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Australian Olympian Alice Wood shared her ‘mum guilt’ of being on the other side of the world while her two-year-old daughter was hospitalized.
The star canoeist recently flew to Europe to continue her preparations for the Paris Olympics, but received some incredibly tough news on arrival.
Her daughter Florence was hospitalized after a severe case of vomiting and she barely recognized her when they FaceTimed.
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Wood explained the guilt he felt at not being there and immediately considered returning to Australia instead of competing in this week’s World Cup event in Hungary.
“The last week has been a challenge,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I often get asked how I feel about leaving Florence at home when I travel and obviously it’s difficult, but this last week since leaving Australia has really given new meaning to the word ‘difficult’.
“When I kissed Florence goodbye on Friday, she was full of energy and happy as ever, but when I was halfway to Europe I found out she was hospitalized and couldn’t stop vomiting.
“When I FaceTimed them after landing, Florence was so low on energy that she barely recognized me, which was heartbreaking.”
“The mum guilt was real and all I wanted to do was turn around and go back to Australia but I knew I had work to do and she was in the best possible hands with (wife) Jordan and my mum and dad.’
Wood added that her daughter has recovered quickly, but it’s still “sick” that she can’t be there.
“Fast forward to today and she’s out of the worst and almost back to her normal self, doing my hair and blowing kisses on the phone. The resilience that children show in the face of illness is truly remarkable,” she said.
“I’m not sharing this for sympathy, I’m sharing this to show the nasty side of being a traveling parent – when you can’t do anything to help or comfort your child or be there for your partner. But it reinforces my gratitude for Jordan and my family and friends back home and gives me perspective on what other parents may be going through.”
Wood competed in the K1 500m and 1000m events at the World Cup event in Szeged, Hungary. Her episodes are scheduled for Friday and Saturday local time.
The 31-year-old will compete in her third Olympics later this year, having also gone to Rio and Tokyo.
Although she has yet to win a medal at the Olympic level, Wood won gold at the 2017 world championships in the Czech Republic.
Husband Jordan is also a world champion canoeist and went to two Olympics, but sacrificed his sporting career to ensure they could juggle family life.
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