Contextual Lens

On the Christmas holidays 2012 I traveled to an island off Fiji called Rotuma with my best mate. We were just two seventeen year old boys fresh out of school, going on our first trip overseas without our parents.

After a month and a half of living on this island of Rotuma which gets only 3 hours of power a day, and where everyone lives off the land. I sustained a large graze to my shin but didn't think anything bad of it and niether did anyone else as it wasn't my first experience with a graze.
After about 4 days it started to swell up to twice the size as my leg usually was and i couldn't walk on it anymore. Finally the boat carrying people back to the main island of Fiji arived and my best mate and I spent 2 days sleeping on the cramped dirty boat on our departure home.

As soon as we made it off the boat we went straight to the local doctors in Suva where they put me on antibiotics for a day. The next day the doctor told me I had gangrene and that I should stay in Suva for an extra week on antibiotics. She then said if the antibiotics don't fix the infection we will have to look at amputation.
As soon as I got the news I called my father to tell him what had happened and he booked the first flight back to Australia for me and my friend. As soon as I got off the plane we went to the hospital (after a stop at maccas of course) after a night in hospital on the 19th of January they decided to operate on my leg to get rid of the Gangrene, the hole they cut was 7cm in diametre and 2cm deep.  I spent 3 weeks making trips to the hospital everyday until they gave me the choice of going home with a hole still in my leg and letting it heal naturally or getting a skin graph and spending another week there.

I chose to let it heal naturally and made it to uni the day before Orientation week. It has been 2 months and 3 days since my operation and this is my last weekend of making a trip to the doctors to get it redressed.

I am finally healed! And already talking about making another trip in the near future.


My contextual lens: In fiji

1. In lots of pain
2. Worried I would loose my leg
3. Wondering how long it would be till I could see my family again
4. How people would react if I came back with one leg

In Australia:

1. Still in pain
2. Well looked after
3. On my way to recovery
4. Thankful to doctors and nurses for looking after me
5. Grateful to family members for being there for me
6. Thankful that the Gangrene didn't get into the bone
7. Happy I can play rugby still

Family and Friends Contextual lens:

1. Extreamly worried
2. Scared
3. Caring
4. Supportive
5. Understanding

Fijian Doctor contextual lens:

1. Wasn't a big deal to them
2. They see lots of nasty things
3. Simple help