Suzy McHale’s Diary: 2008
Events of note this year: Got another filling in October, my second. Rectal prolapse surgery for me in December, my first-ever major surgery; not successful. Dawn Harper’s younger brother, Noel Parker, was found dead in March.
January
Wednesday 2/1
A new year. The weather Monday and yesterday was hellishly hot, into the low 40s. A brief respite today then heating up again in the next few days.
2007 was another wasted year. The only events for me were negative and health-related: getting my first tooth filling and gaining more weight. I may have to get another filling when I go to the dentist next Tuesday, which is a unwelcome expense (my visit last January totalled $230) – so no new glasses again this year (I am due for an optometrist visit); the last pair of glasses I got was in 1999! I feel bloated and unattractive. I don’t know why I have gained weight as my diet and exercise routine haven’t changed much, and I stopped taking the Pill in October 2006.
~ Ended 3:40 p.m.
February
Tuesday 5/2
Mum’s 70th birthday yesterday, so both my parents are now in their 70s.
My dentist visit was not as bad as I had feared, in that I didn’t have to get another filling, so that was a relief! He placed a “surface adhesive restoration posterior” on the side of the tooth that had been troubling me (right mandibular first molar); the gum was a bit receded from it or something, and the black on the top was just some discoloration. He also removed the usual calculus buildup on my bottom front teeth, which was rather painful! He said my saliva is very alkaline, which is why I get the buildup. Other than that my teeth were reasonably healthy and that my oral hygiene was good.
I also had my eyes tested on 21/1 and they were fine; improved a little from −4.25 diopters to −4.00, up from on my last visit on 16/1/2006.
A large liquidambar tree was felled today, one of those planted in the front of the houses over the hill south down Tucker Road (up from South Road). They are a nice shady group of trees, though perhaps too large for suburban gardens. Overdevelopment and overcrowding continue unabated, making life here ever more stressful and unpleasant.
Mum also showed me a letter from Dr. Murphy from when I was having problems again in 1993 – some of it is rather disturbing reading! I seem to have been troublesome from the day I was born.
~ Ended 2:30 p.m.
March
Thursday 13/3
I am not very happy at the moment (well, even less so than usual) as my stupid right ear is clogged up; it has been bothering me for a few months (fluid sloshing around somewhere inside) and completely blocked up on Tuesday night. I went to the doctor the next day to get it syringed but she couldn’t get the hardened wax out, so now I have to try ear drops for a few days to soften it up (go back Saturday). So I am currently deaf in that ear and rather uncomfortable. I had to get the same ear syringed in 1997, when I also got the flu, and it has never been quite right since.
The weather will be hot (over 30°C) the next few days (until Wednesday at least); an unwelcome early-Autumn heatwave. The unfortunate residents of Adelaide have endured the same heatwave for 11 days, and no relief in sight until Wednesday (maybe).
Mum and Dad’s 40th wedding anniversary today; they went to a restaurant at SkyHigh Mt. Dandenong. Michele & Chris put an announcement in the Herald-Sun, which I didn’t think to do (too preoccupied with my ear in any case).
I got a letter published in both The Age (3/3) and the Herald-Sun (6/3) last week, both in response to articles on overpopulation, one of my major concerns. The letters were titled by the editors. These are the 3rd and 4th letters I have had published, the previous two being to the local newspaper concerning graffiti (written anonymously) in 2006 (6/3, 11/10).
The Age: A house or bust
The Housing Industry Association is urging the Victorian Government to release more land for housing (“State urged to release land to ease crisis,” The Age, 1/3) – not surprising, as it stands to make money out of constructing more and more houses. I guess it won't be content until Victoria is smothered in housing estates.
Missing in all the agonising over rising house prices is the understanding that a major cause of this is the growing population – something that the Government is deliberately encouraging and that is eroding the liveability of Melbourne.
– Suzanne McHale, Bentleigh
Herald-Sun: Reduce the population
Reducing population growth and thus the demand for housing is an obvious solution that politicians such as Mr. Brumby seem reluctant to acknowledge.
They are obsessed with “growth,” no matter what the environmental cost.
I am dismayed at seeing what has made Melbourne a liveable city – its open spaces and low urban density – relentlessly destroyed.
Saturday 15/3
Noel Parker, a younger brother of Dawn Harbour (Mum’s cousin) was found dead on Tuesday 11, when Dawn and her sister Pat went to visit him for his birthday at his house in Ballarat. He was lying on the floor and had been there for a while, perhaps from the night before as the hot water tap was still running. An autopsy was to be performed; his funeral is on Monday. He was 75, so he perhaps died of heart failure or something similar. He has 3 sons.
My right ear is still blocked despite applying ear drops. I will return to the doctor on Monday for another syringing attempt. I can’t hear out of that ear at all so it is very annoying and uncomfortable.
~ Ended 5:47 p.m.
April
Wednesday 8/4
My right ear was unblocked with the second attempt at syringing, so it’s OK now.
I have a Facebook account, and after some wandering around the groups, came across a former classmate (Katrina Walker) and one of my relatives (Dior Brooke Drummond, my cousin Heather’s daughter) at the Kilvo Girls! group (which can’t be viewed unless you’re a FB member). I won’t contact them though as I am too embarrassed about my own life. Uncle Brian updates Mum occasionally on what his children are up to, so that’s how I find out also. I do not know my younger relatives at all; they are strangers to me (and vice versa). Dior is my 1st cousin, once removed (I think that’s the correct terminology).
~ Ended 3:03 p.m.
May
Thursday 1/5
I went to my local doctor/GP today about a chronic condition that has been bothering me for a few years, but was initially too embarrassed to do anything about: hemorrhoids! They’re uncomfortable, though not life-threatening. Unfortunately she said they weren’t treatable with topical creams and such, so I needed to visit a specialist or hospital for possible surgery! As I can’t afford a specialist (no health insurance, unemployed), I had to opt for a public hospital, so she said she would send a fax to them and they would ring me. I don’t know how long I will have to wait to get into hospital (the public system is chronically underfunded and some people can wait years for elective surgery).
To say I am not happy is an understatement! From what I’ve read the operation and recovery can be painful, and it’s not something I particularly want to endure if it can be avoided! I am going to be fretting about this until something is done, one way or the other. I am glad I went to the doctor about it, though – I should have gone years ago, but embarrassment prevented me.
Informative website: Hemorrhoid Explained In Plain English.
I am baffled as to why I have them; I don’t drink or smoke, I exercise and my diet isn’t too bad (though I could perhaps eat more fresh fruit, etc.). I do have a bad habit of straining on the toilet sometimes. I also sit at my computer a lot. I wonder if the erratic diet I put myself through when I had an eating disorder between 1988-1993 contributed; my gastro-intestinal system has never been right since (I think I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Also a family member had them a long time ago, so perhaps it is partly hereditary also.
I get so furious at the Government (State and Federal) for not making public health funding a priority. They are happy to spend millions on frivolities like sports stadiums – “Taxpayers to foot bill as stadium scores $50m blowout” – and have hefty budget surpluses; yet when it comes to essential services, they turn into misers.
Thursday 9/5
I went to the specialist at Sandringham public hospital today concerning my ailment; he was quite good but the news he gave me wasn’t: the condition is worse than what I thought it was – not a hemorroid but a rectal prolapse – and I need an operation to repair it! And in the worst place possible on my body. I also need to get 2 tests done before so he can decide on what type of operation to do. One of these is what a family member had in 2006: a colonoscopy! The colonoscopy is done at the Alfred Hospital on the public system, which is rather awkward to get to (in the city). The other is some tests of the bowel muscle so the surgeon can decide what type of operation to do. (Patient Information: Rectal Prolapse at the Bayside Colorectal Group site.)
As I have to go through the overcrowded public system this will likely drag on for months, so I have no idea when the operation will take place. So to say I am not happy is an understatement! I have never been to hospital before so I am dreading this, not to mention the painful recovery period after and possible complications.
~ Ended 4:20 p.m.
Thursday 29/5
I had the first (and least unpleasant!) series of tests done for my operation at the Linacre private clinic in Hampton today (they rang last night and made the appointment for today). Aside from the prolapse which is weakening the muscle a bit, the relevant area is OK. I had various implements stuck up my rear: an ultrasound probe, a catheter with a balloon and an electical stimulator gadget. Not particularly enjoyable, but not painful! Now I am waiting to be notified by the Alfred Hospital when the next examination – the colonoscopy – will take place (which I am not looking forward to!). After that, I see the specialist to discuss and organize the operation (which could be months away *sigh*).
~ Ended 3:46 p.m.
June
Monday 16/6
No notification yet from the Alfred Hospital as to when my colonoscopy is scheduled – over 4 weeks since I sent the personal information form in.
I came across a graphic photo of an unfortunate weightlifter who suffered a “blowout” of the worst sort! (The rest of the site – Rotten.com – is somewhat grotesque, so I wouldn’t go exploring it.) Photo caption:
The rather shocking photo attached snapped in November 16th of last year by a spectator at the collegiate power lifting championships at Penn State. The unfortunate competitor, who expressed a plea to remain anonymous, remembered to surgeons that he was “stuck” at the bottom of a personal best attempt in the squat lift when he “sort of pulled his stomach in and pushed extra hard, at the same time as trying to complete the lift.”
He remembers a loud popping, splattering noise then a fierce stabbing pain and then not being able to move from the squat position. He remained in this position for about half an hour, since trying to stand caused him overwhelming agonizing pain. Paramedics arrived and applied anesthesia on the spot and carried him to an ambulance. He was rushed to surgery, where surgeons described the trauma as an “explosive and aggravated prolapse of the bowel”. Meanwhile it was revealed that the weight was removed from his shoulders at the time of the incident by two “spotters” on either side of the lifter. The third spotter who was standing behind the lifter was unfortunately sprayed with fecal matter at the time of the incident. This spotter promptly fainted when he realized the extent of of the injury to the lifter, who was a personal friend.
This compounded the task of first aid officers who were at a loss as to how to treat the injury to the lifter in any case, who remained in the squatting position moaning in pain much to the consternation of the helpless audience. The hapless lifter had successful surgery to relieve the prolapse, but remained immobilized with his feet elevated in stirrups for 2 weeks to ensure “internal compliance with the surgery and that the organs retracted successfully”.
To add insult to injury, the ex-lifter required rectal stitching to partially occlude the anal orifice and stitch the rectal passage (which had significantly expanded and torn during the prolapse) and also was put on a low-fiber low-residue diet to combat flatulence to avoid any possibility of a recurrence.
Needless to say, I am never going to try weightlifting! I am awfully tempted to show that page to the colorectal surgeon I am seeing :-).
September
Friday 5/9
Still waiting for the colonoscopy after 4 months! Mum rang the Alfred Hospital today; they rang back and the lady said there was a cancellation slot for Tuesday 16 September, so I told her to put me in. Unfortunately the time listed is for 5 p.m., but it’s either that or continue to wait and wait! So hopefully this appointment won’t be canceled. The specialist’s secretary rang a couple of weeks ago to see what was happening as he was going to remove me from his list!
~ Ended 12:40 p.m.
Tuesday 16/9
The colonoscopy is today (assuming it isn’t canceled). I had an awful previous 3 days, starting with the low-residue diet – no fat or fiber, so I was restricted to white bread, plain biscuits, boiled chicken or fish, pumpkin, potatoes (both steamed), skim milk, plain cottage cheese, low-fat plain yoghurt and jelly. By the second day (Sunday) the diet was becoming disagreeable; in the afternoon I got one of my infrequent migraines and vomited up dinner! It was fish with mashed potatoes and pumpkin, and I couldn’t keep it down.
Yesterday was the dreaded purging using “Prep Kit C”. I had to drink 6 glasses of the substances from 3 to 5 p.m. (which should be described as “water torture”) and then the expulsions began from my rear … 12 hours or so of diarrhea! I got no sleep last night as I had to get up every hour or so to use the toilet. I lost count of my visits to the toilet. I seem to have expelled most of it, hopefully, though I am not sure I am clean inside.
I don’t know the exact time of the colonoscopy, only that I have to be there at 1 p.m., so there could be hours of waiting. A long and tedious afternoon. I also can’t drink any water from 7 p.m.!
~ Ended 7:42 p.m.
October
Friday 3/10
I saw the surgeon specialist (Dr. Paul Sitzler) today for details about my operation. I will have laproscopic surgery through my abdomen and have a part of my bowel removed! Which sounds rather drastic, but the procedure is apparently more effective than the alternative version (going through the anus). I will spend 5-6 days in hospital then around 6 weeks to recover. I can do moderate exercise such as walking, but no jogging till it is healed. Worst thing is I have to again endure that awful purge diet before the operation!
As I am going through the public system, I have no idea how long I will have to wait! News reports such as “Long wait for urgent cases of Victorian patients” (Herald-Sun, 3/10) aren’t exactly encouraging.
Forgot to mention the colonoscopy, which went OK, though I wasn’t thoroughly cleaned out – apparently I have an extra-long bowel! (It was otherwise healthy.) Mum had the same problem when she had her colonoscopy, though they did not tell her why. I spent 5 hours or so at the Alfred Hospital (had to arrive there at 1 p.m.; the examination didn’t take place until 3:20 p.m., and I didn’t get home until after 6 p.m. – Mum and Dad both came, then Dad drove Mum home and came back for me). And being under an anaesthetic is quite pleasant! I had a needle infusion through a vein in my hand, then at some point I lost consciousness, had some odd but nice dreams which I can’t recall, then woke up feeling rather euphoric.
My teeth have also been troublesome again; I think I have receded gums as the roots of some teeth are exposed and sensitive. I have been using Sensodyne toothpaste which helps a bit, but the gums don’t grow back, annoyingly. I will see the dentist in 2 weeks to see what he says, but if treatment is expensive I can’t afford it.
Sunday 12/10
My teeth are still bothering me; I think the molar which got a side filling in my February visit this year might have a hole also, which is dismaying (it is in front of the one that had a hole filled in 2007 – the lower right molars). I have vague aches and twinges on that side; the two molars there seem to be rather troublesome (my other side is fine, as far as I can tell). If I need anything more than a filling (e.g. a root canal) I won’t be able to afford it. My teeth seem to be slowly deteriorating, frustratingly; they used to be healthy but suddenly all these problems have started to occur in the last 3 years or so. I do brush and floss and drink fluoridated water. I see the dentist next Tuesday 14. I am more worried about my teeth than I am about the operation, the main reason being the cost – dental isn’t covered by Medicare.
Sunday 19/10
My teeth are getting worse; I did need a filling in that first molar, which I got last Tuesday 14/10, and this was a deeper filling which required anesthetic and drilling, which was not pleasant. But now my other lower molars are aching also (including the one I got filled last year), and there are vague occasional aches in others. The grey “discoloration” in their cracks is decay, I fear. I made an appointment to go back Monday to get a rough spot on the filling smoothed out, but now I will have to get the other teeth done, which will be expensive. I am fretting about all this so much I can hardly function, and my teeth ache all the time. It is like a spreading infection or chain reaction.
For this visit I saw Dr. Bainbridge at the Southland clinic (the dentist I saw the last 2 times was an associate whose name I can’t remember). I had an x-ray done in June and went in to the associate for a quick look; he couldn’t see anything, But my teeth have been twinging vaguely for months, which in retrospect was a warning sign.
I really don’t need this new worry on top of the operation; I am wishing I could find a painless and convenient way to end my useless existence and escape my increasingly troublesome body. Maybe I will die during the operation; just go to sleep and never wake up.
~ Ended 3:31 p.m.
November
Friday 28/11
Went back to the dentist on 7/11 and now he reckons I might have developed Temporomandibular joint disorder! He pointed out on the x-ray I had done in June that my left mandible joint was slightly separated and out of alignment (barely visible in the x-ray detail below), which perhaps explains all the odd aches and pains I have had this year. I also tend to tense my jaw and clench my teeth a bit, sometimes at night, as I have been under much stress from various things, some of which I can do nothing to remedy. I think having to open my mouth wide for the filling I got 3 weeks ago might have exacerbated it. Unfortunately the only solution he suggested was a rather expensive mouthguard! So I don’t know what I will do, yet.
South-east Queensland, including The Gap where Michele & family live, was hit by violent storm cells on 16/11, causing much damage across the region. Several storms passed over the week. Michele’s house did not suffer too much damage, but there was still a lot of cleaning-up to be done, and their church got some damage (blown-in windows). Chris put a video they made in his online gallery.
On 19/11 I received a letter from Sandringham Hospital telling me I was on the waiting list for my elective surgery (Category 2 – supposed to be a wait of no longer than 90 days, though the woman in “Hospitals in crisis,” Herald-Sun, 16/11, has been waiting nearly 2 years!). Had a medical questionnaire to fill out and return by post, then back to waiting.
I got another letter from Sandringham Hospital today with the date for my operation (“Laparoscopic Resection Rectoplexy”): Tuesday 9 December, less than 2 weeks away! Of course, being in the public system it could get rescheduled for a later date, but that’s the initial date (sooner than I expected!). I have to go to a Pre-Admission Clinic next Wednesday. For the operation I need to be at the hospital by 7 a.m.! So in 2 weeks, if all goes well, I will be recovering. I am dreading having to do that awful purging/bowel cleanout before the operation, though, as the one I did for my colonoscopy did not fully clean me out, and to have an operation after hours of diarrhea is not fun.
December
Wednesday 17/12
I was released from hospital yesterday – a bit sooner than the doctors wanted (I am still not functioning too well as I am severely constipated), but I was really impatient to get home. Having to either be confined to a bed all day or wander around the hospital corridors for exercise was frustrating, not to mention sharing a room and bathroom with strangers! The ward was also very noisy and busy with not much privacy save for a pull-around curtain, so I found sleeping difficult, and I was bereft of my computer and other diversions so I was very bored! Noisy visitors for the woman next to me (including an overindulged screeching young boy whom I seriously wanted to throttle) were another source of stress (they were of a culture which traditionally tends to have big noisy families). The nurses and staff were quite nice.
The operation on Tuesday took 4 hours! Going under the anesthetic was weird in that I can’t recall doing so! I have a vague memory of waking up after and groaning a lot. I was in bed for most of the 2 days after, with an IV drip and catheter, though I was got out of bed twice on Wednesday to walk around a bit, and more so the next few days. I only had a liquid diet to Saturday, which I hated as the fluids made me nauseous (too sweet or salty), and began solid food from Saturday. By then I was walking around normally and feeling much better, though now that I was awake and active I was getting increasingly bored!
The night before the operation I had to do an awful liquid purge (3 liters of a salty drink in 3 hours) which was torture and I couldn’t finish all of it, and threw it up twice. I feel nauseous just thinking about that ordeal.
Unfortunately I don’t think the prolapse is repaired as I noticed a protuberance a few days after the operation. The doctor who looked at it said it was just a hemorrhoid, but I fear the prolapse has returned already, which is dismaying as it means my ordeal was a waste of time and I am worse off than before, and I now have this constipation, which I’ve never experienced before. I really wish I had died during the anesthetic. I am seeing the specialist, Mr. Sitzler, on 21 January, so will have to wait and fret until then.
Wednesday 31/12
I still have the prolapse, hemorrhoid, or whatever-it-is, but am otherwise recovering OK. The constipation ended on Wednesday evening and I have been pooping normally since then (perhaps a bit too much!). I don’t feel much different than before the operation, so far, unfortunately.
Mum is having her own bowel problems – she has (coincidentally or not) been very constipated since I went into hospital, and this afternoon went to Casualty in Sandringham Hospital to see if they could do anything.
~ Ended 1:03 p.m.