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Published: August 14th 2011
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When I planned this blog, it was going to be a simple matter of letting my photos tell the story. After all, there is not much to say about a week of fun and games at the Gold Coast. But it was not to be. While trying to download my photos, my computer made a loud whirring noise and then promptly died, taking all my photos with it! And there was nothing we could do. We had to wait until we got to Brisbane, where on arrival we called Dial a Geek, who came and told us what we already knew; that our hard drive had crashed, and there was nothing he could do (and charged us $160 for this advice). Fortunately, my hero of a husband had only a couple of weeks previously done a back up, so now, we had to buy a new hard drive, and wait until Tuesday when we had an appointment with Apple to talk Paul through the resuscitation. When the time finally arrived, Paul said he waited anxiously for the reboot to happen, and it did happen, except for the photos!! For some reason they had not backed up. My even bigger hero of
a husband, having not trusted the original back up, had manually saved all my photos separately, and he said he watched his life flash before his eyes as they were uploaded - the only problem with this separate back up is that they were not saved in any order, but I will deal with that problem later. So all in all, we lost only about two week’s of photos (Byron Bay and most of the Gold Coast). It was a very anxious week, but all is well that ends well!
To add to our anxiety, Quinton was unexpectedly admitted to hospital! Last week our Mighty Quinn kept on telling us he had growing pains in his foot. We did not pay much attention to this comment. Then on Sunday we decided to go for a walk up Mount Coot-Tha and Quinton complained that his foot was sore. I confess, I thought he was being lazy, and while we carried him up a bit of the way, we made him walk the 2.2 kms to the top, where he managed to convince Paul to take his shoes off to see what was hurting him. Well! The sole of his foot
was very swollen, with an obvious infection - the result of a cut he got in a pub in Byron Bay. That afternoon, while the boys and Paul went to see some of the museums, I took Quinton to the emergency ward at Brisbane’s Mater hospital, feeling much like a fraud waiting amongst all these obviously very sick children. Three hours later, we finally saw a doctor, who immediately sent Quinton for an X-ray which revealed there was in fact a foreign object still lodged in his foot, and he would have to be operated on the following morning! I couldn’t believe it, and I felt like such a bad mother. Following morning Quinn and I were dropped off bright and early at the hospital, expecting to return home that afternoon. He was finally operated on at about 11am (it was terrible watching him breath in the anaesthetic and then pass out, this child so full of life and then suddenly, so lifeless). It transpires that the tiniest sliver of glass had remained in his foot, causing the infection, and the surgeon said it had been quite difficult finding and retrieving it. The surgeon also informed me that there was
quite a lot of pus, so he could not risk closing the wound, and required us to stay in the hospital for two nights so that Quinton could be put on antibiotics via a drip, and so that they could operate on him again on Wednesday to close the wound!
What a shock! I have to say though, the hospital we were staying at, the Mater Hospital, was wonderful. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and they had so many play rooms for the kids to play in. We were also given a wheelchair on Tuesday so that we could take Quinton outside. The hospital was located in the heart of Brisbane, along the South Bank, and it was beautiful walking there. There was even a manmade beach along the river banks where the older kids could play, and cafes and museums. It was lovely (and the weather was glorious) so the day in confinement passed easily enough. On the morning of the second operation, the doctor had a look at Quinton’s foot while still in the ward, and told us it was actually healing nicely, so provided we kept it clean and dry for at least a
week or so, he would not have to be operated on, and could be discharged. What a relief - though keeping him off his feet is proving to be quite a challenge!
Meanwhile, we were staying with an old friend of Paul’s, Esther with whom Paul used to share digs in London. Her husband Tal is a gynae/obstetrician at the Mater Hospital and they live in Brisbane with their three boys, Jonah, Leo and Sammy. On the Saturday we were invited by a school friend of Paul’s, Dave Surmon, to join him on is boat to one of the islands. Esther and her boys joined us, and we had the most beautiful day at Peel Island. Dave was remarkably relaxed with his boat, and while we stayed on shore having some civilised adult conversation, the boys used the boat as their own personal pirate ship, taking turns throwing each other off, raising the anchor and drifting out to sea a bit, etc. They had a blast. And on the way back we found a pod of dolphins, and watched them playing for a while. Beautiful.
As for our week in the Gold Coast, we had a wonderful time,
and it was great to be with my sister and her family for a whole week, without the pressures of work, school and studies. All seven days were spent at one of the theme parks, and we particularly enjoyed Wet ‘n Wild and Sea World. Oliver in particular was a real dare devil, going on all the rides, and loving the more scary rides. While Brooklyn was a bit hesitant in the beginning, even she started enjoying some of the more scary rides, and was quite brave in the end (more brave than me). And Quinton and Hayden, both of whom had been counting down the sleeps before they saw each other again, got on so well, and they did not stop talking the whole time. And I mean it when I say, they did not stop talking! It really was a fun week.
We are now in Bundaberg, but that is for another blog….
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the times of your lives!
Alexa, it's always such a joy to read about your amazing adventures -- including the tough times (computer crashing and Quinn's op) -- which make it all seem that much more adventurous! So glad you didn't lose too many photos -- well done, Paul! Looking forward to the next instalment! (Kyra only weighed 24 kg when she was 8 or 9 years old. That Quinn of yours is a giant! Giggle!)