Josh Strahorn knew something was wrong when cleaning his sunglasses didn't fix his blurred vision. But he kept going, racing to the top of Mt Ainslie before realising the view had changed forever.
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"When I closed my left eye, I couldn't see anything out of the right," the ACT Brumbies' speed and rehabilitation coach said. "I raced back down the mountain to my ute and went straight to emergency."
The Australia-wide COVID-19 shutdown has affected so many people in different ways, but Strahorn could never have imagined the chain of events that would threaten his livelihood and his health.
The 36-year-old was one of several Brumbies coaching staff members to have their pay slashed and work reduced to two days per week when the Super Rugby season came to an abrupt halt in March.
Strahorn, who coaches me at the Brumbies, also runs a coaching and rehabilitation gym in Queanbeyan, but that was shut, too, because of physical-distancing restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus spread.
So Strahorn went searching for work to ensure he could provide for his family, reaching out to a long-time friend who owned a landscaping business.
"I haven't landscaped since moving from Dubbo to Canberra seven or eight years ago," Strahorn said. "I thought that I would do it for maybe a month, just a couple of days a week."
But what seemed like a saviour soon turned into a nightmare. Strahorn had been on the job site for just four days when he swung a mattock into some dirt and a piece of debris flew into his right eye. It left a large black spot in his vision, so he immediately called his doctor.
"[The doctor] said when you get hit in the eye, it can change its shape," Strahorn said. "He said if it doesn't dissipate, head to emergency. But within two hours the problem was gone, so I got back to work."
Seeing clearly and keen to get back on the trails, Strahorn set off on the Mt Ainslie run he has done so many times, including a massive 53 up-and-down laps in 20 hours as part of the Neverest challenge in 2017. But this time was different.
"I put my sunglasses on when I went for my run and I initially thought that my sunnies had started fogging up," Strahorn said. "I took my sunnies off and realised it wasn't my sunnies, it was the top left-hand corner of my right eye that had started to go blurry.
"I continued my run - which was a bit silly - but when I got to the top of Mt Ainslie, I realised that when I closed my left eye, I could not see a thing out of the right."
Strahorn has since undergone two gruelling three-hour operations in an attempt to repair the damage to his retina and macula. He has been told it's unlikely he will be able to see out of his right eye again.
"It was a bit touch-and-go on whether I was going to lose my eye," Strahorn said.
"The doctor said that I may get a few shadows and lights from my peripheral vision, but the central vision [in his right eye] has gone. Barring a miracle, I won't have much vision in that eye ever again."
Strahorn started to contemplate the impact on his career, and his ability to provide for his wife and two daughters, aged three and one. The medical bills for two operations had been a significant financial hit, particularly at a time when his income had all but dried up.
But while luck had deserted him, those around him had not and that's not surprising when you consider Strahorn's generosity.
In 2011 he ran 420 kilometres from Wagga Wagga to Dubbo to raise money for people in the village of Giriami in Kenya. The charity run raised more than $15,000, which paid for new classrooms and a second toilet block for the community of approximately 200 people.
The doctor said that I may get a few shadows and lights from my peripheral vision, but the central vision has gone. Barring a miracle, I won't have much vision in that eye ever again.
- Josh Strahorn
In 2017, he was raising money for charity again. This time it was the Neverest Challenge that required participants to climb the height of the world's highest peak at a local landmark. For the Canberra leg, the task was to complete 53 laps of Mount Ainslie in one day.
Strahorn competed solo but still accomplished the team target in 20 hours, raising $5000 for the Black Dog Institute.
This time he was the one who needed help, and the Brumbies staff responded immediately to offer Strahorn $1300 to help with his medical bills.
"I was very touched by the support I received from the club," Strahorn said.
Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar said he could not believe Josh's run of bad luck and the organisation was happy to respond. "He is just a really good fella," McKellar said.
"He brings a lot of energy. You have to have those upbeat people that get others up and certainly now there are times where we have to help him get up as well.
"He's a country boy and loves working in this environment and you can see that it's just contagious for other players and staff."
It is almost two months since his operation and Strahorn has found it difficult to adjust to looking at life out of one eye. But he is determined to find positives out of what has been a stressful situation.
"I probably spent a lot more time at home with the kids and Belle than I have in the past, which has been a little positive," Strahorn said.
"I have had to make some serious adjustments in terms of where I stand for my peripheral vision.
"Not to take away too much from the seriousness of it, but I am still fortunate I can still do my job, I can still drive, I can still coach, I can still do some trail running, which I love."
He has also been able to return to work which means helping prepare the Brumbies as they embark on the revised Super Rugby competition, which started last weekend.
McKellar says the club is grateful to have him back but is mindful of the adjustments Strahorn needs to make. "We have given him time off and we have been really flexible with him needing to be around his family," said McKellar.
"Ever since this has happened, he has just wanted to throw himself back into his work because that's the sort of bloke he is."
