An unexpected turn of events………

 The next morning Bill got up early and went off to Mt Lewis.  I stayed home and enjoyed a day with the birds and the palm trees.  The sky was grey all day but the rain held off though Bill said he had the wipers on all the way up the mountain.  Once up there he said it was too dark to get anything reasonable so he came back mid afternoon.

The next morning was more miserable than the day before.  The rain drizzled on and off all day.  We spent the day at home but not too many birds felt like braving the weather.  We decided to head back to Mareeba the next morning as the rain was continuing and it was getting soggier all the time.  So we packed up and headed off mid morning.  We had lunch in town and then made our way to Birds on Barron where Trevor had our spot all organized.  We set up and spent the afternoon enjoying the blue skies and sunshine.  What a difference from where we started the day.  We caught up with Linda that evening when she returned from work.  It was a cheery reunion.

The next morning we drove over to Yungaburra where we took a walk along Petersen Creek.  We were hoping to see the platypus again and we weren’t disappointed.  Just a short way along the creek we found a little one just enjoying life along the edges of the bank.  There were quite a few people gathered there watching it but at no time did it seem bothered by them.  So much for being a shy creature.  As we walked along the creek I saw this unusual tree where the pretty little flowers grow out of the trunk.  

Once we left we continued on to Lake Eacham where we did the 3 km walk around the lake.  The very grey day combined with the heat made for a very hot and humid walk but we survived the experience.  No birds to speak of or to photograph as it was very dark in the rainforest walk.

Back at home we had a lovely meal out with Linda and Trevor at a fabulous Thai Restaurant called Secret Recipe.  A fun night out but way too much to eat.

The next morning we headed out to Jaques Coffee Plantation to have morning tea.  We enjoyed coffee and lemonade scones before continuing on to Kuranda to visit the market.  Not sure how they will fare without all the international tourists but we’ll have a look.  We had a good look around though there are many shops/stalls which have closed and then decided to have lunch a little later.  Of course Petit Crepes was our lunch stop and we enjoyed the yummy crepes.  One of us was a little more restrained than the other.

Now here’s where the story changes.  On the way home I developed severe stomach pains.  These continued on all afternoon so I took myself off to bed at 5.30 hoping they would subside during the night.  This was not to be and I passed an awful night in agony trying hard not to disturb Bill.  The next morning when Bill could see that I was a lot worse he decided he was taking me to the hospital.  Mareeba has a small hospital and I’m very grateful for that.  

Sunday morning at 8.00am was not busy and I got seen straight away and was soon all wired up and a cannula put in my arm.  My blood pressure and heart rate were not right and would not settle and the pains while not so bad would not subside.  I saw a lovely young Dr from Melbourne called Casey and she decided that I needed a CT Scan.  Once done she didn’t know what to make of it so called in the senior Dr who looked like he was about 12 years old.  He was also bamboozled and contacted a surgeon in Cairns who diagnosed an internal hernia and a blockage of the small bowel.  No going home for me, I had to be sent down to Cairns to be assessed and decide what to do.

I went down the range by ambulance at 8.30pm and once seen by the surgeon was told I was going into surgery straight away.  I had told Bill not to come down until I let him know what was happening and now tried to tell him to stay home until the morning but of course he didn’t listen and came anyway.  By the time he got there I was in surgery which took 8 hours.  He couldn’t wait in the hospital so spent many worried hours in the car park before returning home until the morning.  He rang the hospital every hour to see if I was out.  It seems that the small bowel was herniated and twisted and in a couple of spots had died so it had to be resected.  It took Dr Chong and his team all night to sort it out.  

So once again I’m in a tropical location inside a hospital minus more of my bowel.

until next time……..