*disclaimer* the following was written by a former student nurse and contains graphic imagery of vomiting. DONT SAY YOU HAVENT BEEN WARNED!!!
ergh! the past few days have been simply horrible! i went shopping with mum on wednesday in town, only for about an hour, and when we got home i just started throwing up..for no reason. and it didn't stop for the next 24 hours!!!! every 15 minutes....now i'm a primary teacher so i can't add up, but i know that is one heck of a lot of throwing up!!! and of course there wasnt that much food in my stomach, so up came the bile and stomach juices, then finally dry wretching...oi :( i was so thirsty but as soon as i tried to drink anything..up it came! i had a temperature of nearly 39 degrees yet i was shivering despite all the doonah's and hot waterbottles around me.
on thursday nite mum rang the hospital and they said that if i kept throwing up to take me into emergency. luckily for me, i stopped! but the sick feeling and wooziness continued. I looked like walking death! no colour in my skin, i lost 2.5 kg & it was hard to stand up and i was hallucinating a lot of the time.
its now sunday, and im still feeling pretty dodgy. Yes, the chucking up has stopped but my head is really fuzzy and my stomach feels like its made of lead. I've only eaten 3 meals since wednesday. i feel sick just by looking at food. which i guess, is a good thing! although not the most sensible way to lose weight!
so i have entertained myself by starting up a new webpage. I haven't yet decided, but it may end up being my one and only main page. So please visit 'Gertrude's Chill out Cafe'. the addy is:
kellyjoy.multiply.com
i've got photos, my surgery video, music & other stuff there. its awesome!
and can i just say that although we all promise to post more blogs and more comments more often when we are on holidays cause we'll have 'sooo much spare time' - none of you actually are!!!!! mwa, usually a veryy slack poster is beating you all by far! (maybe that is just proof that you have more exciting lives than me!!!)
anywho, catchya later
Kelleee :)
.....breathe kelly breathe.........ok, so in case you didn't know i am currently having a myocardial infarction (for you commoners who don't understand medical terms it simply means 'heart attack') so nothing to worry about, totally normal really..... ok...the reason for this palpitation is that i just checked the prices of airfares on the internet to africa.....and theyve gone up 600 DOLLARS!!!! arrrrghhhhh!!!!!!! i really hope that our trip leaders booked the flights a month or so ago...i paid the deposit but what if they like forgot? or they got so busy over christmas??? man flying overseas is so darn expensive!!! you think 'oh yeah its only $3500" but you forget about the little things like.....renewing your passport which expired...new luggage (thanks to my soon-to-be-brother-in-law i don't have to worry about that), vaccinations and oral medications, a new wardrobe (cause im sure every tourist in africa is expected to dress in a full safari outfit!!!) , etc etc etc. well i guess that i'm just gonna have to pray some more about it!!!
another thing which i am stressing about is whether or not to go to wallace's 21st in brisbane. It is especially difficult when you have CERTAIN people (not mentioning any names sonnie!!!) saying: "You soo soooo have to come up for Wallaces party!!!! *puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaa aase*" to address this issue logically, the following are my reasons for not going: (a) its a tad expensive- $90 for the bus plus train fares (b) I have NO idea what to buy him for his b'day (why are guys so darn hard to buy for???) (c) Clinton will be there and i really do not want to see him or his dumb new car, or his new classroom (JUST JOSHIN CLINTON!!!) (d) I have a bridesmaid dress fitting on the monday
and my reasons for going are: (a) Sonnie is giving me a guilt trip (b) it would be soooo nice to see everyone again before college starts (c) I would do anything to get away from my desk and tons of paperwork for my lawsuit
hmmm...what to do?? what to ddoooo?????
The third and final thing which is stressing me today is the fact that I have just been notified that i have exactly 6 weeks to do an ENTIRE semesters subject!!! if i dont finish it, chances are i'll have to stay at college an extra semester (so i'll be there for 5 and a half years....nooooo!!!!) and its a way dodgy subject too..christian studies. Now i like Christianity, and i like Studying, but when you put them together it is just WRONG!!!! and i am not terribly self disciplined when it comes to distance education work (i admire you sonnie for doing an entire DEGREE through distance ed!!!)
i am home and boy oh boy does it feel GOOD!!!! mum and i spent the week at my sister\'s house in brisbane; and the whole time i couldn\'t wait to get out of there! We spent the week shopping and shopping and shopping for the wedding. My sister ordered her wedding dress, which is sooo beautiful!!! but i tell you what, finding bridesmaid dresses was by far the most stressful event! i think it would help if the 4 of us weren\'t so picky (me, mum, monica and Rowena the other bridesmaid). my sister has changed her mind on the colour scheme 10,000 times, but has finally settled on green. now its no ordinary green, its a very rare green, so do you think that any of the shops had it??? nope! we looked at all the bridal shops in brisbane and the gold coast (well it felt like it!) and tried on sooo may dresses, but they either weren\'t flattering, or were the wrong style, too expensive, too \'bridesmaidy\' etc. i personally want a dress i can wear more than once. I mean really, who would spend $300-400 dollars on a dress to wear it one day??? so we\'ve finally decided to get the dresses made by a dressmaker. It\'ll be the same price, or possibly more expensive than buying one, but at least we get to design the dress exatly how we want it, and it can be adjusted (cause we are all planning on losing weight for the wedding!)
so having that sorted out we are all mentally and physically exhausted and the brisbane weather didn\'t help at all! i ended up getting wheeled around in a wheelchair by my sis cause my back couldn\'t handle all the strain. So right now, having gotten home an hour ago, am lying down in the guest room sipping a cold drink....ahhhh......gotta love the country. I wouldn\'t swap it for anything!!! the city is fine, for a day or so, but after that it annoys me. there is simply nothing to do! you have to bolt your windows, always lock your front door, can\'t sunbake nude in the backyard, can\'t talk loudly in case the neighbours hear...its HORRIBLE!!!!
well i just got an ipod shuffle, so im gonna play with it cause its more interesting than you!!! JUST JOSHIN!!!!
Happy Sabbath Everyone and a belated happy new year and all that....
well, thought i would take some time out from my oh-so-hectic (cough cough) schedule and update my blog. isn't it funny the way you picture your holidays to be, and they end up being nothing at all like you imagined. Thats how i feel right about now. When i was pushing myself to get everthing donw last semester and telling myself that i could sleep in a few weeks time, i imagined myself coming home, sleeping 18 hours a day and basically bumming round. now i admit, i have done a bit of bumming, but each time i just sit here and do nothing, or surf the net, read whatever, i feel soooooooo guilty about being lazy!!! what is the go??? my body clock is back to normal, finally after a whole YEAR of wierd sleep patterns. i feel as though i've turned into an old person going to bed at 9pm and waking up at the crack of dawn. Last night I was talking to Rachel on the phone, it was about 8.30pm and i couldn't stop yawning (and it wasn't boredom from the conversation!) grandma matron...has a nice ring to it, don't you think??!!!
well, i have to tell you all about my sister and the proposal. I first got news that they were engaged when i was in sydney a few days before i was to fly home. then my sister tells me that she didn't actually say yes, she was thinking about it (not exactly the romantic moment every girl dreams about!) so her and Brad agreed that the timing was wrong and he would ask her again later. so i flew to brisbane, stayed with her for a few days and then us 3 drove home to Stazza. the whole weekend mum and i were waiting for him to propose- i had the videocamera handy when we looked at their block of land, but to no avail. I felt quite silly, hiding behind trees etc with this camera, hoping to caputure the moment on camera for the grandkids!!!
so then on Sunday morning i get woken up by mum racing into my room and saying "quick quick! wheres the camera? i think he's proposing in the garden!!!" so i jumped into action, and sure enough they walked out of the garden laughing and looking extrmenely happy, and she had a ring on her finger!!! but apparently he had not proposed in the garden, they had gone for a walk in the orchard while we were asleep and done it then. Now get this, the best part is the RING. Its the most romantic thing ever, and i think if the man i end up marrying does something like this, i would die from happiness. Brad MADE monica's ring. He knew that she wanted them to pick the ring together, but he wanted something to propose with, so her made her a temporary ring, out of braided copper and smashed dozens of glass jars to get a piece of glass the right size and shape to put on top. it is so intricate, it must have taken him ages!!! ooh, i just go all gooey thinking about it!!!!
so in our house its like 'all systems go'!! the wedding is in April, the engagement party is in February and there are so many things to be done!!. We spend hours and hours, shopping for sample wedding invitation materials, looking at dresses, getting quotes for wedding cakes etc. it is soooo tiring and i'm not even the one getting married!!! and poor monica is so stressed, i think the idea of elopement is looking very attractive right now!!!
So apart from the wedding, this past couple of days i have been in Brisbane. I went on the bus on monday b/c my solicitor arranged for me to see a phychiatrist (no idea how to spell it) and an orthopaedic surgeon. Saw teh psych on monday, then i got to stay in my law firms apartment right in the city!!! it was sooo exciting, i've never stayed at a hotel on my own before, and the view was UNBELIEVABLE!!! it was right on the brisbane river, and close to everything. The next day i saw the surgeon, and i'm not meant to discuss it, so i'll just say he was very nice. unlike a certain other biased neurosuegeon whose name i will not mention. and a HUGE THANKS to Sharona, who posted up my MRI scans to the doctor...don't know what i would do without you champ!!!
Carla came and visited me at the apartment and we went to Queen St mall and bought lunch then bummed around the apartment eating icecream and watching tv till it was time for me to leave, and boy did i regret eating icecream! i was nearly throwing up the whole way home!!!
ooohh...and i bought myself a digital camera (i'm sure carla is breathing a sigh of relief cause now i wont be borrowing hers all the time!!!) its a pentax optio S55 and sooooo cute!!! its the size of a credit card but is packed with features, and although it isn't the one i was planning on buying, i am very happy!! can't wait to test it out in Africa!!! :)
we had a dog wander in here about a week ago. I thought he was absolutely gorgeous and instantly adopted him Miles. We have lost 2 of our dogs this past year, and i really miss them so thought it was great when he showed up with no identification. The great thing about him too, is that he was really big, so i didn't have to bend down to pat him. However, the day i left for brisbane, i got mad at him b/c he had torn appart the ball i had given him and strewn the stuffing all over the yard. I didn't even hug him goodbye, then when i got home Mum said that he had 'disappeared'. I am so sad, i really hope he comes back. I guess the one good thing out of this experience has taught me a lesson about not leaving things on a bad note.
hmm....i can't believe its Christmas this weekend!!! it just doesn't feel the same...i was really looking forward to it, as last year i wasn't allowed to travel home for Christmas b/c of my operation, so i was stoked to be home. Then i found out that monica and Brad are going to spend Christmas with his family on the Sunny Coast, so taht just leaves me and Mum, who wanted to just cancel it :( however i protested and did a big sad sob story about it being my first christmas in 2 years etc etc, so we will still have it, just not with pressies (cause we are saving up for the wedding) but we still have a tree (a REAL ONE!!! yeah city ppl thats right! and you thought living in the country had no advantages!)
well, think i've tortured you sufficiently long enough for one day so i'm gonna go.
Hope you all have a FANTASTIC Christmas & all that jazz :)
WOW! its been ages since i last posted! sorry everyone, and thankyou brandon and sonnie for you (not-so-subtle) hints!!! I guess i'd better catch you up on the latest goss...
1. MY SISTER IS ENGAGED!!!! (just happened today...how exciting!)
2. I'm going to africa in July!
3. I've finished my first year of primary teaching!!!
4. I'm at home in sunny QLD with my awesome family!!!
hmmm.....trying to think of what else exciting is happening....the storms have been absolutely wicked up here! my mum actually got struck by lightning that came through the window...heaps scary. When i flew into brisbane on tuesday night we were delayed by an hour, we had to circle the airport b/c of storms, and when we were allowed to land we had to sit onthe tarmac for ages cause no-one would come out and get our luggage while the lightning was overhead. It was quite scary, i've only flown in a storm once before, and to see lightning out your window and feel the plane being blown all over the place was freaky as!
well ive just been summoned to help with some wedding stuff (arrgh! its starting already!) so i'd better go. Don't say i never post!!!
i was looking forward to a really nice sleep in today and a lazy day (and i was going to pick up my videocamera), but noooooo, i had to get called into work!!! my boss is sick so i had like 20 min to get out of m pj's, have a shower find appropriate clothing to wear and find access cards and keys to the ABC!!!
talk about hectic, and for some reason today i have had ppl coming and asking really tough questions and wanting difficult transactions taht I've never had to do before! So I decided to call my mumsy wumsy to calm me down, and it worked!!! She told me that my sis and her boyfriend/fiancee have just bought a block of land- 250 acres near stanthorpe. I'm very excited!!! We were all looking at a 600 acre block a few weeks ago, but it fell through. apparently its very nice and has such a nice address "mountain Park Road" mmmm..... and theres a 250 block right next door, so I'm really praying that it doesn't get sold until I get my payout money and can buy it!!! then we can live right next door!!!
and my sis and Brad are driving down to the snow today, and are running late so may be stopping here at the SAN for the night!!! im sooo happy!
Last nite I went driving with the girls (jo jo, nadia and ralph), it was so much fun!!! we headed to a beach, although i do not know how it is even classified as a beach...more like a pond compared to our BEAUTIFUL QUEENSLAND BEACHES!!! and it was all dark and scary so we decided to get out of there and continued our rampage with funky old-school music blaring to manly. we bought $20 worth of icecream(WOAH!!!) and the servings were HUGE!!!! i reckon at least 3 people could easily share one!!! we were expecting tiny portions like baskin robbins have...what a mistake!!! so then we were all nearly throwing up!!! but we walked down to another beach (yes, this was a sort-of-real-one) and it was soooo nice!!! it was dark and we could see the stars and the waves breaking in the moonlight looked slightly scary yet oh-so-romantic!!! we were all complaining that there were no men there to enjoy the moment with so we just all gave each other a hug instead!!! Then after the magic had sort-of worn off we started to realise just hjow cold it was!!! so we rushed back to the car (with jo jo in her pink Pj's...tee hee...we got some funny looks!!!) and put the heater on full-blast and drove home by which time I was vererryy tired!!!
so yeah, im bored at teh moment which is unusal b/c i usually looove working at the ABC but today i just have a really short attention span!!! I've been working on Carlaa's and Bradens presents, but then my mind wanders elsewhere etc etc
I can't wait till Sabbath!!! Even though i haven't been terribly busy this week i'm just really tired. i just wanna have a whole day with just me & God and chill. Tomorrow our youth group have stuff planned so that should be fun- letter boxing and ice-skating..woohoo!!!
mmm, now the shop is starting to get exciting..Jess came in and we had a chat and now all the first years have come in a hoard buying out the shop!!!
So i guess I'd better go and actually do some work!!!! lol
:P
here it is sonnie.....the WATCH THIS SPACE news!!!
ok ok...due to a wake-up-call from Sonia (Thankyou!!!) i have come to the realisation taht I haven't posted in, well quite a while!!!
so heres whats been happeneing:
firstly, remember I said that I had like way exciting news??? well, the other day i was in an elevator at teh San with this wardsman about my age, and you know whats its like in elevators you try and avoid looking at the people and just pretend that the door is the most fascinating thing you've ever seen!!! well just by chance i happened to glace at his nametag and it said "rowan Kew'. and i was like 'OH, mY GOSH'!!!! and i said it outloud, and as i did that he read MY nametag and said my name outloud......and we both started talking at once!!!! I grew up with this guy in goulburn which is where I was born...back then we were inseparable....my sister was friends with his sister and so he and i became good friends. I haven't seen him in like 13 years!!!! and boy has he grown up!!! It was such a wierd feeling, to think that every day I have seen him around the hospital, never saying hello, never knowing all this time who he really was!!!! It just blows my mind!!!!! so yeah...was that worth the wait/?? well at least I find it exciting, even if no-one else does!!!! :P
sooo...apart from that there has been a little incident which has happened...i dont really want to go into details cause everytime i have to repeat it, it just drives home the fact that my life is in complete shambles at the moment. So i hope you forgive the briefness...
I was in the ER department of westmead hospital last week, was admitted due to some complications with my back. I stayed there waiting for various tests and scans to be done, and had a visit from my neurosurgeon on the friday with some very, very bad news. Basically it afffects everything- every component of my life. I have lost my career, everything. I dont know if it will ever end. its very very hard for me to keep a posiitive atitude with all this, some days I just burst into tears, anywhere, anytime, but I hope taht you will pray for me that God will bring me through this smiling as He has always done :)
anywho...on a more happy note i am LOVING going to our youth group. Its only really gotten good these last few months, and boy, is it GOOD!!! I love meeting all the new people and sharing Jesus and what he's done with ppl my age. and we do heaps of stuff together- social stuff as well as tons of outreach stuff. This weekend we have letterboxing leaflets for a seminar our church is running and ice-skating on Saturday nite...well i wont be personally skating but i can watch and check out all the hot christian boys!!!! mmmmmmm....... ;)
well, i can hear my extremely messy-just-got-hit-by-hir oshima's-eqivilent room calling, so im gonna love ya and leave ya.
i can't wait to see my sister doosy woosy and future bro-in-law bradsy wadsy and the troopy woopy, carlzy warlzy and petey wetey in brissy wissy, my momsy womsy and dadsy wadsy....and my dog buffy wuffy and chloe woey...and my budgy wudgies..and friend dotty wotty....and good 'ol STAZZA!!!! (stanthorpe)
...hope its still snowing....i promised chris that i'd being him back some!!! and he's bringing me back some from perisher blue....lol
well....i have not yet finished packing and i need some ugly sleep cause i have to work tomorrow morning and then i'm up, up and away (if I can actually find newcastle airport taht is!!!)
See you all when I get back (if i decide to come back!!) :P
PS- My next post will be a highly exciting one....about something awesome yet strange that happened to me today...but I'll fill you in about that l8r...
*****************WATCH THIS SPACE******************** ***
aaahh.... the happiness that being busy brings!!!!
I have waited for this moment my whole life....well maybe not quite that long, more like 10 weeks or so!!!
Today I officially registered as a 'SAN volunteer' which means that I am one of those ppl who gets to wear the oh-so-sexy yellow t-shirt!!!
Level 6 (oncology ward) want me to work 4 hours a day for 2 days a week as their assist Ward Secretary. Level 10 (orthopaedics) want me for the same thing, 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. And the actual volunteers office wants me to help out in their office as well!!!! pheeww!!! Maybe i shouldn't have told them that I have experience in Office admin!!! naaah, im stoked that I have this opportunity to work on the wards, meet tons of new ppl and just generally keep busy!!! :)
Had my first physio session today...well rather I was SUPPOSED to....I thought it was at 2pm so I slept in, but it was actually at 9AM!!! whooppsss!!!! I feel terrible, but im sure they'll charge me for it so yeah...oh for those of you who dont know i started having physio at Hornsby (public) but for reasons i dont want to post to the public I decided to go privately, and its just so much closer (like 100m!!!) I have a male physio (mmmmm!!) named Stu, haven't met him yet, but boy am i looking forward to it!!! lol ;)
bought a video camera off Ebay today...its a JVC just the one I wanted so i am veerrryyyy excited. Have many plans for it next semester.....BWA HA HA!!!!
Got to talk to Mr sandwich on the phone tonite...that was very nice...and it reminded me of how much i miss all my avondale friends :( aaahh well, its only four more weeks :)
I'm going home this thursday!!! Its been soooo hard for me to keep it a secret from my mum (as those of you who know me well....i tend to have a big mouth!!!) I've come close a few times to saying it, but i think that since I've made it this far I can make it a few more days (maybe!!!)
hmmm....well ive just been working at the ABC, cleaning and orgnising my room, hassling Kylie-anne & Kristin, doing craft and some Student dean stuff. Not too much, but all that will change tomorrow!!!! HIP HIP...HOORAAYYY!!!!
do you ever get so homesick that you infact, literally feel physically sick???
thats the way I feel now. I haven't been home since march, and i know thats only 4 months, but still........
Mum rang and said that its snowing in stanthorpe and i was like oooohhh....i wanna goooo hhoooommmmeee!!!!
I'm so sick of the dodgy weather down here, it has been raining non-stop for a WEEK and i know we need the rain and stuff, but it just makes me so darn miserable!!! (DUMB NSW!!! the only thing its good for is origin!!!) I haven't been going on my nightly walks and i feel like curling up in bed with hot drinks and watching movies. But i tell myself to do something constuctive, so I have been doing my crafty stuff...in the process of crocheting 3 sacrves and doing 2 cross-stitches, so thats good to take my mind off stuff.
I miss everyone so much!!! I was wastching a movie yesterday about a convict fellow back in the 1800's who was sent to an island by himself for months. The captain that sent him there said that "loneliness is the worst form of punishment'......and its so true!!! Sharona flew out yesterday, clover left today, and everyone else left ages ago. Not even my neighbour is here to annoy!!!
So i have decided to go home.....even though i'm not supposed to be travelling too much.....anyway, its just for the weekend to surprise my mum!!! I can't wait to see the look on her face!!! She's not expecting me to come home till december or january. So my sis and I have been plotting and have found a way to arrange it all so mum doesn't find out!!! tee hee hee....
hmmm...only 5.5 weeks till college starts..YAY!!! THen i can see lots of ppl ...Shaz and I already have our first 2 weekends up there planned (can you tell that we're excited about going???!!!)
Anywho.....I should go cause i'm going to bed early tonight because I'm working all day tomorrow at the ABC (and just WHEN I THOUGHT THEY'D FIRE ME...I GET MORE WORK!!! how wierd is that!!!??? i'm also working saturday nite and sunday...maybe i should do dumb stuff more often!!! money money money.....)
well today was one of the most stressful days i've had in weeks!!!
its was the first day where I got to work at the ABC the entire day, unsupervised, which meant that I had to open up etc etc. Well, I arrived 1.2 an hour early, just in case....and boy oh boy did I need it!!! Everything arrived smoothly until i had to open the safe. Now before you laugh at me, let me inform you that this is not ordinary safe-its mean, cunning and all-round horrible!!! it has a big chip on its shoulder when it comes to ABC personnel. so i do the righ combination and i hear the little 'click' but i can't open the door, so i try again and again and again [insert infinity here]
i was getting really frustrated and the more frustrated i become the sweatier my hands became....no chance of opening that door. so i rang my boss who told me to use something to pry the stupid heavy door open, so i used a metal ruler and sliced 3 of my fingers open. So then i have blood pouring everywhere going all over the phone and the safe and the phone book & I have customers who come in despite the fact that the shop wasn't open yet!!!.....arrrghh!!! so my boss is on her way to a retreat & can't solve the problem and asks me to call another staff member....so i did and she wasnt' home. So my boss said to not worry about it, it happens to everyone and just have ppl pay eftpos or credit card. So thats what I had to do. Highly embarassing? yes! The worst day I've had in weeks? YES!!!
So the first thing I'll do come monday morning is kick that STOOPPID SAFE to kingdom come!!! AAAAARRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH H!!!!!OOOHHHHHHHHH the SHHHAAMMMEEEEE and EMBARASSSMMEEENNNNTTTTTTT TT!!!!!
i am soooooo glad that its SAbbath and I can forget all about the silly little stresses of life and chill out with my God!!!
these were sharonas first words after waking up from a general anaesthetic. Yes, well Monday was the big day for her....the day that she lost all her wisdom (teeth)
....we woke up at 6am, for a departure time of 6.23am precisely sad yolanda who wanted to leave plenty of time to be at the hospital by 7am. Well, I knocked on her door at 6am and she demanded to know what unearthly time it was. When i informed her, she replied "pffft, then i've still got 22 minutes to sleep!"
Needless to say, at 6.23am ON THE DOT we were waiting for yoie to arouse her dopey self and ever-so-slowly out on her shoes and socks. We ended up leaving at about 6.30, and we made it to the hospital on time. and let me tell you, Dalcross is the most picture-perfect hospital ever- it looks like something out of a story-book!!! its like a minature castle....sooo cute!!! So i got to play paparazzi and had to have every aspect of shaz's hospital stay on film....yay!!! She warned us that she may be in a bad mood after the surgery, so we prepared ourselves for the worst.
We got to sit in her room for a little while, and i got mistaken for her MOTHER!!!! my goodness...she's older than i am!!! then it wasn't long before she got dressed into her sexy white gown and was wheeled off to theatre. I wanted to stay and wait, i really did. But i had to work in a few hours time, so it wasn't practical. Yoie and I came home and crashed from a big lack of sleep (although being back as student dean has its downpoints..especially when you JUST get to sleep and someone comes banging on your door!!!) and then i went to work. We bought some flowers which we named 'jemima'. Then we left for the hospital.
Sharona was out of it longer than they expected....quite a few hours more. she was asleep when we got there and we were told by the RN's to wake her. SHe was so out-of-it and mumbling and her eyes were darting off in different directions!!!! she was soooo cute!!! but she soon livened up and started eating her jelly and incecream. We even got so rowdy at one stage that the lady in the bed next door was telling us to be quiet...whoops!!! shax had 2 student nurses looking after her. one of them had to take out her cannula...poor girl she must have been so nervous with 4 of us watching her, her hands were shaking like anything!!!
we were off around 4pm and brought the patient home. and i am happy to report that she is doing well...exceptionally well in fact!!! When clover had her wisdom teeth out she was practically dying and ended up in emergency!!! but shaz is up and about, eating, drinking, watching movies and chatting. its wonderful!!! I'm so glad that she's ok!!! :)
I have been working on assignemnts for nursing, trying to get ahead for next year. and i got quite a bit done...then today i was informed that with the new program, everything will change. what a BUMMER!!! :(
i worked tonight: 5-7pm. my very first time of closing the shop...oooh how exciting!!!
more and more ppl are going on holidays....so this place is getting quieter and quieter...kinda eery sometimes!!! so i'm just keeping myself busy, and hopefully i wont notice it!!!
hope you all have great holidays, and for those who still have exams...study hard, and then a bit harder, and then even harder!!!
ahhh the joy of friendship!!!! Sharona and i are currently sitting in the res computer room writing hate mail to each other....ohh it makes me get a warm fuzzy feeling inside.....!!!! (can't wait till she goes to hospital on monday.....then i can reallllyy torture her...bwa ha HA HA HA HA!!!)
herm erm....anyway....today i was supposed to go to Wahroonga church...was really looking forward to it too but last night stupid kelly thought she was super-woman so didn't take ANY painkillers.....as a result, kelly was writhing in pain the entire night and didn't get to sleep until approximately 8AM!!!! therefore kelly missed church altogether!!!! stupid idiot!!! :P
so what else has been happening in my exciting life of late????? welll.....ummm.....been working every-day at the ABC, thats always fun, had some lady yelling at her boyfriend the other day...accusing him of not being a true christian etc etc....so that was a lot of fun!!!
Been on a cleaning and sorting streak this week......actually vacummed my room for the first time in AGES, and have thrown out 3 HUGE garbage bags of paper i was hoarding......and after only 1.5 years of college....it makes me shudder to think how much stuff i will have when i'm 70!!!
oh and of course wednesday nite, what a WONDERFUL fantastic nite......re the state of origin!!!! it was quite amusing....i was sitting next to a fellow queenslander (but she goes for QLD....what a dumb concept!!!) and each time the opposite side scored we hit each other and laughed at the groaning and inability to watch any more....!!! game 3......GO THE BLUES!!!
erm what else???? umm.....ooooh my sister asked me to be her maid of honour at her wedding!!!! I'm sooooooooooooo excited!!!!!
got a letter from my solicitor stating that I have an appointment with ANOTHER neurosurgeon who is to examine me to decide how my injuries affected/affect my life bla bla bla....the cost for this consultation is a mere $1000 !!!!! always fun when that happens......i think i may have missed my calling!!!! should have become a neurosurgeon instead!!!
My friend Yoie and I got all excited this week because we decided to join either the air force or the navy.....such wonderful incentives...we'e never have to worry about paying fees ever again. Only one problem....i doubt very much they're take me due to my medical history and likelihood of future surgeries......real bummer that :(
I have watched 24 hours of 'little house on the prairie' DVD's this week. Talk about addictive!!! It just makes me wanna go and move out to the middle of nowhere and live simply with my hardworking husband and adoring children.....wait a minute!!! something seems wrong about that......hrrmmm...perhaps i'd better get myself a hubby and kids and then move!!!! lol. Well, if you think i'm bad, you should see sharona- she's gotten really attached to this book 'redeeming love'.....so sad!!! lol, not really, us nurses need some sort of fantasy/daydreaming to keep us alive!!! where are the toy boys when you need them eh>??? :P
everyone is leaving or left to go home on holidays.....i really wish it was me :( its gonna be so lonely here when Sharona leaves.....*loud sobbing* (dont' say you're not loved shaz!!!)
and carlz didn't even bother to call me back on friday night.....where's the love...hey??? too busy to call your only sane buddy-ol-pal??? just cause its your 25th wedding anniversary- that is no excuse!!! lol. just you wait!!!
anywho.....probably should go and get some sleep so i can continue with my exciting day tomorrow!!! YAY!!!
Note: THis was actually written on THursday 9th June but due to computer difficulties it hasn't been posted till today.
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OI OI OI!!!! WHAT A DAY!!!
This is the busiest, most full on day I've had in 6 weeks!!!
THis morning Aofaga and I left around 7.45am to go see my neurosurgeon. I was surprisingly calm....had a nice phonecall from Carla and BRaden the nite before and i did a lot of reading bible texts, and Aofaga coming with me was just so sweet of her. We made a great pair, because we both waddle when we walk and can only walk slowly, so i was thankful she wasn't like racing ahead of me all the time!!! We ended up talking most of the trip to chatswood and back about babies (she is 25 weeks pregnant) which was cool, especially b/c i found out today I CAN HAVE CHILDREN!!!! WOOHOOOOO!!!! GOD IS GOOD!!! AMEN??
you see, before this surgery my surgeon told me that my chances of having kids were slim b/c i wouldn't be able to carry a baby with my back being the way it was. But today he told me I can have kids, and im sooooo excited!!! He also told me i can continue with nursing which is FANTASTIC b/c previously he had told me to quit. ALl the results he gave me were pretty good, although I did have one scare. When i walked into his office he sighed and asked how i was feeling. He gave me 'the look' he always gives me when something is really wrong. I said that im still in quite significant pain and he was shaking his head and was like...this is not good......3 months and you're still in lots of pain. ANd i was like....WOAH!!! hang on a sec....its only been 6 weeks!!! and he gave the biggest sigh of relief!!!! what a mistake!!! I was packing it there for a while!!! So then, so far it all looks great. Of course there is still a chance it could have been a failure, and almost certain i will need more surgeries, but HEY!!! I can be a Mum and I can be a nurse!!! Thats all I care about for now!!!! So all day i've been on like this HUGE high, b/c life is so wonderful!!! My quality of life is starting to come back, and it just makes me so grateful for all the little things we take for granted!!
So just thought i'd share that fantastic news with ya'all. :)
Then when Aofaga and I got back i had a nap, then went to work for an hour, and then Yoie, Shaz and I went shopping and to the movies. I got to be pushed around by SHarona (as usual....like whats new!???) in a wheelchair, so that was kindof fun. Sitting for that long a time wasn't so fun, but i was with my friends....i almost felt normal again, so it was great!!! JUst got back to the res and had a phonecall from my Mum which was nice. and now here i am...telling you all about it.
I really should go and get some rest, i'm absolutely stuffed.
Have a lovely nite everyone....and enjoy life....isn't it WONDERFUL!????
PS- I will give 50 cents to anyone who can tell me what sort of a car my neurosurgeon drives>>>> (and sharona, you can't enter this!!!)
Well, its been quite a while since I posted, but at least this time I actually have a legit excuse!!!
ok, buckle yourselves up, cause you're in for a looooonggg story!!!! BWA HA HA HA HA......
ok...going back to my surgery...right up until the day before my surgery I had thought that I would be going into theatre alone because my parents weren't getting to sydney until Friday night, and so as you can imagine, I was scared, petrified to be more exact!!! Being wheeled into thatre is one of the scariest exoperiences and I couldn't imagine having no-one there to hold my hand. Then at my last class for the year Sharona told me she'd be coming with me to the hospital that night and staying with me. I went back to my room and cried and cried for an hour. I was so grateful to her that she was such a good friend to me, and despite her busy schedule she would be there for me.
So that night our chaplain Drene and her hubby Martin drove us to the hospital and we stayed in the accommodation for patients families. I had intended to go to bed early, but we ended up spending most of the night on the phone, watching tv and laughing ourselves silly!!! I was glad thought, to get my mind off everything, so even when I woke up the next morning and we walked to the day-ward I was feeling great and praying heaps. When we got there they informed us that there was a delay and my surgery had been pushed back to 11am instead of 8.30am. So Sharona came up with an idea of making up a song for me to sing to myself to calm my nerves when I was being wheeled into theatre. We decided on 'over the rainbow' from 'the wizard of Oz'. Here is an example of a few verses we created:
Somewhere over the rainbow, is Andrew Kam, and he's got a big scalpel, ready to make mince lamb
SOmwhere over the rainbow, I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me, every single day.
it was amazing how many we came up with, just about everything that happened, from yoie getting lost in the hospital, to hot wardsmen, not being allowed to drink, etc. we were caking ourselves, cause they were so silly, didn't fit the music and mostly didn't rhyme, but who cares?? It passed the time and soon I was called into a room where I got changed into my sexy hospital gown and TEDS and we prayed and waited. Finally a wardsman came and wheeled my bed to the theatre reception. we were there briefly and then it came time for the goodbyes. They are always hard. I was quite upset and as soon as i was out of the room I started balling. then we were just outside the theatre and nurses and anaethetists started buzzing around me- all the same ones as last time and they all recognised me and we had a good ol chat. had a talk with my neurosurgeon who said there was a possibility they might fuse 2 levels depending on what they founf when they openened me up. got jabbed with cannulas and IV's and was sedated therefore I didn't remember anything after that , although i was still awake and aware.
I remember waking up in recovery , and a man tellking me I was nearly ready to go to my ward, we were just waiting on a wardsman. I was a lot less groggy than last time and i just layed there and watched everything happening. my throat was soooooo dry i asked for water but i was only allowed ice chips. I must have still be under the affect because I remember telling all the nurses that I loved them and how good they were at their job and how much i appreciated them!!! how embarssing!!! finally a few hours later a wardsman turned up and took me to the high dependency unit in the neuroscience ward. I saw my parents briefly on the way but they weren't allowed in for a while. then when they were my sister was with them. I couldn't believe she had come b/c she wasn't meant to come cause she couldn't get time off work. I remeber just holding onto her hand so tightly and saying 'you came, you came' over and over and over and crying. man, does anaesthetic make you emotional or what???!!!
i don't rememebr much of the next day except ashley, his friend, my parents, sharona, drene and martin, aofaga and Andrew visiting. I was so groggy I don't think i made a lot of sense!! poor people!!visiting hours in the high dependency unit are VERY strict, well they were for me, so ppl could only stay a few minutes, and i couldn't have any flowers :(
about 2am teh next morning however, i was moved to my very own private room!!! how awesome!! it was soooo big and it was nice to have some privacy and be able to have as many flowers and visitors as i wanted!!!
well i'm not gonna go into great detail about the rest of the week, only to say taht my stay was a LOT better than last time. Part of it was evern enjoyable!!! I wasn't in much pain thanks to a morpheine PCA (petient controlled analgesia) which means I could give myslef my morphione by pressing a button- good stuff!!! and I was moved about 4 times hich was kindof annoying, but I made a lot of friends with the other patients and nurses, and then I came home on Thursday, which shocked everyone cause it was only a week since my op!!!
The past 3 weeks at home I have been doesed up on very strong painkillers, which are so strong they are sold on the street and I need government authorisation to have them!!! the first week or so I was very 'out of it' and I would wake up not knowing where i was or what day or time it was!!! my mum was here for a week and it was so good to have her here. when she went home i got very lonely, as i didn't see very much of my friends, except clover and adrian who visited me at nighttime.
So basiaclly my days consist of walking as much as i can, visits to my doctor, cleaning my room and sleeping. we'll know in a few weeks whether or not my operation was successful- when I get off the maedications i'll be able to feel whats happeniong inside my body, and hopefully i'll be pretty much pain free!!!
so now taht i have not been able to complete this semester, and can't do next semester, I have the task of figuring out what to do in the next 6 months. hmmm, tricky!!!
ooh, and i have a job interview tomorrow for a job at the ABC (adventist book centre)- its only a small job, just 2 hrs a week, but its $20 an hour, and every uni student can do with an extrea $40 a week!!! it'll also help me to keep occupied without straining me too much. Its really an answer to prayer!!!
So thankyou all for your thoughts and prayers over the last tumoltuous month, i greatly appreciate them.
Well, today is my last day at home *pause for sympathy*
In a way I am both extrmely sad & extremely happy. I am quite homesick for the san and all my friends there & at avonjail, so I think that perhaps its a sign that I consider the san to be my real 'home' now. But tahts not to say taht I'm not going to miss my QLD home b/c I am. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and although it hasn't entirely been smooth sailing & sleeping in, I'm realy glad taht I made teh decision to fly up here instead of staying in my room at the san and sulking for 4 weeks!!!
Tomorrow I will catch the bus to Brisbane, then the train to my sisters work. I'll stay at her place and fly out Wednesday morning. THe thing taht is frustrating me at teh moment is PACKING!!! usually I get some pleasure out of it, but when you are taking back 3 times as much stuff as you came with, it tends to get hard to fit it all in!!! So I'm taking my hiking rucksack (NOT backpack casey!!) and trying to sneak my red suitcase in as hand luggage. Stuff of mine is just spread all around the house, man its gona take me all day!! The most concerning thing on my mind is how to get a certain person's b'day present packed without damaging it!!! hmmmm....
Sharona and Yolanda are currently counsellors at a camp for disabled children. I really wanted to go, but didn't think it would be terribly fair on my camper if i was constantly needing to rest & lie down etc. SO by teh time I get to the San, they'll still be away, but I think they get back on the friday so tahts cool.
hmmm, i'm trying to make the most of having internet & computer all to myself!! Maybe tahts why my posts have been so long whilst I've been at home!!!
My weekend was great..went to church on Sabbath and saw a friend who I haven't seen in a long time. THere was a fellowship lunch, and one of the elders got up & announced that it was my last weekend at home for a long time & told everyone to come and hug me before I left!!! Tell you what, I got swamped!!! but tahts cool cause I LOVE hugs!!! There was am afternoon program on Noah's ark, it was heaps interesting. THis guy Charlie Ward had a replica of the ark & presented his theories on it all. THen we went home, and came back to teh church soon after b/c there was a church social. We had a laughter session, and tell you what, I haven't laughed taht hard in a long time!!! Then a friend of mine & I went and had a 'mac party' with our laptops & hooked them up with a firewire cable so I got to steal some of his software & music.
We imported the video of my surgery to my laptop too. I haven't seen it before and it was a tear jerker. especially b/c Sharona had recorded a message on there when I was in surgery and I just broke down!! It was also hard watching it b/c it just brought back all the memories of the pain and I can't believe i'll be going through that again (only 10 times worse) in a week and a half. It was kinda surreal b/c if you had asked me before i saw this video what i remebered in the hours after the surgery I would say taht I remembered my parents & Shaz handing me a teddy bear and kissing me then leaving!!! But on the video I'm telling my parents & SHaz what had happened to me in recovery, and we were talking for quite a while before they left. AMAZING!!! I can't believe i couldn't remeber that!! It was quitwe embarassing too, i look like such a mess on the video on the night of my surgery!! I'm all pale and hair everywhere, dopey as anything & talking blurred b/c of an oxygen mask. Theres even a shot of my vomit on there!!! THANKS SHARONA!!! lol
Well, i should probably stop procrastinating & go & pack some more :(
Ho hum..... well I am still at home...being lazy as ever!!!
So what have I been up to??? Well last Thursday Mum & I went to Toowoomba (1.5 hrs away) b/c I had to see my orthodontist cause my retainers broke late last year, & the replacement one's they sent didn't fit. So I have been retainer-free for quite a few months which was quite a concern as they thought I may have to wear braces again. Fortunately though, Bernie (my ortho) thinks that my retainers can push my teeth back to where they should be if i wear them for another year or so, so thats great news!!!
WEnt shopping...although after approx 10 min I was utterly exhausted!!! Oh I long for the days when I can shop for 8 hours straight & not be in pain!!! THe worst part was taht my mum, who is 57 was dragging ME along, instead of the other way around!! I was hobbling round the shopping centre trying to sit down as often as i could. Hence, our day was cut short but it was still good. I bought a lot of crafty stuff from Spotlight cause as i've mentioned before, I'm turning into a grandma!! We also visited my favourie lingerie shop..and strike me down if the owner, a friend of ours doens't start talking about my sister's wedding & offering her husbands services to do the music at the reception!!! My Mum just kept poking me, indicating for me to keep quiet. As soon as we left the shop I burst out laughing. Apparently it was all a misunderstanding....last time my mum was in there she was looking at wedding lingerie & said 'this would be nice for when my daughter gets married' (thinking..someday in the future) and the shop owner thought that she meant Monica was engaged and she started getting so excited & making a fuss atht my Mum didn't have the heart to correct her!!!
The funny thing about taht story is...that a day later my sister started going out with her ex-boyfriend again!!! He had been in a car accident taht morning on his way to pick up my sister b/c they were going to Fraser island camping & 4WDing for the weekend. Well they didn't end up going there, but to Bribie Island instead. That night he asked her out. and I won't go into all the little details, but he is the sweetest, most romantic guy & they make a cute couple!!! THey were going out just over a year ago, but broke up & the entire time since, they do EVERYTHING together....seriously. Everyone thought they were actually going out that whole time..including my Dad!!! THey're like glue...and they've had arguments & stuff, but now apparently they're together for good. Brad (her b'f) said that he knew from the beginning that she was the one he was going to end up with, but afraid of commitemnt (as all men are) he needed time to think & stuff & he's talking marriage already!! We all reckon that they'll be married within a year!!! so thats soooo soon!!! but i already have my bridesmaid/maid of honour dress picked out!!! I'm excited cause it gives me an excuse to come home more often...like I get to fly up here for the engagement party& wedding at least!!! I'm just so glad that my sis has truly found her perfect match & i've never seen her so happy!!!! :) :) :)
Sabbath I went to church and saw my friend who is due to have her baby any day....ohh how exciting!! um & that afternoon I went to the park with Dottie & Brendon & Carmen. Davo turned up too. It was sooo cold and we all sat shivering under a picnic blanket!!! A joey peed on Dot & I...how charming!!! He was sooo cute though...I couldn't be mad at him...despite the fact that it took 2 days for the smell of the pee to be removed from my hands!!! We went out for tea & then went back to Brendons place & watched 'shark tale'. I love taht movie..can't get enough of it!!!
Yesterday (wednesday) I finally got my hair cut after laboriously growing it for the first time in my life!!!! My goodness...I asked for foils in like a coppery/reddy colour & instead of there being a few nice subtle ones...my whole head is RED!!!!! hmmm...it tkes a little getting used to, especially when i'm in the sun..its like WOAH!!! lol. At least I get to shock everyone when I come back home!!!! Bwa ha ha...
Today at 12 I'm going out to lunch wth my buddy 'ol pal Dottie. SO I should probably go & get ready for that.
well....I have just awoken from a fantastic 11 hours sleep. I even dreamt that I was getting a massage...mmmmmm :)
Isn't it how funny, that once you get something you've been wanting soo bad for ages can turn out to be not as good as you thought?? eg...here at home I have a queen size bed. All the time I was at avondale, at the San and in hospital I was cursing my teeny weeny single bed in which my feet would hang over the end. and I would dream of the day when I came home and could spend night after glorious night in my HUGE bed and stretch out. WELL....thats not exactly how it turned out...for some reason my body still thinks its in a single bed, and every morning I wake up on the very edge of the bed!!! WHats the go??? For some reason I just can't get to sleep unless I'm on the edge!!! Talk about a let-down!!
hmmm..i really don't know what to write, as Taylor could tell you that everytime we have a phone conversation, nothing exciting has happened in my life.
and normally this sort of everyday monotony would drive me insane, as I am the type of person who HAS to be doing something 24/7, but for some reason I am really enjoying my holiday here at home. I have even decided to stay an extra week. I got talked out of being a counsellor on a camp for disabled children because my family & friends think that my body needs to be in rest mode the week before my surgery. So I'm flying home on the 20th April instead of the 13th. I'll then have 1.5 full weeks of class, visiting the hospital, doctors, my neurosurgeon and psycologists etc. STill unsure if my surgery will go ahead on the 29th...theres a chance that it could get postponed again, or theres a chance that the insurance company will want me to be examioned by one of their surgeons, then possibly pay for my op to go privately. AS much as I want to go private, I'm really hoping that it goes ahead on the 29th- despite the fact that its public. I just want it over & done with asap. My SIster & Her ex-b'f Brad were up here for the weekend which was really great. Brad has had a spinal fusion done- a few years ago he fell of a roof while building. He said taht the operation was the most excruciatingly painful thing he's ever experienced!!! He also said taht when he sat down he could feel the screw and rods poking out of his back into the chair!! He had to have 6 months off..i really hope that my recovery wont take that long- I can't afford to fail ANOTHER semester!!!
anywho...i'm still continuing with the old grandma crafty stuff....SHarona's b'day pressie is coming along nicely!! (not taht she knows what it is...do you Shaz????!!!)
My SIster invited me to go to Fraser Island with them this weekend & I really, really want to go, but I can't. It's a full day of driving, and knowing them they will want to 4WD the entire weekend, and my back just can't handle that. My Dad wants to go camping with me this weekend to Queen Mary Falls, and no offence to him, but I hate camping when its just 2 people. I love having a group where you can all play off each other for entertainment etc. and him being as he is- I would have to do all the cooking & washing upand he'd just sit back & relax & laugh at me and crack jokes about a woman's place being in the kitchen!!! So i'm unsure of what my plans for the weekend will be....
I'm currently home alone- Mums at work, and i'm trying to find things to do. I guess I could probably clean my room, but i'm just not in the mood today. Maybe I could sit down and write a list of all the things I need for tomorrow...Mum & I are going shopping in Toowoomba...WOOOTT!!! well actually, the reason we are going is b/c I have an appointment with my orthodontist, but I'm sure tahts not gona take allll day (unless they decide to put braces back on..which is a very real possibility b/c my teeth have moved heaps)hmmmmm....
well i'm gonna go and put on some insanely loud music and dance (its more of a Shuffle/hobble) around the loungeroom!!!
Well, I thought that perhaps it was time that I posted again. Not that I have been harassed by the masses (ie Sharona) to post a new post, but perhaps my conscience got the better of me this time!!!
these past few weeks have just gone (as Mazda would say)- "Zoom Zoom" right past me. It seems taht my entire life has revolved entirely around dealing with matters relevant to my surgery & compensation case. talk about crazy!!! I was supposed to have my operation on the 11th March- well I got a phonecall from the hospital 2 days before who informed me taht it had been cancelled due to a sudden influx of ppl admitted to emergency requiring urgent surgery. So I got bumped off the operating theatre schedule. I took this to be a sign taht God had something better in store for me. So the next few weeks were spent on the phone to numerous doctors, hospitals and my solicitor trying to push my insurance claim through so I could go to a private hospital on the 23rd March. We needed to know definitely by the monday whether or not it was approved, and due to some very dodgy dealing by the stingy insurance company the paperwork wasn't done in time. So taht door was closed. I decided taht I couldn't stand waiting around for my phone to ring so I decided to fly home the next day. I ended up leaving taht same night. Qantas had room left on one flight that night, so I rushed around & packed & flew up to the good old state of QLD where I am now.
Its been awesome...home is always a place where I can just relax and forget about everything & be spoiled rotten!! I got to see my sister the day I arrived (she picked me up frim the airport & I stayed at her house) & I also got to see my dad the day aafter I arrived which was great. My back is progressively getting worse, the amounts of time I can sit for are getting shorter, and little tasks tire me out. I've been sleeping sometimes 10-12 hours at night, then I'll need at least one 2-4 hour nap during the day just to keep me going. Its great that I have my Mum here to look after me though- she knows my limitations and will do stuff for me like pick something up off the floor, or not let me do the vacuuming etc.
Oh, and Its my Big Sister Monica's B'day today....she's 24!!!! Wow!! Talk about over the hill!!! lol..just joshin :P
the weather here is rather chilly at teh moment- I think i had forgotten just how cold Stanthorpe can be!!! I sleep at night with 5 doonah's & 1 blanket!!! I rug up during the day in trackydacks and a jacket & thick hiking socks!!!
My Easter has been quiet but nice. Luckily I didn't indulge too much on the chocolate this year!!! My Dad went away to Yarrahappini for the weekend & My Sis went camping with some friends. I spent the weekend with Mum and hopefully I will be able to go camping with my Dad & sis next weekend.
Hope you all had a safe & Happy Easter (just remember teh reason for teh season)!!!
Have a great Week (even if you are in the inferior state (NSW) cheer up....things could be worse....oh hang on...no they couldn't!!! Thats as bad as it gets!!! lol)
Went and saw a specialist on Monday at St. Leonards- Paid $225 for him to tell me he doesn't know whats wrong with me!!! Sent me for even MORE blood tests (leaves me wondering how much blood I actually have left!!!) and referred me to have an ultrasound done. Had prayer meeting at 7pm and we prayed taht God would give me the answer I needed for my operation- and He did.
but then everything changed...Now its actually quite a complex story & very hard to explain so I'll try & simplify it, but it may still seem confusing.
My neurosurgeon rang me yesterday and said taht the private hospital booking had fallen through. Then soonest I could get into private would be in a month. Then he changed his mind and said he could squeeze me in 2 weeks time, but he would be doing my operation straight after another fusion- whcih he normally doesn't do- quite scary considering its an 8 hr operation and one wouldn't want their surgeon to be tired when doing a second one!!!
But now it all depends on the insurance company. Hoprfully the doctor's notes taht are needed will arrive to my solicitor today and then the approval process should start rolling. Problem is though, my neuro needs to know by THURSDAY MORNING at teh latest whether I'm going public or private. We won't know the Insurance company's answer till Thursday AT THE EARLIEST. My parent need to know if I'm going public by WEDNESDAY NIGHT!!!! Impossible one might say, but everything is possible with God!!! This whole journey has been incredibly tough on my faith- its so easy sometimes to doubt and worry about everything- but ever so slowly I am learning to put my full trust in God.
I really don't want to go back to Hell hole westmead, but if it happens, it happens. My Neurosurgeon was giving me a rough estimate on how much the operation would cost to go private- $17000 for a 'confirmation fee' (what the??!!). He said the most expensive part of all is not the actual operation, or the stay in hospital, but the implants (screws, metal cages, rods etc). Now considering taht it costs about $2500 per day to stay here at the SAH (a private hospital), times taht by approx 7 days = $17,500. So far the cost is up to $34,500- thats without the actual operation or the highly expensive implants!!!! the mind boggles!!!!
Anywho, I need to go & shower and get ready for Childbearing (well not real childbearing, but you know, the class. Although....I am having an ultrasound done today- Sharona is certain taht I am pregnant. I don't have the heart to tell her they're only examining my spleen!!! lol)
oooh, im so excited!!! I know not everyone will be there, but most of the important people (eg- JO JO, Taylor & Casey etc) will be there soooo......lets get the party started!!!!
Shaz & I are driving up with Clinton tonight at 5pm. I'm not sure how long I'll stay b/c i really need to do assignments, but maybe i could do them in the library if its open??
This week has just been crazy so I'm looking forward to a break (even though I just had one last weekend!!!)
Had my first assessment this week- a 50 minute tutorial for 'holistic health'. It was on humour- it was sooo much fun to do!!! I wasn't stressed out at all and We got a HD!!!! Nice way to start off the semester!!!
and our QLD trip was AWESOME!!!! We left the res at 4am and lisa drove us to the airport. The flight went smoothly, but i think Leith was a bit awed by the whole thing & feeling a little queezy!!! Got to Brisvegas airport where Taylor, his mum & sis were waiting for us. Drove to the car rental place. Got a nice little Pulsar for $200. Spent the day with Casey & Taylor in Brisbane at southbank, the mall, movies, pancake parlour etc. then we drove to my sister's house where we had dinner & crashed for the night.
Got up early the next morning & drove to Stazza for Church. can i tell you how many times we got lost??? highly embarassing as I should have known where to go!!! Saw everyone at church which was awesome. My own Mother didn't recognise me because I had straight hair (which she HATES, so I'm gonna keep it like that!!) :P My friends Lucy & Shereee came down too so that was awesome. Went home to Mum's place & had lunch & lounged around for awhile. Then I took them to Dorothy's house & we all did a 'tour' of Stanthorpe......exciting stuff!!! Man I had forgotten so much- Lucy knew more of where to go than I did & she doesn't even live there!!!
We went to the church at sunset and closed Sabbath and had a BBQ & games. We tried to sneak off earlyish, but kept getting into big long conversations with ppl. But that was good too!! WE all wacthed a DVD 'the notebook' in the lounge back at mum's place (well- actually Sharona watched it- the rest of us slept!. She was so upset by it that for aggges after the end she was sobbing like anything and saying 'oh it was sooo sad...soooo sad"!!!
Sunday morning we all sat around in our Pj's paying each other out. Decided not to play golf (d'oh!), said goodbye to family & friends & headed off to the gold coast. We went to pac fair, then played putt putt & went to Yoland'as uncle's house. He is such a champ....payed Shaz & I out the whole time over being vegetarians!!! Early monday morning his 2 charming children came and jumped on me to wake me up on the instructions of Leith. THANKS LEITH!!!
We then drove to Wet'n'wild where we met up with Taylor. Had an AWESOME day...went on nearly every ride, and although my back made me pay for it later on, it was worth it!!!! WE then dropped taylor home, and tried to find PIzza hut at browns plains. I wont tell you how long it took us to find it, eat and actually get back on the motorway!!!! vererrryy frustrating!!! WE had to speed heaps cause we were late. Dropped the car at the airport, ran to the terminal and were stressing, then as soon as we got to the boarding gate there was an announcement that our flight had been daleyed!! ARRGHH!!! All of us had assignments to do when we got home!!! Then a little while later they informed us that it was cancelled. WE rebooked it for the next morning and when we asked what to do for the night they told us we could stay at the motel at teh end of the road- at our own exoense of course!!! I was NOT HAPPY JAN!!! the least they could have done is paid for our accommondation!!! Lousy Virgin Blue- I'm never flying them ever again unless i'm really, really , REALLY desperate!!! WE ended up calling my sis and she picked us up and we stayed at her house the night.
WE caught out flight the next morning at 9am and got safetly home around 12. WHAT A WEEKEND!!!!
oh my gosh!!!! its 1.01 in the morning, and SHarona and I are sitting in the computer room....we have to get up in 2.5 hrs cause we're FLYING TO QLD!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTT !!!!!!!!!!!!!
we tried to keep it a surprise from our 'toy boys' (taylor & casey) but I dont think we did a very good job of it!!! Im just so excited!!! I haven't been home in 8 months!!!!! MY GOODNESS!!!
we leave here at 4.30am, arrive at the airport at 5.00 and fly out at 6.05, and arrive in the good state at 6.30am. Then Taylors Mum, Delwyn is picking us up from the airport and driving us to a Europcar office. We plan to spend Friday doing the whole 'tourist' thing in brisbane, have dinner and stay at my sis's house, drive to my home Stanthorpe on saturday, go to church, do the 'tour' and go to the nat. parks, have a BBQ at church, then on sunday we're playing golf, then driving to the Gold coast, going shopping and to the beach, going out for dinner, staying at Yolanda's Uncle's house, then on Monday we're going to Wet 'n' Wild and flying back to sydney at 8pm.
WOW!!!! taht sounds like a lot of stuff!!!
I really should go to bed.....hmmm....Kelly's going to be cranky in the morning!!! tee hee hee...lucky Sharona, Yoie & Leith!!!
Morning all :)
"...and teh award for the LONGEST time between postings goes to......GERTRUDE!!!!!"
well looky what we have here!!! A new post!!! I know, I know- I astound myself sometimes!!! LOL
welll......soooo much has happened since my last post and i really dont know where to start!!!
ok, wellll........to cut a long story short- my surgery failed and they have to do another one, a much more major one called a fusion which involves a lot of metal screws and plates, cages and rods etc. FUN!!! apparently ppl who have previously had this op describe the pain similar to 'being hit by a train". So , as any normal person would be, i am looking forward to it!!! lol. 26 days to go..........NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO................ Aah well, at least its getting done privately this time- no more nightmare westmead and mashed potato for every meal!!! However, I have given strict instructions to Sharona to bring me a large bottle of tomato sauce, JUST IN CASE!!!
ooh, and another thing- I wont be graduating in 2006 as planned. I will now grad in 2007 (d'oh!). Because my back isnt better like it was supposed to be, the Dean of Nursing wouldn't let me do my clinical block, therefore i cant do semester 3 subjects that have clin Prac II as a prerequisite. I was kindly told that I should quit, or at least take a year off. I am determined though, so I am doing 3 subjects with my class, and 1 4th semester subject via distance education (avondale). it feels wierd not having all the classes with my class, but oh well. I'm sure the next class will be great too and i already know ppl in it (jodie & amanda) so its all good.
my whole body is basically packing up- i had an MRI of my thoracic spine done the other day which revealed some things no-one was expecting, like the fact that I have 'scheurmanns disease' and an enlarged spleen. Blood tests showed taht I had an extremely high RH factor level, and basically my GP had no idea what this combination means. So I'm being shoofed off to see yet another specialist...gotta love the medical profession!!!
hmm....Sharona and I are leaders of a stormCo which is co-sponsored by avondale and the WAhroonga (very rich) church. Very exciting stuff b/c theres never been one run from here before. and SHarona has never even been on a stormCo, and I've never run one- soooo it should be very interesting!!! A few of us went out to Tottenham (the town we're going to). 16 hrs of driving and we spent 3 hours in the town! Not that there was an awful lot to see I guess- its sooo cute!! I really need to learn how to not stress though- its insane. I have a lot of trouble sleeping cause I worry about basically everything, so its something God & I need to work on.
My room has been rearranged- i did it in the hols cause some were saying that it was a little cluttered, so i have changed a few things, and have finally put my sickbag collection on display!!! Thanks to all those of you who contributed to this!!
oooh, and a big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to Sonya and CLinton!!!! wow you guys, its awesome news!!! I just found out tonight, when clinton moved (temporarily) into the res. Medelyne also moved in tonight which is really cool. She got a really nice room too (on level 3 clover...imagine that!!) she has a tv, sink and everything!!
Went for a run tonight with some of the girls. As part of our 'new semester, new us' plan we go running everynight to Lucinda Avenue. Its really great, and i know, i know taht i'm not supposed to be doing that sort of exercise, but I can't help it. It feels so good at the time...until afterwards when my back makes me pay for it, but tahts beside the point!!! tonight we got back to the SAH entrance and then decided to do it again, so I was pretty tired by the end of it. Also part of our new plan is eating well. We all put on weight over Christmas, so want to shed a few kgs and so we eat heaps healthy. I mainly live on salad and grapes...yum!!! and another part of our plan is to cook a big dinner once a week and eat on the roof together, cause you get a bit tired of eating by yourself in your room all the time. And the final fold to our plan is massage!!! cause we learn it in class, we may as well practice on each other after a long day at class. Who said nursing was boring???!!! (oh, and did i mention that STUDY was also a part of this plan??? Top of the list of course!!!)
AND YES, we are back into classes. I'm absolutely loving it!!! My holidays were good, but there were many times when I was bored out of my brain, so this makes a nice change. and its sooo good seeing everyone again!!! I havent been too slack with study either, i spent my whole day off in the library and i spent a good part of today working on a tutorial. My next door neighbour karina is so funny. She always makes me feel guilty about not doing enough study. Last night (saturday night) she informed me that she would be working on tutorials all night because she, unlike some ppl wants high marks!!! My guilt trip however, was broken soon after by the sounds of her watching a movie in her room!!! i guess the enthusiasm must have worn off! But just on that topic, i guess I could work more. I have 8 assignments due in the next 4 weeks because I need to get everything done before my op on march 11. hmmmm, that is quite a lot now that I think of it!!! perhaps I should be hunched over in front of my laptop screen instead of wasting time writing posts!!!! naaah, but then i would be crucified by those who insist on having a new post at least every 3 months!!! I mean, really!!!!??? :P
in my last 26 days of freedom I am so busy!!! This week i have a ton of stormco stuff to do b/c we need to finalise a team like yesterday! this weekend I'm...erm, cough cough, I mean my friends are going to QLD so they should have fun! Then i have assignemnts, assignemnts assignments, then we have a nursing retreat taht weekend, then tons more asignemtns and that final weekend I plan to come to Avonjail for one last *sob sob* visit. Then more assignments and Thursday I leave for hospital and have the surgery on the friday...crazy!!!! Clover and I are depserately trying to fit millions of activites into these next few weeks because it will be a long time(if ever!??) i can do them again. Wednesday we want to go to Luna park- not sure if it will happen, but it would be cool. We also want to go out to dinner at a nice place so we can get all dressed up and stuff. exciting!!!
oooh, some exciting news....i have been informed that my claim for compensation from the car accident has been accepted! The case should be settled by the end of the year which is awesome. It should be a fairly hefty sum I should think b/c i have to pay for both operations as well as solicitor etc etc etc. Not really worth it though when you think about it. Even if they gave me a million $ it could never make up for what ive lost & gone through. ahh well, it could come in handy I guess!! my plan is to splurge on one thing- a car, then invest the rest in real estate before they can tax me for it!!!
oh no!!! its 1.00am!!! arrgghhh!!! that means its valentines day!!! dont you just hate being single on v'tines day??? I think its cruel- its merely a day where all the couples make fun of the singles!!! ok, thats wrong, its more like something to do with a pagan festival but hey, it makes me feel better!!!
hmmmm, im getting a little sleepy which is unusual for so early in the morning, but its good so i should probably very slooowly, quietly go back to my room before i have the chance to become wide awake again...........mmmm.....bed................
nite nite :)
(oh yes, and I shall accept all apologies in writing for the abusive comments i received at not posting a blog for so long!!! HA! look whos laughing now!!??) :P
