Monday, September 29, 2008
ALL ABOUT KNOWING YER ARSE FROM YER ELBOW......
I saw my pelvis surgeon last week, just for a routine review. I popped into radiology, once again got irradiated in the nether regions and made my way to his surgery. Max is a gun surgeon with a very straight up almost manic manner of discussing things medical, but combined with a subtle yet dry sense of humour. Upon walking into the surgery he immediately had to ask why my left arm was in a sling.
"You know how you said I should ride a bike to strengthen up my legs?"
"Yes."
"Well, I did. And I fell off and broke my elbow."
"OK, go back and get it x-rayed and come back."
So off I went back to radiology, and this time got my elbow irradiated. I walked back to Max's surgery, once again clutching a bag of films and presented them to him. He confirmed that there was indeed a fracture there and that I should remove the sling immediately and start moving the elbow in order to keep the joint mobile. Since then I have been pushing it out straight, squeezing it closed and rotating the forearm. I still can't get it straight or fully closed and I'm hoping that the pain is worth it in these exercises, but I'm really hoping I'll regain full mobility.
I might sound like I'm whinging a bit, and that may be the case, but I'm more annoyed than anything else. Annoyed at myself for doing it in the first place and annoyed at the fact that I can't use it for anything. Max instructed me not to drive for 4 weeks from the fracture date and not to use it for any lifting or straining. That sort of rules out its use in any meaningful manner. It hasn't stopped me shooting though and last weekend I spent a couple of days at the farm belonging to Snorkmaiden's folks where amongst other things I witnessed my first mulesing at a neighbouring merino farm.
This does not look like a very pleasant thing to go through if you're a sheep and it certainly put my sore elbow into perspective. I'd rather have a sore elbow than have the skin around my arse cut away.
Got photos too but unless someone specifically asks I will refrain from posting them for now.
Speaking of photos, I entered a pic in a competition at Brunswick Street Gallery and although I didn't win, I did make the short list and received and invitation to exhibit my photographs either late this year or next year.
.
"You know how you said I should ride a bike to strengthen up my legs?"
"Yes."
"Well, I did. And I fell off and broke my elbow."
"OK, go back and get it x-rayed and come back."
So off I went back to radiology, and this time got my elbow irradiated. I walked back to Max's surgery, once again clutching a bag of films and presented them to him. He confirmed that there was indeed a fracture there and that I should remove the sling immediately and start moving the elbow in order to keep the joint mobile. Since then I have been pushing it out straight, squeezing it closed and rotating the forearm. I still can't get it straight or fully closed and I'm hoping that the pain is worth it in these exercises, but I'm really hoping I'll regain full mobility.
I might sound like I'm whinging a bit, and that may be the case, but I'm more annoyed than anything else. Annoyed at myself for doing it in the first place and annoyed at the fact that I can't use it for anything. Max instructed me not to drive for 4 weeks from the fracture date and not to use it for any lifting or straining. That sort of rules out its use in any meaningful manner. It hasn't stopped me shooting though and last weekend I spent a couple of days at the farm belonging to Snorkmaiden's folks where amongst other things I witnessed my first mulesing at a neighbouring merino farm.
This does not look like a very pleasant thing to go through if you're a sheep and it certainly put my sore elbow into perspective. I'd rather have a sore elbow than have the skin around my arse cut away.
Got photos too but unless someone specifically asks I will refrain from posting them for now.
Speaking of photos, I entered a pic in a competition at Brunswick Street Gallery and although I didn't win, I did make the short list and received and invitation to exhibit my photographs either late this year or next year.
.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
HELLO BENT FOR FRACTURE........
The last few weeks have been incredibly busy, tiring, inspirational and painful.
Work has relocated to a nearby airport where the wind always seems to blow and always from the same direction, which leaves me scratching my head when it comes to the decision made by the architects and / or directors to put all the entrances on the windward side of the building. Ignorance cannot be used as an excuse as we already have a department there ( I worked there for a year) and the people based there are always talking about "how windy it is today."
There are many other screw ups like putting locks on all the internal doors which all open with the same key, workshop ventilation that creates positive pressure instead of negative which would extract fumes much more effectively, etc.
It is a much improved workplace compared to our other one but through lack of consultation with the employees and lack of common sense, has not realised the full potential it offered.
School has been gradually ramping up in the amount of workload required and the information offered which then has to be converted into practical skills. This has been made even more challenging as I have been crook as a dog for the last 3 weeks. What started as a head cold, got better then turned into a chest infection of some sort. I'd find myself having to leave class due to coughing fits, half blind, eyes watering, coughing so hard the I would nearly throw up.
A week ago I spent the weekend shooting on location 1.5 hours out of Melbourne at a school workshop. Sometimes we would be out in the middle of the bush and all you could hear echoing was my coughing fits. I didn't realise how physically demanding this workshop was until I felt my legs burn with lactic acid on the Monday. I really got reinspired at that workshop and it has changed the way I look, see and shoot.
I received an email from an organic tea manufacturer I shot at the workshop and she wants to use the photos on her new website, which would be pretty cool.
Saturday we had an all day class to edit the photos from the workshop. As I'd been crook the little yellow bike has been idle and seeing as I was finally feeling better I decided to ride the 10km into class. About 5 minutes into the trip home I had a car stop in front of me. I already had my right foot unclipped, but started falling to the left. I tried to unclip the left one but wasn't quick enough and found myself going down like a felled tree. First thing of course, the arm went out to try to cushion the fall but I jarred my elbow in the process. I picked myself up only to see one of the Melbourne tourist carriages drawn by two massive clydesdales bearing down on me. I got the bike upright, remounted, abused the taxi driver for blocking the road and continued on home. The elbow was feeling a bit secondhand but I got home, showered and made my way to Gino's house to meet Bones before we all headed off to the Judas Priest concert. There's something amusing about a 60 year old riding onto the stage on a harley, with a leather Village People cap, singing Hell Bent For Leather! With much alcohol I made it through the night only to wake up with a very, very sore elbow and only about 15 degrees of movement. Nurse Snorkmaiden insisted we go and have it checked out and after 2.5 hours at the emergency department in St Vincents Hospital I walked out with the news that I had fractured my elbow, not badly enough to warrant a cast, but enough to put it into a sling and out of action for some time. That was the only limb I didn't brake in the motorcycle crash!
Result? Off work for over a week and back to typing the blog singlehandedly again.
poo
.
Work has relocated to a nearby airport where the wind always seems to blow and always from the same direction, which leaves me scratching my head when it comes to the decision made by the architects and / or directors to put all the entrances on the windward side of the building. Ignorance cannot be used as an excuse as we already have a department there ( I worked there for a year) and the people based there are always talking about "how windy it is today."
There are many other screw ups like putting locks on all the internal doors which all open with the same key, workshop ventilation that creates positive pressure instead of negative which would extract fumes much more effectively, etc.
It is a much improved workplace compared to our other one but through lack of consultation with the employees and lack of common sense, has not realised the full potential it offered.
School has been gradually ramping up in the amount of workload required and the information offered which then has to be converted into practical skills. This has been made even more challenging as I have been crook as a dog for the last 3 weeks. What started as a head cold, got better then turned into a chest infection of some sort. I'd find myself having to leave class due to coughing fits, half blind, eyes watering, coughing so hard the I would nearly throw up.
A week ago I spent the weekend shooting on location 1.5 hours out of Melbourne at a school workshop. Sometimes we would be out in the middle of the bush and all you could hear echoing was my coughing fits. I didn't realise how physically demanding this workshop was until I felt my legs burn with lactic acid on the Monday. I really got reinspired at that workshop and it has changed the way I look, see and shoot.
I received an email from an organic tea manufacturer I shot at the workshop and she wants to use the photos on her new website, which would be pretty cool.
Saturday we had an all day class to edit the photos from the workshop. As I'd been crook the little yellow bike has been idle and seeing as I was finally feeling better I decided to ride the 10km into class. About 5 minutes into the trip home I had a car stop in front of me. I already had my right foot unclipped, but started falling to the left. I tried to unclip the left one but wasn't quick enough and found myself going down like a felled tree. First thing of course, the arm went out to try to cushion the fall but I jarred my elbow in the process. I picked myself up only to see one of the Melbourne tourist carriages drawn by two massive clydesdales bearing down on me. I got the bike upright, remounted, abused the taxi driver for blocking the road and continued on home. The elbow was feeling a bit secondhand but I got home, showered and made my way to Gino's house to meet Bones before we all headed off to the Judas Priest concert. There's something amusing about a 60 year old riding onto the stage on a harley, with a leather Village People cap, singing Hell Bent For Leather! With much alcohol I made it through the night only to wake up with a very, very sore elbow and only about 15 degrees of movement. Nurse Snorkmaiden insisted we go and have it checked out and after 2.5 hours at the emergency department in St Vincents Hospital I walked out with the news that I had fractured my elbow, not badly enough to warrant a cast, but enough to put it into a sling and out of action for some time. That was the only limb I didn't brake in the motorcycle crash!
Result? Off work for over a week and back to typing the blog singlehandedly again.
poo
.
