An unscheduled rest...

In one of my recent posts, I wrote about our busy July. A number of readers commented that I'd need a rest after all that busyness! And out of the blue 'things' happened right at the end of July, and I did indeed get to rest. 

While showering that morning, I was hit with an incredible pain in my right chest and shoulder. And DH bundled me off to Emergency at a nearby hospital. Heaps of tests showed it wasn't a heart attack. 

But chest X-rays showed I had a spot of pneumonia in my left lung. I was absolutely gobsmacked with that diagnosis as I hadn't even had a cold. I'd been very tired but put it down to being busy. 

Also while in Emergency the doctor ordered a CT scan. This showed that my hiatus hernia repair had come a bit 'undone'! ( grrrr) 

So I started 2 courses of strong antibiotic and was ordered to rest. I didn't feel like doing anything but sleep for the first few days but eventually I was getting back my energy. And now I'm 'top of the world'.  The hernia is being treated with medication for the next 2 months to see how it settles. 

But that wasn't my only visit to that hospital in July...

After 3 really heavy nosebleeds in one week, I decided to seek help. After a rather ouchy cauterisation procedure, all was fixed. 

About the same time as my pneumonia was diagnosed, a friend of mine got test results back showing she not only had pneumonia, but she also had Influenza A. J was hospitalised of course but is back home now. 

Here we all were having lunch way back at the beginning of July...little knowing what was in store for us. 

Recently I have...

Bought a new suitcase...

It looks bluish but it's actually mauve!

Taken Eduardo to the vet for a check up...

( The vet said that he is in good health but the scab on his nose that has been there for a month is, as I suspected, a form of skin cancer that light coloured cats can tend to develop. No sign of spreading or ulceration at the moment so 'we are just keeping an eye on it' for the time being)

Had a check up at the doctor myself and consequently have had an iron infusion to top up my depleted iron levels...

The little hospital where my haematologist works from

 Getting my iron...old way used to take 5-6 hours...now the newer method takes 15 minutes!

Went to the dentist to discuss the issues with that annoying tooth...which led to the difficult decision to have the tooth removed this afternoon....

Had some photos taken...
I wasn't allowed to smile...

Renewed my passport as it is due to expire in early May this year

Went to the pharmacy with a special '3 month supply' script from my GP...

And recently I have been working at using technology which is new to me. Earlier this year I had read about an accessory for an iPad called a 'card reader' in Janice's blog. It seemed to be the answer to my problem of how to upload photos from my camera to my iPad. I planned to buy one but my friend Helen gave me her card reader as it does not fit the port in her iPad 3. So I practised uploading/importing  photos taken with my camera using the card reader in my recent trip to Melbourne.

The card reader slips into the port where you recharge the iPad and then the SD card from the camera is inserted into the card reader...

 As if by magic...the photos appear on the iPad...

And then it was a simple matter to insert the images into a blog post written using the Blogger app...

I also have recently bought some new jeans and 3 long-sleeved tops...

DH has also organised with the credit union to get some foreign currency...

I have also gathered my potted plants together into one spot in the backyard and have a shelf in the laundry filled with cans of cat food.

So I have a new suitcase, have had health checks on myself and the cat. I have had passport photos taken and have renewed my passport and we have some British pounds, Euros and some HK dollars. Also I have got more than 1 month's supply of medications, I have bought some new warmer clothes, worked out, and then practised how I can use the iPad instead of a laptop of PC for blogging, Plants have been grouped to make watering them easier and I have a stockpile of cat food...

You've probably guessed...DH and I are off on another travel adventure. On Tuesday we are heading for London where we will stay for 4 nights before picking up a hire car and travelling around England, Scotland and Wales for approximately 4 weeks. On April 23 we head back to London and catch the EuroStar to Calais. From there we will travel to Amiens in time for ANZAC Day at Villers Bretonneux where we will join friends at the Aussie War memorial there. Then we will stay in Paris for a few nights before heading home via Hong Kong. 

DsD3 has always been our house sitter but with her in Canada, my neighbour Judy and DD1 will share the care of Eduardo and collection of the mail.  We will not be lugging our laptop this time...just the iPad...what a great gadget it's turned out to be!!

'Iron Woman'?

One of my friends suggested that I should adopt the above name ...she was joking though :-) She wasn't referring to my athletic prowess I can tell you lol!
Since the end of 2008 I have been having 'iron infusions' since a routine blood test identified that I had developed anaemia. So about twice a year, I attend a small day hospital and get 'hooked up' to a drip for about 6 hours. The drip contains an  iron solution which the helps my iron reserves be replenished.

Why am I anaemic? Lots of tests showed nothing; but apparently it is not uncommon for people to develop problems storing iron and I just happen to be one. I always used to 'make a day' of these procedures, taking along something to read and some craft project or other. I have gotten to know the nursing staff as well as the lady who serves the meals and had got very adept at manoeuvring the apparatus that the drip is attached to, down the hallway and to the restroom :-) But all that has changed since my last infusion, last November.

When the receptionist of my haematologist rang me with the details about today, she said that there was a new procedure for iron infusion. She said it would take half and hour! I had to get her to repeat that because that is a big difference compared to 6 hours! So today I had the new procedure, 'Feinject' and it took 18 minutes to get the same quantity of iron into my system as I would normally receive over 6 hours. I was pretty impressed!   In about 3 weeks I'll feel the full effect of replenished iron reserves...watch out world!

One tiny bag of iron; about a third of the size that I used to have infused

Reading all the information about 'Feinject'

After 8 minutes or so, half the bag is empty

Infusions and updates...

Today I had an iron infusion. The last one I had was in February this year and the iron levels had started to drop in recent months. The GP and specialist both agreed that I wasn't yet anaemic but steadily heading that way and an 'iron top up' was the way to go. I've had 4 infusions before but this was the first time that I noticed a difference in energy levels straight away, so that's really pleasing.

The work on the side veranda continues with only the tiniest bit of work still to be done. Now the building work meant some trimming of trees and even the removal of a plant from the front. The crepe myrtles at the side were trimmed/lopped not once, but twice. Firstly my BIL brought his chainsaw over and he and DH cut off over-hanging branches. Then my elderly neighbour Tom was upset and cross at us for not lopping off branches on his side of the fence. So my brother brought his fancy telescopic chainsaw around and he and DH took off the other offending branches. My brother also took all the branches away and mulched them at his place. I would have loved some of that mulch but I guess Harry and Myra need it more at their place ( a huge property in the range behind Brisbane).

The trees with their new spring growth

After the second trimming

Cutting up the branches ready to go into the van

Lots of new growth

Last week I noticed that the crepe myrtle trees were covered in lots of 'shoots'...they should grow lovely and leafy over the next month or so and not look so bare. that will give us back some privacy and more importantly...some shade. Next post I'll show some more photos of the veranda. DH and i are very pleased with it! :-)

On my mind...gravity and getting older...

On my mind today is gravity, surgery and questions. For a number of years gravity ‘acting upon’ my nether regions has caused some discomfort. While I was working I preferred to battle on rather than face surgery. So finally I went back to the specialist last Wednesday (after 3 years) and we discussed the surgery option as well as the ‘do nothing’ option. DH and I had discussed the issue before I went and we tended towards the surgery option if the specialist offered it, as things weren’t getting any better.

These days most specialists try to avoid operations if possible; well in my experience this has been the case. It wasn’t just my imagination but apparently ‘things’ had worsened. Dr C recommended surgery as I require what is euphemistically referred to as a ‘Repair’ as well as what I call, ‘the Big H Operation’.  Dr C then discussed with me the procedures, the things that can go wrong, the recuperation phase of 6 weeks and... ah hem...some delicate matters...I know that these days they have to tell you about the possible bad parts...but it’s still scary!

I’ve been sent away to think about it and then I need to make an appointment in which to ask the doctor any questions I (and DH of course) may have and also at that appointment the bookings will be made. Dr C prefers to operate at a large private hospital on the south side of town as that's where her main practice is and as she likes to see her patients every day, that hospital is more convenient for her.

The very elaborate entry to the Mater Private Hospital

So far the only question I have is about exercise during the 6 weeks. I remember friends who had the Big H op had to go for a walk each day...well more like a shuffle for the first few days...somehow I think the exercise bike may be out for a while...and the watering of the vegie garden with a watering can filled from the tank.

Like most of my garden, these plants are  suffering from lack of rain and I water them with the watering can at least once a week...good exercise lugging the water to the plants!

I should be able to knit, as long as I don't lift down heavy boxes of stored yarn but  gardening may be out of the question for a while. Cleaning the bathroom may have to be handed over to DH for a while also. But I do like the sound of that extra time for knitting though...and I've only watched 1 1/2 DVDs of all the series of Wycliffe. And someone told me that nowadays you can upload talking books from the library...that could be handy also...although I have a pile of books waiting for me to read them... Then there are some embroidery kits I have bought at various times that need to be completed. I think I can do this! lol

Another weekend...

On Saturday night we went out with some friends for a meal and then went back to their place for dessert and coffee. I took along some of my choc-coconut slice as my contribution. This recipe has a bit of a history. When I was still at high school, (so we're talking the mid sixties here) my mother and I were visiting a neighbour when Mrs O'Regan (the neighbour) said that could we come out to the kitchen with her as she'd just remembered that her youngest was bringing home some friends later in the  evening and she wanted to do some baking for all these young men. We watched her make the slice and my mum asked for the recipe.
I've made that slice so many times and especially when my children were young and I still make it. It's easy and people seem to really enjoy it.

So here is that recipe:-

                                       Chocolate Coconut Slice a.k.a. Coconut Delights

Ingredients:- 1 cup Self Raising  flour

                    1 cup of crushed Vita Brits, weetbix or cornflakes (or any cereal really)

                    1 cup of coconut
                     1/2 cup of sugar
                    5 oz of shortening (5 tablespoons)
                    1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
                    1 dessertspoon of golden syrup
Method:- Sift flour and cocoa into bowl. Add cereal, coconut and sugar and mix well.
               Melt butter and syrup; add to dry ingredients, mix well.
               Press into greased swiss roll tin.
               Bake in a moderate oven for 12-15 minutes. Stand tin on cooler and cut into squares.
               When almost cold, ice with warm chocolate icing and sprinkle with coconut.

Today I had plans to go to the Farmers' Markets in the next suburb. Unfortunately I slept in a bit and then we got a phone call from DH's older brother's step-daughter telling us that her stepfather was very ill and had been taken to hospital. The paramedic had told her and her mother that the ambulance would be in a queue for at least an hour at the hospital before my BIL would enter Emergency. DH has spent most of today waiting for the updates from his SIL. The latest news is that it is not known what is specifically wrong, however he is unable to walk and it is reported that they are unable to listen to his heart because of the 'noise coming from his lungs'...(sorry, remember I'm getting this third-hand!) Tomorrow is another day and being Monday, the public hospital, will again have staff involved in testing etc back working.

This afternoon I went to a tupperware party at my stepDD2's place; lots of young friends and siblings far outnumbered the 'oldies', i.e.  myself and StepDD's mother. When it was my turn to pick a prize out of the box, I picked the little tongs...a sign that I've been to too many tupperware parties is that I already have all those little goodies in the prizes box!!! lol

Sugar levels...

Some good news this morning! On my follow-up visit to the GP I found out that my sugar levels are back to normal after that sudden 'spike' last November. However the GP recommended I have a glucose tolerance test just to see how things are going.
Last week I had an iron infusion to top up my depleted iron reserves. The specialist decided last Thursday that as he can't find any reason for this iron 'problem' he is not going to continue seeing me. Instead my GP will 'manage' the situation, sending me for an iron infusion when she feels (or when I tell her) I need it. personally I think she will do a better job! lol The staff at the day hospital are brilliant. Most patients are cancer patients who are there on a more regular basis than me and there is a real cameraderie there with staff and patients. I actually met up this time with a woman whom I worked with in the 90s! We had a lovely time catching up.



Five and a half hours of just reading, knitting or dozing!



This time my veins 'behaved' and the canula went in without too much drama!

Just in prep stage here

The view from the window of the day hospital

I asked the doctor this morning for a letter which I apparently need while travelling in the US as well as needing it to get 2 months of medication from the chemist before we head off. But I have to make a separate appointment to get this letter as well as the pap smear that is overdue. So guess where I'll be next Tuesday at 11am? It has to be a so called 'long appointment'.

On my mind...

On my mind today is the book 'Nourishing Traditions'. I found out about this book on Rhonda Jean's blog, http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2008/10/nourishing-traditions.html and put a hold on it from the council library. I have found the book really interesting albeit frustrating as many of the recommended foods are not available here easily such as, for example, unpasteurised milk, although I haven't checked out health stores locally. But I think it's against the law to sell such products to the public. But many other ideas in the book are achieveable and I've taken little steps to implement some changes.
Now this book was due back at the library yesterday and obviously someone else has put a hold on it as I cannot extend my loan. For the past month at various times I've surfed the net looking at sites which sell this book. So far the best price I've found is the 'Book Depository' in the UK which has priced the book at $AUD29.34. Postage is also free at the Book Depository. So do I buy this book or just put another 'hold' on it at the library??? Time will tell I guess!

Naturally also on my mind today is the Queensland flood crisis. We were relieved to hear that our elderly relatives at Goondiwindi  are safe and don't expect to be affected by the flooding. Yesterday I was able to 'cash in' my Velocity points and consequently Virgin Airlines have donated $50 to the Flood Appeal on my behalf. Every little bit helps! Thanks Virgin Airlines for organising this scheme.