A Jug Band from Mullumbimby NSW (Australia) right near Nimbin - looks like a lot of fun
and this one of Kasey Chambers I just love - she wrote it about her Mum...can only put the link here as embedding is disabled -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzzkoCJmTV4
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
This is the Mexican stand-off ...
in the cat house - Tigerguards the cat flap door which she hasn't learned to use yet - and I am not going to teach her - it gives little Cuss a way out when I'm not there...
otherwise Tiger just hunts her constantly...so of late Cuss has taken to sneaking to other doors from outside hoping I can let her in past the danger at the door...
Only one rejection from the 16 publishers I have approached (don't ever do things by halves)...I am hopeful that out of the 15 one or two will be interested. I have to hope that by Christmas I will have some good news - as the next step is to hire an agent to help - and that costs money i don't have. So its nice to just have the varying temperaments of the cats to amuse me - Don most certianly would not be amused by Tiger the super killer cat ...
in the cat house - Tigerguards the cat flap door which she hasn't learned to use yet - and I am not going to teach her - it gives little Cuss a way out when I'm not there...
otherwise Tiger just hunts her constantly...so of late Cuss has taken to sneaking to other doors from outside hoping I can let her in past the danger at the door...
Only one rejection from the 16 publishers I have approached (don't ever do things by halves)...I am hopeful that out of the 15 one or two will be interested. I have to hope that by Christmas I will have some good news - as the next step is to hire an agent to help - and that costs money i don't have. So its nice to just have the varying temperaments of the cats to amuse me - Don most certianly would not be amused by Tiger the super killer cat ...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Different as chalk and cheese -
My eldest sister visiting - can regale one for hours on the quality and quantity and pattern of each single item of clothing she has in her shopping bag... she even tested me in the car wash as to the range of different materials used - )I finally decided to get the layers of inland red dust off the van - hopeful thats the last dust storm!!) each strand of glass beads chosen over almost and hour at the local markets is ooohhed over and ahhhed over...and and then she went back for more just on closing time - There isn't an inch of any shopping centre she has ever visited that she hasn't made herself familiar with...
Where as my time is spent buying and sometimes reading good quality books like this one which kept me amused while I waited the imminent arrival of Mrs Clothes Horse - I learnt a lot reading this book...much of it unknown to a poor provincial country girl like me... and am awaiting the release of the new superhero movie "Captain Underpants" with highly anticipated glee...
But at the end of the day the things we share and like are the same... a cheap (always) glass of Australian wine - and "beetroot dip" - couldn't get more Australian than that.
This was the first glass and we both look a bit wrecked - But we looked better as the night went on...we both agreed...
Now am waiting to see what delights today brings - a bit scary sometimes wondering what is in store. She's here till the wee small hours of Sunday - a surprise visit and welcomed.
My eldest sister visiting - can regale one for hours on the quality and quantity and pattern of each single item of clothing she has in her shopping bag... she even tested me in the car wash as to the range of different materials used - )I finally decided to get the layers of inland red dust off the van - hopeful thats the last dust storm!!) each strand of glass beads chosen over almost and hour at the local markets is ooohhed over and ahhhed over...and and then she went back for more just on closing time - There isn't an inch of any shopping centre she has ever visited that she hasn't made herself familiar with...
Where as my time is spent buying and sometimes reading good quality books like this one which kept me amused while I waited the imminent arrival of Mrs Clothes Horse - I learnt a lot reading this book...much of it unknown to a poor provincial country girl like me... and am awaiting the release of the new superhero movie "Captain Underpants" with highly anticipated glee...
But at the end of the day the things we share and like are the same... a cheap (always) glass of Australian wine - and "beetroot dip" - couldn't get more Australian than that.
This was the first glass and we both look a bit wrecked - But we looked better as the night went on...we both agreed...
Now am waiting to see what delights today brings - a bit scary sometimes wondering what is in store. She's here till the wee small hours of Sunday - a surprise visit and welcomed.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Those who read my “bit of a rant” which was taken off shortly after being put on might want to know it worked. Family members are obviously checking very often what I post – nice people! If truth upsets and if they recognise themselves so be it. Good to know that those who returned my mail, Don’s DVD, a birthday care etc – with it marked :” refused” to show their outrage (at what??) publicly, are not adverse to sneaking about as they do. For their information the rant was put on for this exact purpose and I stand by it as truth.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Some wildlife taken from my back door
Two kangaroos who come to visit late afternoon and early morning - maybe they are the mother and joey from last year - they are very watchful but reasonably tame as long as I don't move much or too quickly...
These are called Spoon bill something or others and flocks of these are found in the small creek which is just behind my house - I couldn't get any closer - they took off and i felt a bit bad as they were fossicking for food at the time - If you click on the photos they are clearer. This is not a pretty creek as its sort of mangroves and part salt and fresh...but so much life in there - plenty of snakes snails and puppy dogs tails -
Two kangaroos who come to visit late afternoon and early morning - maybe they are the mother and joey from last year - they are very watchful but reasonably tame as long as I don't move much or too quickly...
These are called Spoon bill something or others and flocks of these are found in the small creek which is just behind my house - I couldn't get any closer - they took off and i felt a bit bad as they were fossicking for food at the time - If you click on the photos they are clearer. This is not a pretty creek as its sort of mangroves and part salt and fresh...but so much life in there - plenty of snakes snails and puppy dogs tails -
A first...in all these months
this is the closest I have e
ver seen these cats sit without it being a flurry of flying fur and spit... They are not happy campers but considering the cat sitting lower is not allowed out these days - despite the cat bib - which meant nothing to her - things may be on the improve...Tiger the bottom cat has an almost 100%kill rate outside and i cannot handle the butchery of the birds - I mean butchery - she just goes mad outside and whole bird families are decimated - so sh
e has to stay inside whereas Cuss (on top) wanders in and out not even seeing the wonderfully coloured birds which abound about our house...
I wake up each morning to the most incredible sounds of many species of song birds and others all singing together - its amazing the bird life out here and after seeing what Tiger does - I think I am going to have to investigate a cat run outside or something - she lives to kill...not her fault but am responsible to con
trol her.
this is the closest I have e
ver seen these cats sit without it being a flurry of flying fur and spit... They are not happy campers but considering the cat sitting lower is not allowed out these days - despite the cat bib - which meant nothing to her - things may be on the improve...Tiger the bottom cat has an almost 100%kill rate outside and i cannot handle the butchery of the birds - I mean butchery - she just goes mad outside and whole bird families are decimated - so sh
e has to stay inside whereas Cuss (on top) wanders in and out not even seeing the wonderfully coloured birds which abound about our house...I wake up each morning to the most incredible sounds of many species of song birds and others all singing together - its amazing the bird life out here and after seeing what Tiger does - I think I am going to have to investigate a cat run outside or something - she lives to kill...not her fault but am responsible to con
trol her.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Another disabled person injured and lucky to be alive this time a 7yr old
They blamed this mistake which will impact on this child for the rest of his life on the "fact" that "the lamp next to Francis bed, used to check the colour on the litmus paper, was not working, making the room dim and difficult for staff to determine if the tube had touched stomach acid or lung secretions. This is Westmead Children's Hospital - the major children's hospital in NSW and a teaching hospital. Its got to stop surely and they have got to be made accountable.
"Hospital bungle leaves family seething
KATE BENSON HEALTH - SMH Sydney Australia
October 10, 2009
THE family of a boy who almost died after a ''breathtakingly basic'' hospital bungle nine months ago is still waiting for a written apology and a change in policy to prevent other children suffering the same fate.
Francis Wilks-Tansley will be fed through a hole in his stomach for the rest of his life and is unable to breathe properly after a feeding tube was inserted into his lungs - and not detected for 36 hours.
During that time the seven-year-old, admitted to The Children's Hospital at Westmead for seizures, was given water and six medications through the tube, causing him to develop a life-threatening pneumothorax, where air gets trapped in the cavity around the lungs, and his right lung to collapse.
One of the drugs, sodium valproate, causes severe chemical burns to lung tissue.
Up to six staff tended to Francis, who was born partially blind, deaf and with limited voluntary movement, over several shifts before the error was discovered, despite repeated calls from his mother, Sarah Wilks, that he was in respiratory distress. A chest drain was then inserted for 17 days to remove the fluid in his lungs.
''He was in agony, in extreme pain,'' she said yesterday.
One staff member, who did not want to be named, described the mistake as ''breathtakingly basic''. Staff must draw out some contents of feeding tubes as soon as they are inserted to test for the presence of stomach acid. A drop is placed on litmus paper, which turns a vivid pink if stomach acid is present. A chest X-ray can also be used to confirm the tube's placement, particularly in heavily sedated or unconscious children.
But Dr Wilks, who has a PhD in biology, said the lamp next to Francis' bed, used to check the colour on the litmus paper, was not working, making the room dim and difficult for staff to determine if the tube had touched stomach acid or lung secretions.
A case review carried out by the hospital found there had been three attempts to insert the tube, and its blood-stained contents had turned the litmus paper pink, leading staff to believe it had been placed correctly. But it also said difficult or repeated attempts should alert staff to the need for an X-ray to check position.
After the incident, staff were sent a short email reminding them of the importance of correct tube placement.
''They almost killed my son and yet haven't changed their culture,'' Dr Wilks said. ''This is not an error made by one person. It was a group of people, which means there must be a systemic or cultural problem, and I want to make sure they can't do it again. I don't want them punished; I want them educated.''
Dr Wilks, who also has three teenagers, had bought a house in Hobart the day Francis was admitted to hospital and has been commuting twice a week to be with him. Yesterday the hospital offered to reimburse her air fares and promised a new policy would be in place by the end of the month.
But she is adamant the offers were made only because she contacted the NSW Health Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, last week.
''It's been an unconscionable length of time. An apology now is worse than no apology at all. There is nothing I can do to reverse the damage done to Francis but, at the very least, the hospital needs to ensure this doesn't happen to other children.''
A spokeswoman for the hospital yesterday said staff had verbally apologised to Francis's family. She said a statewide safety notice had been issued in February and a compulsory education program was being developed for all staff inserting feeding tubes, but it was not known when it would begin.
''The hospital sincerely regrets this incident and how it has affected Francis and his family. We are not denying we made a mistake, and we are sorry about it.''
They blamed this mistake which will impact on this child for the rest of his life on the "fact" that "the lamp next to Francis bed, used to check the colour on the litmus paper, was not working, making the room dim and difficult for staff to determine if the tube had touched stomach acid or lung secretions. This is Westmead Children's Hospital - the major children's hospital in NSW and a teaching hospital. Its got to stop surely and they have got to be made accountable.
"Hospital bungle leaves family seething
KATE BENSON HEALTH - SMH Sydney Australia
October 10, 2009
THE family of a boy who almost died after a ''breathtakingly basic'' hospital bungle nine months ago is still waiting for a written apology and a change in policy to prevent other children suffering the same fate.
Francis Wilks-Tansley will be fed through a hole in his stomach for the rest of his life and is unable to breathe properly after a feeding tube was inserted into his lungs - and not detected for 36 hours.
During that time the seven-year-old, admitted to The Children's Hospital at Westmead for seizures, was given water and six medications through the tube, causing him to develop a life-threatening pneumothorax, where air gets trapped in the cavity around the lungs, and his right lung to collapse.
One of the drugs, sodium valproate, causes severe chemical burns to lung tissue.
Up to six staff tended to Francis, who was born partially blind, deaf and with limited voluntary movement, over several shifts before the error was discovered, despite repeated calls from his mother, Sarah Wilks, that he was in respiratory distress. A chest drain was then inserted for 17 days to remove the fluid in his lungs.
''He was in agony, in extreme pain,'' she said yesterday.
One staff member, who did not want to be named, described the mistake as ''breathtakingly basic''. Staff must draw out some contents of feeding tubes as soon as they are inserted to test for the presence of stomach acid. A drop is placed on litmus paper, which turns a vivid pink if stomach acid is present. A chest X-ray can also be used to confirm the tube's placement, particularly in heavily sedated or unconscious children.
But Dr Wilks, who has a PhD in biology, said the lamp next to Francis' bed, used to check the colour on the litmus paper, was not working, making the room dim and difficult for staff to determine if the tube had touched stomach acid or lung secretions.
A case review carried out by the hospital found there had been three attempts to insert the tube, and its blood-stained contents had turned the litmus paper pink, leading staff to believe it had been placed correctly. But it also said difficult or repeated attempts should alert staff to the need for an X-ray to check position.
After the incident, staff were sent a short email reminding them of the importance of correct tube placement.
''They almost killed my son and yet haven't changed their culture,'' Dr Wilks said. ''This is not an error made by one person. It was a group of people, which means there must be a systemic or cultural problem, and I want to make sure they can't do it again. I don't want them punished; I want them educated.''
Dr Wilks, who also has three teenagers, had bought a house in Hobart the day Francis was admitted to hospital and has been commuting twice a week to be with him. Yesterday the hospital offered to reimburse her air fares and promised a new policy would be in place by the end of the month.
But she is adamant the offers were made only because she contacted the NSW Health Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, last week.
''It's been an unconscionable length of time. An apology now is worse than no apology at all. There is nothing I can do to reverse the damage done to Francis but, at the very least, the hospital needs to ensure this doesn't happen to other children.''
A spokeswoman for the hospital yesterday said staff had verbally apologised to Francis's family. She said a statewide safety notice had been issued in February and a compulsory education program was being developed for all staff inserting feeding tubes, but it was not known when it would begin.
''The hospital sincerely regrets this incident and how it has affected Francis and his family. We are not denying we made a mistake, and we are sorry about it.''
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Help needed on book title!
I have been working like crazy on the final draft of my manuscript which had to be all gone over again after some rather drastic advice by a barrister I had to hire to look it over. Doctors sue more of us than the other way around I was informed - its just not widely known.
So one more final sweep through for typos and by Monday I should be ready to send the amended manuscript out. It has been the hardest and biggest task I have ever or ever hope to undertake and wrung out of me. But as I go over and read through I an convinced as is my editor that this book can bring about some much needed change.
A friend said "why not make it fictional" If it was fictional no one would believe the story. You wouldn't make up the catalogue of errors and attitude, filth, etc which brutalised my husband Don for five weeks and directly caused his death.
I am stuck for a title. I have one called
"Conveyor belt medicine - An Australian Hospital horror S
tory" but it doesn't grab.
It needs to have the words Australian and Hospital in it and to maybe also point to the fact that Don's treatment in hospital was made so much worse because of his severe disability and inability to defend himself when were not there.
All severely disabled people and their relatives will know what I am saying is true. If the rest of us think we are doing it tough they do it much tougher...everything is harder for them...and you wouldn't believe the attitude of many doctors and nurses to the extra workload involved in caring for a Quadriplegic as don was.
So I am throwing this in the blogosphere to all my mates out there who have follow the saga over the past two plus years. This is the photo I hope publisher will put on the cover. It was taken just before he began to have difficulty breathing. I absolutely love this photo.
I have been working like crazy on the final draft of my manuscript which had to be all gone over again after some rather drastic advice by a barrister I had to hire to look it over. Doctors sue more of us than the other way around I was informed - its just not widely known.
So one more final sweep through for typos and by Monday I should be ready to send the amended manuscript out. It has been the hardest and biggest task I have ever or ever hope to undertake and wrung out of me. But as I go over and read through I an convinced as is my editor that this book can bring about some much needed change.
A friend said "why not make it fictional" If it was fictional no one would believe the story. You wouldn't make up the catalogue of errors and attitude, filth, etc which brutalised my husband Don for five weeks and directly caused his death.
I am stuck for a title. I have one called
"Conveyor belt medicine - An Australian Hospital horror S
tory" but it doesn't grab.It needs to have the words Australian and Hospital in it and to maybe also point to the fact that Don's treatment in hospital was made so much worse because of his severe disability and inability to defend himself when were not there.
All severely disabled people and their relatives will know what I am saying is true. If the rest of us think we are doing it tough they do it much tougher...everything is harder for them...and you wouldn't believe the attitude of many doctors and nurses to the extra workload involved in caring for a Quadriplegic as don was.
So I am throwing this in the blogosphere to all my mates out there who have follow the saga over the past two plus years. This is the photo I hope publisher will put on the cover. It was taken just before he began to have difficulty breathing. I absolutely love this photo.
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