Five nights at the Gemini Resort on Golden Beach would have been wonderful and the views are fabulous but the level of care at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital is far superior and that's where Peter ended up on what should have been our final day in Caloundra - had we gone.
It all began with a couple of days of increasing pain around the area which once contained his appendix but that was removed in Nuku'alofa over 40 years when he was there with Australian Volunteers Abroad. He should have been airlifted to either Brisbane or Auckland on an RAAF or NZAF flight but missed both so the king's own doctor did the surgery, one of the first appendectomies ever performed in the Kingdom of Tonga, appendicitis not being something Tongans suffered at that time.
The young chap in the next bed was one of the Fasi Bad Boys who was recovering from a knife fight with a rival gang. He was quite perplexed and wanted to know when Peter's extracted organ was going to be put back. The Bad Boy's assailant brought him a cake by way of apology which he very kindly shared with Peter, meals being provided by family not the hospital and Peter having none handy.
But back to the present...
Our doctor at the Hornsby GP clinic determined that something was wrong but was unable to diagnose exactly what without bloods and a CT scan. She decided the quickest way to get both done was to send Peter to ER on the other side of the hospital so called ahead and off we set on another little holiday adventure.
Hornsby Hospital is being demolished and rebuilt all at the same time so there was no direct route but the one we took was most interesting. Those of you who are familiar with Hornsby will remember the circular Lumby Building which was state-of-the-art back when it opened in around 1970 but was several decades past its best by date when it finally closed earlier this year. The original plan was to refurbish it as an administration centre until all the asbestos was discovered so it's now being very carefully demolished.
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| Deconstruction of the Lumby Building with its replacement in the background. |
Here's where I present bouquets all around to Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital which is a well oiled machine with an intense focus on its patients and also their families.
We presented at the ER just after noon and Peter, seated in an electric wheelchair, was gliding into a room on a ward four hours later all blood tested and CT scanned and having been seen by nurses, doctors, medical technicians and specialists along the way, all pleasant, all personable and all professional. My relationship to Peter as both partner and also carer because of his ABI was celebrated not questioned and despite the current COVID restrictions I was able to accompany him throughout his entire journey doing a little photo doco as we went.
I also commend the Northern Sydney Health Service for its inclusivity which is announced with desk sets of the Australian, Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islands and Rainbow flags on counters right throughout the hospital.
So what's the problem?
It would appear that Peter is full of shit, or at least he was. The CT showed evidence of chronic constipation so they went at it from both ends which made for a fairly uncomfortable and unpleasant evacuation. That done things have settled down considerably and I am expecting him home tomorrow after a few more tests and a little more observation.
It's a difficult time to be in hospital as well we know from Peter's sister's experience of having broken her pelvis a month ago. There can be no visitors and although I was present for all of Peter's admission procedures the closest I can now get with a bag of fresh PJs and undies is the front door which is fine. That's what we must do in order to keep everyone safe, this pandemic being a very real and potentially fatal thing unless you're a denier, an anti-vaxxer, an extreme capitalist or just plain dumber than dog shit in which case it's only the flu or not even a thing at all.
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| A paracetamol goon bag. What will they think of next?! |
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