Tara Ney is coming back.
The 58-year-old returns to Oak Bay council after suffering a broken tibia during an October charity rugby fundraiser on the Legislature lawn.
“My energy is back, I am not 100 per cent but council doesn’t require me running marathons,” she said laughing. “I can sit at the table and contribute to the decision making. I am leaving the fancy footwork to the pros.”
The injury to her tibial plateau crushed one side of the tibia, broke the other side off, and split the bone down the middle three quarters of the way through the leg. Metal plates and screws were surgically inserted, forcing her to take a leave from her post at the University of Victoria and from her council duties while she was bed-ridden for three months.
“I thought it would be some innocuous fundraising event,” she said. “(Langford Mayor) Stew Young passed me the ball, I went one way, then the other, and the leg went the other way – it was as simple as that. Life turns on a dime sometimes.”
Now walking with crutches, Ney’s leg healed to the point she was able to attend a family reunion in Hawaii, from which she returned Jan. 8. It was a trip that taught her travel isn’t the same for her anymore.
“Going through airport security (with metal) is a whole new experience,” she said. “They get a whole different kind of work through.”
After months of being away, Ney said she is looking forward to her return, pointing to the Official Community Plan as a priority she hopes to tackle starting with the first council meeting of on Jan. 13
“It was frustrating and tough to sit on the sidelines watching decisions be made and not be able to participate in them,” she said. “I am eager and energetic to come back and participate.”