Part 4 - Hi ho hi ho it's off to Royal Perth Hospitial we go!

Chapter 7 -  Cashed up on hospital vouchers

After a breakfast of porridge (fine) and some kind of grilled fish (weird), which I obviously didn't eat, I was wheeled up to a private room in one of the hospital wards. I had been asked to provide a urine sample (fun) and once this was 'prepared' and ready for pick up I buzzed the nurse's station.....about ten years later someone arrived. My needs weren't urgent but I couldn't help wondering what would have happened if there'd been some kind of medical emergency in my room shoved all the way around the corner and down a long corridor....Hmmm.....


Between breakfast and lunch I attempted to catch up on as much sleep as possible while being periodically woken up by nurses taking my blood pressure etc. A nice lady came in at some stage and explained that she was the Private Patient's Liason and handed me a little gift bag of toiletries and a book of vouchers e.g. free parking and meals for my visitors (d'oh for being all alone) and free access to pay tv (wooot!). 


Stay tuned for Chapter 8 - A surprise visit!

Part 3 - Hi ho hi ho it's off to Royal Perth Hospitial we go!

Chapter Five - My ride in an ambulance (or Paramedics are nice people)

Post haste the ambulance arrived and the paramedics were knocking on my door, one small blonde woman and a tall man. After asking me a few questions I got a canula shoved into my tiny hand vein...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW. Then I was administered some medicine to stop me throwing up followed by a drip to rehydrate me. 


After only a short while I was ambling outside to the ambulance in my PJs and slippers with only my handbag as luggage. I was asked to lay down on the bed inside the ambulance and was strapped in which felt weird (a bit One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) but it was nice to lie down :P


The trip to the hospital was over in the blink of an eye and I was wheeled in to the Emergency Department for 'sorting'.

Chapter 6 - Emergency Department is never dull

I was wheeled into the main area of the Emergency Department which is bright, loud and busy. Thankfully there was a bed bay free and I was able to have a little bit of privacy. A very young newbie doctor came and asked me a lot of questions especially about the rash I had developed while throwing up earlier. I tried to explain that it had been located on my face, neck and the very top of my chest just below my neck. He asked me if it was still there, to which I replied "I can't see properly why don't you have a look?". To this (what I believed to be a) perfectly reasonable request Dr Newbie looked shocked, appalled and flustered. To my annoyance I finally gathered that he thought I was asking him to look down my top...however (1) I wasn't, I was only wanting him to look in an area that can be decently shown in public circles at the beach and (2) What if the rash HAD been on my breasts? Is he not a Dr? What on earth are we coming to when a Dr is embarassed to look at a woman's breasts for medical reasons? FINALLY he realised where I was indicating and said he couldn't tell if there was a rash as he didn't know what my skin usually looked like....excellent....very helpful Dr Newbie. 


After that brilliant display of doctoring I was left alone for quite a while, with the nice nurse coming in and checking on me and asking if I needed any painkillers. I tried to put it off but eventually I decided I did indeed need something as my back and abdomen were screaming at me. I was given some strong stuff that I was warned might make me feel loopy in the brainpan. Soon after another female Dr Newbie arrived and proceeded to ask me 10000 questions while I was in the middle of a period of melty mindtank. She was a consult from the medical department upstairs and she recommended that I be admitted to hospital and moved to a ward as soon as a single room became available (apparently in WA if you've been in an out of state or overseas hosptial within the last 6 months they like to keep you isolated from everyone else in case you're carrying some kind of super bug). 

I'd arrived in the Emergency Department at around 11pm at night and I was still there at 7am the next day waiting for a room to be ready for me. During this strange, bright, painful, noisy, disruptive night I can't say that I was ever bored. I could clearly hear all the goings on near my bed bay. All sorts of odd ailments, accidents, self-induced damage and mystery rashes paraded through like a strange radio play. 

Stayed tuned for Chapter 7 -  Cashed up on hospital vouchers

Part 2 - Hi ho hi ho it's off to Royal Perth Hospitial we go!

Chapter Three - Work'n 9 to 5 What a Way to Make a Fever!

I landed back in Perth at 3:30pm WA time which is 8:30pm Fiji time...having been awake since 5am Fiji time. Long day indeed. I grabbed a taxi back to my apartment and looked forward to washing my poor eye out with distilled water and skyping with Ryan after jabbing myself with my next batch of Humira. Later in the evening I contacted my boss with the intention of explaining that I would be home sick the next day but ended up agreeing to working from home due to our many pressing deadlines. Next day I felt really rotten but worked and worked and worked. On Tuesday I hadn't improved so I took myself to the doctor's office and discovered I had a fever...oops...along with a possible case of a cold coupled with bronchitis. So Wednesday and Thursday = proper resting at home (well...I did check my work email a little bit...weeelll....a lot). Friday I dusted myself off and went in to work. Weekend = more resting.


The following Tuesday I woke up feeling completely wiped out and blergh. Back to the doctor's to discover....ooops still have a fever. Told to rest at home for the remainder of the week and given another batch of antibiotics. Later that evening I make a special yummy pasta dish --> fancy smance gourmet sauce, green olives, fake mince, marinated fetta, tomatoes...yummo. Unfortunately a few hours later I saw it all again...and not in a good way. Ick.


Chapter Four - Throwing up ain't fun


So yes. There was much throwing up to be had. It was not enjoyable. I also appeared to develop a sudden weird rash on my face. I made a quick phone call between 'episodes' to my Mum who informed me in no uncertain terms to call an ambulance right away. I argued that perhaps a taxi would be better but she was very firm and I felt very sick, so I agreed. 

Calling 000 is a very surreal experience. I explained my symptoms to an operator and they dispatched an ambulance to my apartment post haste. 


Stay tuned for: Chapter Five - My ride in an ambulance (or Paramedics are nice people)

Part1 - Hi ho hi ho it's off to Royal Perth Hospital we go! ;D

Well hello there! How are you? Sorry I've been away so long...a few hiccups on the health front.

Chapter One - A Marvelous Trip to Fiji

On October 22nd I woke up at 3:00am, jabbed myself with a Humira injection (for my Crohn's) and hopped in a taxi to the domestic airport. I was off to FIJI! :D

Needless to say I was very very very excited to be on my way to see my cutes (aka Ryan and Teddy Cat). The trip was wonderful and I shall tell you about it at length in my next blog entry (with some ace photos!). 

For the purposes of this entry let me skip ahead to Week 2 of my stay in Fiji, where I was based in Suva and working remotely from our apartment. On Tuesday morning I began to feel quite sore of throat and ears and these symptoms continued to escalate throughout the day. By Wednesday it was obvious I'd cleverly caught another one of those respiratory infections that I seem very adept at finding in Fiji. Nevertheless I soldiered on and did what work I could while sprinkling naps throughout my day. My sweet Ryan was there to cook for me and make me comfy while my throat raged and puffed up in indignation at having yet another infection to deal with. 

A few days later I almost completely lost my voice. 

Chaper Two - "Red eye" to Perth

When Friday 5th November dawned Ryan and I were already awake due to my incessant bouts of coughing. Sadly this was the day I was flying back to Perth and I was feeling quite low to be leaving my partner and heading back on a 10 hour flight to my lovely but lonely apartment. To add a bit of interest to the trip I appeared to have developed a severe eye infection over night which was now attempting to gunk up and glue my eye shut. My eyeball was blazing red and looked squished and Frankenstein-ish. Unfortunately there was no chemist at the Nadi International Airport...oh well. 

After a tearfull "see you soon" at the customs entry way I ambled about alone with my crazy eye until boarding the plane to Sydney. During the 4.5 hr flight my eye oozed and weeped like nobody's business. As you can imagine I felt really suave and classy and am sure my fellow flyers thought I looked fabulous....yeah....

Once we'd touched down in Sydney I  turned on my phone and recieved text messages from Ryan urging me to see a pharmacist about my eye asap. So after the mad dash from Sydney International (via customs) to the domestic terminal and then a very dicey late check in to the next leg of my journey I had about 1.2 minutes to race around looking for a chemist. Thankfully I found one not too far from my gate (where the sign was flashing "Now Boarding - Final Call"). 

Breathless, gunky eyed and very very tired I stumbled over to the pharmacist who stared at me in alarm. 

"You have a very severe eye infection! It's already changed the shape of your eyeball. This is very bad" he said. 

He gave me antibiotic drops as well as cream and some special water tubes to flush out all the weird rot. Very grateful for his help (he gave me the proper stuff I usually would need a perscription for) I legged it over to my gate just in time to be one of the last (but not THE last) to board. 

As soon as we'd levelled off I raced up the front of the plane to the bathroom and administered my new medicines. When I finished and opened the door to step out into the aisle I was approached by one of the flight attendants who firmly (but politely) pointed out that I had just used the Business Class bathroom and that Economy passengers should only use the bathrooms at the rear of the plane....whoops. I walked past all the fancy pants seats and the curtain was closed behind me. 

Stay tuned for:  Chapter Three - Work'n 9 to 5 What a Way to Make a Fever!

What Kitties Want...! Part 3 (Staring Teddy Cat)

What Kitties Want...! Part 2 (Staring Teddy Cat)

What Kitties Want....! Part 1

(c) Kendall Benton

Do as we say not as we do.....

Do you remember when you were very young and you learned via your parents, teachers, books and television how you were supposed to behave in the world? It was laid out for you in black and white. 

Don't tell lies. 
Be kind to others. 
Share. 
Don't fight. 
It's wrong to bully people. 
Be gentle to animals. 
It's not whether you win or lose it's how you play the game.
Being different is great!
Family and friends are there to help you.
It's okay to be sad or scared and crying isn't shameful. 
Having fun and laughing is important.
And so on....


When you're a child you're encouraged (on the whole) to giggle, be creative without judgement, play, play, play, make friends, have adventures, be respectful to your elders, have a sense of wonder and whimsy....


Why is it that once you become 'an adult' this has to change? Why after a certain age are we suddenly allowed to berate, gossip, bully, scheme, work without joy, never play with toys, keep sadness inside, pretend you're not frightened, never burden family or friends with your troubles, play to win, laugh at others and not with others...and so on...


Why are there special programs for kids on television to teach them basic manners and lessons about 'doing the right thing' but once these same children get older these lessons no longer apply? Then what was the point? Surely what's important to learn as a child is still important as an adult?


What do you think? Do you think us older folk could use a refresher course on life? We want to preserve the innate innocence and goodness of children and give ourselves up as lost causes...I don't think we are....

 

I Should Like Camping...

No scratch that! I should LOVE camping! 

Why should I? Well:

• My partner and closest friends love camping
• I love nature and spending time in tranquil surroundings
• It's a get-away option within my budget
• I love adventure and going off the beaten track
• I love campfires and gazing up at the stars away from the glare of city lights

Considering all of this....surely I must love camping right? Nope. When people say to me "Hey we should go camping!" my insides gurgle and my heart sinks. I don't like camping. 

So why am I telling you this? I want to love camping. I really have only been on school camps and I think this has clouded my judgement. They were stressful and left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Camping for me means endless hours of hiking up hills for no reason, terrible food, sleepless nights with rocks sticking into my spine, various annoying activities paired with people I didn't get along with, very little free time and no showers or toilets. 


I know that REAL camping must be so much better than this! I bet REAL camping allows you to dawdle along at your own pace, to stop and smell the flowers or take a dip in that sparkling creek. I have a hunch that REAL camping would let me read a book in peace under a large tree with dappled sunlight dancing over the pages. I suspect REAL camping would give me quality time with those I love. 

I should like camping. So next time I'm in your neck of the woods and you're planning on a REAL camping trip....please ask me along! I'd love to go camping!

Quick thought.....

I was purchasing a Dare (iced coffee drink) from the boutique supermarket close to work the other day. The drink was scanned. I was told the price. I paid the money. A receipt was printed out. I was asked if I wanted the receipt. I declined. I don't need a long paper record to show me that I'd popped down the road on this date at this time to buy an iced coffee. It made me wonder why the process doesn't call for cashiers to ask if you need a receipt THEN print one out if you do in fact need one. How much paper is wasted on receipts that we either throw away or hoard for no reason? It's a small drop in the ocean I know...but still...it made me think...

Feral Life is Life

Some thoughts:

Recently I attended a talk about the environment of the Southwest of Australia given by the Chief Scientist of Western Australia at the Maritime Museum. During the obligatory slide about invasive species and their damaging effects on native fauna I was shown photos of foxes curled up serenly and feral cats looking almost demonic with red eyes and jagged teeth. This isn't the first time I have seen these types of images, they're pretty stock standard when giving a presentation on conservation in Australia. Invasive species have caused horrifc damage to the natural balance of things in this country. However, time and time again I have a very....I suppose controversial...feeling of saddness for the plight of those feral species. 

I'm not denying their impact on the environment. I'm not saying I have a grand plan that will protect our native landscape and these displaced critters all in one go. I wish I did. I also fully acknowledge straight up that feral species inflict great damage and suffering to native fauna. Their lives are equally as important. They also deserve to live a life without pain. 

Clearly the foxes, toads, cats, horses, rabbits, camels, rats etc of the world did not plan to arrive in Australia. There was no axis of evil conference back in the day where invasion was mapped out. The ancestors of our invasive species were forcibly removed from their original natural habitats where they were part of the environmental balance and plonked down here by foolish but presumably well meaning humans. Basically it's all our fault. Now who pays? Well the Australian environment pays for sure, terribly! The descendants of those first ferals pay as we bait, shoot and generally shun. The things we're permitted to do to these animals are almost identical to what people did to each other during our darkest moments in history.

Feral cats are wild creatures, no doubt. If I approached one, cat lover that I am, I'd be surprised if I didn't lose a limb. Whose fault is that? Not the cat's I would argue. What choice does it have but to be fierce? How else could it survive its' abandoned life if it didn't rely on its innate abilities to protect and provide for itself? 

I think one of the things that upsets me the most, along with the individual suffering of each of the feral animals baited or shot, is the glee that many people exude when carrying out these death sentences. Farmers hate rabbits, cats, foxes etc, but cattle are free to alter the Australian landscape...no worries mate. As a country many of us adore and dote on our cats and dogs, rabbits and horses. But those living on the fringe, in the wild, are despised. 

Under the rough exterior, the feral cat is not so different from the loved up moggie by the fireside at home. One has been discarded by society, through the selfish acts of humans such as being too lazy to desex their own cats, the other is (rightly) adored and respected. Cat owners have a responsibility not only to the cat (keeping him healthy, happy, fit and safe) but to the world (making sure the cat is desexed, is not disturbing native fauna, is vacinnated etc). Doesn't human society at large have the same responsibility for ALL creatures? Isn't that part and parcel of our species being stewards of this remarkable planet? We're fortunate enough to live here, top of the food chain as it were....surely we need to give back? 

As the old saying goes "With great power, comes great responsibility".

I'm just saying how I feel.

 

Whatever you do...don't cross the P's!

Thought for today:

When attempting to live a life based on Positivity and all that comes along with that....I wonder if there's a danger in confusing this with another 'P' word....Perfection. I argue that to have the first you need to let go of any notions of the second. I certainly don't mean that it's wrong to want to work towards betterment of self and to aim for high ideals, simply that to measure yourself against a notion you have of perfection or 'how you SHOULD be' is going to drain you and make a positive life difficult. Perhaps I'm wrong about this. What do you think???

 

TEDDY!! xoxo

I Heart Peppermint!

Looking for a magazine that was a cut-above the rest....I stumbled into Peppermint bliss! This new-ish mag is all about fresh ideas, sustainable fashion and eco-living with Heart. Here are just a few of my fav finds from this lovely little endeavour xox

 ECONSCIOUS MARKET               

ALKEMIE

ALKEMIE

Square One Organic Vodka

Aurora Robson

Would you like 65 cents or two kiwi fruits?

There is something both sublime and ridiculous about making your way somewhere very specific without asking for directions, taking a map or paying much attention to street signs. This was my Sunday @ Fremantle Markets. 

Iced Coffee @ my first Fremantle cafe

Dr Who - Boardgame Style

Cute and Un-essential

Rainbow-licious

 I ventured over to a stall selling certified organic produce, run by an affable but slightly overwhelmed older gentleman. I purchased three lovely luminous lemons and two ruby-red tomatoes. As he was handing over my change of 65 cents, he paused and asked me "Would you like 65 cents or two kiwi fruits?"....I took the two delightful kiwi fruits. You can't enjoy 65 cents for dessert now can you?