Updates

So it’s been quite a while since I last updated the blog. what has happened since?

Well I’m finally out of hospital. it took a while infact it took a full 2 months and i was probably released too soon. The first week was a real struggle not made any easier by the fact that Stuart wasn’t able to take much time off work sadly. This was down to them being really busy and the fact that he had had the days off the previous week because we had booked two nights away a long time ago and still wanted to go despite me being in rehab as an inpatient. Luckily I was able to get a weekend pass and we were able to go.

So kangaroo valley was our destination. It’s only 2 hours from home, but Stuart had to collect me from hospital first and that was in the other direction completely. Typical. And so we set out for this completely off the grid cabin to have a couple of nights together for the first time in nearly two months. We didn’t have any idea on what to expect other than from a few photographs. That’s the whole idea behind the concept. But for us if we only really one difference, the electricity was off grid as well as everything else. At home the only on grid service we have is the electricity supply. We also didn’t know exactly where we were going to either. Ordinarily this would not have been an issue but with me still heavily reliant on the wheelchair and technically still in hospital it just added to the pressure. We made the decision to try to get there in a much daylight as possible. Check in was anytime after 3pm which helped. We were to get there in plenty of time luckily. We made sure we had plenty to spare which meant we were able to stop off along the way and dip our toes into the sea, sorry ocean.

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That might was a cold starry night with a full moon. In fact the moon was so bight, it was to trick the sensors for the solar electricity supply into thinking that they were charging (which I guess they probably were) and turn off the electricity in the cabin. Luckily the cabin is built with maximum views in mind so plenty of moonlight was to get in and allow you to see inside when it was dark. An early night was called for, we were both exhausted.

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The next day was to bring a bright sunny day with some cloud. We had decided to visit a place called Fitzroy Falls in Kangaroo Valley. The road there was an interesting one. We had dropped to sea level yesterday, then climbed back up before starting a descent on the correct road. Today we were to finish that descent and then the road climbed very dramatically with numerous hairpin bends and the odd glimpse of a view but not much. Nothing for a driver because one look the wrong way and you could be over an edge with a long drop…

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In addition there were no viewing places which was a shame. It was too come as a surprise to both of us exactly how far we had climbed (well over 1,000m or 3,500 feet) and how quickly. Fitzroy Falls also came as a surprise and a nice one at that. We were expecting a small waterfall, something not that impressive. We don’t know why, but we were. It isn’t a small waterfall. In fact is one of those waterfalls where is hard to say exactly where it lands for two reasons. The first being it’s so far down that seeing down there is difficult (safely) and two, it doesn’t really land in a constant supply of concept because it’s windy and unless it isn’t the fine mist the water becomes on its long drop, just gets blown away. It’s one of those waterfalls. It was great watching it whilst Stuart went to see if we could get the wheelchair any further along the path. We could at a push, so did.

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On the way back to the car we were to get a chance to see a lyrebird. And a male one at that. In fact we didn’t realise that a bird I had seen the previous day was also a one. Luckily a noticeboard was to let us know a lot more information. It was a Superb Lyrebird. We stayed around watching and waiting quietly and were rewarded with a view of several males and one of the females. The photos we got though didn’t do it any justice. Listening to the males’ song was much more interesting though and yes, they mimic other sounds very realistically.

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In the afternoon, we went back to Nowra to go around the fleet air arm museum. I didn’t quite manage all of it though but that just left a chance to return at another date. I was pretty exhausted by now despite being in the wheelchair and it was time to return to the cabin for our second and final night there before returning me to the hospital.

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The following morning we took a different route home gibing us a chance to see a little more of the area.
The subsequent weekend was to see me discharged from hospital, eventually. It felt like it took a long time. But the Ellen’s was a quiet one. The stay near to Kangaroo Valley had taken a lot out of me and I needed to rest. The following weeks were occupied with physio at home and mostly me sleeping. I was to get physio coming to see me at home a few times, so home help and some equipment from hospital to make life easier bit it had been surprisingly hard adapting to life at home again. I didn’t recognise some of the chicks I had left 2 months earlier who were now fully grown chooks, in particular one called Jessie who is rather friendly and was to spend a lot of her time just sitting on the veranda with me. Add the weather warmed up, I was to be able to spend more and more time on the veranda but still needed to rest in the afternoons. It has taken quite a long period of time to get back to being able to cook any meals again, look after my chooks or even consider gardening or cleaning.