Badger Galore
Staying ‘Up Over’ for a while.
I hope they come in peace!
So...I was just lying in bed and was startled by a bright light as if someone was shining a torch into the room and then I saw the brightest meteorite I have ever seen falling out of the sky to the south west. A few moments later there was a loud rumble and the house shook. No idea if they were connected or what it was. Can't see anything on any news sites yet.
If it is aliens...I hope they come in peace!
Update.
So... Lots of people in the area heard the rumbling sound and a few saw the bright light last night. There is still no official news on what it was, that I have seen, but it is most likely one of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites knocked out by the recent solar flare. I was contacted by a news reporter from one of the TV channels this morning as they wanted to do a story on it. Thankfully I didn't see the message until this evening, when it was too late.
Goodbye limbo!
So...I have been champing at the bit to book flights back 'Up Over' to see my family but have been held back waiting to hear about my gallbladder operation which I would rather get out of the way first. It has all been pretty bad timing since my second Pancreatitis attack with Omicron finally being allowed in and affecting the roll out of scheduled operations. I rang the Hospital again on Tuesday to ask what the situation was and to see if I was safe to go ahead and book a trip to the UK if they were not expecting me to be seen for a couple of months yet. The guy I spoke to said that my details had been sent off to one of the private hospitals and he was sure I would hear within the month if I could just hold on a bit longer before booking anything. It was a step forward and it was good to hear.
This morning I got a phone call from my surgeon's office asking me if Friday 18th February was good for me.
"Of course!!!!!" I replied. Bingo!
They later rang back and said sorry they had got it wrong. My heart sank. There was now no availability for the Friday but could I do Tuesday 22nd instead?
'Yes!!!!!" The relief!
'It might be very early in the morning and I know you have a bit of travelling to do, would that be ok?' they asked.
'I will be there.' I said.
I need to get this over and done with and then I can go see my Mum, my boys and my grandson!
"Eh?!!!!"
So...this week I have mostly been deaf!
It all started last Sunday when my left ear was acting a bit strange as if someone had turned up the bass on it. So on Monday I went into town and got some eardrops to help clear out the wax. I put drops in both ears before bed on Monday but it made me feel a bit dizzy for awhile which wasn't very pleasant.
On Tuesday I added drops again in the morning and once more felt dizzy so decided I wasn't going to use them anymore.
I woke up Wednesday morning and couldn't hear anything. I couldn't hear the roosters crowing, nor the birds singing and had not even heard the flippin' possums, still climbing up the window frames trying, in vain, to get into the eaves. That could be seen as a silver lining I suppose, looking back, but at the time I was pretty alarmed. I was totally deaf. I got up and went downstairs and got two spoons out of the drawer and banged them together and could hardly hear the noise.
I googled 'sudden hearing loss' and Google said ' treat it as a medical emergency' so I drove straight to the hospital. It was strange driving in the car and not hearing the engine.
I was the only one waiting at Emergency and didn't have to wait too long to see a doctor. She checked my ears and said that basically they needed syringing. They did not do that procedure at the hospital and I was told I would need to see my GP. The doctor very kindly rang my GP to make an appointment but the only available appointment was over a week away. She booked me in but I said that I was going to try and see another doctor in the meantime. She gave me a prescription for some antibiotics in case there was some infection but she could not see clearly to know for certain. I was to keep adding the wax removing drops too even though they made me feel a bit dizzy.
I left the hospital and went into town to see if I could get an appointment at another surgery. I have had a flu jab and a skin check at another surgery as an employee of the local council so tried there and got an appointment for later that day at 4.00pm.
I went back into town for the appointment in the afternoon. The doctor again looked in my ears and said that, yes, they needed syringing. I was to keep adding the antibiotic drops and the wax removal drops and make an appointment for Friday.
Adding the drops over the next few days was easier as they no longer made me feel dizzy. The hearing in my left ear came and went but my right ear stayed completely blocked.
I was back at the doctors on Friday to get my ears syringed. I was a bit nervous about it wondering if it would be uncomfortable or even hurt. I had to lie down and the doctor was putting something in my ear. I could feel his hand was shaking and began to wonder if he had ever done this procedure before. I was expecting him to put liquid in my ear and syringe it out but in fact he used some kind of suction device, like a mini hoover, to suck the wax out. My left ear had improved with the drops but I could hear bits flying out of my ear canal into the suction device. It was my right ear that I was most worried about though. He moved the equipment over to my right ear and set about hoovering that out. I didn't notice anything until he switched the machine off and was delighted to find that I could hear again with my right ear.
Both ears were a little tender afterwards but I was relieved to be hearing again. A few days later and my right ear, though much better, does still not feel fully clear but I have the other appointment with my doctor later this week.
Trips with Tracy.
So...Tracy has been visiting us this last week now that there are no border restrictions between Queensland and New South Wales. We spent a day bushwalking from the Day Use area at Girraween to Mount Norman and yesterday visited Nundubbermere Falls...
