Heavenly Beverley : Happy Birthday to Me (with love from Murphy and Buckley)...

Four weeks ago, we were cooling our heels in the Mount Hospital waiting for Michael to have a major procedure on his troublesome wrist and hand. Our orthopaedic surgeon, Mister Ben Kimberley had identified a number of issues related to Michael's use of his hands as a primary tool for over forty years. There was no cartilage between the base of his hand and his wrist. Painful spurs had erupted from his ulna, which needed to be shortened. Two bones that shouldn't have fused together had...and three bones needed to be fused to keep them in position. We had decided to tackle this operation before leaving on our Northwest Jaunt as driving was becoming almost impossible.

The surgery went ahead and we were duly discharged the following morning, back to Heavenly Beverley for his recovery. Michael was almost immediately in serious trouble. The swelling was so intense that the cast had to be taken down and replaced four days postoperatively. One of his pain meds played havoc with his reflux. He complained of a clunking sensation at the site of the plate. The initial splint was unsatisfactory and had to be remoulded for him. But the unrelenting pain was by far the worst of his symptoms. He was being ground down and became chronically exhausted.

His need for opiates and other strong medication was puzzling to us. Michael has always had a high pain tolerance and I could not believe that he had turned into a wimp. And the carrot of our trip away from the winter cold was drawing tantalisingly closer. Michael was hoping the warmth and sun would aid his stalled recovery. I was steeling myself with the possibility of driving all the way there and back.

On Wednesday, Michael's hand, wrist and arm were x-rayed, followed by a second post-operative appointment. Michael convinced himself that his pain was beginning to ease. We just wanted to have this appointment with Ben and be on our way.

The films were stunning, for all the wrong reasons. A screw was sticking out from the plate. Worse still, Michael's ulna had fractured at the base of the plate. Suddenly, all the pain made sense. Michael had spent the best part of a month with his ulna split in two.

Which is why, four weeks after his initial surgery, we are back in the Mount Hospital waiting for him to go back to theatre. Michael is snoozing. However, this admission has gone extremely smoothly, much to our relief. We have had an amicable discussion with Evelyn, the Director of Nursing. There are tissues on our tables and soap in the bathroom. The room is much pleasanter than that of our previous stay. Some lunch was found for me as I was unable to eat before we left home. Our day nurse Tina was caring and kind. Now, all we need is for Michael to have the operation, pray for a boringly uneventful recovery and maybe be able to still escape to some northern warmth in about three more weeks.

That's the plan. And let's face facts. 2020 has been a year of dashed plans, of utter chaos across the world and of constantly changing circumstances. 2020 has morphed into a combination of a Coronavirus crisis, followed by a collision with Murphy's Law and Buckley's Chance.

Today is also my fifty-ninth birthday. We were supposed to be having a leisurely break with Callum, Bronwyn, Imogen and Vanessa inside our wonderful home in Heavenly Beverley. Instead, we are in the Big Smoke, in a hospital. Cal and Bron transported Immy up on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Vanessa met us at the hospital entrance this morning and loaded all our gear into a wheelchair in reception. Then she will be the dogs, cat and bird sitter until we return tomorrow. Leadlight artist David was already manning the Gallery today with Jan and Gem covering the weekend.

All I really want for my birthday is for Michael to come through surgery relatively unscathed with his ulna secured in place. Murphy and his Law have had a field day in 2020, so I am somewhat sceptical. As for Buckley, I remain hesitantly hopeful that we will have slightly better odds than his and we do actually get away in a few weeks.

Wish us luck!