Suzy McHale’s Diary: 2020
Events of note for this year: Mum had to give up her car in February (Toyota Starlet, bought in 1998) due to an airbag safety recall (22/2 entry); replacement airbags were not available so the car had to be surrendered permanently. However, she bought another car: a Mazda 2! Michele came to stay with my parents briefly in February also – fortunate, as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide epidemic essentially shut down much of society from March onwards, which drastically curtailed external activities. Disaster struck me, though, as I was hit by a car while bicycling home from Chadstone on Tuesday 12 May. I had both remaining upper wisdom teeth extracted at long last.
January
Friday 17/1
Not much to report so far, aside from some unpleasant weather and devastating bushfires in Victoria and New South Wales – Melbourne has been suffocated by smoke drifting down from the Gippsland fires on a few days.
On 6/1 I went to the doctor (East Bentleigh Medical Group) to have my ears syringed due to a mild wax buildup; this has become fairly regular for a few years (usually done once a year). Last time was Thursday 28/2/2019. My weight is 44 kg and he seemed concerned about my blood pressure, which was low; thought I was dehydrated (I only have a cup of coffee and 2 glasses of peppermint tea every day, some sips of plain water, and what I get via fruits and vegetables).
Uncle Brian visits Southland SC once a week with a Council-appointed carer (via community bus as he no longer drives); I spoke briefly to him on Thursday 2/1. He is very frail and his speech slurred (he wrecked his car in an accident in Richmond on 11/4/2019, which I did not record in last year’s Journal). I think he might have sustained some brain damage also.
February
Saturday 22/2
Mum had to get her car taken away by towtruck on 10/2 due to the defective airbag safety recall – a Toyota Starlet, bought in 1998. She only received the notification in the mail a week or two previous! There were no spare airbags in stock, so she had to give up the car and be compensated for what value she could get (cars depreciate in value after purchase, so nowhere near its original price). She handed in its numberplates last Monday to reclaim her car registration fee from VicRoads. However, she is buying a new car – a creamy-white Mazda 2 hatchback – as she told me yesterday! (Australian website page; Wikipedia.) It will not arrive until April, but it has power steering – which the Starlet did not, a lacking feature which made it very difficult to drive as Mum aged and lost strength in her arms – and four doors rather than the Starlet’s two, the latter which was very inconvenient for passengers. So it will be a great improvement and much more enjoyable (and safer) for Mum to drive!
Michele came to Melbourne and stayed with us from Friday 7/2 to Sunday 9/2.
The weather has been very unsettled with days of high humidity and storms, though today at least it has much improved and calmed down.
April
Saturday 4/4
Well, things have changed drastically in the world since I last wrote, and not for the better: the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (and Australia Wikipedia page link) that has spread through the world from China since December last year has essentially shut down much of society in many countries, with external activities much curtailed and most non-essential businesses shut down and millions become unemployed. Victoria is currently at Stage 3 restrictions, with Premier Daniel Andrews threatening Stage 4 in the near future, frustratingly not going into details. I have come to intensely dislike him; Stage 3 is bad enough. My favorite shops, such as Uniqlo where I buy most of my clothing, have closed their physical stores so there is nowhere for me to go. Having to avoid physical contact with other people is surprisingly stressful and depressing.Also frustrating is the sudden paranoia about physical cash due to its carrying germs, with many stores now only accepting contactless electronic payment (card, etc.). (I have a debit card but much prefer cash as my buying habits and locations can’t be tracked, and cash is simply more convenient for me.) This crisis looks set to persist for months, and the destructive upheaval this has inflicted upon the normal function of society can’t be understated. Michele and her family will not be able to visit here for months due to interstate travel being banned.
May
Tuesday 26/5: Hit by a car on 12/5
Disaster literally struck me two weeks ago, on Tuesday 12/5, when I was cycling home from Chadstone SC as usual, and was hit by a car at a roundabout! It is my first serious accident.
Accident details:
- Location: roundabout at the intersection of Marma Road, Henty Street and Murrumbeena Crescent (Google Maps location)
- Time: around 12:30 p.m.
- I looked both ways and entered the roundabout. A car appeared on my left and kept coming; it slowed but did not stop and struck my bicycle on the left. I was flung forward and onto my left side, impacting the road surface. The female driver stopped and rendered assistance, phoning for an ambulance and police.
- An ambulance attended the scene; I was given a medical check. No immediately serious injuries, but I had numerous bruises and grazes on my left arm, hand, side, chin, and a hematoma on my left forehead. I was wearing my helmet as usual; the left foam rim impacted the road and pressed into my forehead, causing bruising and the hematoma.
- Two police officers from Caulfield Police Station, Senior Constable John Entwisle and Matthew Morris, attended and took details.
- Driver details: Jane Egan 5 Pledger Cl, Narre Warren. Vehicle registration 1KV1DD blue Mazda 2. Police incident number T20200009254 (for insurance company).
- I initially declined to visit an Emergency Department via the ambulance (my parents came and took me home in their car) but later that afternoon visited my GP who advised an ED visit, so I went to Sandringham Hospital, transported by my parents, where scans and tests were done. No concussion or fractures detected (I had a CT scan and chest x-ray done).
- My bicycle is damaged, the most obvious being a bent left pedal shaft, and wheels. On Thursday 21/5 it was taken to its place of purchase, 99 Bikes in Bentleigh, for assessment and repairs.
I have been too flustered, exhausted and stressed to feel like writing. I am slowly recovering and healing, but I am still processing the event and feel very disorientated and unsettled. One of the worst parts was the sickening realization just before the impact was that I was going to be hit and could do nothing to escape. Also the sensation of falling and hitting the bitumen very hard. I am still sore, but not as badly as last week. My grazes have scabbed over, my bruises are less sore. The most obvious injury is my forehead hematoma – literally golfball-sized and discolored (4 × 3 cm as the GP I saw about it yesterday, Dr. Lucy Buchanan, measured it) – but it is slowly shrinking. I also have a black eye below it from subcutaneous blood draining from the bruise. I am having to wear a beanie hat or headband when I go out! As things went, I got off relatively lightly – no fractures, spinal damage or concussion.
November
Sunday 29/11
More time passed! I turned 50 nearly 3 weeks ago (Monday 9/11); I received some money as a gift (never unwelcome!). My bicycle accident injuries have mostly healed, but I have almost stopped riding my bike since (it was repaired at 99 Bikes in Bentleigh, where I bought it); I just do not want to, and prefer walking for exercise. Mental aftereffects from the accident, perhaps. COVID-19 restrictions have mostly been lifted in Victoria, after a very difficult few months of almost no shops open. The weather is warming up again; 34°C last Thursday.
I asked Heather via her Facebook page (I have one, too) the address of the house she and family lived in the early 1990s; she said 8 Matilda Ave, Wantirna South, 3152. I remember riding my bicycle there for Christmas Day in 1990, but surely not – Google Maps measures the distance as around 26 km, taking around 1.5 hours! I can’t believe I would have been able to ride so far (and back home)! I was younger then, though.
Sad anniversaries: Tuesday 6/10 marked 20 years since Gran died (2000), and Tuesday 17/11 was 25 years since Granny Kirk died (1995).