Five Weeks In
It has now been five weeks since my car accident and everything seems to be progressing reasonably well. Next Friday I should get the cast off my left wrist and begin having a hand that I can use relatively normal again. So that will be an enormous help. Guess that means that everything is getting better!
The right shoulder is still a major problem but is getting better slowly. However it still appears that the shoulder is a good 4 weeks away from having the cast off it. At least further surgery on it appears less likely now.
My right knee injury was aggravated during the past week and it has become clear that I have ligament damage from the car accident in the right knee area. It will slowly heal and if not right in 3 months some surgery may be required.
Still, things are improving and I’m quite happy about that 
Rainy Day - Boring
When there is little you can do, you would think that it wouldn’t be too bad if it was a rainy day. Can’t do anything anyway, so what’s it matter? However, because I can still use both legs, these rainy days can be very frustrating and boring.
Why? Well, the daily long walk is something I look forward to at the moment and when it rains I can’t go. Getting wet doesn’t bother me, but it does bother the casts and that is the problem with walking in the rain at the moment. If I didn’t have the casts it would be fine, there wouldn’t be a problem. But with the rain I’m confined pretty much to barracks.
So I don’t have a lot of choices at this stage, though certainly I could be doing a lot more reading. Reading however is not something I am inclined to do at the moment. Not sure why, but just finding it difficult to knuckle down to any serious reading – maybe because of the brain injury, who knows. I am going to try reading again today however.
The other choices are limited to activities around music and television (or similar activities), which I can only take in small doses. Most of my time is currently being spent on the computer doing various things like email, etc.
It has now been 4 weeks since the accident.
Progress Report
It has now been a month since my car accident and time for a progress report – in short all appears to be going well. All the open wounds have healed well, though I do have scars – one above the right eye and a couple on my right hands. There also appears to be some nerve damage in my right hand, as there are some areas that remain quite numb and without feeling at this stage.
According to the hospital specialists the broken bones are healing well, though there is a slim possibility that my right humerus could ‘fall apart’ and surgery to install a plate and rods may yet be necessary. Hopefully that won’t be required.
The right elbow is still heavily bruised and swollen, and is still giving me a degree of pain. My right knee (bruised and swollen) and chest (partially collapsed lung and contusions) are also giving me a degree of pain, but are improving nonetheless.
The last couple of days I have finally been able to bag my own arms in order to have a shower, as well as taking off my shirt and getting it on – so I’m almost fully independent again! So, I’m getting there.
Almost Killed in Car Accident
On February 22nd I had a single vehicle accident. My car slid on a gravel road and struck a tree before going over the side of a mountain. The car was destroyed and I was trapped inside. After some time I was found by a truck driver, feared dead/dying. Eventually I was cut out of the car and flown by helicopter to the hospital. I have no memory of events prior to the accident, of the accident and very little of the week following.
Almost 2.5 weeks later I was released from hospital and now I am beginning to recover. Among the injuries I suffered in the accident included (but not limited to) a broken right shoulder, broken left wrist, lacerations with stitches to the right hand and fingers, laceration along with severe swelling and brain injury above the right eye, bruising and swelling to chest, back, right side and thigh, bruising and swelling to right knee, partially collapsed lung and poorly inflated lungs, twisted pelvis, etc.
I am healing reasonably quickly and I am no longer taking pain killing medication, etc. There is obviously still some pain, but it is not by any means overwhelming.
By the grace of God I have been spared as I probably should be dead humanly speaking. Yet I am still alive and there is obviously a purpose for it. It has stopped me and made me think about things. The consequences of this process are yet to be carried through and fully realised, but it will be one of those life changing events.
Coming Back to the Field... Competition at Last!
In my last post before the Australian-Indian test series in Australia, I was concerned at the lack of competition for Australia in cricket. Australia has of course won the series 2-1, however, the series was extremely close in the end and the second test which was won by Australia was sadly decided by poor umpiring in reality. India would probably have won that one if not for the poor umpiring.
Still, the good news is that cricket is becoming a competition again, with Australia coming back to the field somewhat. With the retirement of Glen McGrath, Shane Warne, Damien Martin, Justin Langer and now Adam Gilchrist, the Australian team is definitely coming back to the field – though clearly they are still very good and the best team in the world.
Brett Lee has stepped up and is the spearhead of the Australian attack – and is one of the best bowlers in the world. Stuart Clark is usually a brilliant partner in the Australian attack for Brett Lee and is another class bowler. However, the bowling stocks seems to fall away after these two, with Mitchell Johnson being a little too erratic at this stage (though he seems effective still in the way of wicket taking) and Shaun Tait being disappointing. Stuart MacGill is not the bowler he was and there is therefore no effective replacement for Shane Warne in the area of leg spin, with no seemingly effective fulltime spin bowlers of any form.
In state sides there is Bollinger in New South Wales, who seems to be the goods at such an early stage of his first class career, but there seems little more apart from Nathan Bracken (also from New South Wales).
With the departure of Adam Gilchrist there is now an opportunity for Brad Haddin to step up to the Australian team. After Haddin there seems to be daylight in the way of wicket keeper batsmen.
The future for Australian batsmen seems to be fading also, though there is still an extremely strong top order in the current Australian team. Matthew Hayden has indicated he will be sticking around for a little while, which is good news for Australia as there seems to be quite a dropping away of talent in the way of opening batsmen after Phil Jacques, with Simon Katich seemingly too old to be around much longer (though he is arguably in the best form of his career).
Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds are a class above many other batting combinations around the world, with not a real lot seemingly to step up to the lofty standards these four have now set. Certainly Michael Clarke seems a clear choice for a future Australian captain, but what sort of team will he lead – a question that will be answered in time to come with much interest.
Certainly Australian cricket is very healthy and is probably the strongest in the world, yet admitting the great talent in Australian cricket, the Australian team is coming back to the rest of the field and we can look forward to more competitive cricket – or so it seems. The future will tell the story and it wouldn’t be at all surprising that with future retirements from the team, other players from the Pura Cup will step up and have grown into the same class that has set the Australian team above the rest of the world for so long.
Howzat! ... Cricket is Loosing its Appeal.
Following the lacklustre two test series between Australia and Sri Lanka, which Australia dominated, Australia will soon play a three match one day series (The Chappell/Hadlee Cup), followed by a four match test series against India.
The Chappell/Hadlee Cup One Day Series is looking little more than a whitewash affair for Australia, with reports that New Zealand Cricket is in disarray. It is hardly the news that Australian cricket fans want to hear. Following the dismal Sri Lankan Two test series easily won by Australia, Australians were hoping for some competitive cricket from New Zealand and then India.
News concerning India is beginning to filter through, with reports that a good number of players are unfit and some can’t even throw a cricket ball properly. This with the declining abilities of Laxman, Tendulker and co. as they age, does not lend itself to a promising test series against India. Are we to see the same brand of uncompetitive cricket that Australian cricket fans have come to expect in recent years? One would certainly hope not, for cricket is beginning to loose its appeal among its heartland in Australia.
Twenty20 cricket may well be the only thing that can breath new life into cricket for Australian cricket fans, but this may well be only possible if Australia begins to play matches against Australia A (and perhaps Australia B) on a regular basis.
If the current forgone conclusion cricket continues, the likes of Richie Benaud and Bill Lawry, might as well begin to look for other employment or consider retirement, for Australian are loosing patience with national sport. Most are clearly satisfied with the regular drubbing of England, but where are the opposition teams of earlier times? We long for a challenge such as that presented by the West Indies through the 1970s and 1980s.
Bring on some competition please!!!
Shonky Awards
ABC news is reporting on the top 10 shonky products of 2007. The report includes Nutella and mobile phone plans. See the story on the ABC news site at:
My Fight with CFS ... Part 1
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), or as I prefer to call it, Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS). It is an extremely misunderstood and debilitating illness. I have read that the average time for a person to be ill with CFS is 18 months. I have had it for 18 years more or less. It has cost me a lot to be suffering from this illness and it impacts on my life on a daily basis. Some days are not too bad, while others are extremely terrible.
My journey with CFS began in the aftermath of the Newcastle earthquake of the 28th December 1989. In early 1990, while working at Hawkins Masonic Village repairing roofs damaged by the earthquake (it was raining and many roofs were leaking), I began to feel persistently unwell. I decided to see my doctor who put it down as some sort of stomach bug, most likely Gastroenteritis. After two weeks of medication it was becoming clear that I did not have Gastroenteritis and something more sinister was the cause of my intensifying illness.
Within weeks I had begun to develop all of the debilitating symptoms of CFS and what was worse for me they were all intensifying their effects upon me. What was wrong with me was now something of a mystery, but it was clear I was very ill and getting worse.
When I was younger I had Hyperthyroidism and so the doctor assumed that this was what was wrong with me again, despite the fact that blood tests indicated I no longer had an issue with that disorder. I was placed on medication for Hyperthyroidism and monitored. The medication had no effect on my illness and my patience with ‘witch doctoring’ was running out. I pleaded with my doctor to send me to someone else – a specialist. But who would be useful to see?
A friend had recently been diagnosed with CFS by an Immunologist and eventually I prevailed with my doctor to send me to him. Eventually I was able to set up an appointment and so my time with Doctor Sutherland of the Royal Newcastle Hospital Immunology Department had begun.
By this time I was suffering a myriad array of symptoms, with varying degrees of intensity depending on what week I was asked. Among the most debilitating of these symptoms was a persistent headache that no amount of painkilling or other medication had any impact upon. The headache was like a migraine that wouldn’t go away. It would last for an 18 month stretch this first time, bringing with it an intolerance of bright light, noise, etc. These things caused me immense head pain.
I was also suffering numerous nose bleeds (which I often get when I am very ill), fevers and chills, brain fog (a situation where you seem to know what is going on yet you have an inability to act in a logical manner – some times the sense of knowing what is happening disappears altogether), painful eyes, chronic fatigue in the muscles and extreme soreness, tiredness to the point of sleeping at a drop of a hat (I was sleeping for over 18 hours a day with no relief to my tiredness, headaches, etc), loss of strength in my limbs, constant nausea, inability to think or concentrate, etc.
By this time I was already having time away from work, with being away for weeks at a time being the norm – thankfully they were quite understanding of the fact that I was very ill.
At my lowest point during these first two years I was reduced to being bed-ridden, using a cane for stability when walking and at times was unable to walk. I was sleeping above 18 hours a day with no benefit from it.
During this time of extreme illness I was subjected to innumerable blood tests and other tests, which all revealed little at all as to the cause of my illness. A process of careful elimination under the care of Dr. Sutherland brought the diagnosis of CFS, as well as a psychological evaluation.
There was no cure to be found, with the only helpful advice having come from Dr. Sutherland. He told me to try and rest, then to slowly build myself up again. Walk one block for a week, then two blocks the following week, etc. If I overdid it I would be back in a heap again in no time. I needed to be able to read my own situation to know when I should try to rebuild my life. This advice has helped me through the last 18 years.
I struggled with the illness for 18 months or so and I also struggled with the enigma associated with the illness. That I was sick was not believed by all and this has been a constant stereotype I have been confronted with throughout my illness. I often found myself questioning whether I was sick or whether it was some mental thing. It was a relief when a doctor finally gave me a name for the illness and confirmed I was indeed very ill.
There were times (as there has been since) when I thought that dying would be a better alternative than to be as sick as I was, with no life and the prospect of endless years of severe illness. Suicide was something that popped into my head from time to time, but thankfully it didn’t stay there for long.
At times I found myself not knowing what I was doing, where I had been, etc. At one point I waited behind a parked car, waiting for it to turn the corner only to realise ½ an hour or so later that the car was parked. I found myself having gone shopping with a load of groceries I didn’t need and never had used before. It was like having a form of early onset Dementia.
After about 18 months I began to get better – or so I thought. I was well enough to knock back participation in a trial medication experiment for CFS sufferers which would involve a lengthy stay in hospital and a 50% chance I would receive the placebo. I declined the invitation being concerned I would loose my job as a result of being in hospital for so long.
My health began to improve and I thought I was finally over the illness. During this time I lost contact with Dr. Sutherland who left the hospital because of a dispute with NSW health at the time. Many doctors left the public system at the time.
NEXT: The illness returns
Rudd Labor Off and Running ... Liberals???
The Kevin Rudd Labor government is off and running, even though the government is yet to be sworn in. In what can only be described as very hopeful and wonderful signs of a pro-active government to come, Kevin Rudd and his newly formed ministry have hit the road running in almost every major policy area. The Rudd Labor government looks set to keep faith with the electorate by implementing each and every promise it made in the election campaign as quickly as possible.
Perhaps of even greater significance is the new government’s determination to meet every issue facing the nation head on, with a very strong emphasis of getting down and dirty with the nation as it seeks to meet the many problems that currently face it, including homelessness and indigenous affairs. Labor MPs are being urged very strongly by Prime Minister elect Kevin Rudd, to become intimately familiar with the problems facing Australia by getting in amongst the issues by visiting the homeless, aged care facilities, etc. These visits are not to be photo ops, but fact finding missions with a view to finding solutions for the problems facing Australia.
The doubters of Kevin Rudd must surely be very impressed with his approach to government thus far and the determination being shown by Labor in government to make a real difference and improvement in Australia for all. Kevin Rudd the man is now standing out for all of Australia to see and we watch with interest to learn more and watch his development as Prime Minister. The test of the man and leader is surely yet to come, as adversity will bring out the true character of Kevin Rudd – but he is certainly of to a great start.
There is renewed hope for Australia’s future like there hasn’t been for many years – these are very interesting and exciting times to be Australian.
For the Liberal Party however it is more of the same it seems with the new leadership team sounding like the same party that was so soundly turned put of office in the recent national poll. John Howard, Peter Costello and co may all be gone, but the same tired rhetoric and sentiment seems to remain. It would appear that on current form a spell in the political wilderness beckons for the Liberal/National Party opposition, along with many leadership tensions and an inability to move on.
Ruddslide
The ‘Kevin 07’ campaign has been waged and won with victory for the ‘true believers.’ After 11 ½ years in opposition, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has swept to victory in the Australian national election, with the former Prime Minister (John Howard) loosing his own seat in the process. Not only has Kevin Rudd and the ALP swept John Howard and the Liberal-National Party government from office, it has now also seen off the leadership of John Howard, Peter Costello and Mark Vaile, along with several other high ranking Coalition ministers.
In the wake of Kevin Rudd’s 6% swing against the Howard government, the Liberal and National Party Coalition is in disarray and will now need to rebuild following it’s decimation in Saturday’s national election. The Coalition has lost government, its leadership, many party MPs and will loose its Senate majority in July 2008.
Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Brendan Nelson have all declared themselves as being contenders for leadership of the Liberal Party, and we are yet to hear who will stand for the National Party Leadership. Whoever does win leadership of the opposition parties, they face what is potentially a two-term opposition period (at least) given the extent of the Rudd victory.
Australians are now looking forward to the end of Workchoices and other draconian industrial relations legislation brought into being by the Howard government during their final term. There are also great hopes for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on CO2 emissions, as well as other climate change and environmental initiatives. Progress is also expected in many other key areas including health, education, refugees, social welfare, infrastructure, federal-state cooperation, defence policy and overseas intervention, etc.
The Australian electorate expects much from the new Rudd government and I for one do not expect that this trust will be in vain. Kevin Rudd is a man of great intellect, determination and action, and I think Australia will be delighted with his approach to government and leadership in the coming weeks and months.
Already Kevin Rudd has begun his role of leadership, along with deputy Julia Gillard, visiting a school today in order to get his education revolution under way immediately. He has also accepted an invitation to Bali in the next week or so to attend a conference on climate change and CO2 reduction targets. Already he has begun work on ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets. This is a wonderful first fruit and a sign of what is hopefully to come.
Australia is a great nation, with a great economic track record in recent years ~ however, our reputation as being a compassionate and just people has suffered in recent times. I for one will welcome a return to a more just and socially responsible government and nation.