Action Time

Strewth!

It has been a long and slow last two weeks, but not so much in a bad kind of way. Since my husband Ewin arrived in the States three days after my accident, he had been on hand to help with everything. It was great to have his company and help. But we had no real agenda, so when we decided to book flights home we were so surprised to calculate that he had only been in the States for nine days! It felt much longer, but in a good way.

The decision to come home, and then arrange it so quickly were for three main reasons:

1) there were some serious challenges to receiving health care in the US, despite fantastic assistance by my health insurer (ACE Assistance, underwritten by Willis - and totally brilliant. Aussie travellers should use this mob in future) and the team doctor (Dr Matt Marchal from Richmond, VA). At every stage there was a challenge, and the straw that broke the camels back (ha!) was a comment from a surgeon who seemed to totally back away from the idea of surgery once it was known to him that I was diabetic. I could see the mountains piling higher and higher. Yes, they could be overcome, but how could I quickly get on board an endocrinologist, trusted by both the surgeon and myself, to step in and say that I am okay to operate on? A bloody hard ask in a short period of time. It went on from there: how to get someone to oversee both back and shoulder injuries and not treat them individually, how to arrange physio, how to organise rehab, etc etc.

Time was also an issue. It was 8 days before we got to see the first ortho, then another 4 before the second ortho, and then a further 5 days before the subsequent follow up, and still no date set for surgery.

2) my Mum's birthday. She turned 60 on Friday and was having a small gathering with a few friends on the farm on the Saturday night. I knew it wasn't a big thing, but sitting in the States not doing much (the original schedule had me racing a stage race during this time), and thinking about coming home....led to the generation of a few ideas. Why stay here? Why not go home? And if I am going to go home, then why not make it in time for mum's birthday celebrations?

3) my Endo. I called him at the start of the week to explain some of the situation and what was needed in the first instance. His response was simply, 'Just come home. Just come home'.

So we did.

We knew the last possible flight out of the US to make it to Mum's birthday was Thursday evening, so we booked that - in under 48 hours from the decision to depart. Seating was a bit of a challenge, but explaining to surrounding passengers that my back was broken and that I needed some help from my husband enabled us to be seated together. That and the promise of using our feet space to accommodate extra luggage from inconvenienced passengers.

The first flight - 5 and a half hours from Philly to LA - was long and uncomfortable. I couldn't sleep and was really sore.

We had some massive delays at LA due to the plane requiring a replacement fuel pump and re-testing. By then the pain drugs had kicked in, and we sat by the departure gate, with me in my wheelchair, my head drooping off to sleep.

Ewin and I both managed to upgrade to Business Class and we were so grateful we did. Being able to stretch out and lie flat was a blessing, and I slept really well now that I could alleviate the pain in the back. Having Ewin on hand was also very helpful, even for little tasks such as cutting up food and dressing. He didn't sleep so well though.

We were again delayed at Sydney and had to clear customs and immigration in Sydney, then fly domestic to Melbourne. This was an additional pain in the arse as we were also carrying three bikes, two suitcases, a backpack, laptop bag, camera bag, handbag and x rays. I could carry the x rays and the handbag on the wheelchair; the rest, well... lucky for airport staff assistance!

Mum and Dad were not at all surprised when we rocked up - super tired - Saturday night. I guess we had already discussed the prospect of returning home, and I did try to text mum on her birthday, but the fact she hadn't heard from me gave her an idea that something was up. But they were of course very happy to see us even though we went to bed early and slept through most of the merriment.

We returned to Melbourne Sunday night in the hope of kicking off some action for recovery for this week. We assumed we would be starting from scratch again: a wait for an appoint with an ortho, follow up appoints, and then booking a date for surgery.

It was welcome news this morning to have my endo call and say he was getting a bed for us at hospital for tonight. So, we are off! It was certainly worth the trip home. Even the US schedule and the distance covered so far with them would not have beaten this.

Until more news, thanks for listening to the ramble.

M