Fintan's story: Reaping the benefits of a recovery at work plan
Fintan's story: Reaping the benefits of a recovery at work plan
By Peter Thornton
Fintan Cooper is sitting on top of a ride-on lawnmower with a big smile on his face.
The apprentice greenkeeper at the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club has overcome plenty of adversity to get back here. Back on the tools. Back with his mates. He wants to savour this moment.
“That first day back was wicked,” said the 21-year-old.
“I was just so happy. I mowed fairways all day. It put no pressure on my knee at all and it felt so good to be back on the golf course. To be back around the boys and doing a job that I love.”
It had been seven months since Cooper ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) playing football.
In that time, he’s had surgery and learnt how to walk again. He has completed countless hours of physiotherapy, gym and pool sessions. He's had occupational therapy guidance.
Caption: Fintan Cooper who described the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) as awesome in his return to work. Photo credit: Shane Boulton/ACC.
At the heart of his rehabilitation was his Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) recovery at work programme.
“ACC have been awesome,” Cooper said.
“From day one, they gave my recovery a blueprint. It’s been great to have a plan which was tailored to my injury and my role.
“When I got back on the mower and looked around, I knew all of the hard work was worth it.”
“Excruciating pain”
Cooper was new to living on the Kāpiti Coast. He moved there from Waikato to take up his apprenticeship at the golf club that has hosted the New Zealand Open 12 times.
He signed up to play for the Kāpiti Coast United Football Club to make some mates. In the second game of the season, the winger pushed off his left leg and his knee buckled.
“I fell over and realised that I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t put any weight on it,” he recalled.
“The pain was excruciating.”
He saw a local physiotherapist who told him straight away he had ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
“When he said that I need to start preparing for surgery it hit me,” he says. “I realised I’d suffered a major injury.”
The long road to recovery
Sitting on the bed at the physio clinic, Cooper’s first thought was work.
He had a million worries running through his mind. He was nervous about doing it alone.
“I’d just started my greenkeeper’s apprenticeship,” he said. “I’m trying to start a career and I had no idea where I was going to go to from here.
“I had all of these things running through my head. Where am I going to have the surgery? What’s the impact going to be on my job? How was I going to cope on crutches post-surgery?”
Leo Barber is the general manager of the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club. Barber said when he heard Cooper was going to be out for a considerable amount of time, he had two emotions.
“One was thinking of Fintan and making sure that he was okay,” Barber said.
“Then the selfish aspect kicks in. We are a small team. We are going to be one person down and who is going to pick up that extra work.
``Then you work through those processes. What is it going to look like, how long is he going to be off and how do we get him back to work?”
Cooper suffered his ACL rupture in April last year. He opted to have the surgery in August.
A recovery at work plan
Cooper says being back in the work environment was good for his physical and mental wellbeing.
“I love my job so it’s not just missing out on your daily routine, it is missing out on a part of your life that you really enjoy,” he said.
“I couldn’t wait to get back into work and into routine because I was starting to get pretty low.
“It was also important to get back on track with my apprenticeship and not lose valuable time.”
ACC coordinated his recovery at work plan with an occupational therapist and physiotherapist.
He opted to have his surgery in Hamilton where he had the support of his family. When he got back to Kāpiti he had a session with his physio to assess his knee’s strength and stability.
The occupational therapist came to the club. She talked with Cooper, his supervisor Harry Middleton and Barber about the steps of getting back to work.
They decided that after six weeks, Cooper could return to work. If his knee was okay, he would gradually build up his hours and work.
“It was important there was no risk of re-tearing my ACL while it was still healing and quite vulnerable,” he said. “It was so good to be back with the boys and in the banter again.”
Middleton added: “We worked out a plan to slowly build him back up to full time hours. That would be useful for him and his knee, and useful for us to get some more work done.”
He said it was great having Cooper back at work at 10 weeks following his surgery rather than 15 weeks.
“The benefits were huge,” Middleton said.
“Being a small crew, losing workers during spring is quite crucial. Having him back to do some mowing and general maintenance was awesome. He’s enjoyed coming back sooner than expected. It worked out well for both parties.”
The communication from Barber and Middleton was constant throughout.
“Communication is key for all parties in that situation,” Barber said. “Not only checking in with Fintan but ACC were really good with checking in with us. They would let us know where Fintan’s recovery was at and what the future steps would look like.”
ACC played a leading role in Cooper’s rehabilitation. They covered his surgery, physio and occupational therapist appointments, provided equipment and weekly compensation for any lost wages.
It’s an honour to work here
The privilege of working at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is not lost on Cooper.
It’s widely regarded as one the best golf courses in New Zealand. It’s the only course that Tiger Woods has competed on. It has a storied history of some of New Zealand’s finest golf moments.
“It’s an honour to work here,” Cooper said. “There isn’t a day I take it for granted. This place is awesome. I’m learning from two of the best in the business as well so I know I’m lucky.”
Cooper has always had a love for sport. He sees sports turf management as a good way to be involved on a daily basis.
“I’ve gained a real passion for working with sports turf and I'm learning,” said Cooper, who wants to work on the world stage.
“I want to experience as much as I can in this industry.”
He will always remember his recovery. He was appreciative to keep his apprenticeship on track.
“I’m hugely grateful to the team here for their support and helping me every step of the way.”
The Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club team recommend a recovery at work plan for anyone in the golf industry.
“Trust the process,” Barber said. “Communicate with your staff. Communicate with ACC. Take the best advice that is available and work through things.”
Cooper added: “Be proactive about getting in contact with ACC. The recovery to work programme has been great for me. It’s helped get my knee strong again and get me back into the workplace sooner than what was otherwise possible.”
For more: Supporting your employee's recovery at work (acc.co.nz)