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“I will probably go through dark times, but the mental challenge is all part of it as much as the physical challenge”
Pharmacist Cameron McNaught has always been bubbly and happy-go-lucky, so was surprised last year when he felt “super flat” and “numbed out”. It was hard to find joy, and Mr McNaught found himself thinking, “I’m not feeling that great. Oh jeez, what’s going on here?”
He says a “bunch of things” contributed. Long days at Central City Pharmacy in Whanganui, moving house, and a two-hour daily commute to and from Tokomaru, Horowhenua, where he was living with his then girlfriend. Things snowballed, he says.
Many pharmacists are also overworked and don’t have time for life outside work, he says. With severe shortages, especially of trained staff, people are really stressed.
He didn’t have time to do things that “filled his cup”, such as exercise and having time to himself, which would have balanced out the stressors. So at the end of October, Mr McNaught sold his share of the pharmacy, which he had co-owned for three years, to business partner Stacey Simpson.
It was a hard decision because he loved the Whanganui team, but it had to be done: “It is quite nice to close that chapter and move on, it has eliminated a lot of stressors.”
The 31-year-old has since moved back to his parents’ place in Feilding and feels lucky to have a supportive family. Despite being a pharmacist, Mr McNaught did not want to go straight on antidepressants, and with his family’s help managed to avoid them. However, his brother Lewis Mackenzie, an orthopaedic surgeon, did need to take antidepressants when he went through a similar dark patch while training a few years ago.
His and his brother’s mental health struggles, and the number of antidepressants he saw dispensed at the pharmacy means he will be donating money to the Sir John Kirwan Foundation.
Through the Givealittle page Biking for Boobs & Brains, Mr McNaught is also fundraising for the Breast Cancer Foundation, after his sister George’s battle with the disease.
He says it was “surreal” and “very scary” when she was diagnosed in 2016 at age 32. She was working at a glass-blowing studio in Adelaide, Australia, at the time. Surgery in Australia and chemotherapy in Palmerston North followed. She is now cancer free. He says it seems every other day he hears about someone with cancer, but it is frightening when a family member gets it.
The aim is to raise $60,000, or $10 per kilometre he cycles.
This trip involves some unfinished business. Mr McNaught and his brother Lewis attempted to bike from the top to the bottom of the North Island during the summer university break in 2010. They were on uncomfortable borrowed bikes, were unprepared and their trip was cut short by Mr McNaught’s knee injury.
It will be good to “do it properly” this time, he says. Instead of state highways, Mr McNaught will take the scenic route, including gravelly country roads, dirt tracks and cycleways, and following the coast much of the way.
Since leaving Feilding on 1 December he has ridden through Whanganui, Ohakune, up Mt Ruapehu (“I am a sucker for punishment”), Taumarunui, the Timber Trail at Pureora Forest Park, then to Benneydale, where an ice-cream tasted “blimmin’ good” and Te Kuiti.
For most of the ride Mr McNaught will be on his own, but his brother will join him for a day or two, depending on his schedule. Others can accompany him if they want to.
Meanwhile, he will be eating a lot of calorie-dense foods, such as cokes, pies, and other bakery food to get him through the trip, riding about 150km a day.
To add a bit of fun, Mr McNaught is searching for the best custard square in the country. He’s also camping so will be looking forward to sleeping in a bed when he comes home for Christmas and New Year. He plans to tackle the South Island next year.
He says the trip will be “incredible”, but he expects highs and lows and will probably wonder why he’s doing it at various points along the way: “I will probably go through dark times, but the mental challenge is all part of it, as much as the physical challenge.”
As for next year, Mr McNaught plans to work for his mentor at a pharmacy in Palmerston North. He also wants to do a Master of Business Administration part-time. It will give him options and will open doors if he decides not to continue with pharmacy.
To make a donation go to https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/biking-for-boobs-and-brains
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