Gary Bain honoured with the role of Patron of the Lindsay Leg Club Foundation
I had the fabulous opportunity of first meeting Ellie Lindsay in Yokohama, Japan in 2012. I was presenting in a break-out room in the same group with her. She was up first. So I got to hear her beautiful “Queen Mother” voice as she spoke about the issues of men spending way too much time riding motorcycles and the subsequent “horrendous” legs that the riding position predisposes these gents to. There was some quip about Aussies and sheep dip in the presentation, but I’ve learnt to shower since then.
My dear wife (Cate) and I then caught up with Ellie in the Poster Hall. The more time we spent together, the more we realized that our sense of humor, common interests and desire to improve the quality of life for people with chronic leg wounds, would continue to draw us to one-another.
Over the years since then, Ellie has invited us in and indeed embraced us into the Lindsay Leg Club Foundation world. Cate and I have had the thrill of participating in a number of Leg Club Conferences, having a number of roles to fill, to be challenged by and to learn from.
Through Ellie we have met so many incredible people, who like her are passionate and devoted to the Leg Club ethos and its model of care. I have realized that the Leg Club is indeed a community where everyone’s contribution is valued and welcomed. This is a story of engagement, empowerment, belonging and having a meaning beyond the physicality of a wound and its sequelae. Here is an institution where industry, Patrons and clinicians stand alongside the members and their carers.
The Leg Club is a refuge for those persons challenged by problematic lower limbs, where their care addresses all of their being – physical, emotional, social and even spiritual. We are and should always be “connected” in order to know optimal well-being.
To be extended the honour of joining the Lindsay Leg Club Foundation as a Patron is a most humbling moment. Those already fulfilling this role are my own mentors and luminaries. I find it hard to conceptualise that I should have a place in their midst. However, I realize that they, like me, have a fervent belief in what the Lindsay Leg Club Foundation stands for and the difference that it makes for those its serves. I am therefore proud and determined to stand with my fellow Patrons for this cause, for those that render it and those who receive it.
We all wish to leave behind us a better world. There are many ways to do this and people with diverse talents to achieve it. Lindsay Leg Club members deserve the best quality of life that we can give them. Lets do that … because it can be done.