Wow what a year and what a COVID time warp! In some ways it seems like just yesterday, and in others it has been the longest year in our history. March 23rd 2020 we were standing outside the Knox Leisureworks car park after we had just closed up our Boronia clinic (it’s located inside a health/fitness facility so was mandated to close). As we stood there myself and Erin, our amazing Practice Manager, made the promise to the team that we would not sack/fire/”let go” a single team member to manage costs through the coming challenges. Whatever we had to do, we would get through this together. We didn’t know at the time that we were about to embark on an 8 month “challenge”.
Early on I equated the frequent changes to our circumstances as a roller coaster ride that we didn’t choose to be on. At some stages this felt like a turbo charged roller coaster ride whilst wearing a blindfold! There were plenty of bumps, ups and lots of downs, but we got through it and we kept our promise. We got through it because our Stay Tuned team was, and is, amazing. They sacrificed, remained positive, empathic, and were so supportive of each other. We moved our Boronia clinic four times last year, and our Elwood clinic went through its own challenges with frequent rule changes and a two-week closure thanks to some flooded floors just for an extra bit of fun.
2020 gave each of us different lessons, and I’m sure there are more to come. The ripple effects and the new normal will take some adjusting and adapting. The COVID pandemic has been tragic for so many people, and our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones, lost jobs, and who have suffered. All our Stay Tuned family certainly each got hit financially, physically and definitely mentally, but we also learnt a lot. We did some great things; we made mistakes, we suffered, and we succeeded, together. What we learnt was that we can get through just about anything that comes our way, when we do it together.
I am so grateful personally to my friends, my own family and my Stay Tuned family for their support through this last year. As a team we are here to support you, our community, and we thank you for your support as well.