...while on placement in SA. i had some free time during the days because my patients were sleeping, or seeing someone else, or...not available...so heres some thoughts put together in the form of poetry.
yes. jan knowles does poetry.
Why oh why does it take so long?
Any other day
I probably wouldn't mind
The thing is,
I just want to get it over and done with
No more waiting.
Good stuff.
(written possibly in relation to treating the patient who swore at me a lot.)
People think physios only walk people
Help them back to health.
You see, there's more
So much more to
It that than. i find it hard.
Oh, to be in the NIAS*
(written after a tough day,i appear to have been thinking that a paramedic would be an easy job in comparison...)
*NIAS- Northern Ireland Ambulance Service
Burns, horrible things
Ugly, sometimes, if i'm honest.
Really hard to deal with-
Not just for the kid but for the parents and
Siblings. And the physio too.
(reflecting on time spent in the burns ward.)
Simple things. you think everyone would have them.
Hard ground,
Over stones, down mountains
Everybody needs shoes.
Simple.
(after seeing the amount of parents on the wards who don't have shoes, and after seeing girls in very inappropriate shoes walking down Table Mountain.)
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Thursday, 12 July 2007
A sad, sad story
one day, long ago a friend gave me a teddy bear, a bear who is the mascot of a camp i go to. it was called broney, and we became inseparable. so broney came with to south africa, and had a great trip.
until oudtshoorn. in all the excitement with the ostriches and the cango caves, i accidentally left broney behind in the hostel.
i only realised this on the road from oudtshoorn to cape town, and of course by that time it was too late.
i am working through the loss and have made a "photo tribute" to help me through.
until oudtshoorn. in all the excitement with the ostriches and the cango caves, i accidentally left broney behind in the hostel.
i only realised this on the road from oudtshoorn to cape town, and of course by that time it was too late.
i am working through the loss and have made a "photo tribute" to help me through.
the end
home.
stayed at the ashanti lodge again on monday night (i stayed there the first night i arrived in cape town 6 weeks ago) and on tuesday after a little lie in i got up to go to Groote Schuur to see the heart transplant museum. so i walked about 25 mins or so through cape town to the train station and hopped on the train to mowbray. my ticket was R11, which is less than £1 (R14= £1 approx). arrived in mowbray ( just down the round from the (flea infected)house we stayed in for 4 weeks. walked another 15 mins to groote schuur and after walking round the main building for a wee while i eventualklly found a sign telling me that the museum was in the old building. so off i went to the old building and found a security man who asked if he could help me. i said, surely-i am looking for the museum. and he told me" i am sorry it is closed for renovations.it will be open again in september, though"
dammit.
so after taking some pics of the hospital (its quite big and beautiful) i decided to head for the train as i had to make it back to centre of cape town to meet my friend. so i though- mowbray was far away, the observatory stop is surely closer.
25 mins later i am still walking (in the right direction) but no observatory station is to be found. so i asked a nice man in a shoe shop. apparently i had walked from mowbray right thru observatory and i was now in salt river. so he directed me to the station. after missing the first train in salt river (due to being on the wrong platform- there was only 6 or 7 to chose from- i chose wrongly) i got back to cape town and walked to long street to meet my friend.
and i met her on long street and we had coffee. this is particularly strange and surreal as i know her from glasgow, yet we were both in cape town, at the same time but for completely diff reasons. so we talked and had coffee and then had some more and then we all piled in her dads car and they took us to the airport.
2 flights later, i am home. we were delayed from our first flight so while i made it onto the 2nd one, my luggage didn't- it got the next flight, all on its own.
so alls back and safe, and its strange being in a place where there are lots of clouds, huge bonfires and natural light until after 10pm at night.
good times.
stayed at the ashanti lodge again on monday night (i stayed there the first night i arrived in cape town 6 weeks ago) and on tuesday after a little lie in i got up to go to Groote Schuur to see the heart transplant museum. so i walked about 25 mins or so through cape town to the train station and hopped on the train to mowbray. my ticket was R11, which is less than £1 (R14= £1 approx). arrived in mowbray ( just down the round from the (flea infected)house we stayed in for 4 weeks. walked another 15 mins to groote schuur and after walking round the main building for a wee while i eventualklly found a sign telling me that the museum was in the old building. so off i went to the old building and found a security man who asked if he could help me. i said, surely-i am looking for the museum. and he told me" i am sorry it is closed for renovations.it will be open again in september, though"
dammit.
so after taking some pics of the hospital (its quite big and beautiful) i decided to head for the train as i had to make it back to centre of cape town to meet my friend. so i though- mowbray was far away, the observatory stop is surely closer.
25 mins later i am still walking (in the right direction) but no observatory station is to be found. so i asked a nice man in a shoe shop. apparently i had walked from mowbray right thru observatory and i was now in salt river. so he directed me to the station. after missing the first train in salt river (due to being on the wrong platform- there was only 6 or 7 to chose from- i chose wrongly) i got back to cape town and walked to long street to meet my friend.
and i met her on long street and we had coffee. this is particularly strange and surreal as i know her from glasgow, yet we were both in cape town, at the same time but for completely diff reasons. so we talked and had coffee and then had some more and then we all piled in her dads car and they took us to the airport.
2 flights later, i am home. we were delayed from our first flight so while i made it onto the 2nd one, my luggage didn't- it got the next flight, all on its own.
so alls back and safe, and its strange being in a place where there are lots of clouds, huge bonfires and natural light until after 10pm at night.
good times.
Monday, 9 July 2007
The Home Straight...
...almost.
yesterday was spent in Oudsthoorn which is most famous for its ostriches and its caves- both of which we paid a visit to. now, i'll admit, i wasn't keen on going to the caves.... cos really- they sound a bit boring, eh? well actually when we got there, i enjoyed our tour and i was even a little bit impressed. not able to fully understand though how it takes 100 years for a stalactite to grow 3-5mm- this, when coupled with the sheer size of them must mean the world is indeed a very old place. did you know that any rock formations under 8000 years old are considered young?? also, ostrich eggs are really really strong but don't taste that good when scrambled (had them for brekkie). also ostrich meat doesn't taste that good (in my opinion) and only one pair of shoes can be made from an ostrich skin.
then we travelled back to cape town- on the bus from 2pm to 9pm. we did watch oceans 11, the negeotiator (which was surprisingly good) and varsity blues along the way so it didn't seem so long.
i am well and truly replused by fast food now, as its pretty much all we've eaten. well, that and rusks (which aren't just for babies over here you know). when we spend so much time on the bus, the only places we stop for food are petrol stations with adjoining KFC's/ McD's/ WIMPY/Steers... fast food a'plenty.
so tomorrow is a final day in cape town.am planning to visit Groote Schuur (pronounced groot-ey skewer- if you're interested) hospital tomorrow so see the museum from the worlds first ever heart transplant. the patient died 18 days after the transplant, but i am pleased to report that it was from lung complications, the actual heart was fine. apparently.
and then flying tomorrow night... provided everything goes well i will be back on wed morn.
ma and da- dont forget to pick me up please :o)
jamie- can't believe it took you 6 weeks to find the blog. no present for u.
yesterday was spent in Oudsthoorn which is most famous for its ostriches and its caves- both of which we paid a visit to. now, i'll admit, i wasn't keen on going to the caves.... cos really- they sound a bit boring, eh? well actually when we got there, i enjoyed our tour and i was even a little bit impressed. not able to fully understand though how it takes 100 years for a stalactite to grow 3-5mm- this, when coupled with the sheer size of them must mean the world is indeed a very old place. did you know that any rock formations under 8000 years old are considered young?? also, ostrich eggs are really really strong but don't taste that good when scrambled (had them for brekkie). also ostrich meat doesn't taste that good (in my opinion) and only one pair of shoes can be made from an ostrich skin.
then we travelled back to cape town- on the bus from 2pm to 9pm. we did watch oceans 11, the negeotiator (which was surprisingly good) and varsity blues along the way so it didn't seem so long.
i am well and truly replused by fast food now, as its pretty much all we've eaten. well, that and rusks (which aren't just for babies over here you know). when we spend so much time on the bus, the only places we stop for food are petrol stations with adjoining KFC's/ McD's/ WIMPY/Steers... fast food a'plenty.
so tomorrow is a final day in cape town.am planning to visit Groote Schuur (pronounced groot-ey skewer- if you're interested) hospital tomorrow so see the museum from the worlds first ever heart transplant. the patient died 18 days after the transplant, but i am pleased to report that it was from lung complications, the actual heart was fine. apparently.
and then flying tomorrow night... provided everything goes well i will be back on wed morn.
ma and da- dont forget to pick me up please :o)
jamie- can't believe it took you 6 weeks to find the blog. no present for u.
Saturday, 7 July 2007
sea, sand and... surf
currently in jeffreys bay (or J-Bay) as we like to call it... the place is heaving with surfer types, and if we were here for a couple more days we'd see the start of the Billabong Pro Supertubes surf competition, which is literraly taking place outside our ffront window....
so generally feeling a bit fraudulant as we are pretending to be those surfer types aswell- not actually surfing, of course, that would require too much effort, but by walking about in flip flops buying surf clothes from factory outlets ( we took a trip to billabong, quicksilver AND rip curl today... but iactually didnt buy much).
we are just here for one day so tomorrow its off to george (one day)then to cape town. and then home. i would def come back to SA- theres so much to see *and the worlds highest bungee jump- but i cant imagine ill be doing that. ever.
its amazing how much the countryside changes= one minute your walking thru dry dry land ( or Savanna as they like to call it - they also have cider by the same name) and the next your in the rainforest. good times!
so i will tell you Short Safari Stories as and when i rememebr them. i hope i havent told you this one already...
it all started on our first night which was spent at the drifters private game lodge , just outside kruger park. we were in "tents". now these tents were actually pure luxury, big enought for 2 actual beds, and an ensuite. yes- ensuite. so earlier, after thje braai (not to be confused with a bbq, rememebr!) the rangers were telling us how the babboons like to get into the bathrooms when your going to the toilet, cos theres a hole in the roof and they like to surprise you. (actually, this story is not goin where you think it is). so, that night, when it was dark, and you could hear the hyena in the distance, my roomy (ailie) and myself were slowly falling asleep. in the small hours, we were rudely awoken by a noise whihc was freakishly close.... like... IN our tent close.... i actually cant describe how scared i was... so this noise continued... and was quite loud, so loud we both woke up and wondrerd, do we turn on the light? i sed no, as we would then have to confront whatever was in our tent. ignorance is bliss,. or so i thought. we fell asleep. about 30 mins later, the noise starts again. loudly. in our tent.i was lying rigid in my bed, the only part of my moving was my left thumb which was violently twitching. so we thought, lets turn the light on. so i, as prepared as always, got my torch and flicked it on...
o wot joy, theres nothing actually inside our sleeping quarters. the noise remained though and it appeared to be coming from the bathroom. of course, we checked under teh beds first before assuming it was in the b athroom. so, satisfied that we were the only things in our living area, we tried to slepp again. the npoise continued. eventually, at what we thought was a reasonable hour (5.30- we couldnt sleep) we got up , avoided the bathroom- even thoug i had needed to go since 4.00) and went to the tent next door to use their bathroom....
we can only sassume taht it was the babboon that night, but seriously, so scared that i did have irrational thoughts such as : can lions undo tent zips? will i die of a heart attack b4 it eats me, or will it be terribly traumatic? do i actually know God so will i be going to heaven?
the next night, in the same tents, we heard the noise againbut we had set up a sort of contraption to ensure the babbon couldn't get from bathroom to bedroom. in the middle of the night ailie asked again to check with the torhc, in my slumber i assured her that nothing could get into our tent. with my impeccable timing, as soon as i said this, the tent zip undid a little bit....
and in walked a fairly big mouse. this didnt scare us, it drove us to delirious laughter.
if you didnt laugh, you'd cry. definately.
(it was not the mouse in the bathroom,,,,it was def something bigger!)
so generally feeling a bit fraudulant as we are pretending to be those surfer types aswell- not actually surfing, of course, that would require too much effort, but by walking about in flip flops buying surf clothes from factory outlets ( we took a trip to billabong, quicksilver AND rip curl today... but iactually didnt buy much).
we are just here for one day so tomorrow its off to george (one day)then to cape town. and then home. i would def come back to SA- theres so much to see *and the worlds highest bungee jump- but i cant imagine ill be doing that. ever.
its amazing how much the countryside changes= one minute your walking thru dry dry land ( or Savanna as they like to call it - they also have cider by the same name) and the next your in the rainforest. good times!
so i will tell you Short Safari Stories as and when i rememebr them. i hope i havent told you this one already...
it all started on our first night which was spent at the drifters private game lodge , just outside kruger park. we were in "tents". now these tents were actually pure luxury, big enought for 2 actual beds, and an ensuite. yes- ensuite. so earlier, after thje braai (not to be confused with a bbq, rememebr!) the rangers were telling us how the babboons like to get into the bathrooms when your going to the toilet, cos theres a hole in the roof and they like to surprise you. (actually, this story is not goin where you think it is). so, that night, when it was dark, and you could hear the hyena in the distance, my roomy (ailie) and myself were slowly falling asleep. in the small hours, we were rudely awoken by a noise whihc was freakishly close.... like... IN our tent close.... i actually cant describe how scared i was... so this noise continued... and was quite loud, so loud we both woke up and wondrerd, do we turn on the light? i sed no, as we would then have to confront whatever was in our tent. ignorance is bliss,. or so i thought. we fell asleep. about 30 mins later, the noise starts again. loudly. in our tent.i was lying rigid in my bed, the only part of my moving was my left thumb which was violently twitching. so we thought, lets turn the light on. so i, as prepared as always, got my torch and flicked it on...
o wot joy, theres nothing actually inside our sleeping quarters. the noise remained though and it appeared to be coming from the bathroom. of course, we checked under teh beds first before assuming it was in the b athroom. so, satisfied that we were the only things in our living area, we tried to slepp again. the npoise continued. eventually, at what we thought was a reasonable hour (5.30- we couldnt sleep) we got up , avoided the bathroom- even thoug i had needed to go since 4.00) and went to the tent next door to use their bathroom....
we can only sassume taht it was the babboon that night, but seriously, so scared that i did have irrational thoughts such as : can lions undo tent zips? will i die of a heart attack b4 it eats me, or will it be terribly traumatic? do i actually know God so will i be going to heaven?
the next night, in the same tents, we heard the noise againbut we had set up a sort of contraption to ensure the babbon couldn't get from bathroom to bedroom. in the middle of the night ailie asked again to check with the torhc, in my slumber i assured her that nothing could get into our tent. with my impeccable timing, as soon as i said this, the tent zip undid a little bit....
and in walked a fairly big mouse. this didnt scare us, it drove us to delirious laughter.
if you didnt laugh, you'd cry. definately.
(it was not the mouse in the bathroom,,,,it was def something bigger!)
Thursday, 5 July 2007
oh my what a long time since an update...
apologies for the wait, but, at last, here's an update!
so at the moment we're in port elizabeth. we got the bazbus from port st johns yesterday and it was a hellish 10 or so hours. so far all we've done in PE is sleep. but we'll do something exciting later im sure.
i'll work backwards so i dont miss anything out.
port st johns...
what a beautiful place- all beaches and cloudless blue skies. fantastic. at first a bit intimidating, as (apart from others staying at the backpackers) we were actually the only white people there. the place is really really not developed at all- i couldn't even buy a postcard there, its not a big holiday destination. im really not doing it justice! beautiful place, enjoyed some hikes up some waterfalls and the like. wewere there for 2 nights.
before that was durban.
awful. luckily we were only there for one night and left v early next morning. was nearly dark by the time we got there so had to just order in pizza and play pool all night. its a hard life. actually was v scared in durban, we weren't in a good area at all! *(dont panic ma, we didnteven consider ogin out)
beforedurban was drakensberg for 2 nights which was abs fantastic, its away up in the mountains. wedid some biking,spent a day in lesotho (wikipedia it) and played some more pool
before that was joberg for a night.... not fun...
safari was before that, but im out of internet time now so ill leave that for another time... suffice to say we saw some interesting things and had some very interesting experiences :o)
good times.
so at the moment we're in port elizabeth. we got the bazbus from port st johns yesterday and it was a hellish 10 or so hours. so far all we've done in PE is sleep. but we'll do something exciting later im sure.
i'll work backwards so i dont miss anything out.
port st johns...
what a beautiful place- all beaches and cloudless blue skies. fantastic. at first a bit intimidating, as (apart from others staying at the backpackers) we were actually the only white people there. the place is really really not developed at all- i couldn't even buy a postcard there, its not a big holiday destination. im really not doing it justice! beautiful place, enjoyed some hikes up some waterfalls and the like. wewere there for 2 nights.
before that was durban.
awful. luckily we were only there for one night and left v early next morning. was nearly dark by the time we got there so had to just order in pizza and play pool all night. its a hard life. actually was v scared in durban, we weren't in a good area at all! *(dont panic ma, we didnteven consider ogin out)
beforedurban was drakensberg for 2 nights which was abs fantastic, its away up in the mountains. wedid some biking,spent a day in lesotho (wikipedia it) and played some more pool
before that was joberg for a night.... not fun...
safari was before that, but im out of internet time now so ill leave that for another time... suffice to say we saw some interesting things and had some very interesting experiences :o)
good times.
Saturday, 23 June 2007
FINISHED!
placements successfully completed: 1
flea bites sustained by living in skanky student accom. during said placement:34
we are done. and passed. and now in joburg and leaving for kruger park tomorrow, hurrah!
it certainly was an interesting 4 weeks, i think i enjoyed learning about the burns most. very interesting although as one of the physio asked me, will i really use much of that knowledge back home?
so will not get a chance to update the blog over next 5 days as will be tracking the big 5, sleeping in stilted huts and observing the watering holes...
i have changed the setting so now you can leave a comment without having to sign up to the blogger site- so please leave me a comment or 2!
flea bites sustained by living in skanky student accom. during said placement:34
we are done. and passed. and now in joburg and leaving for kruger park tomorrow, hurrah!
it certainly was an interesting 4 weeks, i think i enjoyed learning about the burns most. very interesting although as one of the physio asked me, will i really use much of that knowledge back home?
so will not get a chance to update the blog over next 5 days as will be tracking the big 5, sleeping in stilted huts and observing the watering holes...
i have changed the setting so now you can leave a comment without having to sign up to the blogger site- so please leave me a comment or 2!
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