I have yet to wallow in utter relaxation on our Great Escape. I developed an annoying cold in Yalgoo with associated spectacular coughing and impressive sneezing. That condition had almost dissipated when we arrived to glorious sunshine and warmth in Carnarvon last Friday.
Saturday was also beautiful with a stiff breeze foreshadowing an approaching change. All washing was completed with my ag-ed person's sense of delight. We sat outside, revelling in the absence of layer-upon- layer of clothing. An evening BBQ was the piece-de-resistance
Then the rain set in during Saturday night. Although a tad crowded, we weathered the downpour with the exception of my feet, which were directly under a significant fracture in Will's ancient perspex dome. I also became aware of a dull ache in the right side of my belly. I ignored this piddling pain and returned to slumber, thinking nothing of it.
Sunday was still drizzly and cool. We remained, cocooned inside Will, for most of the day. We did venture out for pizza and Sunday's entertainment with Ronnie and Colly, a reliable husband and wife team providing music from the fifties onwards for the enthusiastic caravan park audience. The pizza, provided by a trio of Italian backpackers in a pop-up setting, provided reasonable, although a rather expensive dinner. The good news was that we had leftovers for Monday lunch.
However, Sunday night was rather unpleasant. The dull ache in my tummy turned into very sharp pain whenever I attempted to turn over in bed or sit up. As a result, I ended up with entirely age-related lower back pain in addition to this other affliction. Poop...
Monday morning, I decided to see one of the local medicos in town for better pain relief. I was positive that I had just pulled a muscle (that I didn't know I had) during our shenanigans in Yalgoo. I had no fever or nausea or any other symptoms. Just a dull ache that shot up to very nasty when I attempted an unwise manoeuvre.
My appointment was at two-thirty with a very agreeable doctor, who wanted to exclude appendicitis. So instead or leaving with pain relief, I was sent to the local hospital.
Arriving at three o'clock, I wandered to the Imaging Department, having been sent there by Reception. One of the staff there gently guided me back to the Emergency Department. I was triaged, signed in and sat to wait my turn...Finally after five, I was ushered through to a cubicle Inside. The usual obs followed, then the department quack arranged for me to be stabbed twice - once for a cannula insertion and once with an anti-inflammatory injection. And in between any excitement was periods of extreme boredom.
When I was ceremoniously wheeled to the CT, I met Luke, a charming radiologist conducting the test. Except Luke couldn't get the cannula to flush through. My nurse Alex quickly saved the day by twiddling with the needle a bit to get the fluid moving. She then remained with Luke to make sure the contrast liquid trickled in through the cannula. I can wholeheartedly attest to success, as my entire body was heated from the top of my head to the tips of my fingers and toes, a side effect of the contrast. I was quite happy as I had been a tad on the chilly side...
More waiting. Finally the results of the CT came back. My abdomen, lungs and pelvis were totally unremarkable. No appendicitis or any other condition was evident, apart from a fatty liver (Duh!).
Another very personable nurse, who have been seconded for a week from Exmouth, took our my cannula. A report and a script for pain relief(!) appeared and I was out the door faster than you could say Jack Robinson.
I had rung Michael to tell him the good news. I had been let out of jail! However, without a map and in the dark, he bumbled around Carnarvon for over twenty minutes, trying to find me. Eventually, I sourced Google maps on my phone, was able to tell him where he was (the other side of Whoop-Whoop) and he finally pulled up outside Emergency, with the dogs, to save me.
I picked up a sandwich and muffin from the servo, had two glasses of vino and went to bed.
Next trip, I shall carry Panadeine Forte with me from the beginning, to avoid spending five and a half hours in an Emergency Department for a muscle strain!
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