We decided to buy a Wii and WiiFit last week in an attempt to get fitter and have fun doing it. Lyndsay LOVES the WiiFit whereas I enjoy the Wii Sports games. Lyndsay has also uncovered nearly ALL the WiiFit bonus games and is currently Wii-ing on the living room floor as I type this. Ewwwwwwwwwwww.
Boxing is pretty awesome although I don’t particularly like the idea of Lyndsay beating my ass. We only have the one controller at this stage since they are AU$60 a pop BUT I’m already sussing out geek way’s of using it.
The fact that it CANNOT PLAY DVDs blows BUT it does have built in wireless which is nice. Unfortunately you have to pay US$7 to use the Wii Browser (it’s Opera for the Wii) and let’s face it, on my 68cm CRT old skool TV, using the web on it just don’t cut it. Let me get my Samsung 40-inch Full HD TV first but by then, a media center setup with surround sound would kill.
Well what can I say about my tonsils? They had been giving me grief for a while and I developed a nasty abscess. Initially I was put on the public patient list and had to wait 6 months before I could get the tonsils removed from the public hospital. I thought it was strange the both the GP and the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) specialist didn’t slice the abscess in the meantime but were more than willing to put me on antibiotics for 6 freakin’ months! I didn’t particularly like that idea since I want my body to fight off as many infections as it can without the help of antibiotics and also with my engagement party on the horizon, I decided to pay for the tonsillectomy myself upfront. If you have the cash, the medical community will do almost anything for you asap.
So I was booked into hospital on the 7th of May. Probably the most painful part of getting any kind of surgery is not the surgery itself but it’s the waiting! They had me get to the hospital at 7am (with my lovely fiancee there to keep me company) and began the anesthetic around midday so I had to wait around for a good 4 hours before they touched me. Surgery lasts 20 minutes apparently and I wake up around 2pm, feeling drowsy but OK. No projectile from the anesthetic since I fasted the night before. I looked pale as a ghost which I think was not from the surgery but because I hadn’t eaten in ages and couldn’t for a while yet. The nurses then pumped me full of (more) liquid antibiotics and painkillers for the next 20 hours or so. I had a shared room with three other patients but there’s always one that gets on your nerves. I had one patient next to me who had their gall bladder out and was crying out in pain ALL night. Note to self and people reading this: do not expect to get ANY sleep in hospital! Even if you don’t have a whiny patient next to you, the nurses wake you up every couple of hours to pump more drugs into your veins.
Editor’s Note: I might sound harsh about the gall bladder patient but honestly, I think they were looking for attention because most of the nurses said there’s no reason for them to be in any bad pain.What did I learn? That tough guy macho image is completely obliterated in hospitals.
Overall, the hospital staff were excellent. Yes I got no sleep and yes the beds aren’t comfortable but you’re there to get better, not stay at a resort. I was fortunate enough to have Lyndsay be with me for MOST of my stay and keep me company and that makes the world of difference. I am ready to go home and the nurses and doctor tell me jelly and ice-cream is out and hard foods are in! Yes they encourage you to eat toast and harder foods nowadays to prevent clotting on the throat. I wasn’t looking forward to eating hard toast with my throat in the mend but you know what, it wasn’t bad at all. I’ve heard it would be a little painful over the next few days but because I had painkillers every four hours and lots of water, the pain was fairly minimal. Sure you can’t talk much and you’re not overly energetic but if you rest, it’s really quite easy. This was the case for 10 days. Until…
2am comes. I’m lying in bed watching a movie when I feel something in the back of my throat. At first I think it’s just some yucky phlem but when I go over to the sink, I realise there’s some bleeding in the back of my throat and I’m constantly spitting mouthfuls of the red stuff. Poor Lyndsay is terrified and flies me to emergency at the hospital at top speed. We get there, I’m looking quite pale and have to wait a good hour before getting seen to. But hey, it’s emergency and I’m not dying. Perhaps 3 hours later we’re told there’s nothing they can do because the blood has clotted and have to wait until Monday to see the specialist. Oh the joy of more waiting.
Monday morning comes 9am, I am back at the hospital, thinking I might need further surgery for my blood clot. Another 2 hour wait before I get a bed and they put me back on liquid antibiotics. I wait until 3pm to be told that the doctor is too busy to see me today and I have to wait until tomorrow. Double-yay! :( This time I am positioned next to an elderly man with a ostomy pouching system who seemingly went number two’s every five minutes and snored the rest of the time (yes the smell is NAAAAASTY!). Again, no sleep in the hospital. The next day the doctor comes in at 8am and tells me “You’re fine. Did you want to go home today?” and I’m like “Hell yes!” and an hour later Lyndsay comes to pick me up and we’re home at last. So essentially, an overnight stay at the hospital for nothing (although I guess it was better to be safe than sorry) but surely the doctor could have squeezed in 5 minutes the day before just to see if I were ok. This is the problem when there is just the one ENT specialist in the whole of Bendigo! Someone needs to inform medicine Australia to send more specialists out here! (or bride them with fat paychecks!).
Okay well, enough of my bitching and rant on the whole procedure. Apart from the constant waiting, etc… I count myself extremely fortunate that I recovered extremely well and that had a lot of do with my egotistical coke fiend life partner. I was waited on hand, foot and mouth 24 hours a day for two weeks and for that, I forever grateful.
Lyndsay decided to buy a Polaroid camera for our engagement bash- the Polaroid Spirit 600 CL. It’s a real doozy and in excellent condition. Yes the price of film is the only downside but that timeless feel makes it allllll good :)
James is in hospital recovering from a lack of tonsils. I think the most amusing part of his hospital stay so far has been the adjustable bed. I miss him. But we will not miss his tonsils.
Yes that’s right people! 5 months exactly to the date that the greatest party ever to grace the earth will be held. I think the news deserves the baking of our first homemade loaf of bread. Agreed?
The plans for our big engagement bash are coming along swimmingly. We can’t reveal too much here since we want much of it to be a surprise but let’s just say it will be one to remember!
In other news, I get my tonsils removed next week. It’s something that needs to be done but hey, eating iceblocks for two weeks can’t be that bad can it?
Today is one week since James got down in the dust of my Mum and Dad’s driveway, at sunset, and asked me to be his wife. Time has flown! We haven’t stopped smiling all week I think, at least, that’s what I think my sore cheeks are attributed to. We got an engagement present today from some lovely family friends, which will be put to good use. Presents already! It’s quite amazing, for some reason we just weren’t expecting any.
We’re both a bit overwhelmed by the whole process, I think - after talking about it for so long in secret (or just not to other people) I guess we were a bit used to being the only ones who knew about getting engaged, and I guess perhaps we weren’t entirely ready for the onslaught of attention, even though it’s come with a lot of goodwill and I can hardly complain. I don’t want to sound like a spoiled brat, and I love talking about getting married. It’s just that it feels so sudden, and there’s so many things I should know! The big question seems to be, have we set a date yet? I think it’s far too soon for that kind of talk so my answer’s always pretty vague! Who knows?
Bewilderment aside. I love my ring. I love being engaged. I love my future husband! Things are pretty damn good. I’m sure everything will settle down soon.
Yesterday I asked Lyndsay to marry me after a beautiful picnic at Mount Franklin. I dropped down on one knee and proposed to her on the hill just outside her parents place at sunset. She said “Yes!” and the rest my friends is history :)
