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| chillin' in the Bay of Islands. So nice it hear the ocean again. |
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Friday, April 27, 2012
This is it
This is it. Our last real day of holiday before we really get down to all business. Our journey has been pretty amazing, but also challenging. We have traveled far.. put over 1500 miles on the car. And, our longest stays in one location was one 3 nighter in Queenstown and now a glorious 4 night stay at a beach house in the nothern part of the North Island in a region called the Bay of Islands. If you have read some of the other blogs, you may remember this was the week we were going to rent a campervan and travel around the Northland. Well, with my situation with the broken ankle I had to put my good foot down and crush the kids/Brett's dream of this. No way was I going to be stuck in a small campervan, hoping in and out - I already bailed getting into a shuttle bus once. Not to mention, we discovered that is really is NOT cheap to rent campervan. So, I found yet another really cool house on a beautiful bay on the sea and bargained for an awesome deal. So much that we bunkered down and made a 10 hour drive to get here. And, it has been perfect. And, we have also discovered that we are done. We have had our fill of traveling around looking at the most beautiful country. Our first day here we didn't move. Yesterday, we tried to venture out to cross our last few things of the list... including getting to the very top of New Zealand, and getting to drive down 90 mile beach and maybe do some sand dune sledding. We didn't get too far. We had seen and done enough, and couldn't drive home fast enough. Today, just hanging out at the beach and house. Even warm enough for a swim (for some people). And, trying to mentally prepare for the big departure. Tomorrow we travel to Auckland. There we will check into what is pretty standard size hotel room for the states, but not at all what we are used to here (in NZ, most places have full kitchens, laundry, and separate rooms). We need to stay out by the airport so we can utilize the free shuttle with our massive amount of luggage. Of course, we have so much that most of it is sitting in a storage unit we shipped it to in Auckland (our best deal in NZ... we shipped 6 large suitcases from Gisborne to Auckland, overnight, for a total of about 55 dollars!!) Anyways, I am thinking it is going to be feeling a little cramped. And, it is judgement time... my Sunday will be spent seeing if we can really pack it all in. Brett will be spending the day trying to sell the car, chilly bin (cooler), camp chair and other stuff we just can't fit in. Monday we leave, but I also have big plans... gonna see if I can get my cast off. I really need to be in it another week or so, and still no weight bearing, but I really don't want to have the cast on for the flight or need to worry about it getting taken off when we get home (not even sure if we will have insurance, and any we do is not going to cover it). So, the plan is to hopefully walk into a clinic, get an x-ray, get it off, and get walking boot (which, I won't be walking in). Ha... not sure I believe any of this will happen, but I am trying to keep the faith. Brett also not feeling really hopeful we will get this car sold. On a good note though, we did get confirmation today that our bid for an upgrade on the big flight from Auckland to LA (13 hour flight) was ACCEPTED... wooooo, hooooo. The Adams Family is traveling home in class. Must not be a full flight as we got an email that said we could make an offer on upgrading our tickets and we would find out 3 days before if it was accepted. When we realized that you could have 2 free bags at the next class (and we all have 2 bags), than it only made sense for us to bid. And I have justified it by thinking of it as the money I could not spend on the 17 minute helicopter ride over the glaciers we considered.... this is SUCH a better deal. So basically we are now riding in the equivalent of business class, but it is on a brand new plane where first class is actually a whole cubicle. We look like we have some pretty plush seats. Thank God. We have all had some anxiety over the flight. I am basically a walking billboard for a blood clot. Immobilized leg, month long car journey, and then a 13 hour flight. A little more room to stretch out is exactly what I need. Is it pushing it to hope they will bump me up to the first class cubicle? Yeah, I know it is.... but a girl can dream.
oh, and again, didn't quite get the blogging done I had hoped for, but had to conserve our internet.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Brett's Amazing Story of Survival
Our adventures continue in New Zealand and I will have to say I have never had quite the adventure I had yesterday(April 5th). Hopefully I will never experience anything like this again. I will be dramatic by setting the stage for this story. We left Christchurch this morning which is on the East Coast of the South Island and were heading to the West Coast thru a mountain pass called Arthur's Pass. It is suppose to be a spectacular pass which it was. It was a bright clear sunny day. I have to admit I was a real pain in the butt this morning and was not making it a very nice trip this morning. I think the stress of the trip/stress of Kelly's leg and being immobile is not making me very pleasant at times. Kelly is the real rock/planner/packer of the family. Things got better after a nice walk in a garden of massive rocks with the kids-exploring around and Kelly got some quality sun time waiting for us in her sitting with leg up position. We than went to a lakeside picnic area for a nice lunch.
After lunch and all that running around the kids quickly fell asleep. We arrived at Arthur's Pass very quickly after they fell asleep and I really wanted to see this beautiful waterfall at a place called Devil's Punchbowl. I decided it would be best to let them sleep and I would just quickly put on my running shoes and run about 1 mile up a trail to the waterfall and be back in about 20-30 minutes and the kids would wake up. Kelly was fine with that plan. I parked as much out of the sun as I could and off I went.
The trail was advertised as a fairly steep moderately difficult trail and after running up, up, up I was a believer. I passed a couple groups on the way up and remember one of group because it was a group of 4 kids with 2 women and what I assumed was grandpa. Grandpa seemed on the older side to be climbing a big hill and the daughters seemed to be a little worried about him. I was focused on my run and getting to the waterfall so I kept on a running. Like a typical NZ trail the edges are steep and the trail is minimally maintained but this one had great stairs-fairly new I think. I got to the waterfall and it was nice-never as nice when your family/someone else isn't with you. I had a couple take my photo and I took a photo of them. Off back down the trail to the waiting family-I was doing good time and looked forward to the downhill portion.
As I got up the only up hill part of my way down the grandkids were throwing rocks off the ledge and were a bit startled by me and stopped. I assume they thought I was going to not like that. I kept going and got to the top and came around the corner and there was grandpa and just a ways behind was the daughters. I passed them and than the scream from the daughters I will never forget. WHERE IS DAD-He fell over the edge or something of the sorts I don't really remember. It was the scream and panic that you know means something terrible has happened. I knew grandpa had fallen over the edge and I have to admit I had a brief moment of should I go back to help or should I keep going down because I was probably really scared of what the outcome was going to be. I turned around and ran fast up to them and he had fallen over the edge. This was a shear drop down about 50 feet and than a small area of a slant in the ground than probably 200-300ft down to a river gorge. I assumed he was dead at the bottom of the gorge. I was terrified and the family was terrified. No one could see him and so I ran farther down the trail as it cut back some on itself and gave a better view. There he was about 50 feet down from the edge wedged under a tree and oh my god he was moving and trying to get up! What now, what do you do. I almost ran back to get Kelly to call for help than I said to them-look I am a Doctor someone else will need to go back to call for help. I looked at one of the grandkids-said how old are you-she said 12 yrs old. I told her to take my camera, go back and find a grey honda accord and tell the lady in there to call for help(that was our car and Kelly FYI). I told her she would need to call 111 in NZ. Apparently upon reaching the car she found Kelly but kept saying she needed to find a girl in a grey honda civic because her grandfather had fallen and needed help. She said a man in a grizzly shirt told her to find this lady in a grey honda civic. After some confusion Kelly realized it was her she was looking for in a grey honda accord whose husband was wearing a Gizzy Boy shirt. Kelly called for help.
Now I remember from my training as a doctor/survival course/trauma education that the worst thing you can do in a tragedy is to put yourself at risk and cause more injuries. Whoever taught me that thank you cause at this point I calmed down some(took my own pulse as they say in residency training). I am sure we were all really jacked up on adrenaline. I think I yelled down to him to STAY STILL-DONT MOVE and I remember someone else yelling similar. At this point I moved down off the trail and found a reasonable route to get over to him-there were some fallen trees to provide footing and some bush to grab on to. I entered from the side because he had falled down a rather shear drop. I seemed to get to him rather quickly and his daughter was not far behind me. Once again I was just amazed he was alive! He must be very badly injured I thought. I took stock of how he was positioned-he was lying on his right side pinned under a dead/fallen tree that was wedged between the rocks above and the ground below-it was as if you took a large log and wedged it in the ground than leaned it up against the cliff edge to build shelter but only more sturdy. His right arm was pinned under him and his left arm free and his legs. His head had several large abrasions on it with some bleeding but nothing terrible but it was obvious his head was injured. At some point I tried to remember all my first aid-ABC right? A-airway-seemed to be open, no major facial/airway trauma affecting that-false teeth all in place-Good. B-breathing-big concern here as he could have had a punctured lung or broken ribs that would interfere with his breathing or worse yet a tension pneumothorax which would kill him. Chest was rising up/down and as far as I could see no penetrating chest wounds-although a broken branch of the log keeping him up was poking into his side but not into the skin. C-circulation-ok check his pulses-everything is good-appears to be moving blood to his arms and legs. He still is in danger of massive internal bleeding I thought. Now I am thinking what next-well he fell and his neck, back, limbs are in great danger so I took a survey of his whole body as the ABC stuff is good. Head-obvious lacerations to his skull but it is all intact and nothing major-he is majorly confused so obviously he has a massive concussion-he was quite confused repeating did he fall and other things like I suppose I did something stupid and looking up and asking if fell from up there. His pupils were appropriately more narrowly opened but equal. His neck and back were not tender when pushing on them yet it was difficult to get him to lie still-I am sure he was confused and kept trying to get up and we-which included daughter Kathy and now Bruce who was a fellow trail walker-all had to remind him to stay still until further help like search and rescue arrived.
Kathy was below him providing support so he didn't slip further down and also kept him in his current position. Kathy was one of 2 daughters there-she had 2 children with her. She was a nurse and lived in Australia. Her other sister up above was living in Hong Kong and had 2 kids with her as well. Kelly told me her husband was a pilot but I don't know much else about her. She ran down to help clarify/coordinate with Kelly what was happening at the car park/trailhead which was only 500 meters from Arthur's pass village. Kelly got more information and talked with the dispatcher about the situation and also at some point she talked with the helicopter pilots as well. James or Jim as he preferred to be called was an apple farmer from just outside Toronto Canada and had always wanted to come to NZ and in fact it had been his dream to come see Arthurs Pass in NZ. I could tell he was a stoic farmer who despite this fall and major head injury had a good stubborn streak in him. He is 77 years old. The other gentleman who helped was Bruce. Bruce was a fellow trail hiker just 10 minutes or so before this who I had take my picture at the waterfall and I than took his and his partners photo. Now we are on the side of a pretty scary drop hoping Jim stays alive and gets the hell out off this cliff. Bruce is a kiwi from Hamilton. His partner stayed up with the other family providing support as well. It is hard to remember it all but Bruce, Kathy and I were all working together to try and stay focused on Jim and not too serious but it was still dangerous.
Well back to Jim-his neck and back seemed ok but you hear of broken necks/backs were people seem ok than they get up to move and whatever was broken and not stable comes apart and bam you have a bad injury made worse now. So we kept him as still as we could with constant reminders about that. His left arm was free and moving about with a good pulse-excellent. both legs and hips are moving and appear good-excellent again. his left arm is pinned under him and difficult see but he can drip my hand and squeeze it so that is reasonable reassuring. Now his belly-you can lose lots of blood in your belly during trauma but his abdomen is soft and not tender. Could this guy really fall that far and come out of this with no broken bones or major injuries other than his head. it is certainly looking that way but his brain is a major concern-he is slowly answering more and more questions but it is still pretty mush. I think Kathy and I are really concerned about bleeding in the brain and keep a close eye on his mental status and pupils. His heart rate remains stable-if it increased and he becomes pale and cold extremities we worry about shock from blood loss.
We all sit on this dangerous slope and I know I was thinking-this tree saved his life cause just beyond this tree is one other tree that might have stopped his fall and than no way-he would have been down a 200-300 ft steep as slope and I would think sure death. I think we all think that but don't talk much about it. Kathy amazingly is keeping it together well-no panic, no hysterics just concerned focus with comments like we are not telling Mom about this. Jim's wife stayed back in Canada-apparently she is not a big traveler and maybe wouldn't have approved of this hike. We get short bits of humor from this. Jim still tries to get up and after some time passes he does move again and we all say sit still-he says to us he did that on purpose-I found it funny. That stoic farmer father-is that great human quality going to fade away? Are we all a bunch of whiny, lack of grit, poor me people now. I can think of all the grandpa's I know-Kirk, Alfred and Roy. They were all tough son-of-a-bitches and this Jim seemed no different For that matter so were my grandmas-Ruby, Odney, and Pearl. I didn't know Grandma/pa Smith well.
Eventually a medic from the ambulance grew shows up and makes his way down and does a nice hello/survey of Jim. He also doesn't find much wrong with Jim and by this time Jim is able to answer questions more clearly although not completely normal according to Kathy. A couple other gentlemen show up with the medic and stay up on the trail. A helicopter comes maybe 15 minutes later as well and at first passes over the scene. We are in pretty dense bush so it will not be easy to get to him in fact I don't know how this will happen. One of the guys has an orange basket like thing that you see on the rescue shows. I think we realize Jim is doing ok, getting him into a basket will be near impossible in this situation-too steep, too dangerous. The medic asks me if I think it is ok for Jim to sit up and I say I think so. Jim is able to finally maneuver himself up with our help and sits on his butt. he continues to do well. The chopper starts to come back for another look-actually it was dropping the helicopter rescue guy down but we couldn't see that. The medic says due to the lose rock above our heads that Bruce and I should just clear out so we make our way back up to the trail. I am sure he told Kathy the same but no way are you getting a daughter away from her father in a situation like this-I wouldn't have left my family member either. I was actually fine getting away cause I had lots of thoughts about my family sitting next to Jim for that 1-1.5 hours. i wanted to be safely on the trail now. The helicopter rescue man with Kickass on the back of his helmet showed up and made his way down to Jim.
Back on the trail I must have really been processing what had just happened cause I don't remember much of what happened over the next few minutes but Jim was up walking roped into something but under his own power with rescue people around him climbing off the ridge. The chopper was coming back around again. It is amazing what those choppers can do-it hangs above us now just above the trees with leaves and stuff flying all over. It drops this cable with a weight down between some trees/branches to where JIm and Kickass are waiting. Jim is wrapped in some thing. Kickass hooks them in and signals by spreading his arms apart that they can hoist them up. Up he goes. I assume he was brought to Christchurch. First they landed down by the trailhead and picked up one of the sisters and probably got Jim more treatment/comfortable. We all sat around on the trailhead. I remember Kathy just slumping down on the trail-exhausted and probably trying to take in what just happened. We made some small talk and than once things were cleaned up I finished my run-I ran back down to Kelly, Liam and Phoebe. Liam was pretty worried. Kelly was excited to tell her side of the adventure and I suppose I told some of mine. Phoebe was Phoebe. We packed up the car-Kathy and the family made it down and since we had some of their things we gave them their stuff. I hugged Kathy and gave her my email so I can hear about Jim's outcome. she had to drive a campervan back to ChristChurch to the hospital. they were suppose to leave the next day to go back to Australia. We were headed onto the West Coast and all its beauty.
Life works in such mysterious ways. I think we are guided thru this life by something so much bigger than us. What I remember most is that Jim dreamed of coming to NZ and in particular Arthur's Pass. He finally gets here at 77 yrs old and than this happens. He should have died, and maybe he did, I don't know yet, but he was in good shape leaving the scene. If it wasn't his time luck didn't play any part of it. I think this was part of a bigger plan.
I wrote this cause it was a really intense experience and I needed to share the experience.
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| The gorge where Brett was hiking and the helicopter flying out of it after the rescue. |
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
So Far, So Good
Trip On!!
We made it out of Gisborne. It wasn't easy. I did not get to say the goodbyes I wanted to, take the pictures I had always meant to take, pack the way I wanted to... in fact, none of it was the way I had envisioned leaving. In a way, though, I just had to let go of the control and the ideas of what it would be, and once I did that, it was okay. Maybe even better than normal, as I just knew there was no way I could change it, and therefore, I could not be disappointed with all the things I didn't get done. Poor Brett had most of the burden. Not sure I have ever seen him so stressed. We finally decided to push our trip back another day, which was a huge help.
On Sunday, April 1st, we got in the car bright and early and drove away from Gisborne. Had a long car ride down to Wellington. It took over 8 hours but we had a couple of breaks, one for a picnic on the waterfront in the art deco town of Napier, and another big stop at a cool park. Brett and I have had a long running joke where we have renamed this last year of traveling the WPT (the World Park Tour). We only stayed in Wellington for the night...had to cancel the other night because of the delays. Seeing that I couldn't really walk around the city, and that we had been there before, we decided not to be disappointed. I did have to cancel my tattoo appointment. Oh well.
The next morning we caught the ferry to the South Island. I got some special treatment with a wheelchair and a good parking spot for the car. Again, glad I had been on that journey before, so I didn't feel like I was missing out so much. From the ferry we drove down the east coast to Kaikoura, the place where I swam with dolphins last year and one of Brett's favorite places in New Zealand. It was a beautiful day and the water was the beautiful turquoise. We stopped at place where the baby seals swim up to a pool under a waterfall and swim and play. Of course, I got to sit in my chair by the car while Brett and the kids made the hike to the spot. But I did have some curious baby seals by the sea come visit me too. Made me feel a little less left out.
We finally arrived at the holiday home I had booked for the next two nights. Seeing we are trying to be a little more budget conscience, this place was not quite as fancy as some of the others. Brett, I believe, called it disgusting. But it did have some nice views of the sea. We actually could see the dolphins in the bay from the house and had an airshow going on overhead the first night. The next morning we could tell the dolphins were out again. Brett and Liam drove down to the bay and found a huge pod (around 500) of very playful dolphins close to shore. They came back and got us and we got to watch the hundreds of dolphins jumping and flipping. Very cool. And we were very envious of the kayakers who were right in the middle of it. So, Brett contacted the kayak company and convinced Liam to go with him that afternoon. They had an amazing experience. Got to kayak with the dolphins, although they were not jumping and playing as much, saw seals, albatross, penguins, and after paddling way out to sea, they got to see a whale. And, when they got in, the whale was breeching and splashing, repeatedly (15-20 times). So, another good day!
Today, was judgement day. Got out of Kaikoura early to get down to the Christchruch hospital for my follow up x-ray. Again, so far so good. The bone still looks in decent placement (however, he did mention the mortise might be widened a little, but then again, thought it looked equal - come on, just tell me it is good) Told me I needed one more x-ray in one week to determine that is really was not moving. Not the 100% reassurance I needed, but, at least I am not stuck in the earthquake capitol getting surgery. Whew! We spent the rest of the day at the botanical gardens on a beautiful fall day. First at the playground (of course) and then we went punting. Punting is a boat ride on the shallow river where they push the boat with a long pole, kind of like a gondola. These are the kind of mellow activities I get to enjoy instead of bungy jumping.. and even this was challenging to get into the boat. Still, it was a lovely day. Tomorrow we head cross country.. though a beautiful mountain pass to the west coast of the South Island.
We made it out of Gisborne. It wasn't easy. I did not get to say the goodbyes I wanted to, take the pictures I had always meant to take, pack the way I wanted to... in fact, none of it was the way I had envisioned leaving. In a way, though, I just had to let go of the control and the ideas of what it would be, and once I did that, it was okay. Maybe even better than normal, as I just knew there was no way I could change it, and therefore, I could not be disappointed with all the things I didn't get done. Poor Brett had most of the burden. Not sure I have ever seen him so stressed. We finally decided to push our trip back another day, which was a huge help.
On Sunday, April 1st, we got in the car bright and early and drove away from Gisborne. Had a long car ride down to Wellington. It took over 8 hours but we had a couple of breaks, one for a picnic on the waterfront in the art deco town of Napier, and another big stop at a cool park. Brett and I have had a long running joke where we have renamed this last year of traveling the WPT (the World Park Tour). We only stayed in Wellington for the night...had to cancel the other night because of the delays. Seeing that I couldn't really walk around the city, and that we had been there before, we decided not to be disappointed. I did have to cancel my tattoo appointment. Oh well.
We finally arrived at the holiday home I had booked for the next two nights. Seeing we are trying to be a little more budget conscience, this place was not quite as fancy as some of the others. Brett, I believe, called it disgusting. But it did have some nice views of the sea. We actually could see the dolphins in the bay from the house and had an airshow going on overhead the first night. The next morning we could tell the dolphins were out again. Brett and Liam drove down to the bay and found a huge pod (around 500) of very playful dolphins close to shore. They came back and got us and we got to watch the hundreds of dolphins jumping and flipping. Very cool. And we were very envious of the kayakers who were right in the middle of it. So, Brett contacted the kayak company and convinced Liam to go with him that afternoon. They had an amazing experience. Got to kayak with the dolphins, although they were not jumping and playing as much, saw seals, albatross, penguins, and after paddling way out to sea, they got to see a whale. And, when they got in, the whale was breeching and splashing, repeatedly (15-20 times). So, another good day!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Good News and the Bad News
So, life has been pretty great for us this past year and half. Even before we left so many things fell into place, people were telling us to buy a lottery ticket. A while ago, however, we realized that going home was not going to be so easy. No house, no cars, no jobs... not sure where we even want to live. So many things to decide was a bit overwhelming. And, then, another wonderful opportunity was presented to us. Brett (smart guy he is) decided to contact the clinic up in the small town of Aitkin, Minnesota, where he had done a rotation in residency and, more importantly, where the family lake home is, to see if they might need some help over the summer. Well, they offered him a temporary summer position. Woo-hooooo. Again, Life is Good for the Adams Family. We get to live at the cabin wonderland for the summer while we sort out our life and figure out the next moves.
And, we have this amazing holiday planned where we travel around the rest of New Zealand for the next month. And, Brett quit his job two weeks early so he could have some fun in Gisborne. Well, now for the bad news. For those of you who haven't heard, I went a broke my ankle last week!! The weather finally got nice and Brett and I went out on some Stand Up and Paddle boards for the first time. We had a great time and I had already decided I wanted to buy one for the lakes at home. And, I was doing pretty good. I was riding a wave in when I decided to jump off the board, thinking I was jumping into 1-2 feet of water and it turned out only to be 2-3 inches. And, snap, went the ankle. So, this last week has been a chaotic mess of trying to throw a garage sale, pack, say goodbyes, while sitting around with my foot up. And then, it got worse. When I went for ortho follow up, it turned out my ankle needed to be reduced. He went on to tell me that I needed to have it x-rayed again next week and if it still wasn't staying in place, then I would need surgery. Only, in one week, we will officially be gypsies and traveling around. Lots of decisions.. to stay or go? how to get good ortho followup? Lots of crying.. by me. So disappointed. I had big plans for our travels. Bungy jumping in Queenstown, an extreme jet boat ride, paddle boarding with dolphins, seal swim, and not to mention all of the amazing hiking. And, I had even scheduled an appointment to get a tattoo on my right foot (the one now in a cast). Divine intervention? maybe. I am trying to find the good in this injury, trying to be grateful for what I have, trying to convince myself that it isn't that horrible of timing (at least I get to ride around looking at stuff instead of stuck inside the house). It's not easy though. And, that, is when I need to go an re-read the first paragraph again. Life is good for the Adams Family.... and if our bad news is a broken ankle, I'll take it.
And, we have this amazing holiday planned where we travel around the rest of New Zealand for the next month. And, Brett quit his job two weeks early so he could have some fun in Gisborne. Well, now for the bad news. For those of you who haven't heard, I went a broke my ankle last week!! The weather finally got nice and Brett and I went out on some Stand Up and Paddle boards for the first time. We had a great time and I had already decided I wanted to buy one for the lakes at home. And, I was doing pretty good. I was riding a wave in when I decided to jump off the board, thinking I was jumping into 1-2 feet of water and it turned out only to be 2-3 inches. And, snap, went the ankle. So, this last week has been a chaotic mess of trying to throw a garage sale, pack, say goodbyes, while sitting around with my foot up. And then, it got worse. When I went for ortho follow up, it turned out my ankle needed to be reduced. He went on to tell me that I needed to have it x-rayed again next week and if it still wasn't staying in place, then I would need surgery. Only, in one week, we will officially be gypsies and traveling around. Lots of decisions.. to stay or go? how to get good ortho followup? Lots of crying.. by me. So disappointed. I had big plans for our travels. Bungy jumping in Queenstown, an extreme jet boat ride, paddle boarding with dolphins, seal swim, and not to mention all of the amazing hiking. And, I had even scheduled an appointment to get a tattoo on my right foot (the one now in a cast). Divine intervention? maybe. I am trying to find the good in this injury, trying to be grateful for what I have, trying to convince myself that it isn't that horrible of timing (at least I get to ride around looking at stuff instead of stuck inside the house). It's not easy though. And, that, is when I need to go an re-read the first paragraph again. Life is good for the Adams Family.... and if our bad news is a broken ankle, I'll take it.
Monday, March 5, 2012
"When are you coming home?"
I first started this blog when I found myself answering the same questions about our move all the time. Well, it's happening again. So, that has also made me think I should start this up again.
We will be arriving back in Minnesota on Monday, May 7th. We have quite the journey planned to get there however. We are going to leave Gisborne on March 30th or 31st to start a month long road trip of New Zealand. We will be traveling in our honda accord station wagon all the way down to the bottom of the South Island. We will then travel all the way back up to Auckland via the west coast of the North Island. We hope to sell our car on Trade Me (NZ version of E-Bay) for drop off in Auckland, but if this doesn't happen we will bring it to a car auction. As that takes at least a week to happen, we will then pick up a campervan and travel up the very northern part (the Bay of Islands). Because after traveling for 3 weeks in a small car with small children, who wouldn't want live/sleep/eat in a vehicle for the last week?
As long as I have not been committed to a psych ward, we will be traveling back to the states on April 30th and spending our first week back in Phoenix with Grandpa Terry and Nana Bonnie. I imagine we won't be the funnest house guests as we readjust to the northern hemisphere, but I know they will take good care of us. Brett will add to his fun by taking an ATLS (advanced trauma life saving) course while we are there. And, then, finally we are going home. Where exactly that is though is still not entirely clear.
We will be arriving back in Minnesota on Monday, May 7th. We have quite the journey planned to get there however. We are going to leave Gisborne on March 30th or 31st to start a month long road trip of New Zealand. We will be traveling in our honda accord station wagon all the way down to the bottom of the South Island. We will then travel all the way back up to Auckland via the west coast of the North Island. We hope to sell our car on Trade Me (NZ version of E-Bay) for drop off in Auckland, but if this doesn't happen we will bring it to a car auction. As that takes at least a week to happen, we will then pick up a campervan and travel up the very northern part (the Bay of Islands). Because after traveling for 3 weeks in a small car with small children, who wouldn't want live/sleep/eat in a vehicle for the last week?
As long as I have not been committed to a psych ward, we will be traveling back to the states on April 30th and spending our first week back in Phoenix with Grandpa Terry and Nana Bonnie. I imagine we won't be the funnest house guests as we readjust to the northern hemisphere, but I know they will take good care of us. Brett will add to his fun by taking an ATLS (advanced trauma life saving) course while we are there. And, then, finally we are going home. Where exactly that is though is still not entirely clear.
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| THIS IS WHAT WE WILL STUFFING OUR LIFE INTO FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL |
Friday, March 2, 2012
Here We Go Again
Okay, so I have completely neglected the blog. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I think it is because I felt like life in New Zealand became the normal and just not something I felt I needed to write about all the time. Also, busy and more routine.... school, work, grocery shopping....blah, blah, blah. However, now that I look back at all the pictures and experiences, I realize I should have been journaling these memories more... our "normal" life has really been extraordinary and full of amazing new adventures. Whether it is a trip to Australia, glow worm caves, a picnic, or losing a tooth... life really is fantastic and new all the time.
Anyways, even if I did miss out on cataloging all of those other months (which I still believe I will get back too - ha, ha), I need to start again. We now have only one month left in Gisborne, and two left in New Zealand. That means the blood is starting to pump a little faster as we try and figure out the next chapter in our crazy life. And, the queries are coming as well. So, I will do my best to keep you informed about what is next. But remember, just as with life, there is not much certainty. It is an unsettling fact... people want to think they will know how their life will work out. But, even the best plans, the "perfect" life, can be upturned in a second. So, you might as well just keep shooting for your dreams and the best life you can, but not be too disappointed if it doesn't work out. That is my reoccurring mantra over the last 2 years. And, so far, so good.
And, with that, I would like to say, that living your dreams (as I have heard and said a million times this past year) does not come without a lot of hard work. And, I would like to thank my husband, Brett, for all of his hard work in making this all happen. He is the one that found the job here and has been working hard at that job all year. He truly is an amazing man and should be an inspiration for everyone. When he wants to do something, he will work the hardest to make it happen. Becoming a doctor, doing an Ironman Triathlon, moving to New Zealand...etc. I am always a little scared and excited to see what his next big idea will be. But, really, should I have any reason to doubt that he can make it happen? Gosh, I really love that man. Thank You for all you do!
Anyways, even if I did miss out on cataloging all of those other months (which I still believe I will get back too - ha, ha), I need to start again. We now have only one month left in Gisborne, and two left in New Zealand. That means the blood is starting to pump a little faster as we try and figure out the next chapter in our crazy life. And, the queries are coming as well. So, I will do my best to keep you informed about what is next. But remember, just as with life, there is not much certainty. It is an unsettling fact... people want to think they will know how their life will work out. But, even the best plans, the "perfect" life, can be upturned in a second. So, you might as well just keep shooting for your dreams and the best life you can, but not be too disappointed if it doesn't work out. That is my reoccurring mantra over the last 2 years. And, so far, so good.
And, with that, I would like to say, that living your dreams (as I have heard and said a million times this past year) does not come without a lot of hard work. And, I would like to thank my husband, Brett, for all of his hard work in making this all happen. He is the one that found the job here and has been working hard at that job all year. He truly is an amazing man and should be an inspiration for everyone. When he wants to do something, he will work the hardest to make it happen. Becoming a doctor, doing an Ironman Triathlon, moving to New Zealand...etc. I am always a little scared and excited to see what his next big idea will be. But, really, should I have any reason to doubt that he can make it happen? Gosh, I really love that man. Thank You for all you do!
 |
| Next on Brett's list.. learn to kite surf. Here he is with a practice kite on land. Too bad the weather hasn't cooperated with this next goal. |
Putting Ticks on the List
THIS is a post I started on SEPT 16th, 2011..... I am going into the archives to finish some off as I begin to start up the blog again!
Busy, busy. Kind of. Well, at least, I have been ignoring the blog for awhile. The long winter (aka the month of August) actually got me back to being somewhat productive and into an actual schedule. We also had a few new adventures, which I will have to talk about soon as well, before I forget and before we have too many new ones. For now, I am going to tell you what I have been doing with all of this "time". You see, before moving here, I had big expectations of the things I was going to accomplish. I felt like I was being gifted a large amount of free time all of the sudden. Not working (outside the home), one kid at school full days every day, the other half day everyday. And, a husband who no longer needed to train to run an Ironman Triathlon. Not to mention, I am living in a small town with no traffic jams, no large malls to wander, and a house with no T.V. channels. Family, friends, and even strangers, must have sensed that I was coming into some new freedom because I had heard and have heard often "so, what are you going to do with yourself?"
So, I made a mental checklist of goals I wanted to achieve. Things I always thought I would do if I had the opportunity or time. And, things I needed to get done. I have actually not written them down until now. But here it goes:
Learn to surf
Lose weight (when has this not been on the list, really)
Learn to knit (something I always wished I had learned better from my mom)
Make the perfect pie crust
Finish all 100 hours of CME (continuing medical education)
Do online photo albums, organizing all of our digital photographs
Edit all of our video history
Organize all of my favorite recipes (been trying to do this for years)
Win a contest (preferably some big cash or prize give a way)
Keep a trip journal/ blog
Organize all of our kiwi adventures - be the Adams Family travel agent
Become well read again... I have been playing too much sudoku in the past years and not reading enough books
Throw my kids some killer b-day parties as both did not have ones last year due to all the commotion with the big move
And, of course, be a fabulous hostess for all of our guests...
MARCH 2ND, 2012
Well, I started this blog back in September. And I am now going to finish it almost 5 1/2 months later. Geez, where does the time go.
So, I have done okay with the list. It seems that once I finished a couple of goals I felt good enough. Also, I think life just started to feel a little more normal/ routine around here. Not as much like we were living out the dream (until of course I would look out the window at the fabulous view). No, it just wasn't as new and exciting everyday. Hence, the blog stopped! And,friends, school, visitors, trips, birthday parties, swimming lessons, horseback riding lessons, as well as my new hobbies, were enough to keep me busy.
Anyways.. I did learn to knit, I have made my share of pies and pie crusts from hand, and I started reading books again. All of which I contribute to the fact that I have NOT lost weight, but instead gained some. I did win a Gisborne Tourism photo contest ( 2nd prize of 50 dollars) with my picture of Brett and Liam walking down the beach (and had it in the Gisborne Herald multiple times). I have spent countless hours booking places to stay for our big Australia in October and our upcoming South Island adventures. I finished my CME. I have not been so successful with the surfing, but having fun trying. I sure know a whole lot more about waves and surfboards than the average Minnesota girl knows though. I threw a "Feeling FIVE and Fabulous" b-day party for Phoebe and a "HUNTING down the 7th year" party for Liam. I found a fantastic recipe app for the computer "Yummy Soup". And I hosted 7+ more weeks total of guests (whew!)
So, that leaves me with this whole organizing photos/ editing videos... which I have significantly gone in the whole with - we have taken thousands and thousands of new pictures.
And, keeping this whole trip journal. Which I am a now ready to start up again. As life is about to get a little more new and interesting again....
Stay Tuned!
(and I will try and post some more pictures later... I am too overwhelmed at looking all the ones I have missed posting over the the last 7-8 months.... we really have had some great times)
Busy, busy. Kind of. Well, at least, I have been ignoring the blog for awhile. The long winter (aka the month of August) actually got me back to being somewhat productive and into an actual schedule. We also had a few new adventures, which I will have to talk about soon as well, before I forget and before we have too many new ones. For now, I am going to tell you what I have been doing with all of this "time". You see, before moving here, I had big expectations of the things I was going to accomplish. I felt like I was being gifted a large amount of free time all of the sudden. Not working (outside the home), one kid at school full days every day, the other half day everyday. And, a husband who no longer needed to train to run an Ironman Triathlon. Not to mention, I am living in a small town with no traffic jams, no large malls to wander, and a house with no T.V. channels. Family, friends, and even strangers, must have sensed that I was coming into some new freedom because I had heard and have heard often "so, what are you going to do with yourself?"
So, I made a mental checklist of goals I wanted to achieve. Things I always thought I would do if I had the opportunity or time. And, things I needed to get done. I have actually not written them down until now. But here it goes:
Learn to surf
Lose weight (when has this not been on the list, really)
Learn to knit (something I always wished I had learned better from my mom)
Make the perfect pie crust
Finish all 100 hours of CME (continuing medical education)
Do online photo albums, organizing all of our digital photographs
Edit all of our video history
Organize all of my favorite recipes (been trying to do this for years)
Win a contest (preferably some big cash or prize give a way)
Keep a trip journal/ blog
Organize all of our kiwi adventures - be the Adams Family travel agent
Become well read again... I have been playing too much sudoku in the past years and not reading enough books
Throw my kids some killer b-day parties as both did not have ones last year due to all the commotion with the big move
And, of course, be a fabulous hostess for all of our guests...
MARCH 2ND, 2012
Well, I started this blog back in September. And I am now going to finish it almost 5 1/2 months later. Geez, where does the time go.
So, I have done okay with the list. It seems that once I finished a couple of goals I felt good enough. Also, I think life just started to feel a little more normal/ routine around here. Not as much like we were living out the dream (until of course I would look out the window at the fabulous view). No, it just wasn't as new and exciting everyday. Hence, the blog stopped! And,friends, school, visitors, trips, birthday parties, swimming lessons, horseback riding lessons, as well as my new hobbies, were enough to keep me busy.
Anyways.. I did learn to knit, I have made my share of pies and pie crusts from hand, and I started reading books again. All of which I contribute to the fact that I have NOT lost weight, but instead gained some. I did win a Gisborne Tourism photo contest ( 2nd prize of 50 dollars) with my picture of Brett and Liam walking down the beach (and had it in the Gisborne Herald multiple times). I have spent countless hours booking places to stay for our big Australia in October and our upcoming South Island adventures. I finished my CME. I have not been so successful with the surfing, but having fun trying. I sure know a whole lot more about waves and surfboards than the average Minnesota girl knows though. I threw a "Feeling FIVE and Fabulous" b-day party for Phoebe and a "HUNTING down the 7th year" party for Liam. I found a fantastic recipe app for the computer "Yummy Soup". And I hosted 7+ more weeks total of guests (whew!)
So, that leaves me with this whole organizing photos/ editing videos... which I have significantly gone in the whole with - we have taken thousands and thousands of new pictures.
And, keeping this whole trip journal. Which I am a now ready to start up again. As life is about to get a little more new and interesting again....
 |
| My first two knitting projects |
(and I will try and post some more pictures later... I am too overwhelmed at looking all the ones I have missed posting over the the last 7-8 months.... we really have had some great times)
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
What I Miss
So yes, New Zealand is wonderful and it is a hard to think about leaving. But, there really are things that I miss from home. People are always asking me, so here it is....
I really miss my family and hanging out at the cabin. Ah, the lake and a little boat time. I miss seeing my niece and nephews growing up.
I miss the affordability of quality clothing, shoes, or just about everything else. And bargain shopping, especially Craig's List. Pretty much any shopping... and I'm sure Target and Marshall's miss me. I even miss grocery shopping, somedays I am so annoyed when I cannot find an ingredient like gorganzola cheese, pinto beans or butterscotch chips. Good ice cream that doesn't cost a fortune. And, a decent burger joint... cannot figure what they put in their burgers that make them so gross. Could really go for a slice of Cosetta's pizza. Pizza is edible here, but they need to learn the art of the simple pizza... you would be amazed with the crazy toppings even their Pizza Huts have here...and they serve fries (chips) with every kind of take out, Pizza and Chinese included.
I miss central heating, double glazed windows, window screens, and nice vacuum cleaner. Or nice carpeting (even though I didn't have carpeting before, I still miss the look and feel of nice carpeting.. the stuff over here is just not good). And, I miss seeing Matt Lauer's smile on the Today Show. After 6 months of no TV channels (only watching DVD'S), I do miss the television. Probably because it is winter, and getting dark earlier... and the fact that we have exhausted the choices of cheap DVD's at the store. Oh yeah, I really miss Net Flix. And I miss having more than one radio station in my car.
I miss an oven with dials I can understand and that will cook my food properly. And, of course, I miss my nice cookware ( Dad's of course). I did manage to fit my cutco knives into my suitcase, though. I really miss having a frig with an automatic ice dispenser.
And, the list goes on
More things I miss:
1. Pedestrian courtesy.... seriously the most annoying thing here ever. Drivers do not stop, or even slow down, to let people cross the road. Including school cross walks!!!
2. Clothes dryer - most days I am fine hanging out the clothes, until it rains on them, or they don't dry... then I get frustrated. People here hang clothes all over the house on rainy days... I just can't do that. Honestly though, I will probably miss the clothes line someday.
3. Family babysitters.... the kind you can leave your kids with without paying or for a few days at a time. Just nice to have that option. Oh yes, they also rarely say no and you can always get a hold of them.
4. Long, straight freeways and interstates. Cruise control. And guardrails on scary roads.
5. No tsunami warnings or potential earthquakes.
6. Water pressure
7. Degrees in Fahrenheit - getting closer to figuring out Celsius, but my heart and soul will always connect with fahrenheit better. Same goes for pounds, gallons, and miles.
8. BRATWRUST
9.Knowing who to put down as an emergency contact. Sure we have friends, neighbors, and co-workers...just feels weird not being able to list any family.
10. Butter that comes in 1/2 cup sticks, or even a pound. Here it comes in 500 gram blocks. It's totally throwing me off.
11. My motivation to exercise. Don't know what happened, but I just can't get into a routine. I thought I'd be 30 pound lighter by now, especially having a little extra time. Maybe I'd better get off the computer.
and the list could go on, but that's what I can think of for now.
Some July Photos
I really miss my family and hanging out at the cabin. Ah, the lake and a little boat time. I miss seeing my niece and nephews growing up.
I miss the affordability of quality clothing, shoes, or just about everything else. And bargain shopping, especially Craig's List. Pretty much any shopping... and I'm sure Target and Marshall's miss me. I even miss grocery shopping, somedays I am so annoyed when I cannot find an ingredient like gorganzola cheese, pinto beans or butterscotch chips. Good ice cream that doesn't cost a fortune. And, a decent burger joint... cannot figure what they put in their burgers that make them so gross. Could really go for a slice of Cosetta's pizza. Pizza is edible here, but they need to learn the art of the simple pizza... you would be amazed with the crazy toppings even their Pizza Huts have here...and they serve fries (chips) with every kind of take out, Pizza and Chinese included.
I miss central heating, double glazed windows, window screens, and nice vacuum cleaner. Or nice carpeting (even though I didn't have carpeting before, I still miss the look and feel of nice carpeting.. the stuff over here is just not good). And, I miss seeing Matt Lauer's smile on the Today Show. After 6 months of no TV channels (only watching DVD'S), I do miss the television. Probably because it is winter, and getting dark earlier... and the fact that we have exhausted the choices of cheap DVD's at the store. Oh yeah, I really miss Net Flix. And I miss having more than one radio station in my car.
I miss an oven with dials I can understand and that will cook my food properly. And, of course, I miss my nice cookware ( Dad's of course). I did manage to fit my cutco knives into my suitcase, though. I really miss having a frig with an automatic ice dispenser.
And, the list goes on
More things I miss:
1. Pedestrian courtesy.... seriously the most annoying thing here ever. Drivers do not stop, or even slow down, to let people cross the road. Including school cross walks!!!
2. Clothes dryer - most days I am fine hanging out the clothes, until it rains on them, or they don't dry... then I get frustrated. People here hang clothes all over the house on rainy days... I just can't do that. Honestly though, I will probably miss the clothes line someday.
3. Family babysitters.... the kind you can leave your kids with without paying or for a few days at a time. Just nice to have that option. Oh yes, they also rarely say no and you can always get a hold of them.
4. Long, straight freeways and interstates. Cruise control. And guardrails on scary roads.
5. No tsunami warnings or potential earthquakes.
6. Water pressure
7. Degrees in Fahrenheit - getting closer to figuring out Celsius, but my heart and soul will always connect with fahrenheit better. Same goes for pounds, gallons, and miles.
8. BRATWRUST
9.Knowing who to put down as an emergency contact. Sure we have friends, neighbors, and co-workers...just feels weird not being able to list any family.
10. Butter that comes in 1/2 cup sticks, or even a pound. Here it comes in 500 gram blocks. It's totally throwing me off.
11. My motivation to exercise. Don't know what happened, but I just can't get into a routine. I thought I'd be 30 pound lighter by now, especially having a little extra time. Maybe I'd better get off the computer.
and the list could go on, but that's what I can think of for now.
Some July Photos
 |
| Full Moon (this is all moonlight... one of my most favorite things) |
 |
| cold July morning |
 |
| Our cold days are also the most sunny... kind of like those below zero Fahrenheit days back in Minnesota, only this is a zero degree Celsius day (32 degrees). On the waterfront, doesn't actually get cold enough for frost, but here is the morning fog. Thank goodness the sun comes up to heat up the house. |
Thursday, July 14, 2011
A word from Brett on work, surf and etc
Not sure exactly what I have to say but thought I could share some things about how I spend my days.
Work-since I spend most of my time working I can let you know how that is going. I just worked today from 9am til 12:30 and than had a 1.5 hour tea break before returning to work from 2-5:30. I saw 37 patients!! That is not too out of the ordinary. A typical day were I am not seeing walk in patients I will see 17 patients between 8-12 and than another 13 patients from 1:30 to 4:30. So a typical day is 30 patients and a busy day may be up to 40-45 patients. In the USA I was seeing probably 20 patients a day. Much busier here but much less documentation to bottle you down. I like it. There is a lot less administrative oversight and management here which I like-I spend time seeing patients and helping the sick. It is without a doubt better than the States that way. I have to admit most of the time I don't feel that rushed seeing all those people-if I saw that many in the States I would have been making big dough!! Maybe as much as Chris Balgobin!
The downside is that specialty care is very strange-today I tried to call radiology to ask about what would be the best test to order and I couldn't talk to them-the receptionist was giving me a hard time. At home I would have no problem talking to them. It seems like specialist have a huge wall of protection around them-they don't educate patients or there primary doctors well about the plan yet toss them back to primary care for all there follow up. Today I asked a guy with adenocarcinoma of lung with mets to his brain if they had ever told him what his prognosis was and he said "no" but was planning to ask at the next consult. Wouldn't you as a Cancer Doc think the patient would want to know that!! Common sense should tell you yes. Also-say you see a specialist and they do some surgery or procedure and you have questions or concern about what happened-you can't just ring them up-you would have to come to primary care and get re-referred and they will see you in maybe 6 weeks. Here was another great example-I saw a guy with previous knee replacement by a local orthopedic a number of years prior who came in complaining of wanting his other knee evaluated by the local orthopod. He said the orthopod had tried to convince him to do the other knee as well but the patient said he wanted to hold out. He held out for like 7 years and when I referred him back to local orthopod because he could barely function on that leg the orthopod wrote me back a note-it said it doesn't sound like it is that bad and he can wait. I just about cracked a nut. It seems to be a game to deny first referral cause than if you really want them to be seen you re-refer them back. Nothing like needless paperwork. So-not all is great in a national health care system. But-I still think it is probably better than what we got.
Another thing that bothers me about healthcare that Kelly and I were talking about the other night is how to get insurance. I come to New Zealand and pay the taxes with my 2 year visa and I don't have to worry about if I get sick or have any unfortunate accident/illness. Yet when we go back home I will have to worry about getting insurance and likely if I get insurance I will still worry about how much it will cost if I get hurt/ill or whatever. I just the quality of life in the US with all people would be so much better if insurance wasn't such a burden-affordable comprehensive health insurance. I just wonder how many of us work for insurance, not the money!! You can't retire early cause we worry about insurance. I can't take my family on a long holiday cause I have to worry about insurance. I wanna come home and take a big road trip for 3-6 weeks and see the US but will I be able to afford insurance to allow me to do this? New Zealanders get I believe 4 weeks mandatory holiday plus there are 12 holidays/year. What is it like at home-2 weeks and you better not get sick cause that comes out of holiday/vacation time. Plus-is there really a holiday in the States anymore where things are closed. I just wish the people would come up with a plan for affordable health care-it is so nice to not have to worry about if my family will be taken care of! It is such BS that this is a political debate-I don't care what your beliefs are politically-I just think Americans deserve AFFORDABLE COMPREHENSIVE CARE and if you have to be patient to get that care-LEARN to LIVE with IT. It is better for all. In New Zealand you can buy insurance as well that gives you first class service and access but it costs extra.
All right, on to other things. Surfing. Although I have not been surfing as much during the winter-I could still get out there and surf if I wanted too. It is not that cold. First off surfing is a tough thing to learn. You see those individuals cut up the waves and think that looks easy-well get out there and try. It is tough. Kelly was in Hawaii and took some lessons to learn to surf and I was giving her soo much crap about the size of the waves-well I should eat my words-I was on the same size waves learning. I have gotten lots better but there is also bigger and stronger waves to catch. I am able to ride some green waves and am still working on riding the face of a wave/turning on the wave. I ride a long board currently and most of the surfing people see is on short boards-i doubt I will ever get to a short board but hope to ride a mini-mal board(short long board). It wasn't that long ago that the thought of swimming in open water much less the ocean terrified me. I am so proud of myself that I can now swim for miles in the open water without panicking and that I can go out in the ocean on my surfboard and not be terrified of sharks/fish/creatures getting me. I am really hoping Liam will do some white water surfing on my board this summer. I have done some surfing with an old North Memorial colleague-Bob Levine. That has been really fun cause we are of similar ability.
Weather-I can only saw the weather here is awesome. I don't know how I can live in Minnesota again-I don't want to move to San Diego or anything but something a little more reasonable than Minny.
Venison Wars-one of the most fascinating things I have heard about here is the Venison Wars of the 80's. A patient of mine was a part of this fascinating history where hunters would riding in helicopters with loaded semi-automatic rifles shooting deer out of the side of copters. They would have AK 47's with 20 round magazines taped together so he could pop one out and put the other in to shoot venison-he once shot 47 deer in 47 minutes. They were getting big money for the deer dead. Later they could get more for a live deer so they started shooting net guns on the deer-they could get 4-5000 for a deer. Can you imagine riding a chopper down over a deer and shooting a net gun onto the deer-jumping out wrapping up the deer and hauling it out alive to sell to farmers to raise more deer cause the meat was worth soo much. Needless to say the guy said it was very dangerous-choppers were going down frequently and the lifestyle was one of work hard/party hard. He is a very fascinating man-I am a little jealous. He brought me some venison this week-I hope to hunt with him as well.
Mail delivery-a job I kind of want here is to deliver the mail. they ride bikes everyday to deliver the mail. Probably not paid as well as I would want but I am envious.
Work-since I spend most of my time working I can let you know how that is going. I just worked today from 9am til 12:30 and than had a 1.5 hour tea break before returning to work from 2-5:30. I saw 37 patients!! That is not too out of the ordinary. A typical day were I am not seeing walk in patients I will see 17 patients between 8-12 and than another 13 patients from 1:30 to 4:30. So a typical day is 30 patients and a busy day may be up to 40-45 patients. In the USA I was seeing probably 20 patients a day. Much busier here but much less documentation to bottle you down. I like it. There is a lot less administrative oversight and management here which I like-I spend time seeing patients and helping the sick. It is without a doubt better than the States that way. I have to admit most of the time I don't feel that rushed seeing all those people-if I saw that many in the States I would have been making big dough!! Maybe as much as Chris Balgobin!
The downside is that specialty care is very strange-today I tried to call radiology to ask about what would be the best test to order and I couldn't talk to them-the receptionist was giving me a hard time. At home I would have no problem talking to them. It seems like specialist have a huge wall of protection around them-they don't educate patients or there primary doctors well about the plan yet toss them back to primary care for all there follow up. Today I asked a guy with adenocarcinoma of lung with mets to his brain if they had ever told him what his prognosis was and he said "no" but was planning to ask at the next consult. Wouldn't you as a Cancer Doc think the patient would want to know that!! Common sense should tell you yes. Also-say you see a specialist and they do some surgery or procedure and you have questions or concern about what happened-you can't just ring them up-you would have to come to primary care and get re-referred and they will see you in maybe 6 weeks. Here was another great example-I saw a guy with previous knee replacement by a local orthopedic a number of years prior who came in complaining of wanting his other knee evaluated by the local orthopod. He said the orthopod had tried to convince him to do the other knee as well but the patient said he wanted to hold out. He held out for like 7 years and when I referred him back to local orthopod because he could barely function on that leg the orthopod wrote me back a note-it said it doesn't sound like it is that bad and he can wait. I just about cracked a nut. It seems to be a game to deny first referral cause than if you really want them to be seen you re-refer them back. Nothing like needless paperwork. So-not all is great in a national health care system. But-I still think it is probably better than what we got.
Another thing that bothers me about healthcare that Kelly and I were talking about the other night is how to get insurance. I come to New Zealand and pay the taxes with my 2 year visa and I don't have to worry about if I get sick or have any unfortunate accident/illness. Yet when we go back home I will have to worry about getting insurance and likely if I get insurance I will still worry about how much it will cost if I get hurt/ill or whatever. I just the quality of life in the US with all people would be so much better if insurance wasn't such a burden-affordable comprehensive health insurance. I just wonder how many of us work for insurance, not the money!! You can't retire early cause we worry about insurance. I can't take my family on a long holiday cause I have to worry about insurance. I wanna come home and take a big road trip for 3-6 weeks and see the US but will I be able to afford insurance to allow me to do this? New Zealanders get I believe 4 weeks mandatory holiday plus there are 12 holidays/year. What is it like at home-2 weeks and you better not get sick cause that comes out of holiday/vacation time. Plus-is there really a holiday in the States anymore where things are closed. I just wish the people would come up with a plan for affordable health care-it is so nice to not have to worry about if my family will be taken care of! It is such BS that this is a political debate-I don't care what your beliefs are politically-I just think Americans deserve AFFORDABLE COMPREHENSIVE CARE and if you have to be patient to get that care-LEARN to LIVE with IT. It is better for all. In New Zealand you can buy insurance as well that gives you first class service and access but it costs extra.
All right, on to other things. Surfing. Although I have not been surfing as much during the winter-I could still get out there and surf if I wanted too. It is not that cold. First off surfing is a tough thing to learn. You see those individuals cut up the waves and think that looks easy-well get out there and try. It is tough. Kelly was in Hawaii and took some lessons to learn to surf and I was giving her soo much crap about the size of the waves-well I should eat my words-I was on the same size waves learning. I have gotten lots better but there is also bigger and stronger waves to catch. I am able to ride some green waves and am still working on riding the face of a wave/turning on the wave. I ride a long board currently and most of the surfing people see is on short boards-i doubt I will ever get to a short board but hope to ride a mini-mal board(short long board). It wasn't that long ago that the thought of swimming in open water much less the ocean terrified me. I am so proud of myself that I can now swim for miles in the open water without panicking and that I can go out in the ocean on my surfboard and not be terrified of sharks/fish/creatures getting me. I am really hoping Liam will do some white water surfing on my board this summer. I have done some surfing with an old North Memorial colleague-Bob Levine. That has been really fun cause we are of similar ability.
Weather-I can only saw the weather here is awesome. I don't know how I can live in Minnesota again-I don't want to move to San Diego or anything but something a little more reasonable than Minny.
Venison Wars-one of the most fascinating things I have heard about here is the Venison Wars of the 80's. A patient of mine was a part of this fascinating history where hunters would riding in helicopters with loaded semi-automatic rifles shooting deer out of the side of copters. They would have AK 47's with 20 round magazines taped together so he could pop one out and put the other in to shoot venison-he once shot 47 deer in 47 minutes. They were getting big money for the deer dead. Later they could get more for a live deer so they started shooting net guns on the deer-they could get 4-5000 for a deer. Can you imagine riding a chopper down over a deer and shooting a net gun onto the deer-jumping out wrapping up the deer and hauling it out alive to sell to farmers to raise more deer cause the meat was worth soo much. Needless to say the guy said it was very dangerous-choppers were going down frequently and the lifestyle was one of work hard/party hard. He is a very fascinating man-I am a little jealous. He brought me some venison this week-I hope to hunt with him as well.
Mail delivery-a job I kind of want here is to deliver the mail. they ride bikes everyday to deliver the mail. Probably not paid as well as I would want but I am envious.
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