Sunday, October 9

Nera flies out tomorrow on a job with Aspen Medical.  This is the company that she works with on the Covid vaccination roll-out but this particular job is a bot different.  She will fly to Darwin and then on to the Gove Peninsula on the east cost of Arnhem Land.  The settlement where she will be based is on an island off the coast, and she'll be there for three weeks.  Very exciting!

When I was at Gib Gate, we had a sister-school at Yirrkala which is nearby to where Nera is going.  It had been arranged by Jimmy Barnes, whose kids were at the school and who was a great friend of the members of Yothu Yindi who were very big at the time.  I was never able to pin down a date for our visit and finally gave up.  

It would have been a great adventure and I would have a lot more to write about in this blog if t had come off.  

Saturday, October 8

We've had to vote in the Council elections this week. I don't remember ever doing this before but, apparently, it has only just become compulsory.  Our Council area covers 5 or 6 towns like Longford, a number of smaller villages and large areas of farmland.  There have been signs everywhere for weeks and our letterbox has been stuffed with brightly-coloured flyers.

The process is interesting: we received our ballot papers in the mail with instructions on what to do.  There were three papers: for Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillor and a little booklet with details of some of the candidates.  I imagine those who were not mentioned had missed the deadline.  Our candidates contained a retired Federal politician, an ex-Tasmanian Premier, various farmers, small business people, hopefuls with a variety of interests, and two Real Estate Agents.  

I had an idea that Real Estate Agents were barred from sitting on Council; it would be like voting the fox onto the Chicken House Committee - an obvious conflict of interest.  However, there they were.

We filled in our papers, sealed them in the envelope, signed a tear-off slip and posted them back.

I imagine, when they arrive at the counting house, the tear-off slips will be removed, we'll be crossed off the rolls and the votes will be counted.  The Government has been advertising for people to help with the count but all you need to do is be fast on a computer using only the keypad - a very narrow skill set.

Friday, October 7

I missed three days of gym because of my morning trips to the hospital and, I have to say, I was noticing the difference.  I made a point of going early yesterday and it was good to get back into my routine.  By chance, I received a reminder from the management that my membership will expire soon and I need to fork out a few more dollars to keep going.  Do I hand over $600 for a year, or $350 for 6 months?  If I go Pay As You Go, it will be $40 per fortnight  ($1040 per year).  What if I get fed up with it and stop going or, worse, I'm no longer able to do it?  So what is the point where a longer-term payment becomes economic?

I think that's a decision for another day.

Thursday, October 6

 I had the last appointment for this round of infusions yesterday although they handed me an appointment card for a return visit on November 1st, so I suspect there is more to come.  It was busier yesterday in the small ward but, for some reason there wasn't the same level of staffing I'd noticed on previous days.  I spoke to the nurse who was plugging me in and she commented that 'they' always get the rosters wrong.

The young woman in the chair next to me seemed to be known to the staff and I suspect she was or had been a nurse in that department.  The woman in the last bed came in in a wheelchair from one of the local nursing homes.  She was very cantankerous and awkward and said, "I'm not sitting in that chair.  I want a proper chair."  They explained to her that they needed to use the medical chair because if she had a reaction to the medication, they'd be able to lie the chair flat to deal with it.  I found out later she was called Charlene.

"No, I'm not lying flat," she complained.  After a bit more argy-bay, she finally gave in and they plugged her in.  A bit later, there was bit of a to-do from her vicinity and I heard one of the nurses telling her that what she was saying was not appropriate, it was rude and aggressive and racist.  I think the nurse was Asian and the old battle-axe had made a racial slur.

Charlene kept up her complaining and eventually the whole emergency team was called out in case she really was having a serious attack.  She wasn't, of course.  The doctor did discover that her blood-oxygen levels were low and suggested he do some proper tests to check whether she should carry a bottle of oxygen.  He got just as much abuse as the poor nurse but he was Irish.

Later in the afternoon, the young woman next to me was leaving and, before she left, she turned to Charlene and said, "I just want to say, Charlene, that you are awful.  You're a horrible person."

I thought it was almost a quote from Muriels Wedding: 'You're terrible, Muriel!"  I haven't had as much excitement in just one day for a long time 

Tuesday, October 4

Sometimes the world hits you in the eye with a surprising coincidence.  I mentioned yesterday I'm involved in the process of being infused with some expensive potion which I think is called plasma.  It's clearly an important element of our medical system but I've never given it much thought.

However, it seems I've upset some balance somewhere.  This morning, on the ABC News, authorities were putting out a call for donors to front up because there is a shortage of plasma.  It can't be a coincidence: the very next day after I have my first infusion, authorities notice there's a dearth of supplies and a call to action is issued. I hope they don't decide to start charging me for the product. now that I've caused a shortage.

Monday, October 3

I had to pop into the hospital this morning for an infusion.  I thought that 'infusion' had something to do with making tea, or some herbal potion prescribed by a witch.  In fact, it's much more scientific than that. I've been having trouble with my right hand: it's very stiff, I drop things and there's persistent tingling along the edge.  I've had it for years but it's getting much worse now.  My GP sent me to see a neurologist, who organised some tests and suggested these infusions might work. I have three sessions this week at the hospital.

It was an early start and they sat me down in a comfortable chair, put in a cannula and hooked me up to a bottle of this clear liquid.  Apparently it's made from blood products and the doctor in charge reminded me that it was a donated product and there might be a slight danger of picking up some horrible disease like HIV.  Bravely, I told them to go ahead.  They said I would have two bottles today and each would take a couple of hours to infuse. The bottle came in a cardboard box and I noticed the first one had a price label - $900!  Where are they buying this stuff?  Would they do better at  Chemist Warehouse?

Anyway, I had my two bottles today and will return tomorrow and Wednesday for more.  Let's hope it has some effect although the neurologist wasn't giving off particularly positive vibes when we last spoke.

Sunday, October 2

I had great hopes for this morning. I was at the gym before 8 and I envisaged the day unfolding before me and that I would have achieved much before crawling into bed this evening.  It's now noon and what have I achieved?

I've scribbled a few words of a story for the Writing Group next week, I've made the bed and that's about it.  Marilyn has promised that we'll have lunch at 12.30 and I expect the afternoon will just fritter away with not much to show for it.