Shortly after completing her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Melbourne University, she secured her dream job on the Mornington Peninsula. Five days before her move to the Peninsula, she decided to cycle to her family home in Coburg along Sydney Road to bid farewell. That's the moment when her life as she knew it would change in an instant.

Megan had an accident on her bicycle where she seriously injured her leg, she had to undergo two rounds of vascular surgery to repair multiple veins and arteries in her leg. She also formed a venous clot and consequently some pulmonary emboli. This made breathing tricky in the coming weeks. Megan spent 12 days in acute care at Royal Melbourne Hospital, followed by 16 days at Camberwell Epworth rehabilitation learning how to walk again and function day to day. During this time Megan's family, particularly her Mum, spent many hours sitting at her bedside. Megan's Mum tried to encourage her to focus on things that made her happy and it was during one of these moments that Megan told her mum that she wished she was floating in the water at Peninsula Hot Springs. This became a popular subject matter over the weeks that followed, sparking Megan's desire to recover quickly in order to realise her dream of bathing in the healing water of Peninsula Hot Springs.

“I was determined that I was going to get back to cycling, swimming, yoga and rock-climbing. With all of the support from the nursing staff and medical teams, this almost all seemed possible.” However when Megan returned home it seemed much harder to stay determined and focused. To brighten her spirits, her Mum surprised her with a gift of 10 bathing passes for Peninsula Hot Springs, reigniting Megan's will to stay on track with her recovery.Four months after her accident, Megan was finally able to realise her dream of bathing at Peninsula Hot Springs. She has visited several times since then, and each time Megan finds that the hot mineral springs help to relax her muscles around her injured ligaments. Megan reflects, “Aside from the physical benefits of bathing, perhaps the way the hot springs has helped me recover most has been emotionally. The calming environment of the springs set amongst the beautiful tea-trees with those sparkling fairy lights has given me the space to grieve and cry, regroup and continue on.”

The link between hot springs bathing and benefits to physical and emotional wellbeing are of paramount importance to Peninsula Hot Springs, with a partnership recently being formed with Mental Health Australia. CEO and co-founder of Peninsula Hot Springs, Charles Davidson says, “We are increasingly being recognised as a destination for regular therapy of balneology for everything from back pain to depression.” The Mental Health Australia Friendship now signifies our involvement beyond creating the beneficial experiences, to include PHS advocacy, education and research for both mental and physical wellbeing.” Learn more about our partnership with Mental Health Australia.

Read Megan's full story: http://bit.ly/PHSMegantuckerstory