A MIXED BAG....

Feeling totally dreadful all day last Thursday I slept. I had awoken feeling ill, vomited and was shaking, sweating and my legs were weak. I was sent home from work and slept all day. I woke up on Friday still feeling awful and my folks took me to Ballina for some Scenar Therapy to stimulate the nerves in my body and massage to loosen the muscles from the spasms caused by the nerve damage. I once again went home and slept during the afternoon.

That evening was the Mullumbimby Primary School Fundraiser 'The Big Peoples Night Out” and I was overwhelmed when they donated the evening's raffle money to me and my boys. What an amazing show of generosity from the school my children all have attended. Although I did not stay long it was a great evening, very funny and very entertaining.

On Saturday I once again awoke dreadfully and fearing a relapse I phoned my parents to take me to the doctor. When my legs go weak it reminds me of when I was in hospital and I would have physio come round and try to get me to stand. It would take all my strength. I would sweat and shake and feel nauseous just from the effort it would take to try and stay standing on legs that wanted to collapse. We would only try 5-6 times each go and I would be exhausted and then sleep for hours. Anyway, this time it turned out the medications the pain clinic had put me on were not agreeing with me and had I have had them explained in depth I would not have started on them. I went to the surgery in town and the doctor spent a long time with me sorting all my medications and getting me organised.

I struggled to get there but that evening was one of my longest standing friends, Rosalinds' 40^th Surprise Birthday dinner and I went along. I ended up having a lovely, enjoyable evening and was so glad I made the effort. I would have gone no matter how bad I felt.

By Monday I felt human again and Tuesday I actually felt good. Today is Tuesday 6^th November and it is my other friend Wajans birthday and funnily enough it's Melbourne cup day......the irony? They both look like horses....hahahahhahahahahahaha just kidding Wajan and she knows it so don't everyone freak out. Awwww love you Wajan. You see, that is our sense of humour. There was also another reason for me to be happy today and it was that my friend Melissa from Tasmania whom I have known since I was a young teenager was coming for a visit with her daughter Emily who I haven't seen since she was 3 and her friend Trish. I felt good and the last week's horrendous symptoms were a distant memory. We laughed, we talked and we got emotional. We had dinner at Brunswick Heads with my parents as they are very close to Melissa and we talked about some amazing times we shared when we all lived together in a duplex years ago.

I got to thinking today about some things that happened while I was in hospital. See, through all the emotional times and hard times and the times I thought I was going to give up there were funny times.

I was in a mixed ward of 6 patients and on my arrival there was a lovely but very stubborn old german lady in the bed beside me. She had had a stroke and was in hospital recovering. See she had a routine set in stone. Each morning she would wake up and get dressed at 6.30am and sit on the side of her bed with her arms folded waiting on her breakfast. Well breakfast would come and she would eat it all then complain they give her too much food.....funny comment each day seeing you fill out your own menu form . She would then sit and resume the folded arm position and wait for doctors rounds at 8am. The doctors would come and tell her (from behind the closed curtain) that she couldn't go home until they got her blood level right and to do that she needed to take the medication. She refused, because she thought they were trying to kill her. The doctors would leave and she would once again resume the position until the next meal. She would then proceed to whine to us that they were trying to keep her here to get “rent” out of her for the bed. (Like the doctors weren't frustrated as hell and wanted her out of there because like myself, there were people down in emergency waiting 24 hours for beds). As there were 4 other stroke patients in the room all the same regime, there was plenty of advice telling her to take the medication as they were and they were all fine and getting closer to normal blood levels and home. BUT, no she did not want the tablets. So once 5pm would come around she would get back in her pyjamas realising she was staying another night, after not being released and sit up in bed waiting on her dinner. Dinner arrived, she ate and she complained at how much she had to eat.....Yup, she had ordered it. This continued for the first 7 days in hospital until one day she gave in and started taking her tablets. The next day her levels were right and she was discharged. To think she could have gone home 5 days earlier and I was stuck there unable to go used to shit me off but she was funny and all you could do was shake your head and laugh.

So the exciting news of the week is that after my air conditioner was installed I had money left over from the generosity of the community and on Saturday this week my new recliner lounge arrives. So when I am sitting back with my feet up and comfortable and free of pain I will once again have Mullumbimby to thank. Love to you all a million times over.