It was a very chilly and rainy day, as befitted the shortest day of the year.
I felt awful – sneezing all the time, runny nose, stuffed up head. The cold had finally decided to hit full on. I couldn’t take any medication apart from Panadol. Things like Codral were not compatible with my blood pressure medication.
We stayed around the caravan park. John did some computer things. I tried to read.
We drove across to the coast, then followed that south, through Cottesloe and onto the Stirling Highway, where we cut back up and went to Kings Park. This is a large area of parkland, gardens and bush, in inner Perth.
We walked in the park for a while. There had been some impressive improvements and development of facilities since we were last here, in 93.
I did not feel very well, due to the cold.
We had to extend our original booking at the caravan park – operating on a day by day basis now. We had exceeded the discount allowable per stay, so were now paying the full $25 a night.
Went to Karrinyup Library and borrowed books to read – both of us! With time to fill in while we wait for medical outcomes, and with neither of us feeling very fit, for once John actually wanted reading matter.
Whilst in the Library, looked up Sjoengrens Syndrome on the internet, and in medical reference books. A little knowledge was not a pleasant thing to have! Sjoengrens is not nice. It is an auto immune disease that shuts down the salivary glands. There can be other, associated, auto immune ailments too. They did not know why it came on, and there was no cure. All they could do was act to alleviate the symptoms. John was quite depressed by these research results. Me too.
This trip is just not turning out as it was supposed to!
We drove across to the coast and went to Scarborough where we walked along the beach for a couple of hours.
My cold was not too bad.
We drove to Joondalup for John’s scan and blood tests.
He was told that the scan did show swollen salivary glands, which could be consistent with Sjoengrens.
We went to Spotlight, where I bought some more knitting wool.
I was getting a cold – a rarity for me when travelling. I knew that spending time keeping John company in Casualty was a bad idea! After all, they have sick people there….Felt increasingly miserable as the day went on.
Bought fish and chips for tea.
Today was John’s specialist appointment.
We had an easy drive down the Mitchell Freeway, over the Swan River and to the South Perth Medical Centre on Mill Point Drive.
We saw, in passing, the place on Mill Point Drive, where daughter and husband had a flat for a few months, in ’98/’99, whilst they were working in Perth on their extended trip.
Distant Mill Point Drive, and the Swan River
The doctor wanted a scan done, and blood tests. He was not sure of a diagnosis. It might be Sjoengrens Syndrome – which neither of us had ever heard of!
It was a bit of an anti-climax to still come away with no definitive answers.
I still had a sore throat!
On the way back to camp, collected our mail. Notes from L were interesting, but there was nothing else interesting or important.
Today was spent quietly at the park, because I had woken up with a sore throat and John was not feeling the best.
After breakfast, drove to Herdsman Lake, just a little to the south.
This lake was filled by ground water and was really a circular set of lakes that went round an island in the middle. Parked Truck and set out to walk around the lake. It was much further than it looked! Found out afterwards that we’d walked 8kms.
That was quite enough exercise, under the circumstances.
Got fuel at Gwelup – $1.02cpl.
At 9am, John phoned the ENT specialist that he had been referred to, from Geraldton, and was given an appointment – on Thursday!
We walked to the Karrinyup shopping centre. John did not feel very well as we walked there, but was better after a sit down and a drink at the centre.
We browsed the shops for a few hours, and had lunch there.
It was frustrating that we were having to fritter time away like this, but it was best to get the health thing sorted before we went really remote. If we got to go remote at all! Given the state of medical services in a place like Geraldton, I couldn’t begin to imagine them further north!
We had an uneventful drive to Perth, with the usual roadside stops for coffee and lunch.
I think John just wanted to get the drive over and done with. We took the most direct route this time – down the Brand Highway.
We went back into the Karrinyup Waters Caravan Park, at $22.50 a night, after discount.
I texted our location to the offspring, without going into detail about reasons for the back track.
Wondered how long we would be here, this time!
Last night was really wild – wet and windy.
Drove into Geraldton – again – where I returned the library books. Refuelled – $1.04cpl.
John was not feeling very well, but his face was no bigger.
Took down the annexe roof in the afternoon, whilst it was dry.
Walked down to the river mouth for the last time. This had been a very pleasant place to stay and we would certainly come back to it again in the future.
I made soup for tea: zucchini, garlic, cream and cheese. Very nice.
This Adventurous Age 