Wearing Long Pants

For a bunch of reasons, the Andrew Olle Media Lecture marks a number of points in my life. It’s an annual event that I’ve been attending for, you know, maybe 25, almost 30 years. It’s an event where I get dressed up. It’s an event where there have been some memorable speakers, and it’s an event where there have been some pivotal moments throughout my life, so it’s a really interesting annual touchstone for me.

Last night, I went to this year’s Andrew Olle Media Lecture, which was given by Geraldine Doogue.

Geraldine spoke about the many changes in the media she’s seen in her life, and her enduring wonderment about what the media has to offer the community. In particular, I was intrigued about the work she mentioned being done by Swedish Radio to track the “public service value” of the stories they do.

I also just love the fact that Geraldine has this incredibly sharp mind and passion for the news and media, having been working in the media for over 50 years. It was truly great to hear her interest, analysis and enthusiasm after all these years.

It was also a significant one for me in terms of my own journey with disability over the last couple of years.

Three years ago, I went to the Andrew Olle lecture a few months after my amputation and other life-changing health conditions. It was tough, to be honest, due to the combination of health problems, but it was still really great to be there. I was still using crutches at the time and figuring out how to get around. I remember one of the most amusing things at that particular event was the difficulty I had getting my shoes and pants on and off because of the prosthetic. The issue is that prosthetic leg is slightly wider than my human leg, and sometimes it’s hard to get skinny pants down over the top of it, aside from flexible material like track and cargo pants.

Last year, I was actually at a table where I discovered a woman near me who also had a prosthetic limb due to an injury she sustained in a car accident a number of years ago. It was a surprising and comforting moment of shared experience.

I was hoping it might be possible this year, and thankfully, it was!

In the last few months, knowing I’ll have this particular sized prosthetic for a few more years, I’ve started to have some pants adjusted. I actually went out and bought a brand new suit where the pants were a bit wider than the jacket, and then I had some amendments or adjustments made along the way to both legs, to make them a little bit smaller so it still actually goes over my prosthetic limb. Recently, I bought another suit from a second-hand store, and it just fitted over the top already, which was amazing, and I was able to get them adjusted just in terms of length. The height or the length wasn’t too bad, but it was, you know, it was good.

Then, a few months ago, I bought a pair of formal suit pants that were a bit wider at the knees, and they actually fit over my prosthetic limb! I was able to have them adjusted too in terms of length and width of the regular leg.

So, there was a great sigh of relief last night when I was able to put the pants on, put the jacket on, and pull the pants down, looking like I used to in the old days of going to the Andrew Olle lecture.

Relief, too, at the end of the night where I could also take them off easily. I know it sounds silly and superficial, but it was a really nice thing to do.

The Andrew Olle Media Lecture usually gets a run on ABC TV over the weekend, and will be available I assume on iview.