If our last week was brought to you, Sesame Street style, by the word adversity, this week’s blog sponsor would be waiting.
Waiting…
for the seedlings to grow enough to be transplanted into soil warm enough for them to thrive,
the apple and pear trees to stop blossoming so I can hang the pheromone traps and thwart the darstardly coddling moth;
for the broadbeans to form and for that first taste of parsley buttered broad beans on toast (bliss!)
and for the hospital to ring.
I’m trying to be understanding, really I am. Of course, it’s not like we’re sitting on our hands; there’s still a heap of stuff to keep us busy.
Like cleaning out the duck’s pond and water trough. Chip-chip (back) and Indie, sensing the building tension, did their best to make me laugh with their mucky-duck ways
It’s also easier to handle waiting for something that happens every year; the main problem with that type of waiting for me is not missing that window when the soil reaches perfect temperature, the seedlings optimum size, the blossom begins the process of falling but the fruit isn’t detectable yet and the developed broad beans are discovered before they turn all grey and rubbery-tough. But the hospital wait…yep, my teeth are grinding little.
When Farm Girl first mentioned her eyes were “going a bit weird”, we didn’t think much of it. Her eyes have a tendency to misbehave, but we made an appointment with our GP just to be safe. The GP didn’t think much of it but requested advice from Farm Girl’s hospital ophthalmologist and then things gathered momentum. Things were, indeed, going a bit weird. An operation was required and time was of the essence. We were warned that this operation would not produce the miracle of 20/20 vision, but rather stall any deterioration in what is essentially her inferior eye and maybe…just maybe…calm the nystagmus BUT this needed to happen quickly or the damage would be irreversible. Charts were plotted, trajectories analysed and it was decreed: the window would be firmly shut after the end of October.
Y’all know the rest. That we received an operation date, worked through the restless nights of what-ifs, liaised with the school (the hardest bit for Farm Girl, who doesn’t like to be set apart from the crowd) to minimise the impact on her NCEA, pleaded last minute work time-off and mapped out the logistics of animal feeding/hospital waiting personnel only for the operation to be called off at the eleventh hour.
Hey, these things happen.
But it’s now coming up a month since the postponed date and the end of October is not that far away. Nail biting has become our new collective pastime.
As for the reason, apparently there’s a shortage of anesthetists or anesthesiologists in New Zealand at the moment. In the current world climate of wibble and wobble and general unease this is totally believable but for us Homesteaders there’s no ignoring the ticking clock.
So, we’re waiting.
And hoping…we’re doing a bit of that as well.
Union Homestead 
Oh I do hope you hear soon about the op.
Thanks; us too. You start to worry that, with the window getting smaller everyday, it gets to a point where you are no longer a priority…
All the best to Farm Girl. May her upcoming operation be very successful.
Thanks. It’s all a bit up-in-the-air at the moment.
Oh, my! Yes, a nail biting time. Very stressful. Best to Farm Girl. Here in Maine, I am rooting for her.
Thanks for good vibes!
That is very hard to bear, especially as they claim in our press that all our doctors are going off to work in NZ and Australia. Do you keep ringing up to check if there has been a cancellation that would let you get in?
And all our doctors are apparently over with you. Yes, poor Pam who oversees all the bookings, must regret giving us her direct dial number. There was also talk of a scheme where some urgent cases were to be shuffled to be done via the private system and that we were being considered.
Oh, I am so sorry you are having to go through all this waiting! Doctors tell us everything we need to know, and more, these days; which is fantastic. I remember being treated as though what was being done to my body was no business of mine and I shouldn’t ask questions. However, now that we know all the hows, whys and wherefores, all the risks and dangers and all the symptoms are explained we are still so vulnerable to panic, worry, morbid thoughts and the like. There is nothing we can do until the clanking machinery of our health department decides it is time (or not) for our operation/next appointment and so on. I hope and pray that Farm Girl gets her operation on time and that it works out well; there is still a couple of weeks to go, but my goodness your blood-pressure must be rising and you can’t be finding it easy to rest or sleep.
I kind of wish we weren’t made aware of the time line but conversely would be hugely irritated if it had been kept from us. I know the health sector is hugely understaffed and they can only do what they can do but this waiting and the what ifs are hard work. Thanks for your kind words, Clare.
Hi, What a frustrating situation to be in! It is hard to argue when the reason is shortages of qualified personnel. During COVID restrictions, I had surgery as a public patient in a private hospital under arrangements made by the Victorian government. I hope there are no barriers to Farm Girl receiving the treatment she needs in time.
Farm Girl has her name on the list for having the surgery done privately as a public patient but spaces are very limited. We can but hope.
I have been thinking of your girl the last few weeks. What a frustrating and anxious time for her and you. The world is getting pretty messy one way and another. Medical system is very broken here too. Breast cancer patients are being sent across the border into Washington State for treatment because here in BC we are too backed up.
We’ve all but decided it isn’t going to happen. Another week has passed and still no word and it’s just getting a bit embarrassing ringing up poor Pam who is obviously doing all she can for us but had more people on her list than just us. The world is indeed messy. I keep my cool by not straying off my patch of the planet too often or far 😊
Perhaps for the best. But if only they hadn’t offered the opportunity in the first place….or…I don’t know. I like to know my options, but not if they are just illusory.
We are so on the same page. I am more basic in my reactions: Don’t bullshit me! I know empathy has no place in business but I’m not sure health and education (while we’re at it) should be all business
100% agree