Rugby Union - Australia v France

Jess and I went to our first Australian sporting event this weekend...Australia vs. France - a Rugby Union game. There two forms of Rugby played here in Australia, 'Union' and 'League'. The differences between the games are very subtle, so we attended the game with some of my Australian (and non-Australian) co-workers in order to help coach us along. The game was played at ANZ stadium, which has previously hosted such events as the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Jess was not excited only for the game, but also to try 'stadium' food in Australia. All week she has been talking about trying an 'Australian meat pie'. After all the build up however it turns out that Jess is not a fan. Jess thought it tasted a bit like dog food, however I didn't think it was too bad...but then again I have never had dog food.

All food aside, we had fun learning about the game and trying to follow along (apparently they don't believe in announcers at these games). The game is basically like American football but you can only throw the ball behind you. Also the players don't wear any pads and they hit just as hard as the NFL...impressive (or stupid) to say the least. Anyway, by the end we felt we had a better understanding of the game thanks to our Australian seating companions.

Jess 2.0 - The Australian Adventure Resurrected

For the three people reading our blog, I know, I've been really, really bad about about updating the blog for the last two months or so. But I have a good excuse, I promise. So for those of you who haven't heard my harrowing tale yet, here it is for your reading enjoyment...

The week before Chris' lawn bowling birthday party I did something really stupid - I fell down the stairs at the train station near our house - and yes, I was sober. I ended up breaking the navicular bone in my left foot (it looks like a tiny banana!) and was in a hard cast/splint for about a week. But no worries, I wasn't going to let a set of crutches and a stupid cast get in my way of lawn bowling (see post).

While in the splint I started getting what felt like sharp cramps in my calf. I chalked this up to muscle deterioration and went about my business. After a week in the cast, I got put in the "ski boot." And boy was I happy about this! Big, bulky, and beautiful, the ski boot was my ticket to showering normally again! I mentioned to the doctor that I was having pain in my calf and he said if it didn't go away in the next day or so to come back for another visit and they'll investigate further.

Two days later I find myself back in the doctor's office with the same calf pain. Following the doctor's orders, I crutched the length of the hospital to get an ultrasound of my leg - they were checking for blood clots. About 30 minutes later and with a leg completely covered in ultrasonic goo, the diagnosis was confirmed - I had a blood clot, also known as Deep Vein Thrombosis (this is also what happens if you don't walk around every couple of hours on long haul airplane rides). I had clots extending from my calf to 10cm above my knee.

This wasn't the greatest news, but it was something that was easily treatable with "Clexane" (or heparin) injections into my stomach for the next few weeks.

Two days later during the American Idol elimination show (yes, I know, now I am admitting that I watched American Idol), I began having these weird pains in my chest. Not necessarily what I would imagine a heart attack feeling like, but more like shock waves. I felt like my heart was doing the wave. It wasn't consistent, but made me jump and cringe when it happened. After this didn't calm down for 15 minutes or so, on what was now a familiar route the hospital, Chris and I found ourselves back in the ER again.

My heart was racing and my blood pressure high when I checked into the ER, but I managed to calm myself down and get back to normal relatively quickly. By the time I had my first ECG (echo cardiogram), everything checked out normally and they were going to write me off as a panic attack and some indigestion. But because I had the clots in my leg (DVT), they wanted to do a CT scan of my lungs just to make sure none of the clots had broken free and made their way to my heart/lungs.

22 hours, one sleepless night, 14 alcohol poisonings, 8 heroin overdoses, 3 stinky homeless people and one dementia patient later, I'm still in the ER taking in the sites and sounds, but finally having my CT scan done...and this is exactly why you don't ever go to the ER or attempt to seek medical attention during a holiday weekend! Anyhow, much to everyone's surprise, I had a bi-lateral "spray" of clots in my lungs. This means that a piece of the clot in my leg broke off and when it got to my lungs it burst "spraying" both of my lungs with clotted blood. This is also called Pulmonary Embolism. I was admitted to the hospital at this point.

After 6 days and nights in St. Vincent's Hospital (which felt like months), I had made it through the crucial period where my clots were no longer posing much of a risk of acting up and going anywhere else or causing anymore issues. Here are some pictures of me in the hospital. I had a bunch of track marks on my belly from the Clexane injections - don't worry, I haven't picked up any bad habits like you may be thinking.



It's been a long road to recovery since then. And literally I'm just now getting back into the full swing of things. I still have to go for regular blood tests and monitoring, but after one month on my medication (coumadin), the clots in my leg have begun to disappear. In July, I go for a follow-up CT scan of my lungs to make sure those clots are gonzo as well - fingers crossed!

I'm finally out of my "ski boot" and back in normal shoes, which is awesome. I've started swimming again trying to get back into decent shape and am going about normal life on our Australian adventure once again. Really, the only thing I can't do at the moment is contact sports, but hey, I'm not really much for playing rugby anyway.

So that's where I've been. It's kind of life changing when you have more than one doctor look you in the eye and tell you that what you have could kill you. We've decided to stick out our Australian adventure even though we really wanted to go home after this whole ordeal. But I'm going about this adventure with a new perspective. The difference between pre-clot (PC) Jess and after clot (AC) Jess 2.0, is that Jess 2.0 has a much better appreciation for life and everything she has.

Most importantly, I'm thankful for the wonderful family and friends I have. My mom who flew half way around the world to come and help out, my Uncle Dennis who took 2:00 AM phone calls to make sure we were getting everything sorted, several aunts and cousins who started prayer circles, and the friends who stopped by for a visit and sent care packages, flowers, and emails, it all helped make this a little more bearable for me. Thank you, everyone! But a special thanks to Chris who is in fact the best husband ever. He does more to help me than he'll ever realize or admit and I'm the luckiest girl in town to have him by my side.

So without further ado, the adventure continues...

Kings Cross or Houston?

Over the weekend, we walked through Kings Cross for the first time. Kings Cross is a very 'eclectic' mix of people and characters, but it is known for good shops & outdoor markets on Saturdays. Anyway along our walk we discovered a surprising reminder of home...



For those who don't know, a similar (if not identical) and quite famous fountain is located in Houston along Allan Parkway. See the similarities for yourself...

Houston Fountain

It was refreshing and somehow comforting to find this fountain so far away from home.

Polar Opposite

I have always wanted to know what was on the opposite side of the earth of where I am. As if you were to drill straight through the earth to the other side....where would you end up. Anyway, in case you have the same crazy question now you can know....

Polar Opposite

I can't help but wonder about the Finale of this season of lost with this one...

Enjoy!

Hunter Valley - Visit 2

During the Queen's Birthday long weekend, we decided to get out of Sydney (along with our friends Mickey and Alane). Because this was decided on a spur of the moment comment, we had limited time to plan so we decided on Hunter Valley. Although we had been there before, we figured this would be a good trip to have with our U.S. compadres (i.e. relaxing country side, lots of wine, kangaroos, etc...) and it is an easy drive .

We stayed at a bed and breakfast, Pindari House that Mickey and Alane found. Jess and I are not what you might consider 'regulars' at the B&B's - so this was a small step out of our comfort zone. Luckily, we had a wonderful host, Monika, and an even better watch dog known as Honey.

Overall it was a great weekend getting away from the city life, touring the wineries, eating good food, and playing Australia's version of monopoly known as 'squatter' - based on sheep farming of course. Winery highlights (in my opinion) included Pokolbin Estate and Tyrell's Vineyard.