Annie McCartin always knew she needed to have a heart operation at some point due to a hereditary condition. The fact it came right at the start of the netball season was something that simply couldn't be helped.
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The legendary North Ballarat A grade coach has been a noticeable absentee on the sidelines this season as daughter Stacey Matthews has taken the reigns of leading the Roosters off the court.
For McCartin it has been just over six weeks since she went in to surgery to have her mitral valve repaired.
"My dad had to have a replacement and my brother had a repairment," she said. "I knew it was something that would have to be done, they didn't quite know before I went in what I needed to have done, but fortunately it was a repairment, much better than a replacement, it makes things a little bit easier.
McCartin has been on a slow road to recovery since, but knows she has turned the corner.
"It's open heart surgery and they told me I wouldn't start feeling any better until at least a month, and they were right, spot on, last Friday was the six weeks and I'm just starting to feel a bit better.
"The rehab has got me going, I'm able to walk up to 18 minutes a day now, it was a little shuffle at first, now I can get a little bit longer.
"It's just so hard to describe what you go through. The rehab is done through the out-patients at St John's which is recommended through the cardio program at the Epworth where I was operated on.
Right now I just feel I've turned the corner. I'm starting to get a bit more excited that I'll be able to get back out there with the girls soon.
- Annie McCartin
"I'm doing a 10-week program, how it works is you go twice a week, where you have your assessment, they go through everything that is required to get your strength back going.
"There's a number of different talks they have, sometimes for people it can be an emotional roller coaster, others sometimes need a support group to help talk about things. They cover different aspects of your diet, expectations and understanding of people's experiences going through different types of cardio.
"There's also the exercise part of it, they start you off quietly, walking, step-ups, different exercise with low weights on the bike, it just gets you going and gets the heart going again. I'm still not allowed to lift my arms over my head and things like weight, such as a basket of washing, I'm not there yet.
"But right now I just feel I've turned the corner. I was on the treadmill yesterday, the heart is fine, the pain in the sternum, you can just feel it easing now, I'm starting to get a bit more excited that I'll be able to get back out there with the girls soon."
Despite not being with her girls at North Ballarat, McCartin has been impressed by what she has seen by both her team and a number of other clubs who are trying to deny the Roosters another title.
"Gee I miss it, sitting back here now, I'm thinking, I've just got to get back out there," she said. "Just the people you miss, being with the girls and all the fun we have at training and on game time.
"Stace' has done a wonderful job, the girls have kept on going, once we all get back together, I think that will be the last stage of my recovery, once we all get back together at North.
Gee I miss it, sitting back here now, I'm thinking, I've just got to get back out there.
- Annie McCartin
"Our line-up is entirely different to what it's been in recent years, but all credit goes to the girls, Shannon Freeman, I can't wait to be there to watch her play, I've seen a couple of games, what I've seen, she's just a beautiful defender.
"You've got young Milly Simpson who is standing up, and Ebony Porter in goals, that's how you develop by integrating the young girls with the more experienced."
Watching on from home, McCartin said she is excited by what a number of clubs are doing including Darley, Melton South and Sunbury.
"I'm very impressed by Darley and Sunbury and I'm quite impressed by Melton South, I'm really excited to see how we go when we play them," she said. "They have a lovely goal shooter there, it will be very interesting to see how we match up.
"It'll all come down to who can stand up in the big games, the intense games, they can go either way, it's just a little bit of luck, a call your way, the one percenter. I always believe you need a little bit more luck for it to go your way."
McCartin said she hopes to be able to get back to the club in the next few weeks.
"I haven't got a set date, in my mind I'd be hoping to head off to training maybe Thursday week," she said. "I'd love to just see how I go, I'm not sure, I don't know if I've quite got the voice for it yet.
"I'm hoping the next couple of weeks I can get back to the club, and maybe I might just be able to have a look at an A Grade game on the Saturday after that and build on it as the weeks go."
