One Slice of Pie Down

We have successfully made it through ¼ of our externship year here in Australia!! I am proud to say that – and wow! How fast it has gone!! It is incredible to think how much we’ve learned so far – not just about radiography, but about each other, and about ourselves!! 3 months. Where did it go?

I mentioned switching to PM shifts a while back, and that’s how we finished out the term. It was the first time I have ever had to do a PM shift, and for me it was absolutely EXHAUSTING! Week 1 was great – a bit slow for me, but a good exposure to a different pace, and a different atmosphere of the ED in the “after-work” hours. Week 2 started with me getting a bout of Gastro. I don’t believe I have ever had this before, and I couldn’t believe how quickly it swept in, and kicked me on my butt!! I left work quite early, and it took the rest of the week to start feeling better. Ironically, the Gastro bug has been being passed around since a few days before I got it, and is still going!

By week 3, I felt awful – not because I was still feeling sick, but because I was tired of PM’s. Let’s just say there is a reason that employees ROTATE through PM shifts, and don’t do 3 week marathons like we did!! I tried my hardest to keep myself in check, but I couldn’t help but whine a bit about how tired I was, and how ready to go home I was since I started my shift. Shame on me, I know.

Chad on the other hand has had his fair share of PM shifts in his life, with all his military years. He seemed to handle it a bit better than me and did a good job continuing to maintain how much he was enjoying it.

We both really enjoyed seeing a bit more trauma; I got to see some severed toes, some shattered bones, some hand-tool injuries, and some crazy chest x-rays and broken hips and femurs. We learned there really are people drinking and driving on the week-days, and that the monkey bars and footy (football/rugby) are the two most dangerous things at school.

As our PM stretch ended, we also got to take a ‘lil trip over to the Repatriation Hospital (RGH), where Chad and I will be heading for the next 4 weeks. A “Repatriation” Hospital is the equivalent of our “VA” Hospitals stateside. We have been quite excited for this month, looking forward a yet another new environment and the chance to learn new types of equipment and become proficient in handling a new category of patients. Whereas at Flinders, we get all types of patients from premies to bariatrics to geriatrics, the Repatriation Hospital mostly deals with geriatrics, and war Veterans who may have other types of life-long injuries or disabilities.

Thankfully, we get to enjoy a 3-day weekend to try and readjust to waking up at normal hours and going to bed at a decent time before making our first impressions at RGH!

Homesick

At 4 am this morning, I found myself in need of an antacid. As I wavered over the option of leaving the warmth of my cozy sheets, the thought of the Orange flavored Necco-chip that Australians have come to call “Tom’s Tums”, I cringed. The gross aftertaste already on the tip of my tongue. It was at that moment that I hit my first “bump” of externship, and a longing for home crept in. It may sound silly that it was kicked off by the thought of my Extra-Strength Berry Flavored Tums that I have come to love back home, but at 4 am I guess you’re not the most logical.

This “Tums” reminiscing gave way for my Aleve longing to creep back in as well; After going to the gym and seeing an Ultrasound of my still-incredibly-inflamed wrist tendon, I have come to dispise ibuprofen, and was made a bit sad when my mention of “sodium naproxen” pain killer was returned with “yea we don’t have that” responses.

By 4:30, my thoughts had wandered to Halloween, and the facebook update I’d read earlier from my favorite Radio From Hell show back home: ‘Rocky Point Haunted House Opening Weekend’. For those of you who may have wondered – or may not have even thought to wonder – Halloween is not exactly celebrated here. It is a known holiday, and I’ve been told that occasionally you might see some kids in costumes, or maybe you’ll get a kid on your doorstep asking for candy, but it is a rarity. You won’t find decorations at the store (which are already stocked to the rafters with Christmas decorations – more on that in a later posting!) and you won’t see houses decorated with witches and bats and fake spider webs. No carved pumpkins (which are a food here – and a savory one at that! No pumpkin pies or cookies!).

I thought of our decorations sitting at home in my Mum’s basement, and of my sisters in California dressing up in costumes, and the theme parks with their “Haunted rides” and running through corn-mazes in the moonlight with the sounds of screams and chainsaws filling the air. I wondered, would they even know what a corn maze is here?

Lastly I thought of cars and food. My days of being a “vehicle owner” not even on ‘hold’ as I sold my car before I moved here! The bliss of hopping in the car to run to the store, or just driving up through the canyons in Utah singing by yourself. I thought of delicious Costa Vida,Wendy’s, Chinese Food (which of course they have here… but it’s still a bit different), and most of all – BBQ!

I knew it would happen- that they would come – these “bumps” in the road, these homesick moments. But who would have ever guessed it would begin with Tums and Aleve?

Part 2: The Limestone Coast (By Chad)

After leaving the Victor Harbor beachfront Melissa and I drove the short trip to Horseshoe Bay. The small bay is nestled just off the main road and was what I consider to be a perfect swimming or snorkeling beach. I pulled the car into the parking lot and the little kid inside me freaked out! The water was blue and the sand was fine. A few meters off the shore was a rocky island surrounded by a small reef, separating the enclosed bay and the rest of the massive Gulf of St. Vincent.

I tried to remain calm in front of Melissa but all I wanted to do was hit the water. I calmly and collectively strolled down to the waterfront and waited for the ocean to invite me in with a small sneaker wave. As soon as the water touched my feet I was introduced to another Oregon Australian similarity; the water is freezing! I was crushed. Although my day in the water has not yet happened I have been reassured that when the summer heat turns up (soon I hope) the water will warm to tolerable temperatures and I will be in it every day!

After I collected my shattered self, Melissa and hopped back into our borrowed wagon and headed off into the sunset. The next town we had scheduled into our trip was a Scottish town called Strathalbyn, just outside Lake Alexandrina. The drive into the small town gave us a change in scenery. We had enjoyed the lush, green rolling hills outside Adelaide all the way down to Port Elliot and Horseshoe Bay. The road was now flanked by flat, wide-open farmlands mixed with the occasional figure of water stretching up towards the road as a reminder that the lake was only a short distance away. It seemed like the drive into “Strath” took forever.

The town was pleasant to see with ancient looking churches and buildings tucked in among a meandering creek. We even had the chance to stop in and grab a snack from a Swedish bakery. That’s right: a Swedish bakery with a Swedish chef in a Scottish town in South Australia! The world is truly a small place. After eating one of the richest pieces of carrot cake I have ever eaten, we hit the road again. If the road to Strath was a little less than exciting, the next stretch of road was downright dull. We intended to drive the entire stretch of 394 km to our next destination, a town called Mount Gambier.

The road took us along the Coorong National Park and along some desolate stretches of highway. The drive really reminded me of some random highway in Oregon or maybe some roads along the way to Utah. We reached Mount Gambier just as my mind official left me and everything was becoming funny and annoying all at once. We stopped at the first hotel we happen to cross and got a room for the night. I can’t recall the name of the place but it was obvious that the building was once an old office building. Our room seemed franticly slapped together with a bathroom that didn’t fit at all. The walls seemed paper thin and we both found it really hard to sleep.

The next morning we set off to explore the town and find a better place to call home for the night. Mount Gambier is an interesting small town set amongst crater lakes, sinkholes and caves. Unfortunately Melissa and I had to keep our spending to a minimum and we didn’t get to see all the caves in the area because of costs.

One aspect of Australia that I really enjoy is that you can always find old and very old style buildings hidden in each town you visit and Mount Gambier was no exception. We stopped in the middle of town to check out a Hotel–slash-pub–slash-restaurant that looked turn of the century on the outside and modern and bright on the inside.

Just up the street from the building was a large sinkhole that opened up into a cave. The town had obviously adapted to the regions unique landscape; taking great strides to make those things into safe and interesting tourist attractions. The highlight of the town is the Blue Lake that sits just a few streets above the town. The rain had begun to fall heavy and Melissa and I didn’t get too much time at the lake. The Blue Lake was very similar to Crater Lake back home in Oregon. The Australian version is much smaller with a lot more trees surrounding the rim, but offers the same unique mystical deep blue color (even in the pouring rain).

Another attraction in Mt. Gambier is a sinkhole called the Umpherston Sinkhole. Just on the edge of town, in a little park, is an enormous gaping sinkhole, with lush green foliage hanging around the edges and – of all things- two palm trees reaching from the bottom high into the sky. Melissa had been looking forward to feeding some “cute” (and by cute I mean hideous) possums that our travel guide promised would come out in the evening. Luckily the rain picked up, and we “sadly” had to pass up the opportunity.

Our last night in town we decided to treat ourselves to a good old-fashioned Australian steak dinner (I miss my steak and cake nights). We ended up eating at a place called the Barn. The restaurant is known for its local produce, wines, and grass fed beef. Being unfamiliar with gram measurements, I ended up with a massive 800 gram (about 28.2 ounces) of pure Australian grass fed deliciousness. Needless to say I couldn’t finish the thing (Sean would be disappointed if he heard that).

Early the next day, we once again climbed into our bucket seats, not really looking forward to the 5 ½ hour drive home. Aside from a stop at Telford Scrub Conservation park (a thick forested area about 14km from Mt. Gambier were, we had been told, we could see some koalas, and after wandering around for an hour we didn’t see anything but a few birds!) it was even more mind-numbingly dull than the previous scenery. We couldn’t even find a town to grab lunch in, and rolled into Adelaide in the late evening with our stomachs starting to digest themselves.

I never thought I would say it, but after this trip – albeit a lovely break from work, and a gorgeous introduction to some of our nearby beaches – I was looking forward to not driving anymore!

Part 1: Fleurieu Peninsula (By Melissa)

I never imagined Australia could be so green. That’s all I could think about as we set out down the Fleurieu Peninsula, heading towards Aldinga Beach and Rapid Bay. Our housemate was kind enough to let us borrow his car for the trip, and we were set for a 3-day journey to see everything between Adelaide, Victor Harbor, and Mt. Gambier. I could have sworn as I stared out the window that we were in Ireland, or maybe even New Zealand. Pictures can only do so much to capture the amazing scenery!

We had learned our first big lesson before we set off – and that was the differences between hotels in the states and hotels in Australia. Let me just say that I have never before had to search the fine print to ensure we had our own bathroom. Quite a few hotels here – especially outside the chains like Econolodge and Hilton – have rooms offered at what I call “US prices” ($70-90) but when you read the details, you are sharing a bathroom with 3 or 4 other rooms. We coughed up the extra money to stay at a 100 year old pub hotel in Victor Harbor where we had our own bathroom… conveniently, and quite humorously, giving “water closet” more meaning. The toilet, sink, and a delightful spa tub were tucked behind some closet doors…in an old closet.

Around the time we checked in, we learned another lesson about road-tripping in the Red Country. It’s an awful lot like the Oregon Coast, with little tiny coastal towns scattered every now and then along some beautiful rocky beaches. This – at least in our experience and now further confirmed – means a very disappointing array of dining options.

The next morning we woke up to Oregon Coast-y weather. Sunny, but brisk and with a wind that would ruin even a bald man’s hairdo. We decided to explore Granite Island. I was quite hopeful to see some little penguins waddling around, especially given that there was a penguin rookery, but was disappointed. I guess the little buggers really are only out at sunset. We did see some funny-looking lizards though! Fat thick little buggers with stumpy tails: Shingle back Blue-tongue Skinks! The first one Chad spotted really didn’t appreciate our gazing eyes though, and showed off his enormous blue mouth with a hiss!

After this, we plopped our bottoms back into the car seats and unraveled the map to find out how to start the next leg of our journey: The Limestone Coast all the way down to Mt. Gambier. Five Hours, it said. Fantastic, we said.

Trauma in CT

I was actually looking forward to posting that I had my first lovely week of vomit-free, drama free, steady paced work this week, as it was mine and Chad’s first week in CT. Unfortunately, I am unable to say that.

After going through 3 years of classes taught by good ol’ Rich Carson – Mr. CT man at OIT - I have to say that I was not especially looking forward to this modality. I now attribute this mostly to the fact that I was just burned out on much of everything by the time this last June came around.

I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that I was enjoying myself after the first few days. I felt like I was learning more than I had during our term-long class even, and the patients were rather steady – there was no exorbitant down times like you seem to encounter everywhere else. I was in CT Room 1, which deals with in-patients and ED work, and Chad was rostered in CT Room 2, which deals with all the outpatients and Private (insured) patients.

Then came the later part of the week, where I encountered my first “Emergency Situation” and had some of the more emotional and stressful experiences of the job. I spent a half-hour holding a patients hand and wiping their tears away while they had a cancerous cyst drained – something that was incredibly hard to watch the patient experience, obviously painful. And then I witnessed the much-discussed (in our CT class no doubt) “Stroke Protocol” in action, for the first time, on a young kid.

If you have never witnessed this, the Stoke Protocol in action is something to behold. A massive influx of people and doctors – and nothing will make your blood pulse more than witnessing it all happen with a young kid. The same patient began seizing during an exam, and ‘THE BUTTON” – the ‘Code’ button, calling in emergency response team – was pushed, compounding the excessive crowd.

This also happens to be when vomit was involved, and I got to see a patient intubated on the spot. If you can witness a situation like this, and you have young siblings, and it fails to affect you, I would find it difficult to believe you have a soul.

Needless to say, it took me some time to come down that night, and the following few were a bit difficult.

Good news came at the end of the week, however, when we were informed that next Thursday we begin training for A REAL JOB! By “real” I mean “paid” because what we do everyday is REAL work, too, we just don’t get that little reinforcement check twice a month. Chad and I are going to be “Gazunga drivers”! Ok, so this is not the wording that will go on our CV (resume): PSA is – Patient Service Attendant. We will be the people who retrieve the patients from their wards and bring them to the imaging department. Gazungas are the machines that are used to enable a single person to “drive” the bed. I do not believe they have these in the states.

With this also comes some – in my opinion well earned – vacation time. We are taking advantage of a few days off to head East (or South, however you want to look at it) and explore the Limestone Coast. We’ll do our best to snap some pics as we lap up the smooth blue ocean water and soak up some Vitamin D in the warm sun!!