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A woman whose job it was to 'milk' pigs for their semen says a crippling wrist injury she suffered on the job has left her unable to work.
Maxine, 31, had a job she loved in animal welfare which paid well, but unfortunately it caused long-term injuries.
She started her job collecting pig semen for breeding top quality pork at the age of 18, but by 21 it had caused serious injuries in both her wrists.
Ten years later, she is still suffering from ongoing pain, which has required major surgery and prevented her from working in other fields such as floristry, dry cleaning and demolition.
'I enjoyed working at the farm, the actual semen collection stuff isn't all that exciting,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
'The wrist injury was caused by having to hold the penis still as the pigs move around quite a lot.
'On a big day it was working with roughly 25 to 30 pigs, collecting their semen in a milkshake cup for artificial insemination.'
At first, she used her right hand and then her manager suggested switching to the left after the right hand became very sore.
But the pain continued and was so severe that Maxine was crying in agony while sweeping the floor one day, so her manager suggested she should see a doctor.
After that, her employer moved her out of semen extraction and into the lab. But years later her wrists still hurt terribly.
She is now investigating legal action against her former employer's insurer for loss of earnings, medical costs as well as pain and suffering.
Maxine was thankful her manager at the time because she encouraged her to make a WorkCover claim, but she now wants to warn other young workers to be careful not to overwork.
'I was doing such damage to myself by trying to keep up with the workload. It's created a long-term injury. I'll never be able to go back to physical work,' she said.
'It's changed my whole outlook on life and my ability to work. There is no chance I can earn enough from working to buy a house at this point.'
Though her situation is very serious, Maxine can see why people might be amused by how it happened.
'Well it's quite funny because I did ruin my hands w***ing pigs and that is hilarious no matter who you speak to, that is absolutely ridiculous,' she said.
'It is legitimately how I hurt myself... what a ridiculous way to do it.'
By the time her injuries started to stabilise, she was no longer getting WorkCover payments, so she found a new job, but it did not go as planned.
'While working at the dry cleaner for just a few months... I suffered a flare up in a different area of the wrist and I had to apply for WorkCover assistance again,' she said.
Maxine did a pain rehabilitation program in 2018 and has been managing with the pain ever since. Ultrasounds and MRIs confirmed it was the same injury she had suffered 10 years before, but dramatically worse.
It affects not just her ability to work, but also every day tasks most people take for granted.
She has difficulties with buttons and tying things up. She has to be careful not to put too much water in the kettle and can't lift heavy items.
'It just about takes me all day to chop up vegetables. Raw chicken needs to be pre-cut as I can't cut through it,' she said.
Even brushing her hair is a problem and she has to use a special brush to do so.
'My weeks are planned out so I can pace myself without getting high levels of pain but so I can still get tasks completed.'
Michelle Cavalieri, Maxine's lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said repetitive movements and high workloads without adequate breaks can often cause workplace injuries.
'Maxine thought she was building muscle, but she was actually doing damage to herself,' she said.
'She has just had a major surgery on her left wrist to remove inflammation ... It's likely the other wrist will require surgery too.'
Ms Cavalieri said wrist injuries were common in many workplaces and often ruled workers out from participating in a lot of physical roles in future.
After her surgery, Maxine's doctors told her they didn't want her using her hands at all.
'So I'm really kind of struggling for ideas,' she said.
'I've been joking for years about starting a business doing tour guide with one of those foot boats, but that's not very realistic.
'So I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to be able to do.'
This is the woman:
