Medical Mayhem

This holiday began with an earthquake and now some medical issues have arisen. Is it to be a plague of frogs next? We returned to Disneyland for the third day, and our last day in LA, and it was while exiting the 'Tower of Terror' that Ellie suddenly became struck by extreme photophobia. No, that's doesn't mean being sick of your ridiculous photo on terrifying rides being displayed to the world, but refers to any kind of light being extremely painful. Given that we were in southern California in the middle of summer, it was going to be tough to avoid light. Ellie put her sunglasses on and pulled her hoodie over her head, but she was still in acute pain. We went to the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' ride because it was almost entirely dark, but that was too much for her. She couldn't open her eyes enough for us to walk back to the hotel, so I guided her like a blind person to a shady spot. She sat in the shade of a tree, with her eyes shut and her head covered, all to no avail. With her sunglasses on, hoodie covering her face and her head thrust downwards, people stared at her, probably thinking that she was some diminutive celebrity trying to avoid recognition. After a couple of hours the pain slowly passed. She had no other symptoms, so my only explanation is that she may have had a bad reaction to sunscreen in her eyes. So far, it hasn't recurred.

The next day she complained of a large painful lump in her upper arm, which was quite black. Using my $19.95 First Aid kit that I bought at Woollies in Conder, I performed surgery and removed a black stone embedded in her flesh, not her skin. It was 2-3mm in diameter. My only explanation for that is that she had some sort of blocked pore and that her body had calcified it as a form of protection. Maybe I've been watching too many Discovery Health shows.

Then she lost her orthodontic retainer in a restaurant. She is supposed to wear this full-time until October, then wear it at night until February. So when we get to New York we are going to try to find someone who can make an emergency retainer. Sigh.

Finally, Michaela, who is bravely keeping the home fires burning back in Canberra, has now found out that she has to have surgery in the next few weeks, in the hope of being fit to play by the end of the W-League season. Now that I am a doctor of sorts, I feel I should know more about all this medical mayhem. Maybe I should just stick to anthropology! :-)