Month: May 2005

Rhubarb is Home From The Vet

He’s had a blood test, a fine needle aspirate, a skin scraping, a fungal culture, and caleci vaccine. They also took his temperature. Twice… And he only bit one person ! (me). I am sure he is feeling poorly, he’d never put up with all that before.

Anyway, temp is normal, there is an infection on his chin that may be making him a bit unwell, and the snotty nose too. He has Vibramyacin (the chocolate flavoured antibiotic that he loves), and Matthew will call me in the morning with blood test results. Will keep you posted, but this stage it’s looking as though his unhappiness and weight loss is due to localised (not systemic) things that should respond well to treatment. I nearly cried all the way home, it was such a relief!

Grasshopper and Custard also had shots, and Matthew finished Grasshoppers pedicure that I was too traumatised to finish last week. We must have been in there for over an hour, and including pathology and three vaccinations, I was charged less than $250.

I love my vet.

A New Toy !

This is my very first post from my brand new computer. He is called SpongeBob, and you can see a picture of what he looks like here. Mine is the big one. Of COURSE. With all the extras. 400gb Hard Drive. Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse. 3 Year warranty. EyeTV (I’ll never miss Gardening Australia again – if I can get the damn thing to find a signal…). And….

A .mac family pack – which means that I can continue to publish my photos from iPhoto with just a press of a button. PC users just won’t get it, but my maccy friends know that the love of a good mac is a marvellous thing 🙂

The Public Hospital System

Holy Fuck !

Mark took me to Hornsby Hospital today to get the medical records and X-Rays from my accident three years ago. I am hoping that the old X-Rays will show that my spine was fine before the whiplash, and that the degeneration since is far too rapid to have been attributed to “genetics”.

Maybe my spinal explosion is because of the whiplash I suffered three years running. Maybe it’s not. If it is though – I would be covered under Work Cover. And then, not only would I have some income, but I would also have someone mediating between me and the boss to try to get me back to work.

So…..

I had to go to hospital to get the records from my first accident. Coincidentally, it’s the hospital I was born in… And I think they are still using the computers they were using when I was ten years old.

We have just received a $6 tax cut in the budget. Mr Costello, I have no income until I get back to work, and I earn too much for my husband to qualify for Austudy, but if I ever to get my $6, send it to Hornsby Hospital.

They need a new sign out the front so people can find the department they need. They need to pay for a cashier that works past 3.15pm in the afternoon. They need an EFTPOS machine in the Emergency Department that works (as they are the backup cashiers), they need an ATM that works, they need a door to the Medical Records Department (as well as the map) that doesn’t slam so loud it feels like your eardrum is bursting.

And they need computers that are less than two decades old.

And now for the bright light at the end of the tunnel. The staff were great 🙂 Thanks guys – you made a horrible situation almost bearable.

One Useful Thing….

Yesterday was harsh. I had to move my stuff from one desk to another, and then get it useable as a desk. Then do some work. By the time I got the work done, I was exhausted. I hope the boss isn’t cross with me for not making it neater, but that was more exercise than I have done in 7 weeks. And I am still coughing, which makes the pain almost unbearable.

So I decided not to get out of bed today. Rest is good.

But I did do one useful ting today. I have asked my old physio for his advice, and am waiting for a call. My specialists nurse is talking to him also, so once I have my X-Rays from Hornsby, I should be able to get some idea as to wether or not my injury is work related or not.

Though I am keen to get back to work, yesterday taught me that I am not nearly as well as I thought I was.

Friday

Today hasn’t been good. I sliced a chunk off my thumb, and have spent the bulk of the day crying, blowing my nose, and coughing up phlegm. I think I have a cold. Or bronchitis.

Anyway, let’s get back to the positives….

• I rang Hornsby hospital to find out how to geet copies of my x-rays from my first whiplash.
• I watered the citrus trees (they are all in pots)
• I made a yummy vegetble soup
• I ordered my new iMac G5 20″ with the works….. Yippeeeeeeeeeee

Thursday

Yesterday I
• Fed the chickens (discovered that they love basil)
• Picked some new flowers for my bedside table
• Found a Passionfruit that is starting to colour. My passionfruit are the largest I have ever seen, each one is almost as big as my closed fist !
• Visited my GP and got more info about my “condition” (in a separate post)
• Went to the dentist – so of course that adds to my feeling of wellbeing, not ! 😦