surgery

A marble up my nose…

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Clairview, Queensland

As much as we like being Out and About exploring this great country of ours, every so often we get that curved ball that lays us up for a short period of time…

Our curve ball over the past couple of weeks has been some minor surgery to remove a marble from my nose.

Uh…?

It’s a long story, but let me explain…

Since I was a small kid I’ve suffered from a blocked nose and minor sinus infections on a regular basis.

As a three year old my mother, Fay, famously asked…

“Baz, did you stick a marble up your nose…?”

Now, as a kid not long out of nappies, it was a bewildering question.

You know how little kids get when a proposition like that is put to them, maybe I had, how would I know, there is a lot happening in the life of a three-year old as life leaps from one minute to the next?

I’m sure if my mother actually thought I had a marble up my nose I would have been marched off to hospital at that time, but the joke was set and the question became legendary and a good laugh has been had with family and friends over the years…

As it turns out it has only taken a few decades (lost count how many) for the medical profession to work out that my nose is badly aligned and in fact one side is almost completely blocked.

The ENT Doctor said there’s you’re problem.

Seemingly I just grew up thinking it was normal, not there is anything too normal about me, hey!

Anyway, I elected to have the surgery done a couple of weeks back and it all went well. So we will be Out and About exploring this great country of ours very soon…

Footnote:

As I was wheeled into the operating theatre I asked my surgeon did he bring a bag of marbles so we could shoot a game or two later. He looked as bewildered as a three-year old toddler, but perhaps he just put my rambling down to the “sleeping juice” that was just starting to flow into my veins – if only he knew…

Cheers, Baz…

Photos: Janet & Baz


About us…

We love the colours of the Australian Outback, the red earth touching a blue sky on a faraway horizon; and the fabulous coastline of our sunburnt country, where a golden sandy beach is washed over by a warm turquoise blue sea…

A few years ago we graduated from work and re-entered the classroom of life where an education is guaranteed and all that is needed is an open mind.

Cheers, Baz & Janet

The Road to Recovery (Back at home)

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Baz - Recovering
Baz – Recovering in the backyard

The miracle of modern medicine and surgery has me at home already, recovering from the surgery I had on both of my ankles late last week…

My doctor is very happy with the procedures and results.

I had an endoscopy on my right ankle to clear some bone debris from a skydiving accident in 2008, and a couple of spurs that had formed.

The left heel was opened completely and the Achilles tendon detached to repair a split which apparently was mostly due to degeneration and to clean the heel of a couple of spurs and a boney protrusion, commonly known as a Haglund’s Bump.  Because it was detached I have had to have two anchor screws placed to enable the Achilles to be sewn back on.

My sport’s doctor had tried some conventional and non-conventional non-surgical therapy on my left foot, including Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections that provided only moderate results.

I’m now recuperating at home and the doctor has suggested two to three weeks of complete rest to hopefully assist in a quicker recovery. Mobility is a problem as my left foot cannot take any weight at all, although my right foot can take weight, which is useful for getting around.

The plan is to progressively introduce some weight and physiotherapy to both feet over the coming month and we are hoping for a full recovery within three months.

Of course, that is the plan, and whilst it is unlikely to be earlier, it may take longer.

Baz - Grey's Peak, New Zealand
Baz – New Zealand

I have until mid-August to confirm my place on the expedition to Nepal in November, so plenty of time to recover and train, hopefully.

And to all, thanks very much for your kind words of support and I’m confident I’ll be back to doing what I love very soon…just being Out and About having fun!

Baz - Southern Alps, New Zealand
Baz – The Landy, Out and About having fun

Strewth – The Surgeon is sharpening his knife

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Baz - One step at a time
Baz – One step at a time

Knife or Scalpel, the choice is yours, but the mere utterance of the word scalpel has me reaching for my head, the thought of being scalped sends a shiver up my spine!

A little while back I wrote about an Achilles tendon issue I was having in my left foot.

This has been a longer term problem, my Achilles Heel literally, that has plagued my training, at times, and climbing on other occasions.  It has certainly become worse recently.

A course of treatment using PRP injections has been moderately successful, but not fixed the problem.

As it stands presently it needs to be resolved ahead of my climbing expedition to Nepal in November for two reasons, firstly I cannot achieve the level of training I need to undertake, and secondly, and most importantly, it will compromise my climbing ability, with a potential flow on effect to others.

Climb-On
Climb on

So the surgeon has booked me in for next Thursday to treat the affected area, by scrapping the bone, and “cleaning up” the tendon area.  This involves a partial detachment of the Achilles tendon.  The procedure on the right ankle is very straight forward; they simply chisel off the spurs which may have been caused by a sky diving mishap from a few years back!

You can get the download on that little misadventure in “Butt your Bum’s Broken“.

Baz skydiving at Picton, Australia
Baz skydiving at Picton, Australia

And you can see from my clinical description of the problem that I’m no medico, but I’m working on the principle that the bigger the medical words, the bigger the doctor’s bill.

In all fairness though, he could have at least waited until I had left the clinic before upgrading his vacation flight to the South of France from cattle class to first class…

But I’m digressing!

Having two legs out of action at the same time will literally see me flat out on my back for at least for a couple of weeks, before I become more mobile once again.

Whilst not ideal to have both done at the same time from a recovery perspective, it will at least give me the best chance of making the expedition to Nepal in November.

At this time I have put the expedition to the back of my mind as I need to have this resolved before giving it any more thought. Although my surgeon is confident I can recover quickly and get back to training.  We are hoping for a full 4 months of intense training.

Baz - heading up "The Hill"
Baz – heading up “The Hill” on a training run

Now I know that sounds disappointing and it may not come to pass, but if it does I am simply viewing it as another step in the climb towards the world’s highest peaks. So rest assured I won’t be beating myself up about it…that would just be a waste of time and energy!

There is only one way – forward; and only one speed setting – go!

Baz - Climbing Sweet Dreams
Baz – Climbing Sweet Dreams

I told TomO I am buying one of those little bells you see in the Manor Houses, so I can give it a ring when I need something!

Like on Downton Abbey.

Crikey, not that I watch Downton Abbey (fair dinkum, I’ve opened a can of worms for myself, haven’t I)

I think I read about it on the back of a cereal box…(you do believe me, don’t you – no?)

Okay I watch Downton Abbey, but only every episode!

But back to TomO, his eyes rolled, and Janet chirped in with “in your dreams Baz, in your dreams”…

Janet and TomO on Fox Glacier, New Zealand
Janet and TomO on Fox Glacier, New Zealand

I’m sure they’ll take good care of me though and I’ll keep you all posted!

In the meantime, if all else fails, just remain out of control and see what develops!

This approach seems to work well for us, well mostly, broken butt’s aside!