IMPORTANT: The following journal is intended for the use and viewing of approved persons only and may contain information that is confidential, privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs. Any dissemination, distribution or copying of this work is not authorised (either explicitly or implicitly) and constitutes an irritating social faux pas. Unless the word ‘absquatulation’ has been used in its correct context somewhere other than in this warning, it does not have any legal or grammatical use and may be ignored. No animals were harmed in the creation of this journal and a minimum of Microsoft software was used. Those of you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown will be gratified to learn that there is no hidden message revealed by reading this warning backwards.

Year View| Summary| Highlights| August 2002 (Month View)

01.08.2002Thursday 1 August – I get banned from AustNet

Morning
I woke up in pain. Not a good start, so I went back to bed and woke up again later, not in so much pain.
Mum drove into town to do shopping and all that exciting stuff. I spent most of the day on “chat” and at my PC. Shan rode into town on his motorbike to see his teacher, which I was also supposed to see but obviously can’t, and then dropped in here on the way home. We re-watched the “American Outlaws” DVD that I have copied to the hard drive.
IRC
Shortly after Shan left, I had a bit of excitement on “chat”. I noticed the nickname “ai” was no longer registered, so I registered it to myself. I then set about trying to link the nickname to my other nicknames, “the”, “thei”, and “ned”. Linking nicknames means that I can use any of the four and have the same privileges. Basically, if I get “access” in a channel under one nickname, any nicknames linked to that nickname will also share that access. To link nicknames is mildly difficult, one has to have the current host added to a “hostlist” in the nicknames to be linked. I was having difficulty with this because the command “host add current” which should add my current host, was failing, as my host was a numeric IP; Austnet must not have been able to resolve it.
  I went to the Austnet #ASD channel for help, but they were only able to provide basic help, which was no problem as I worked the problem out shortly thereafter. Just before I went to #ASD for help, a friend from the #planetchat channel said (I am the nick “nasti”):
  (netwerk): COMPLAIN LOUDLY!
  (netwerk): to #ASD
  (netwerk): because
  (netwerk): they are so so helpful
  (netwerk): </sarcasm>
  (nasti): but I don’t want a gline today
  Shortly after:
  * nasti has now requested help in asd
  (netwerk): nasti: might be a good time to fly to bali, while you wait for a response And then a minute later, just after the people in #ASD had said they couldn’t help me:
  (nasti): (helpful asd person): thei; I can’t see why it’s not working then ..
  * nasti parts asd
  * (nasti): brb gonna think with my own (functional) head
  (Sunflower): (dumbo thei): i just can’t figure out alone and neither can ASD but i call myself better than them
  * Sunflower hides
  (nasti): well we’ll see if non-helper, non-asd thei can work it out or not ma’am :)
  (nasti): (NickOP): thei added to linked nicks
  (nasti): there, didn’t even take long
  (nasti): ASD are dimwitted casserolle fillings
  And yet again, a short time later, while discussing the reasons I couldn’t add the link to my nickname:
  (nasti): however that’s somewhat over the heads of our friendly casserolle fillings in asd
  (Sunflower): oh would u stop it
  (Sunflower): get over yourself
  (nasti): yep I’m stopped now :)
  (Sunflower): you can’t even help yourself
  (Sunflower): so don’t get hard on ASD admins
  (nasti): lol
  (nasti): I’m sure there’s good ones
  Then a few minutes after:
  (thei): <whine> why can’t it be easy?
  Then, just over an hour later, during which time I said nothing more than a few cursory and very average and polite hello sort of comments, and set away to mess around with my iLog2 script, from “out of the blue”:
  Banned from this server: Banned from AustNet: Complaints and criticisms dribble from your mouth about this network. Plenty of other networks out there to complain about. Start looking here: http://eyersee.org/
  I assume someone “high up” in the Austnet chain of command saw my “complaints and criticisms” regarding the Austnet Services Department (#ASD) and calling them “dimwitted casserole fillings”. I’m not sure what, if any, sense of humour this person has – but it is obvious to me that calling someone a “dimwitted casserole filling” is very light-hearted and meaningless abuse, and was meant to be humorous. I would have thought everyone would know that no one calls someone something that absurd if they are seriously abusing them. Looking back I can see how it doesn’t sound very nice, but I still think its pretty funny.
  What has really got my goat up now is the fact that I am banned from Austnet for complaining and criticising. I did not complain, nor did I criticise anyone or anything. I did make some humorous remarks which are included above, which in retrospect I can see aren’t very humorous, but why am I banned?
  I know its just chat and no big deal; but it really annoys me to be abused by people who have the power to abuse, and with no recourse to have that abuse stopped or justified. Plus chat is a pretty big deal to me at the moment; I am essentially stuck here in front of my PC, and chat is how I fill in a large amount of my time.
  The other thing that gets to me; even if I was complaining and criticising the network (which I am not), why should I be banned? What I did say wasn’t said to anyone affiliated with the network, or in any official network channels. It was said in the channel of a friend of mine (who just happens to be married to one of the “owners” of the network... but that is most certainly no justification) and in which I have high access and am presumably welcome. If I was offending someone in that channel (they are the only people that saw what I said and therefore the only people that can have been offended) then I could have been banned from that channel, which would still allow me to talk to my other friends in other channels and yes, I could complain and criticise the network as much as I liked in my other channels, what harm does it do to anyone?
  I’m going out on a limb here, making an assumption that could be entirely wrong; but one of the most “powerful” people on Austnet is married to the owner of #Planetchat, and I am assuming it is he who banned me. Many people in that actual channel say things the same and much worse than what I say and don’t get banned, which leads me to assume (bear in mind I could be entirely wrong) that this man specifically doesn’t like me. He has been extremely jealous of me in the past, as I was a good (chat) friend with his wife. This in turn leads me to speculate that he is targeting me, as he is jealous of me, which puts the whole event into a different perspective. I am being unfairly banned because one of the men with the “power” is jealous of me. And there isn’t a thing I can do about it.
  It would be farcical if it weren’t me that was banned. I’m not very happy about being unable to chat to my friends.
2 AM and time for bed. I have snuck onto “chat” anyway (under another nickname), and found that I am banned for over 30 days, the ban set by “RogerY”.

02.08.2002Friday 2 August

I wrote too much yesterday, so there’s nothing left for today.
IRC
In the latest chat news: I sent an email to RogerY just after lunch, requesting my ban be removed. I also placed an order for a surface-surface missile capable of targeting car-sized objects over large ranges. It pays to keep all options open.

03.08.2002Saturday 3 August

Yet another very normal and uninspiring day, due largely to myself being incapacitated. The lung hurts. I yawned – not a good idea. Sharp stabbing pain. Ouch.
  Mum went down to the markets and bought me some cakes. They weren’t so nice. Some ants found them, and called up several thousand reserves. Several thousand ants then set up camp on my desk, and began to besiege my cakes. I had to call for help. Mum came and took the cakes, the plate, and the ants all away, and that is the last I heard of them.
  Mum went down to a fundraiser/dance/thing they are holding at the markets. Unfortunately she didn’t tie up the woof, so he also went down. Sarah brought him back with David: and she was not very happy with him. He went on his new leather collar, and very tight too. Some time later he managed to rip his collar off his head and once again escaped. A while later Sarah was back with him again, and onto the choker collar he went. I had to get up and physically abuse him multiple times, and even more times verbally. This made my lung and me very puffed and sore. I can’t talk or yell loudly, let alone walk very well – abusing dogs isn’t recommended.
I added the day links to the top of each month.
IRC
In earth shattering chat news: I sent an email to the AustNet abuse department, as it has been over 24 hours since I emailed RogerY and no reply. When Vapid came on around 9 PM, I asked him to check my ban – it was removed. I never did receive a reply to either email, what’s the bet they don’t go any further than RogerY’s mailbox?

04.08.2002Sunday 4 August

I woke after midday. I had a bowl of yoghurt for breakfast. Shan came over in the evening. I downloaded a pile of small system monitor applications from WinInternals and AnalogX. I had a shower. I had soup for dinner.

05.08.2002Monday 5 August – X-Ray

Phoned the hospital, and drove into town. Not too painful, but not too pleasant either. I had an X-Ray, strangely enough taken by Greg (of Greg and Jodi fame) who lives just across the creek. The lung is about the same, but now has a pleural effusion. Or in English, it is filling up with some sort of liquid. Either way, it doesn’t sound very good. Unusual doctor, I was expecting a petite Egyptian, and got a voluptuous redhead.
  After a bit of shopping, it was back home again.
  A doctor from the hospital rang up and spoke to Mum. She has to go to Cairns for some tests.

06.08.2002Tuesday 6 August

I didn’t get up until midday. The afternoon was full of phone calls with Mum arranging to go to Cairns for some tests. Then it got dark and night woke up and clouded everything. I wonder why the spooks only come out to play when it’s dark?
Oh, I sent an email to UQ and QUT, requesting information.

07.08.2002Wednesday 7 August – Mum at Doctors

Mum woke me up to say bye, and then her and Dad went off to town, Mum on her way to Cairns via the inland bus.
  I’m a bit down. I went inside and on the table a letter from Mum, a “just in case (worst scenario)” letter. Ok, so I’m very down. I can’t even fly, should I need to get to Cairns in a hurry; driving is probably a risk in itself – I’m not sure. Sigh. Malarchy isn’t very happy either; he’s on his choker chain until Dad gets back. And there is a fan in my PC that sounds like it wants to be an angle grinder. I think (and hope) that it’s just the fan on my AGP Graphics card, but if it isn’t, there’s no telling what might overheat or let that all-important smoke out.
  Shan rode over, twice. He’s discussing wiring up Tinnamens’s house for mains, which they naively plan to run with a 750W inverter and a car battery...
  Dad came over just on dusk, and the dog is getting excited and quite hungry.

08.08.2002Thursday 8 August

Dad went to town. Ricki phoned up looking for me. Mum phoned up in the evening to let us know they’d done a test and so far it looked hopeful, although we won’t know until tomorrow.
Yes, that’s truly how exciting my days are.

09.08.2002Friday 9 August

Mum phoned up. They’ve told her she won’t be able to take a bus tomorrow; that she will have to fly back.
I didn’t get up until late, then went on chat and chatted. Then I went to bed.

10.08.2002Saturday 10 August

I awoke late, and went to bed late. I phoned Mum quarter to seven, she’s feeling OK, having to see the doctors again on Monday and planning to fly back that afternoon if possible. And that about sums up my exciting day. I finished downloading the albums “Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Trouble Is...” and “Enrique Iglesias – Self Titled” and also “Natalie Imbuglia – White Lilies Island” (the latter two both for Shan) which I have still to find one song for.

11.08.2002Sunday 11 August

I didn’t go to bed until half past six in the morning. Then I didn’t wake up until ten to four in the evening. Now my lung hurts. I’m very sick of it hurting. It hurts when I breathe, it’s agonising when I yawn or burp or contract my stomach. It takes quite some time to stabilise after position changes. When I get up out of bed, it hurts for an hour or so until it stabilises, then it is sort of OK until I go back to bed, when the same thing once again happens. It’s raining now, and quite wet outside. The poor dog is all sad.

12.08.2002Monday 12 August – X-Ray

I woke up around midday as per usual. Mum had phoned in the morning saying that she will be flying back this afternoon. Dad drove me to hospital for an X-Ray arriving around 3:30. The X-Ray shows that the pneumothorax has resolved a small amount, but that the effusion is somewhat larger, although this could be due in part to the decreased pleural space that it has to occupy as the lung takes up more space. The doctor phoned up Cairns and Townsville to confirm that I’ve been placed in a queue for treatment.
Evening
Mum arrived back after 5; we did a little shopping and then drove home. She’s very pleased to be back and a little sore.

13.08.2002Tuesday 13 August

I rebooted my PC. Multiple times. Trying to get both hard drives to use UDMA and changing the pagefile. Bah.
Sadly, there’s not much else that happened today. Shan came over for a while and I burnt him a CDRW with the new songs that I’ve downloaded on.

14.08.2002Wednesday 14 August

Woke up. Had breakfast. Rested. Had lunch. Rested. Had dinner. Rested.
  Slept. Woke up. Oh hang on... that’s tomorrow.
I have now had my collapsed lung for three weeks, with no apparent progress being made. I am not exactly happy about this. I guess nearly anything is better than the vacuum cleaner hose they put in to attempt to force a recovery last time I had surgery, but I am still not very happy about any of this. It’s very nice to be resting at home instead of a hospital though, and I’m managing to maintain my spirits only getting depressed sometimes.

15.08.2002Thursday 15 August

I got a phone call from the Townsville thoracic clinic. I have to be at the Townsville clinic on Friday 6 September, and then I go into hospital on Sunday 8, and have the operation on the Monday. It should take about a week until I can get out if it all goes according to plan, apparently.

16.08.2002Friday 16 August

Sat until four, then went to bed just before the birds woke up.

17.08.2002Saturday 17 August

Woke up at midday. Sat. Read information regarding University entry. Got depressed. Stayed up until twenty to seven.

18.08.2002Sunday 18 August

Slept until nearly two. Sat. Slept another two hours until nine (in the evening). Sat.

19.08.2002Monday 19 August

No sleep for me last night. I slept for a tiny bit late in the evening – less than a half hour. I am now extremely tired, and a bit sleepy too. Off to bed I go.
Evening
Shan came over just as I was about to doze off for an afternoon nap, so I didn’t get to bed until after 10, and very tired too.

20.08.2002Tuesday 20 August

Shan came over on his way to town and got my mail key and checked my mail, however he didn’t get home until late so didn’t bring the mail over. Dime’s CD’s that he’s been supposed to send for months now arrived. Lots of songs on them, but I’ve not got the hard drive space to actually put them onto the computer. I’ll need to buy a new hard drive now.

21.08.2002Wednesday 21 August

I received and opened all the stuff from Townsville hospital regarding my surgery today. I’m in mild shock now. After everyone saying it’s not so bad, they manage to make it sound very severe. It’s classified as under cardiac surgery, cardio-thoracic to be specific, which sounds bad just to start with. I need to have a full blood test and x-rays and general check up a week prior, to not smoke or take certain drugs for 6 weeks prior (nice of them to tell me with only 2 weeks to go, fortunately I don’t smoke), then see the physicians 3 days prior to the surgery, then expect to stay in hospital for a week after the operation. Then I have to see the physicians for a check up a week after, enter rehabilitation, another check up at 6 weeks...
I shall go to town tomorrow and sign the “I understand there are risks, people die, I may die, please go ahead” form, and also see if I can get travel assistance.
Now I am worried. All the forms and letters they sent make it sound worse than open-heart surgery. It could be for all I know.
  :~(

22.08.2002Thursday 22 August – X-Ray

Town day. We leave here at midday. I go to the hospital for yet another doctor’s appointment. As soon as I turn up at reception they tell me that my surgery, which was scheduled for early September, has been brought up to Monday. This doesn’t even leave me enough time for blood tests.
  Apparently they can rush them when I arrive in Townsville.
  After the customary X-Ray which shows the customary “no improvement” result, the young (possibly Egyptian) doctor and I discuss various arrangements. It seems as though Dad and Mum are driving me, leaving here early Sunday morning and arriving in Townsville later on Sunday evening. Mum has two weeks booked at the Red Cross House in Townsville (hospital paid) and they will pay for fuel there and back. I myself will be in hospital and as such shouldn’t need any other accommodation. I checked out my X-Rays and have brought them all home to take with me. There’s a considerable amount of them now.
Night
Anyway, to bed I must.

23.08.2002Friday 23 August

Shan came over in the evening and brought his scanner over. I tried to scan some of my X-Rays, but they don’t really come up viewable.

24.08.2002Saturday 24 August

I woke up early for a change. Malarchy has been missing for a few days now. It’s starting to look as though he may not be coming back. He just disappeared and hasn’t been seen since.
Packing
I started to pack my stuff up for hospital. I don’t need much. A few changes of clothes and some personal hygiene gear.
Worried
I’m pretty scared.
  I’ve already had almost unbearable agony, being slowly sliced open, the doctor pressing her whole weight onto the blade to slice through the muscular wall and through my ribcage to place a chest tube – with no anaesthetic. They stuffed up. It was unbearably painful to move, so I was immobile for nearly three weeks. My lung began to fill with fluid so I had to be airlifted to Cairns hospital, as Cooktown don’t have a suction unit. I was on suction in Cairns, unable to move for nearly two weeks. I’ve had another two collapses since then, neither of which required any treatment but which have now caused me to apply for surgery.
  I’m quite scared. The recovery period after the general anaesthetic wears off is often nothing more than sheer agony. Stories abound of people stuck for weeks on morphine drips, and then the surgery being ultimately unsuccessful anyhow. I guess tomorrow night is going to be even scarier. I was going to write a “worst case scenario” letter and leave it under my bed, telling my parents after we’d left, just in case anything went seriously wrong, but I don’t think I can do it now.

25.08.2002Sunday 25 August – Drive to Townsville

We drove from here to Townsville in ten and a quarter hours. We stayed overnight in a caravan park in a small cabin. $60 for a self contained double bed and a double bunk in a cabin. A meal of potato chips for dinner.

26.08.2002Monday 26 August

We went and found the Red Cross House where Mum is booked into and Dad may be able to get a bed. We then drove to the hospital for my 12 noon pre-admission. We had thought that I would be staying in hospital tonight but that wasn’t correct, so we got the hospital to put Dad and I up at the Hotel Allen near to the Red Cross House. The operation is set for tomorrow evening.

27.08.2002Tuesday 27 August – X-Ray in Townsville

We drove to the hospital and got sent to Day Surgery, where I had an X-Ray and some blood was taken and tests were performed. We then “hung around” waiting for my late evening surgery, which was cancelled at 4 PM, as the surgery in progress was taking longer than anticipated. I was taken to Medical Ward 3, Bed 59 and slept the night there.

28.08.2002Wednesday 28 August – I had my pleurodesis operation

Operation
I was woken up and showered with antiseptic stuff, and put on my operation gown. I was then wheeled to the theatre around 7:30 AM and promptly anaesthetised. They told me they were giving me something to make me more relaxed, so I wasn’t expecting the anaesthetic, just a pre-anaesthetic relaxant or something, but it must have been the real stuff as I was out. The operation apparently took around an hour and forty-five minutes. The first thing I remember was waking up in the post-op recovery ward shaking uncontrollably and some people telling me I’d had an allergic reaction to the intermediate-duration, nondepolarizing, skeletal muscle relaxant drug Atracurium. I was wheeled back to the ward at 12:20, apparently passing Dad and Mum. Mum burst into tears at the sight of me, although I wasn’t aware of that at the time. I was apparently “sleepy and confused and on morphine”. I’d had two chest drains placed, and a third hole in my back which was used for the keyhole style surgery during which they had roughed up my lung lining and chopped some lung out and removed some scar tissue. As the doctor said: “left video assisted thorascopic surgery, lysis of adhesions, wedge resection of left upper lobe, scar and bleb tissue and mechanical pleurodesis. Recovery was hampered by repeated pneumothoraces and failure of lung to expand, requiring insertion of second drain. These problems eventually subsided”
I was on some rather unpleasant drugs during and after the operation, and these are the ones I was told about and can remember.
Morphine
Morphine has a rather large list of potential side effects, including respiratory depression, and less frequently, circulatory depression, apnoea, shock and cardiac arrest secondary to respiratory and/or circulatory depression, constipation, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness, dizziness, sedation, dysphoria, euphoria, and sweating, oedema, antidiuretic effect, chills, muscle tremor, muscle rigidity, flushing of the face, tachycardia, bradycardia, palpitation, faintness, syncope, hypotension, hypertension, dr. mouth, biliary tract spasm, laryngospasm, anorexia, diarrhoea, cramps, taste alterations, urine retention or hesitance, reduced libido and/or potency, weakness, headache, agitation, tremor, uncoordinated muscle movements, seizure, paresthesia, alterations of mood (nervousness, apprehension, depression, floating feelings), dreams, transient hallucination and disorientation, visual disturbances, insomnia, increased intracranial pressure, pruritus, urticaria and other skin rashes, blurred vision, nystagmus, diplopia and miosis. It is also highly addictive and may cause psychological and physical dependence. Technically, it’s morphine sulphate, occurring as white, feathery, silky crystals, cubical masses of crystals, or white crystalline powder; it is soluble in water and slightly soluble in alcohol. Chemically, morphine sulphate is 7,8-didehydro-4,5-epoxy-17-mtehyl-morphinian-3, 6-diol sulphate(2:1)(salt)pentahydrate.
Ketamine
Ketamine hydrochloride is a nonbarbiturate anaesthetic chemically designated (±)-2-(o-Chlorophenyl)-2-(methylamino) cyclohexanone hydrochloride, and does similar things to morphine, but with an additional warning: Emergence reactions have occurred in approximately 12 percent of patients. The psychological manifestations vary in severity between pleasant dream- like states, vivid imaginary, hallucinations, and emergence delirium. In some cases, these states have been accompanied by confusion, excitement, and irrational behaviour, which a few patients recall as an unpleasant experience. The duration ordinarily is no more than a few hours; in a few cases, however, recurrences have taken place up to 24 hours postoperatively. No residual psychological effects are known to have resulted from use of ketamine. In order to terminate a severe emergence reaction the use of a small hypnotic dose of a short-acting or ultra-short-acting barbiturate may be required. I was interested to see the use of postoperative there, which seems to infer that Ketamine is only given during and shortly after an operation – I was on it for a long time after mine. Molecularly it’s C₁₃H₁₆ClNO•HCl.
Kefzol
Kefzol, which I started 28 August, is a sterile semisynthetic cephalosporin for intramuscular or intravenous administration. Chemically cefazolin sodium, 5-Thia-1-azabicyclo[4.2.0]oct-2-ene-2-carboxylic acid, 3-[[(5-methyl-1,3,4-thladiazol-2-yl)thio]methyl] -8-oxo-7-[[(1H-tetrazol-1-yl)acetyl]amino]–, monosodium salt (6R-trans), and molecularly C₁₄H₁₃N₈NaO₄S₃.
Zantac
Zantac, also started 28 August, seems positively pleasant after the dire warnings on some of the above. Its empirical formula is C₁₃H₂₂N₄O₃S•HCl. It is actually ranitidine HCl, a histamine H2-receptor antagonist. Chemically, N[2-[[[5-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-2-furanyl]methyl]thio]ethyl]-N¢-methyl-2-nitro-1,1-ethenediamine, hydrochloride, it is a white to pale yellow, granular substance that is soluble in water and has a slightly bitter taste and sulphur-like odour.
Heparin
Heparin (started 28 August and stopped 31 August) inhibits reactions that lead to the clotting of blood and the formation of fibrin clots both in vitro and in vivo. is a heterogeneous group of straight-chain anionic mucopolysaccharides, called glycosaminoglycans having anticoagulant properties. Although others may be present, the main sugars occurring in heparin are: a-L-iduronic acid 2-sulfate, 2-deoxy-2-sulfamino-a-D-glucose 6-sulfate, b-D-glucuronic acid, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-a-D-glucose, and a-L-iduronic acid.
Paracetamol
Friendly old Paracetamol, something that I wasn’t too scared of, technically acetaminophen, 4’-hydroxyacetanilide, and is a non-opiate, non-salicylate analgesic and antipyretic which occurs as a white, odourless, crystalline powder, possessing a slightly bitter taste, and is molecularly C₈H₉NO₂.
Tramadol
Tramadol hydrochloride is a centrally acting analgesic. The chemical name for tramadol hydrochloride is (±)cis-2- [(dimethylamino)methyl]-1-(3-methoxyphenyl) cyclohexanol hydrochloride, but that is too hard for a normal human to pronounce.
Brufen
Brufen (started 31 August), which is actually ibuprofen, which is actually (±)-2-(p-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid. It is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent.
Ciprofloxacin
Ciprofloxacin is a synthetic broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent, complexly represented as 1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-1, 4-drhydro-4-oxo-7-(1-piperazinyl)-3-quinolinecarboxylic acid, and empirically as C₁₇H₁₈FN₃O₃.
Naloxone
Naloxone, a narcotic antagonist, is a synthetic congener of oxymorphone. It’s present as naloxone hydrochloride, (–)-17-Allyl-4, 5a-epoxy-3,14-dihydroxymorphinan-6-one hydrochloride, or C₁₉H₂₁NO₄•HCl.
Maxalon and Tropisetron were also tried at various times to combat my nausea.
Comment by Ned – Sunday 24 August 2003, 3:17 AM
  Anyone using an older browser, such as Internet Explorer 6, may notice that some characters aren’t displaying correctly. They’re subscript numbers, and it seems Internet Explorer, for one, doesn’t have them in it’s character set. Mozilla does, so if you’re concerned, go check it in that.

29.08.2002Thursday 29 August

I was sick in the morning, and can’t eat or drink. I had some anti-nausea drugs intravenously, after which I got very itchy all over as if little bugs were walking all over me, so I had some anti-itch drug, stomach lining protector drug, antibiotics, stomach acid neutralising drug and of course, morphine. I felt OK for tea, but was sick again when I saw it, and then feverish and ill overnight. The X-Ray showed my lung was up and the suction was reduced from 30 centimetres of water to 20.

30.08.2002Friday 30 August

I ate most of my breakfast and had an X-Ray, which showed that the lung had re-collapsed. I then became nauseas and vomited some more in the afternoon and couldn’t have tea. I also got a basket of goodies from Becky. Two nurses brought in a huge basket of snacks and lollies and a card in the evening, which everyone commented on.

31.08.2002Saturday 31 August

My drain bottle was changed early in the morning, as it was full. They hold two litres, so I guess I must have drained two litres of fluid. I was sick and didn’t eat any breakfast, having an X-Ray at 10 AM, which showed that my lung was still not fully expanded, so at 11:20 AM a third chest drain was placed. This was a little unpleasant as I lay in bed having a hole chopped into my chest directly above where it feels as though the heart is. The local anaesthetic which I had been given dulled most of the pain, although a few incisions were agonising and the feeling (which I could feel quite well) of suctions and a tube being placed through a hole and removed a few times, just above the heart, is a little repulsive. I then had another X-Ray that showed the lung still not fully expanded. Still sick and vomiting at lunch so didn’t eat any of that. I drank a half glass of milk for dinner, spewing it up later, and had an OK night.

Year View| Summary| Highlights| August 2002 (Month View)

Be Amused

Printed on 100% recycled electrons
|
W3C WAI AA   
|
W3C CSS 2.0   
|
W3C XHTML 1.1