Lots of lows and highs to be sure.
My own personal stuff was pretty much focused around health issues. Having experienced 4 outings for hospital treatment.
First up was pneumonia out of the blue just a few days after I rode with Lance Armstrong in a fund raiser event for Flood victims. Luckily the overnighter in Logan Hospital to get some drip feeds into my depleted body was short and sweet.
Pneumonia was a bummer which took nearly 3 months to fully recover from but then I was fine. I was getting to be get strong again. The prostate thing however was NOT going to go away . And I had the opportunity to enter Mater Public for a TURP procedure which appeared to be the right thing to do. Hopefully before the ugly bloody thing squeezed off my urethra feed completely.
While all this was going Matt attempted a football comeback just a little bit early and busted his left Achilles. Off he went to hospital for a full plaster encasement . Not 48 hrs later when not quite right in the head he proceeded to do the unthinkable and busted his right Achilles which required an ambulance and hospitalization for a few days until all things emotional and physical settled down. Later he was allowed to go home in a wheelchair and into the care of his family.
Sentence 3-4 months !! Matthew was a ward NOT of the state but of his loving benevolent family.
During this time Charity remained stoic and was upgrading her qualifications by taking up position as Clinical Nurse with Blue Care. This was a steep learning curve especially in the area of computers and software. I think we can now say she has accomplished this and has become a bit of a Apple Techo-nerdie !
I suffered a painful relapse with the turp and had to go back into Mater via Logan Hospital and the most painful ambulance motorway ride imaginable. Back at Mater things weren't going to good either until an aging Consultant Specialist gave the young M.D registrars a good burst of his knowledge. Result... back into surgery to get it sorted and thank goodness a week later I was back home and looking dangerous.
September was approaching and that meant a big milestone for our youngest and dearest Sara-Jane who would turn 21. Several options were mooted but as Charity celebrated her 21st in Queenstown , NZ we thought it would be nice and cool for SJ to turn 21 in Queenstown as well.
I got busy checking out fares, accommodation, transport and all the titbits. Charity refused to fly into Christchurch and I discovered daily flights Brisbane to Dunedin. September was outside high season and I was able to get the four of us return (Virgin blue) for about $1280. When my mate Al at Waikouaiti (near Dunedin) offered a rental free Ford Falcon the deal was too good to refuse.
Keeping it under wraps from SJ was a problem and a number of times her surprise birthday gift looked like slipping out as departure day neared.
Matt was able to shed his moon boots just days before our departure to NZ but was still pretty ginger in getting around, there would be no skiing for him.
But all went well and the family had a great time bonding and celebrating in NZ. Queenstown turned on some nice sunny cool weather but we got out and about every day and generally had a ball. The only downer was both Charity and Matt suffered from a flu bug and had expensive visits to the outpatients at the local hospital. I managed to avoid all these bugs until the last day and flight home when I too succumbed. The veg amongst us, ie SJ, just cruised along and was fine.
Back to the humdrum of Brisbane urban life it was hard adjust. Matt desperately looking for work, Charity and SJ back into work head first. And I was just doing my usual trivial stuff and domestic duties. I had casually looked at real estate prices whilst in NZ and there did seem to be some bargains around compared to the over inflated Aussie market. In a rare moment of clarity thinking between Charity and myself we agreed it could be a good option/investment,especially as our superfunds continued to nose dive.
We were impressed by the small town of Waikouaiti, populated approx 3000 and just 35 min scenic drive from Dunedin on Highway 1 north. This town has a long history as the 1st white settlement in the south island. A lovely white sandy bay and much much more with the advantage our friends the Littles lived there and could check out any potential house sales.
I started looking on the net and found some possibilities, one in particular listed privately on Trademe (Nz equivalent of Ebay) caught our eye. Solid brick 3 brm 60's cottage bit run down but Al reported nothing drastic. And so it was after some negotiation a deal was struck, all very simple and not even stamp duty to worry about ! We celebrated our bargain and before I could scratch myself I was booking a cheap airfare ($170 Virgin blue) to Dunedin mid November. Charity's younger brother had arrived for a 3 month stint and I quickly got him trained up on essential chores at home . Marsden proved a quick and eager learner.
The plan for Waikouaiti being that I would move in and get the place ship shape before inviting the family and friends. The weather was heating up in Brisbane and the thought of a cooler summer in NZ was very pleasing. The household was hotting up as well and by coincidence by Matt (new Mining Job with Century) and myself both flew out of Brisbane within a few hours of each other. Each to our own private challenges and the unknown of the greater world.
I wasn't disappointed on my arrival and dispatch (courtesy Al Little) to Waikouaiti it was like a white Xmas. A freaky hail storm covered the ground and the temp was about 8 deg. The first days were cold and the house was bleak and quite grotty. Thank goodness Al delivered me plenty of fire wood. I think I spent sometime thinking what have I done ? The nearly 1/2 acre lot was severely overgrown but again Al came to the rescue with mower and weed-snipper. A lot of hard yakka mowing at least had my front widow view looking a lot better.
The previous owners had left frig,washer and 4 seater couch for my convenience and this was appreciated as these items were much used in the next week or so I endeavoured to get some plan into action. Of course with much pressure going on I needed some recreation outlet and my trusty Gitane road bike was there to ride anytime the weather was good enough to leave my plastic chair near the wood fire. I completed the ride to Palmerston which is a small town with a few different shops just 16 km north on highway several times in the first 3 weeks. I found this a most pleasant ride and I was riding very strong on this most scenic but sometime busy route. My consistent best time was about 35 min on the Gitane.
I was starting to make some small inroads on the house renovation scene with some painting and scrub clearing. Some small outlay for a new bed, table and chairs made me feel a bit more cheerful. December 2 (my birthday) come and went with a nice dinner at the local pub dining room. Accompanied by Alan and Marj I was able to invite them home for coffee which was gratifying. I had had had a good week out in the fresh air harvesting fire wood with Al and completing good rides but disaster was looming.
After a fairly cold morning ride on the Tues 5th Dec I pulled a bit sore nothing dramatic but annoying back and groin pain. However the pain persisted and got worse and by Sunday 11th I took the opportunity to go with Marj (who works at Dunedin Hospital) to visit outpatients at the Public hospital. After about 40 minutes I was admitted for exploratory tests. The blood tests weren't that good and during Xray had a full blown chill attack almost bouncing of the table with severe shaking later that night my temp went skyrocking the other direction. What was going on I had no idea but I was admitted into ...ward and was learning to be a patient patient again...frustrating !
Five days later I was out after a heavy drip course of antibiotics and constant pain killers. The prescription I was given was of 5 different pills mainly painkillers as I was still in lots of back pain. The official line was that I had some sort of bowel infection that was and is causing the referred pain in groin and lower back. My opinion was that is was and is just "old fashioned back strain" undefined, that has inflicted me on several times over the years. I was mystified at the hospital that I could never get a physio to give an opinion on a muscular/skeleton condition.
Well I was out for Xmas which was a plus and the bus driver was so good he drove me to my front door and unloaded my baggage on the door stop !
During all this Charity has agreed that a nice new off-road gentleman type cycle would be a nice Xmas gift for me. And this I agreed and at first opportunity I headed back to Dunedin and picked up the bike that would get me out of the grumpies and back on the road to resume my own brand of back rehab.
Xmas time was tinged with very mixed feelings. it was the first time we the family had not been together in a long time. Matt had arrived home after a long work stint in the outback heat. Charity was working as usual so it a pretty disjointed day. I headed off to Alan and Marj’s home for Xmas dinner (very nice too) and I was able to get a good Skype video connection to chat with them all back in Brissy. Not as good as being there but pretty good anyway!
As I write this with only a few days till 2012 the the days are warming up, my back pain is receding and my optimism is growing that 2012 will be the best year ever.
I still need to knock this shack into a nice retreat but cant wait to get the family over to enjoy what this small village of Waikouaiti has to offer.
I wish you all a very healthy,happy and peaceful 2012.
Ken ....Waikouaiti 2011
