Defying the Odds
Module Overview
Eleven years ago, Troy Hall suffered a near-fatal accident on an avocado orchard. A long and challenging recovery followed. Now he’s sharing his story to make sure other horticulture workers ‘grow home safe’.
By his own admission, Troy Hall had a tough upbringing. “It was an underground world of drugs and alcohol and following the wrong people. That was ten years of my life.”
As the pull of that world waned, Troy made a concerted effort to get his life back on track. In 2011, he headed to Tauranga to pick avocados with his father. But less than a month into the job, he suffered a devastating setback. He was electrocuted twice while using a ladder nearby 110kv powerlines on the property. The first shock ‘killed him’. The second jolted him back to life but left him engulfed in flames.
“I wasn’t expected to survive. I swelled up to six times my size, got through that, but was left paralysed from the neck down.”
The initial prognosis was bleak – Troy wasn’t expected to walk again. But once again, he defied the odds and after years of physical rehab and struggles with depression, he now runs his own avocado contracting business and is in demand as a motivational speaker.
He says a major turning point was the birth of his daughter, now nine. “She gave my life purpose and is one of the main reasons why I decided to share my story.”
Looking back at his accident, Troy recalls, “Like a lot of people, I took life for granted. An hour or two before it happened, I was right beside those power lines and didn’t feel scared at all. My attitude was: ‘nothing could touch me’. I guess you could say I was cocky, arrogant, and stubborn. But I discovered life can change in a split second and suddenly you’re looking up at a hospital ceiling like I was, facing years of physical and mental recovery.”
It was a hard lesson to swallow. Troy sums up what it taught him in two phrases – ‘self-care and self-respect’.
“When you have both those things, you don’t take your life for granted. Instead, you think ‘hey, I shouldn’t be anywhere near these power lines!’”
Troy admits his former lifestyle was part of his undoing. “When I had my accident, I wasn’t eating well, wasn’t getting enough sleep, wasn’t doing exercise. That all contributed to how I felt. When you’re tired or not eating properly, your decision making really suffers. What happened to me was probably inevitable given the lifestyle I lived.”
Looking after yourself and your team
So now he’s on a mission to pass on what the past eleven years have taught him about the benefits of looking after yourself and your team on orchard. This ties in well with a new initiative launched by Horticulture New Zealand called ‘Grow Home Safe’ which seeks to identify and address key wellbeing issues impacting growers. In 2021, the sector had $15 million paid out in injury-related ACC claims. Troy believes there are still many workers in the horticultural sector, and other labour-intensive industries, living like he used to live and at serious risk of accident or injury.
“If I was living the way I used to, I’d still be a complete mess and would never have dealt with what I’ve been through. My recovery has taught me that good sleep, nutrition, and routines to keep the body moving all add up to a dopamine kick that helps you get through challenges. For example, what you put into your body, is what you get out. If you’re putting good food in, you’ll have a lot more energy and your thinking will be clearer.”
“The reality is horticulture work can be bloody tough on the body. That’s why workers turn to alcohol at the end of the day, because they’re sore. But when you do that for years on end, your body’s never getting proper sleep, it’s not getting looked after properly and you deteriorate to the point where you could be a hazard to yourself or others. I know because I was one of those people and I’m sure there are still plenty of others like I was out there.”
“On a cherry picker you can be eight metres up in the air. If you’re tired and not paying attention, you could easily miss powerlines or things below. I think there are still lots of near misses in the industry. It doesn’t have to be a traumatic event like I had to put you out of the game or stop you earning.”
Troy is quick to point out that as far as he’s come on his recovery, it remains a ‘work in progress’.
“People who see the ‘before and after’ shots often tell me it’s a miracle I survived, but it doesn’t always feel like that to me. My image, how I looked, was always important to me. Now I’m burnt I’ve had to learn to accept the new me which at times has been very hard. The gym has been a great escape for me, not just physically but mentally. I gym every day and try and pump as hard as I can.”
Surround yourself with good people
Troy also acknowledges the importance of other people in his recovery. “Surrounding yourself with good people is essential. If you’re doing everything on your own, it’s so much more difficult to deal with negative thoughts going through your head. There’s a lot of people out there who want to help, but you’ve got to take advantage of that. I’m as guilty as anyone of not always doing that.”
Troy says his dream was always to run his own horticulture business. “I’ve always liked what the horticulture industry brings to communities in terms of its fruit and produce. Dad helped me start my avocado business when I was paralysed and now, we’ve been going for nine years. The contracting side of the industry’s been up and down lately, so I’ve branched out into sales and am looking to get into the wholesale side. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved. Now I’d like to give something back to the industry and encourage people to take care of themselves.”
Farmstrong asked Troy if he had any advice for growers hit by Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle about how to tackle a major setback.
“I can only imagine how hard it must be for growers who’ve lost everything in the floods. My advice would be, to keep yourself busy, surround yourself with good people, and don’t waste time worrying about things you can’t control. Just focus on making the progress you can each day.”
“My accident is something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. For me, it’s been about accepting that, as best I can, and just getting on with things. That’s why I’m so proactive about working on my wellbeing. It’s a great way of keeping busy and keeping your mind off negative thoughts.”
“It’s taken me a long time to learn about self-care and what it takes to have self-care. I was down in the dumps for years. But since I’ve embraced it, I’ve had some great things happen and I’ve slowly learned to appreciate the wins I’ve had. I’ve got a beautiful daughter, I’m running a couple of businesses and I’m doing the best I can to help others.”
“I used to look at what happened to me only in a negative way. Now I look at it as something I can share to help people. If my story can inspire others and help them overcome their challenges, great.”
Farmstrong is a nationwide rural wellbeing programme that helps farmers and growers manage the ups and downs of the industry. To find out what works for you and lock it in, visit www.farmstrong.co.nz for free tools and resources.
