Long time, no blog...

Long time, no update! Weeks later, I finally get internet at the flat here in Mildura. Not in my room though, have to come across to Sharon's for wireless access - we speculate it's probably the people immediately downstairs from her room who probably have the wireless router. Theoretically, I could sit outside and use it too, just that here where the average top temperature has been around 40 degrees Celsius, one would much rather be inside where there is air-conditioning. Thanks to our anonymous neighbours for having internet that we can piggyback on and use! ;p

This is my third week now of working here. Am working in the Emergency Department in this intriguing hospital - one of a rare breed of privately run public hospitals (who ever thought of such a system before?). The result of this arrangement is that we end up with a nicely furnished facility that looks quite homely, mismatched with an antiquated computer system (it took 10 minutes to recover when there was a power blackout) on which to get results, look up patient details etc. The ED work here is very much like a general practice mixed in with only the odd serious case (what would be far more commonplace in a big city hospital), since there are so few bulk-billing doctors here in Mildura. So we end up dealing with a lot of coughs, colds, cuts, and such like, we need to get adjusted to the mindset of sending a patient away from hospital with almost no intervention quite a lot of the time. As students in big city hospitals, we've become far more accustomed to admitting patients, giving drips, IV medications and fluids, operating, and having patients rapidly go downhill with hospital acquired infections, that sending the patient away having hardly done anything is actually quite a difficult thing to get the head around. That said, there have been several serious cases - some of mine have been admitted with surgical problems (e.g. two appendiceal abscesses, one with obstructive jaundice), and a couple with medical problems (one with atrial flutter, another was a lymphoma patient with anaemia for management). One patient I've had to transfer to Adelaide for further investigation, and one wanted to be transferred to the private hospital. Even the cushy furnishings of Mildura Base weren't luxurious enough - or perhaps the prospect of being examined and interviewed by students wasn't appealing.

Oh, that's another thing we've had to get used to. As interns, we now have some responsibility for the education of our future medical professionals (oh dear)! I have to say though, I quite enjoy having students to teach. They ask me questions, I supervise procedures, and at the same time I keep learning. They're very nice too - the two ED students are both Christians, whom I saw at Church on Sunday, and it's refreshing to see this side of their personality, a good reminder that they (and I) are not limited in our identity with the medical profession. Even the more senior doctors (the registrars, not the consultants) have been very sociable with us, we've been to several dinners, even the local Irish pub. One of the surgical registrars surprised me with a medical history including gout (likely alcohol-related) and his seemingly insatiable smoking habit. One of the consultant surgeons had been similar, but now chews gum in lieu of lighting up. His wife had died of smoking-related cancer of the lung.

So, what is there to do around Mildura? Small country town - yes. But the surroundings are rich with famous wineries, Lindeman's and Trentham Estate among them. Have a bottle of Lindeman's port here, waiting for the perfect dessert to accompany. And what better to accompany some of the country's finest wineries than some of the country's finest restaurants! Several decades ago, a man named Stefano de Pieri settled in Mildura and began cooking. His humble Italian restaurant became the talk of the town, and a restaurant became an empire. If you're enjoying fine food in one of Mildura's many restaurants, then chances are you're eating in one of Stefano's. The Avoca was our venue last Wednesday, an idyllic double decker boat on the Murray river, and the cuisine was quite special - fettucine Gorgonzola with antipasto, Barramundi from the river, and the softest crème caramel I've tasted - a real culinary delight. Then there is Stefano's itself, the pinnacle of dining in Mildura. That's for another time, and we will see whether the restaurant lives up to its boast as the only three-hat restaurant in the state outside of Melbourne.

When we're not working or eating, it's swimming. The heat here can be quite amazing. It was like going to Montréal, thinking we could handle the weather, and ending up spending several days inside because it was simply too cold. Likewise, here, we thought we could handle the Mildura heat - apart from the fact that it keeps topping the weather forecasts, we'd put up with 40+ degree days before in Melbourne. It couldn't be too bad. But coming here is another thing entirely, and 40+ for day after day with no relief is quite unbearable! Most of the days, thankfully, have been spent indoors one way or another. Many of them were spent working. But swimming can be done for $5 in the indoor pool (which would be considered quite a hot pool by most people's standards, but is really cool relief compared to the outdoor heat), or for free in the Murray River. The river is actually quite nice to swim in, apart from the fact that visibility is so short underwater. It's not the cleanest river around, but much better than the Yarra for sure! Still, there's often an influx of earache patients after a hot day - history of swimming in the river, ear pain. Luckily I have managed to escape the otitis externa so far.

Have seven and a half weeks left here. Mostly things have been enjoyable so far, but not always. Sometimes I'm bored. Sometimes it's lonely. Sometimes I feel like breaking and sleeping and not waking up for weeks. Or going on a long drive back to Melbourne for not much reason at all. And I miss Sal heaps. Sometimes all I want is her smile, her presence, to hug her. But I know that God will carry me through. We've survived so far, and at least we can look forward to seeing one another again.

Enough for one blog. Hope to write again soon. Til next time, God bless!