Invictus Games

COVID’s Silver Lining

By Sharon Lundy

Team Leader Communications

The postponement of the 2020 Invictus Games due to COVID-19 turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Chief Petty Officer Combat System Specialist Quintin Monk.

The Games were scheduled to run from May 9–16 and the 22-strong NZDF team was due to stop over in Singapore on the way home, with the final leg of the journey on May 20 – the same day CPOCSS Monk was rushed to hospital for major abdominal surgery. CPO Monk’s Invictus journey started in 2009 when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer while only in his late 20s. He made a full recovery following surgery and chemotherapy and had enjoyed generally good health – until extreme stomach pain on May 20 sent him to the doctor. Hours later he was in surgery and spent the next two weeks in hospital. He’s still on light duties. “So 11 years ago I was in that exact hospital, in the same ward, and I was having a similar operation and being told I had cancer. It definitely dragged up old memories and emotions.” The Games have been rescheduled to May 29 – June 5 2021. They’ve been renamed The Hague 202One, and there’s a good chance they’ll be virtual. The NZDF team held a Reconnect+Reset camp at Base Auckland from August 7–9, and CPO Monk said the camp had helped with his recovery. “Coming into a camp so soon after having that operation done, I could just open up and talk to people about things I wouldn’t usually discuss in my workplace or my circle of friends. “It's almost unspoken understanding and bond because you’ve all had something going on. It might not be the same something but it has had some sort of effect on your life, that you feel comfortable sharing with the team, that you might not share with others. I find it helps the healing journey. “This camp has reinforced what it is that we’re here for and what we’re doing. We’ve all been isolated and gone into some not-so-good places but this camp has sort of brought us out of that and helped us to start moving up and forward.” The team put Zoom to good use during lockdown, with team and coaching sessions and, like many other Kiwis, creating a baking group. CPO Monk and his four daughters – Freya, two, Harmony, four, Willow, eight, Esmae, nine – were enthusiastic participants. “The girls got right into the baking. It was quite a nice time, being able to share with the family more. Usually I go to work every day, and they go to school, so I don’t get to have as much interaction during the day. “Those were pretty much the main things that got me through – sharing with my family but also sharing with the team, and likewise they were sharing what they were doing in their family bubbles.” CPO Monk lives on a 16ha block north of Auckland, where he has 30 chickens, 10 cows, three sheep, a horse, two dogs, a cat – and an archery range out the back. Esmae and Willow regularly joined their dad while he was training for Invictus, and Harmony has recently shown an interest.

For now CPO Monk is taking more of a coaching role with his girls, as he is still recovering from the surgery which left him with a 20cm-plus scar and 10kg lighter. Despite it all he counts himself lucky. “Looking back, if it wasn’t for COVID I could possibly have been in a foreign nation without family or friends or a support network, stuck in hospital, for a number of weeks.

“So in a sense I’m lucky that COVID happened because it’s now given me the chance to repair, reset and train back to where I was pre- COVID.” The NZDF Invictus Games team is supported by Fulton Hogan and Dynasty. “This camp has reinforced what it is that we’re here for and what we’re doing. We’ve all been isolated and gone into some not-sogood places but this camp has sort of brought us out of that and helped us to start moving up and forward.”

Opposite page: CPOCSS Quintin Monk during a training camp in February 2020, prior to the first COVID-19 lockdown.