Councils
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark is back walking 40 minutes a day and has been keeping an eye on council meetings from the comfort of his home.
The heart surgery he went through recently was no straightforward operation, and there have been a few minor complications since, such as fluid on the lungs and an infection in his leg.
He’s still getting lots of great advice from specialists and has drastically changed his diet – cheese is out, apart from a sprinkle of mozzarella occasionally, red meat is now a luxury and white meat and fish will become his daily staple, along with five servings of vegetables.
Mayor Clark says he’s tired and lacks energy, and the recovery has been made harder by only functioning with one kidney ( according to Wikipedia he anonymously donated one in 2004).
Of course he still wants to be out on his mountainbike in a few months but it will be six at the earliest – due to the risk of rupturing his chest, and allowing time for the bone to grow back.
“My life has to change, so this has been a bit of a wakeup call for me.”
Leading up to his heart attack in December, Mayor Clark had been tired and his reflex was getting worse – now realising that was the first warning sign.
“I didn’t know I was having a heart attack, I just thought I had some back trouble.”
His situation accelerated from mild to serious when tests showed stents weren’t going to work, and he’d need major heart surgery instead.
“I had choices, I’m a Virgo and if you see my history, I have taken on huge levels of stress I think,”the former Vietnam war medic said.
Mayor Clark has the distinction of being the first person to run the Kepler track 30 times and in 2022 he also battled follicular thyroid cancer.
Currently on three months leave of absence means he was unable to be involved in any decision making around the council table, but has weekly meetings with deputy Tom Campbell and watches the meetings online.
He now recognises there are things that are okay to be stressed about, but he’ll be choosing his valuable time more wisely, and will prioritise his own health and wellbeing ahead of a 2-hr meeting that he doesn’t need to be at.
“I was going from one bushfire to another,” he said.
Knowing the council is in good hands under the guidance of Cr Campbell, Mayor Clark has been thinking further ahead about some of the excess land around the city, that could be sold off to bring in extra money for Invercargill.
The 37ha adjoining farm thats currently grazing sheep also home to Craftys was on the list and could fetch as much as $20 million. *This excludes actual Donavan rugby grounds and duck pond and surrounds.
“That is money our city needs badly. We have to have the additional revenue.”
*The wording has been updated as it could have been read that Donovan park was being sold. Editor.