Well another week or so has passed on my road to recovery and I wish I was able to tell you all I have made some huge miraculous steps in progress. But that is not the case . . . that is not how this works.
Progress is slow . . . painfully and frustratingly slow sometimes. But at this stage the most important thing is that there is some progress.
Since the last update I have started to flex most of my toes on my right foot. I can also flex my right foot down slightly so my calf is contracting. The strength in my right adductor continues to improve and I can roll my knee inwards slightly. Yesterday I had some good contractions in my right quad along with some action in my hip flexor and hamstring. I have felt some good contractions in my left adductor and hamstring but not much else to report in that leg . . . although the doctors seem confident my left will follow my right.
My strength continues to increase in my upper body and I can sort of scratch my own nose which is quite the relief! Also I am starting to get some contractions in my core with my abs firing somewhat.
As I look back at the last 2 paragraphs maybe there is more improvement than I sometimes let myself acknowledge.
Following along with the action at the Moomba Masters via twitter and facebook updates has kept me occupied this past weekend. Keeping in touch with close friends via Skype has also been great and I have enjoyed receiving a lot of visitors of late. My favourite was my Nanna who at 88 years old flew down from Auckland to cheer me up this past weekend. To thank her I promised I would call her first when I start to wiggle my left toes . . . a promise I intend on keeping.
My wife, Karyn, continues to be a tower of strength and I sometimes think she has the harder job in all of this as she continues to raise our two boys in this new environment and look after a needy husband. I am blessed to have so much support from all of my family. In fact the support from all over the world continues to humble me… a special thanks to everyone who has bought a “kiwi” t-shirt from skifly.com or at Moomba this past weekend…I am honored you will be wearing my name on your sleeve.
Sorry, my arm and wrist is getting tired…I will write again soon.
Kyle Eade AKA “the not so flying kiwi … right now”
Monday March 8th, 02:09PM These experiences along with my more honest training partners have insured over the years that from time to time, I just ski the pass and keep skiing no matter what happens. We have watched Andy Mapple (the legend) ski through several mistakes for years and literally crush his competitors. In fact 98% of the pro skiers who run 39 and go deep at 41 aren't making it pretty when they get to their max pass.
I was sent the video below by my good friend and occasional training partner Srdjan Dragic
WHAT A DAY! The 50th Anniversary Moomba MastersFinals Day produced some amazing results - no less than two tie-breaks, upsets in womens slalom, new champions emerging - it has been a bigger thrill ride than anything else on the banks of the Yarra.
Damien Sharman (pictured above) from the UK won Mens Jump after a tie-break with countryman Thomas Asher, punching out a massive 66.5m jump on the last shot of the day.
There were some stunning performances in the finals. Forget the hail, forget the rain, the Moomba produced some amazing stories.
Monday March 8th, 03:43AM The 50th Moomba Masters concluded Monday on the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia, with six athletes winning titles in respective events.
The millisecond I start bragging about how good this tournament in Melbourne Australia is, and how great the city is and this, that & the other…..what happens??!!!
The biggest one day storm in 50+ years!!
Un-believable!
Regardless, us Men Slalom skiers got lucky today, with a crystal clear sky and hot burning sun with its mind set on taunting the weather men with their "doom and gloom" forecasts for Today and Moomba Monday.
The Yarra River, a bloated, brown, glutonous Python of mythical proportions this morning….somehow managed to digest everything the impossible storm threw at it over the past 24 hours. By the time we hit the water for the 15 man semi-finals….the river once more resembled the sheet of glass we know and love, with the water level back to normal. AMAZING!
This semi-final round saw people crushing the buoys like never before. One ripper, Zane Nicholson a 15 yr. old Phenom from the States, tied his all-time Personal Best of 2 @ 39 off (10.75) to take the lead! Unreal. I was worried…..everyone was running the 11.25m line, which two days before only 3 of us had: Willy, Parish, and myself. How was it that much better??
Well, it wasn't necessarily all that much better….I think people were just digging deeper today…for the most part. One thing that might have played a hand, was the cleanliness of the river today….in that it was mostly freshwater from the extreme runoff, whereas friday it was extremely salty. Salt water tends to keep the water dense, hard, and fast…..like newly poured concrete. Today, the freshwater was a definite bonus….soft and forgiving.
In the end, the top three seeds into the finals remained the same. Parish maintained his lead, with an impressive "Pete Rose" to cap off a pretty impressive 39 pass….he swam in…and most of us are hoping he blew his "stuff" on this round…he's looking too good to believe he'll fall short on Moomba Monday. Willy looked unreal today as well….crushing 39 and tried to grab the whole river and carry it with him around 4…..he'll be second seed for the finals. I felt ok today…but felt the best at 39. Good 1 ball, then blew my wad and forgot my own name approaching buoy 2….managed 3 and feel pretty good with my 3rd seed into the finals.
So, out of 4 trips down here to Melbourne in 6 years, I've managed to make the finals every time. I feel extremely fortunate to have another chance to stand on the dock tomorrow and take a stab at the title of "Moomba Masters Slalom Champion".
Why?
I'll tell ya why: Standing on the dock today, with all the guys, and looking out over that tired, lumbering river, I could not believe the amount of people lining the banks. This is the Moomba Masters. We only have one tournament like it. No where else on Earth do we get this package.
Saturday March 6th, 05:45PM Fun skiing this week! sick!
Early march
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Moomba Masters: [Moom - ber Maast - ahhs] Quite possibly the biggest, best, most prestigious Water Ski and Wakeboard event in the world! Oh sure, most will laugh when I say this….content to lean confidently on the "true"Masters Water Ski & Wakeboard tournament, in Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain Georgia, as the pinnacle…the capstone event in all of Water Sports!!! REALLY?? Lets do a quick side by side, and I say quick cuz its 2010 and folks these days don't have time for anything other than quick. Here I go then….
held within the 20 square mile complex that is Callaway Gardens, on the amazing Robin Lake….which boasts the largest man-made, white sand beach in the World!
Very expensive to attend
Very exclusive to watch - you'll need to procure a "pavilion pass" (by either selling your soul to the Devil….or being one of the top 10 water skiers in the world) to even come within a football fields distance from the action. No worries though, right??…I mean, you came to the gardens to bird watch anyway….so not to worry, you've got your binoculars handy for the on-water action….wait a minute…you just had them…what in God's name happened to those things……
Very isolated from any sort of civilization or running water (drinking water)
Very stuffy, uncomfortable feeling once on the premises despite the beautiful surrounds…..a peculiar paradox, you find yourself thinking…
Always on Memorial Day Weekend! - isn't this weekend reserved for something else already?…why are we in this hot, muggy, isolated armpit of the south, dripping sweat like tears?? We ought to be floating down some river with thousands of other people and a cooler full of drinks tied round our ankles?? (Kids out there, NEVER, and I mean NEVER, tie a cooler to any body part and float down a river…..EVER)
Moomba Masters Water Ski And Wakeboard Tournament, Yarra River, Downtown Melbourne, Australia
held smack dab in the middle of one of the coolest major cities in the World: Melbourne, Australia, in a public setting, on a river
Very Cheap to attend…like FREE. Which is the best opportunity for folks who have never seen water skiing to actually have a chance to see it…best skiers in the world in person! Gold Star straight away to Moomba Masters for this invaluable exposure and promotion of Water Sports!!
Very easy to watch - grab some buddies, some cold drinks and get your ass down to the Yarra ASAP to claim a patch of grass!! It goes quick by the time the finals roll around on Moomba Monday and there are 35,000 people watching. But don't worry, even if you miss out on river front privileges you'll still have one of the best views in the house, as the Yarra River couldn't be more perfectly designed for water skiing….with easy viewing from either side of the narrow, flowing sheet of cool smooth glass.
Like I said, right in the middle of the 2nd biggest city in all of Australia which is also the 3rd "Most Livable City in the World" , with the world's largest public tram network, and a host of other titles: Its a national center for the Arts, Entertainment, Australian Film, Australian Rules Footy,….basically its the Cultural Capital of Australia. Its unreal how much is happening in this city….and thats just on a normal weekend.
Always during Moomba - Australia's largest festival held over the 4 day Labor Day weekend. With Bands, a Carnival, River Activities, River Floats, Fireworks, a Birdman Rally, and of course, the Moomba Masters Water Sports event…Annually more than 200,000 people attend.
Moomba, in Aboriginal, means "Let's get together and have fun"
BONUS FACT: no matter where you go, or who you talk to in this city throughout the weekend…most either know of the Moomba Masters Water Ski event, have watched it in the past, or know who the skiers are!
How could the best Water Sports event in the world get any better?????
It can't.
If you're not here…..sorry about your luck….if you could see the smile on my face as I type this, you'd think I was trying my damnedest to make ya'll jealous.
But that's not it.
The smile comes from the simple fact that, even without a shred of "city folk" in me, I'm living proof that this place can strike a chord with anyone….the 80 degree Australian autumn sun in March, loads of restaurants/shops/attractions, unreal sights and generous people….its the living, breathing heart of Melbourne, and it can all be summed up by that smile.
I hope you get the chance. And if you're really lucky…and you find yourself here on the right weekend, you might just happen upon the greatest show there ever was on water: the Moomba Masters!
of the Moomba Masters in Mens and Womens. Outstanding performances by defending champion Chris Parrish (4.5@10.75m) and co-world record holder Regina Jaquess (pictured above) (1.5@10.75m) earned them pole position for the semi finals in Mens and Womens Slalom.
Showing great sportsmanship, Marcus Brown of the USA informed the judges he missed the gates entering his 10.75m pass, relegating him from second to third place behind world champion Will Asher from Great Britain.
Victorian Gavin McMillan is the top seeded Aussie in the Mens (2@11.25m), beating out a number of big names who failed to make today's cut. Australia's co-world record holder Karina Nowlan cruised through to the semi-final, qualifying equal 4th with 1.5@11.25m.
The Womens Jump event was a great contest with Moomba favourite June Fladborg of Denmark on top with 48.9m, and Australia's jumping rabbit Jacinta Carroll making the semi final with a 41m effort.
Wakeboarding, Night Jump and ski show still to come tonight so get on down to the Yarra River NOW - even if you're in Florida!
Thursday March 4th, 04:00PM Winter has been cold, dark, and generally miserable but days have been lengthening and snow has been melting around here. It's really hard to think about skiing during February in particular— your spirit has already been broken from December and January's 1-2 punch and you know you'll have to endure most of March as well. However, Marcus Brown has been keeping us entertained with Marcusbrown.tv on Monday nights. Definitely check this show out if you can.
I had a random thought the...
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Thursday March 4th, 03:47AM U.S. water ski athletes Makayla Haw, Lauren Morgan and Zane Nicholson won titles in respective events Thursday as the 2010 Junior Moomba Masters concluded on the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia.
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Jodi Fisher
Laloo to My God Parents Rob & Laura, time for me to go to sleep I have a lot of paying to do with my friends tomorrw. Love from Finnley
Jodi Fisher
Finn's first tweet
When asked what Finn wanted to tweet, she said she's happy having dinner with Mario, Logan and my family tonight.
of the Moomba Masters in Mens and Womens. Outstanding performances by defending champion Chris Parrish (4.5@10.75m) and co-world record holder Regina Jaquess (pictured above) (1.5@10.75m) earned them pole position for the semi finals in Mens and Womens Slalom.
