Sunday, September 18th …..

September is a month for birthdays. Madeleine’s is the 14th, our friend Kit from Calamba is the 16th and our friend Siaren’s was yesterday. This was also her first wedding anniversary. It seems forever since we were in the Philippines enjoying that wedding and all the other adventures we had arranged for us.

We were disappointed we didn’t see Madi for her birthday but she was here in Tassie just a little while ago and that was great. We talk to her regularly on the ‘phone and she keeps us up to date with what she is doing. This is the most recent photograph we have of her. The hair, of course, is not her natural colour but a good reflection of her individuality. She turned 16 this week.

Even though there are some quite nice birds around the house, we haven’t been able to attract the beautiful parrots which occasionally fly by. There is a bird feeder near the front door and we’ve been putting out seeds, but nobody seemed interested. However, this week we’ve turned a corner and we have parrots coming and going all day lone. What made the difference, you ask? Well, Jamie decided to encourage some grass to grow on an area we had levelled when the excavator was here.

Within hours, parrots from all around descended on us, pinching the grass seeds which Jamie had spread around. We took the opportunity to put out a few more handsful on the feeder and that’s now been discovered as well. There are two main groups: Eastern Rosellas and Green Rosellas. They stick to their own kind but it’s not unusual for both species to feed together. They’re a spectacular sight when they come in their numbers.


We’ve also been busy with more improvements to the cottage. I’m not able to do much but I can hold a piece of wood while Jamie cuts it so we’ve managed to put up some handrails on the front verandah. Jamie has been buying the odd tool so we’re starting to have the capacity to attempt various jobs around the place. It’s typical that, with so many jobs to be done, I’ll be out of action for a few weeks yet. But, at least I can put on my hat and offer encouragement while Jamie does the work.

Sunday, September 11th …..

Well, I’ve had a bit of a setback in my recovery plans. When I came home last Saturday, I felt terrific and believed I was making terrific progress.

I had promised to chair a meeting of the Craft Fair Committee on Thursday evening so, feeling fit and full of beans, we set off for Deloraine, calling in on friends at Bengeo on the way and arriving at the Rotary President’s house for dinner before the meeting.

Marilyn decided to stay at the President’s house with his wife and Andrew and I travelled in his ute to the meeting at Rotary Pavilion. All is good so far.

About an hour into the meeting I felt a shocking pain and realised that my hip had uncoupled and I was in trouble. Of course, nobody knew what to do, except ring an ambulance. I knew that there was no way I could be moved without professional assistance and one of the members who is a nurse agreed. I think the ambulance might have been there within 15 minutes and they did what they could to control the pain until they could get me into the ambulance for the trip back into Launceston General Hospital. By this time Marilyn had arrived and she followed us in.

I don’t know what happened to the meeting but apparently as I was being wheeled out, I said, ‘Meeting’s adjourned.’

I was given a little puffer to suck on for pain relief and morphine, of course, but nothing seemed to take off the edge. At the LGH, they sent me for X-rays and called in an Orthopedic Surgeon who decided he would be able to manipulate it back in. Easy for him to say!

They used a sedative and an anaesthetic called ketamine. I had read of this drug in various crime novels. It’s also used in veterinary work and I think Dick Francis had it in one of his novels. It doesn’t knock you out but causes the most vivid hallucinations. Jamie tells me that it is used as a recreational drug in small doses. It was extraordinary; I have memories of flying, with rolling swathes of colour and some connection with the backyard of the first house we occupied in Gwynneville, and of the words Corrimal and Kelloggs. Makes no sense now but when I was experiencing it, it seemed perfectly reasonable. I lived through the 70s, of course, but had to wait until I was 68 to have a psychedelic experience.

I came home on the Friday morning, a little subdued and more aware of what might go wrong.

The surgeon rang me this morning, just back from his holidays and very surprised at what had happened. Apparently, the joint popped out at the back, while I was sitting. During the operation, they tried to pop the joint open in all directions but felt it was very stable, so there is no reasonable explanation for what happened to me. I’ll see him later in the week but, over the next few weeks, I’ll have to be diligent in my physio exercises and avoid low chairs.

Tuesday, 6th September …..

It’s nice to be home although I find it hard to be sitting around for long periods with nothing much to do. I thought I would spend quite a bit of time at my desk but I find the chair is too uncomfortable so I have reverted to the netbook on my knee – not quite the same.

The doctor gave me the all-clear to come home on Saturday. This suited him as he was flying out to Queensland on Saturday morning and, if I was off the books, he wouldn’t have to brief his stand-in on my case. Marilyn is doing double duty at the moment as the only one in the family with two working arms and legs. Jamie is depending on her as well as his elbow is strapped tightly and he can’t drive for a couple more weeks.

I’m having very little pain and am quite mobile but the hardest thing is getting comfortable to sleep. I can’t sleep as I normally do, on my side, and lying out flat on my back is difficult. Since I’ve been home, I’ve had to sleep in my recliner chair with a doonah thrown over me but at least I can close my eyes for a few hours.

This morning, we received our e-tickets for the cruise. We don’t know our cabin number yet; the idea is that they guarantee us a cabin of at least category O but it might be better. On one previous voyage, on the Volendam, we had paid for an inside cabin and ended up with one on the outside. Certainly, it wasn’t the best possible because, at each port, the gangway was erected just outside our window, but it suited us. In reality, we only use our cabin for a few hours sleep each night, so the frills don’t excite us.

Jamie has found a Facebook link for the cruise and has already had contact with a number of people who are making their plans, forming trivia and bingo teams, and so on. I’ve never played trivia or bingo on a ship before but I reckon this might be the beginning. One woman wrote: I love doing trivia; not very good at it though so I need to find some smart friends. Jamie wrote straight back asking her to join us. It’s like on-line dating, a bit scary.

Friday, 2nd September …..

I didn’t sleep well last night; being in bed all day means that I become uncomfortable half-lying and half-sitting and then find it hard to come to terms with the on-the-back posture I’m expected to sleep in. I have a big wedge of foam between my legs to make sure I don’t roll over on to my side during the night.

I got up at 2.30am to go to the bathroom and somehow managed to fall over. It was an extraordinary experience; time seemed to slow down and I was aware of exactly what was happening and where each part of my body would be landing. I was aware I had to protect my hip and my head so I managed to land on my bottom in the corner. I pulled the emergency signal and three robust nurses came and dragged me up.

I expected they would fuss around, tucking me in and getting me a cup of tea but no chance! Once they heard me say I was OK, I made my way back to bed and they wandered off. I suspect they were playing cards and my fall disturbed them.

I notice that MacDonalds is celebrating its 40th anniversary of being in Australia. In 1971, we were living in Randwick and building a house in Campbelltown. Every weekend, we would drive up the site to check the progress and on the way we would stop at the very first MacDonalds restaurant, at Yagoona, for a fix. You could buy a Junior Burger for 20c, I think. Average wages might have been about $150 per week so it’s all relative.

I had another visitor yesterday. Tania from Giant Steps popped in with a bunch of flowers from the staff. They had also made a card for me but that had been left behind. Nice thought, anyway! The card arrived this morning with comments from all the staff – Get well soon, Hope you’re soon back on your feet, and No more curried eggs for me! The last is a quote from Major Bloodnock of the Goon Show. Ah, the things people remember.

I did my physio this morning to an acceptable standard so it’s home tomorrow.

Thursday, September 1st …..

Well, it’s Day 2 of my convalescence and I’m getting institutionalized to bedpans, bed-baths, meals on trays and a tiny TV high on the wall. At least I have been given a room to myself, so I don’t have to be sociable. Marilyn and Jamie have visited a couple of times, and five flipino friends came in on Wednesday evening with tulips and chocolates.

When I finish this note I will have another round of physiotherapy to do. Apparently it’s the key to getting fit quickly so that we can enjoy the cruise in less than 6 weeks’ time.

I have my computer with me so I can check emails and keep in touch with the world, so it’s not all bad news. It’s the sitting up in bed I hate and I’m not mobile enough to wriggle around looking for a comfortable spot.

The staff here are terrific. I have a male nurse looking after me today, camp as a row of rents. He flutters around the place like an extra in Carry On Nurse. Last night Marilyn was here and the nurse on duty recognised her from Grammar, and regaled us with the woes of having an 18-old daughter dealing with teenage angst. The night nurse caught me reading at 5.30 this morning and was very interested in my Sony Reader. It looks like her mother will be getting one for Christmas.

I thought I might overhear some gossip to fill the spaces in the blog but I seem to be in a quiet corner and miss out on a lot of what’s going on. It’s the story of my life, really.

Wedneday, 31st August …..

It’s 11 o’clock the morning after my operation and I seem to have survived. My first visitor this morning was Jamie, just before7. He’s having his elbow op today in the same hospital and the same surgeon. When the surgeon came by to see me at about 10, he said Jamie’s op. had gone well and he was in recovery.
The lead-up to my operation was uneventful but when I awoke in the recovery room, someone had discovered that they fitted the wrong cap to my prosthesis. No worries, said the surgeon, we can fix that in 10 minutes – so another shot of anaesthetic and back into the theatre.
I was waiting for someone to say, Has anybody seen my iphone? but thank goodness, no-one did.
It wasn’t easy sleeping last night but I’m feeling fine this morning. I can’t wait for a decent meal, it’s been liquids and snacks until now.

Tuesday, August 30th ….

I knew I shouldn’t have gone to the doctors. It’s always better to ignore the pain and hope it will go away. But, no, I had to go and spoil it all by admitting that I wasn’t 100%.

The surgeon manipulated my hip a little bit, said Hmmm! and looked wise. Ýou’d better get an x-ray’, he said, ánd then come back.’ Which I did.

Now, I’m up early so I can have my breakfast before 7am because I’m off to hospital this afternoon for a full hip replacement. I’ve read all the bumph about the operation and the possible side-effects, and filled in the Consent Form, and I’m to be the first cab off the rank on his afternoon list today.

How did I get in so quickly, you might ask. People wait for years for a hip replacement. But, then, I had Marilyn with me who never lost sight of the fact that we are booked on a cruise leaving in 6 weeks. And surprisingly, 6 weeks is just the anticipated recovery time of this op. I would have allowed myself to be fobbed off to an operation after the cruise but Marilyn cut right to the chase and asked the surgeon whether he had any available slots this week. Theoretically, he said, I have a cancellation for tomorrow afternoon. We’ll take it, says Marilyn, without hesitation.

So here I am, about to have my shower and due at the hospital by 11am.

I’ll try to keep the blog up-to-date while I’m convalescing but I’m not sure how St Luke’s feels about wireless modems.