December 5th, Saturday, End of Eighth Week of New Zealand Locum Tenens
It’s almost summer here. Flowers are in bloom and the days are long. The best is the quick changing weather- storms and wind in the morning and then a perfect warm spring day in the afternoon. Or the opposite. It’s a bit tough to know when to do a hike! The “Norwester” winds bam loudly against the clinic windows and no one even blinks.
Patients are so sweet- they always come on time and never complain if they wait. I did some cool laceration repairs and treated a 9 year old girl in anaphylactic shock from a bee sting- pretty rewarding! My boss had an 80 year old patient with chicken pox — we were both amazed.
I’m still not feeling the Christmas spirit yet, in spite of the dangling Christmas earrings of the receptionist, and waiting room holiday decor. Just not cold or snowy enough. One of the nurses starting up a knitting project for me so I would get off of Twitter (so we’ll see how this baby hat turns out!). It’s hard to feel cheery when there’s a “war” in your country and people are dying. My kids are stressed but good- they know they are the lucky ones with jobs. My good buddy back home in infectious disease says all ICU’s are full in Minnesota. My biggest Christmas wish is that he doesn’t get sick. He has a wife who is the main caretaker of his two adult autistic children. If he’s reading this- I am sending positive vibes your way!
Being here is a lucky, lucky gift! Sooooo…. here’s some pics from my hike this week- a place about 40 miles west of me in the Southern Alps at the base of Arthur’s Pass called Castle Hill. There’s a limestone rock formation- remnants of old prehistoric islands- kind of like stone henge, as they seem out of place. I hiked the range behind the rocks to see from a distance. I did not see a single person for three +hours! Thank goodness for the trail markers on the trees.
The trail had a steep wet slope coming down. I took a “slide/fall” at one spot. Luckily had hiking pants on so they got muddy instead of me. I confess I talk to myself a lot, and heard myself say “And she’s down!” Hahaha. My feet were achey after hiking so the freezing creek at the end of the trail was irresistible!
The drive home as usual was beaucolic. Sheep grazing, pie shops, curvy two lane roads. What a gorgeous country!
Stay safe everyone! And donate to your local food shelf!
He po pai,
Lynn
