Dear Friends,
Winter doesn’t seem to have left us
yet as we have had some very cold days this week, minus temperatures in the
mornings and snow in Bullarto, but only sleet here. First of all, I want to
give you an update on my health. We have both been worried by my
uncharacteristic lethargy, so three months ago I underwent a series of blood
tests to see what was wrong. They produced only normal results, so our GP,
Greg, suggested I visit Anthony Kemp in Ballarat on the grounds that ‘if there
is anything wrong, he’ll find it’.
I had to wait a while for an
appointment, but saw him about three weeks ago. He suspected ‘adrenalin fatigue’
and ordered a synacthen test, which I took at St John of God in their emergency
department under close supervision. The nurse took a blood sample, then I was
injected with adrenalin, then 2 more blood samples were taken after 30 minutes
and 1 hour. I failed this test, so Wes and I went back to see Anthony Kemp and
he explained that I could be treated with tablets for the rest of my life to
solve this issue. However, he wasn’t happy with my very poor readings, and
asked me to take the test again, this time at the Ballarat Base Hospital. We
went to their ‘Transit Lounge’ last Wednesday to have the tests all over again
and this time I passed - which means I don’t have an adrenalin issue, but I do
have chronic fatigue syndrome, which recurs every time I get a bad virus. There
is no cure, except rest. He is going to check my sleep patterns as well in case
they can be improved.
We are both relieved to know finally
what the problem is, although it is frustrating not to be able to wave a magic
wand and treat it. So I will continue to manage my activities carefully and
hope you will be as understanding as you have been in the past, when I have been
unable to attend social occasions & Rotary meetings, been too tired to chat
on the phone in the afternoons, and haven’t been able to enter into life with
quite the spirit I should. Wes has been wonderfully supportive and helpful
during this time and I am glad to have had him at my side as we have worked
through the various possibilities.
Wes in Sydney in 1970
Apart from travelling to Ballarat this
week, we had dinner at Mercato on Monday night with Ken & Carol Morris and
friends of theirs, Michelle & Doug, who are running The Grill at Tylden.
They are also artists, so we talked to them about entering our Art Show, among
many other topics. We enjoyed a beautiful meal, as usual, at Mercato, where the
standard is amazingly high and constant. We also saw the film, ‘Red Dog’, which
we loved – can’t believe the talent of the dog in this film.
Wes has had lots of meetings this week, about Rotary,
ROMAC, Hepburn Voices and the Art Show, while I have enjoyed a massage with Ann,
attended Strong classes, distributed raffle tickets to Rotarians and spent time
with sponsors of the Art Show. I missed the launch of the Daylesford District
Community Bank on Thursday night, as both times I have taken the synacthen test;
I have experienced a violent reaction about 24 hours later with an asthma
attack accompanied by nausea and diarrhoea. Sitting at the Town Hall at night
trying to operate a laptop and needing to be near the loo didn’t seem like an
ideal mix. Fortunately Wes has taped lots of Poirot and Miss Marple on MyStar,
so I have been enjoying watching them when I haven’t been doing cryptics, logic
problems or reading Difficult Crime Writers!
Wes has also been doing most of the
cooking over the past couple of weeks and we have enjoyed some stunning seafood
masterpieces, although he did cheat by getting Kim at Café 3460 to make sweets!
Frodo trying to get
onto our bed
Yesterday I visited Viva, who is
looking very good, and getting stronger each time I see her. I had bought her a
Mason Pearson brush, which delighted her very much, and she bought some raffle tickets
in return. She and Leanne just love Brian Nash’s paintings and she would love
to win the first prize. I told her about my chronic fatigue, although I didn’t
want to, but I need her to understand that I can’t always visit or ring. She
was very understanding, of course, and pleased that I had pursued the issue.
Then off to the MCG along with
67,000+ others, where I met up with David and Danny. We had great seats on the
wing on level P in the front row, which meant we got a little wet when it
rained and very warm when the sun shone. Wes sent a message at ¾ time
suggesting we were home and hosed, which meant the Weagles promptly shook off
their doldrums and made a game of it. Wes has been banned from sending
premature congratulations. It could be worse, David’s wife, Helen, who attended
her first game in years, at the Geelong annihilation of the Pies, has been
banned from attending the footy for life! We now have a weekend off and can
watch the other teams fight for the chance to play us and Geelong in the
Preliminary Finals.
Harry O, who played a blinder yesterday!
We had a wonderful breakfast this
morning. Although there were only six of us, Kim had not spared his creativity
and we enjoyed lots of goodies. Judi’s good friend, Phil, was down from Sydney
and they had been wining and dining him all weekend. It was good to see him
again and conversation where Phil is involved is always interesting. Wes
decided he didn’t want to go the MCG today to see Carlton take on Essendon, so
we will be watching from the comfort of our lounge. The winner gets to go to WA
to play the West Coast next Saturday evening, not an easy assignment.
P.S. Gillie had her knee replacement surgery on
Monday afternoon and moved to rehab yesterday. Glenn, who has been through this
himself, says her knee looks good and she is coming along very well, although
she isn’t coping with not being in charge!
Finally, I heard a wonderful expression last week that I
want to share with you - Relevance
Deprivation Syndrome –sounds like a post-retirement disease! Hope I haven’t
got it.
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