “no shit, sherlock” moments, love!

    Were you aware, Jackie, that Sherlock Holmes was secretly Canadian? ;)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    I was always boggled that his father didn't learn to swim properly until he was an adult but now I can see exactly how that can happen without any neglect at all.

    Yup, rather like how some kids are bum-shufflers, and don't ever really master crawling. Eventually, they can do it, but it's not a movement they find natural at all, and can't do it fast. With a lot of practice they would no doubt improve, but once they can walk, there's no real incentive. This can be an impediment to a whole raft of related activities, as the nature of many activities unfold from the "expected growth path", which is not always the one taken. Crawling leads to climbing, for instance.

    I can well believe swimming might have similar features, since it requires coordination of the entire body, isolating limbs doesn't really work. If even one of the limbs is out of synch, you lose most of the efficiency.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Isabel Hitchings, in reply to BenWilson,

    Would you believe that the child was a bum shuffler? As an infant he hated to lie down (because it's harder to see the world that way) and therefore neither crawled nor rolled much. He sat unsupported really early so when he started moving that was the position he began from. I've never been sure whether his lack of crawling affected his future co-ordination or if it all just stems from his preference for brain stuff over body stuff.

    Christchurch • Since Jul 2007 • 719 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson, in reply to Isabel Hitchings,

    Well, the ACC physios who have worked with my son (also a bum shuffler) were determined to teach him to crawl, they claimed that not doing so had a long term detrimental affect on physical motor development. I never researched the claim, trusting them, and simply seeing the value of crawling as something to master, and a good way to build up his shoulders. But he's not fast - it's almost like he has to think about where to move each limb, rather than it being deeply built in that "right knee going back pushes left hand forward, left knee going back pushes right hand forward", simultaneous with "right hand coming back pulls left knee forward, left hand coming back pulls right knee forward".

    We do it instinctively now, and the same thing happens during walking and particularly running, it's a simultaneous push and pull, alternating sides. I think I do it when I'm cycling too, and it's definitely there in treading water, although the motion is circular, the same diagonal balancing act happens. Overarm swimming is similar, but the push back is in the hips as the arm goes forward, with the overall visible impression being that the body remains straight.

    It's so fundamental to human movement that it's plausible to think that we might have specific neuron groupings that are apt to the task, and failing to stimulate them at a young age means that they're recruited elsewhere, or that we recruit less appropriate groups to the task, with less built in functionality. Which doesn't mean a task can't be learned, but it might be a much harder job for some.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark, in reply to Isabel Hitchings,

    That is certainly all to do with crawling, Isabel. Being able to cross midlines (from side to side, top to bottom), is incredibly important. (Don't worry, I'm not saying any child who doesn't commando crawl is not at a huge disadvantage later on. Some kids do it, some don't). Also incredibly important is the vestibular system (ie balance) - and that's strengthened by things like hanging upside down, twirling round and round. That sort of thing. If you're interested, there is an educator called Gill Connell. She started a programme called Perceptual Motor Programming. It doesn't have to do with cognitive ability, but more about the ability later in life to apply cognition - the idea is that the developing of perception (self, space, and time) is important for a child's later success at a number of skills. This is her website. You don't have to do the courses, or anything, but she does a DVD and a book. I'm gaga about some parts of it, because, as an educator, it makes huge sense to me. And she makes some interesting points, if you ever get to hear her. How we have completely abandoned the physical, in some parts of society, in favour of the cerebral, not understanding fully just how intimately the two are connected. You can judge for yourself. Anyway, my point was, that body stuff is brain stuff.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Tamara, in reply to Jackie Clark,

    Jackie, I find this stuff really interesting as well, and that programme looks great. Plunket promotes Active Movement, which seems to be based on similar concepts. Regarding the crawling, I was quite focussed on making sure my daughters did crawl as I am aware of the risk of kids being held back in some things if they don't. According to Plunket etc crawling is good because the movement effects cross-patterning which helps to build the connections between the hemispheres of the brain.

    A family friend is a semi-retired teacher and has worked with children whose co-ordination suffered as a result of not crawling. For example, they struggled to draw figure 8s. The therapy to fix this is getting them the time crawling that they didn't get as babies.

    My first was a good sitter and started to bum-shuffle, so I took a hard line and made her do more tummy time than she would've liked. The bum-shuffling didn't continue and ended up crawling and climbing for a good 6 months. Makes me sound like a hot-house Mum but honestly, I'm not!!

    By the way, I am a useless athlete all round, which made a Kiwi childhood quite hard, so I am hoping my girls have it a bit easier.

    New Zealand • Since Oct 2010 • 115 posts Report Reply

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