The cyclone hits

First let me say that we're safe.
The storm hit Friday.  Power went out towards the end of the storm, and stayed out for 5 days.  We count ourselves lucky in that regard, as some people will be without for up to one month.
Cell service has been very spotty.
So we've felt really "off the grid".  But, we're back up and running.
I thought I'd talk in this blog about the storm itself, never having been in a tropical cyclone.  Next time (maybe tomorrow) I'll write about after the storm.

Several people around have said to us "Oh, you'd have been through cyclones before (meaning tornados), so you should be right."  (Imagine in Aussie accent)
No, actually, they're quite different.
Tornados come on fast and, typically, leave fast.  The destruction can be much more violent, destroying even the strongest of buildings.  But they generally run a smaller, sometimes oddly selective path. 
A cyclone (or hurricane to you Northern Hemispheries) comes as a strong, often slow moving storm, with plenty of warning.  It moves slowly, and lasts for a relatively long time.  The destruction to strong buildings is less, but the immense area affected brings destruction on a grand scale.  The sustained powerful wind brings down vegetation, fells old trees, drops buckets of rain, lifts the sea swell, and covers the area in debris.  Windows are broken, houses are flooded, powerlines are downed, trees crash into houses, roadways are covered.  For over sixty miles around.

We spent Thursday preparing, and went to bed expecting the storm to hit around 8:00.  It was an uneasy sleep knowing what was coming.
At 11:30 the rain was so heavy that our building fire alarm came on. 
At around 4:00 I got a text message from the city recommending evacuation in certain areas (not us) due to the road closures that would come from flooding.  Tricia checked the flood maps on the city website and called the information hotline, and it seemed that we would not be flooded.  As I went down to check the building, neighbors were loading their car to evacuate.  Needless to say, we couldn't sleep after that.

As the morning began, we had offers from many friends to evacuate to their homes further away from the sea and higher ground.  But we stuck it out in our home.  The owners assured us that the cinder-block walls and safety glass windows would hold strong.  And they did.

We watched the news, and the updates kept us in anticipation as the storm both slowed and intensified.  The time to arrival was moved from 8:00 to 10:00 to 11:00.  Will kept asking "When's it going to start?"  And slowly it strengthened, growing from a category 4 to a category 5, the strongest on the scale.
The rain and wind was present all day, gradually lifting in intensity through the morning.  It finally peaked in strength for us around 12:00 and continued until 2:00.  Two solid hours of strong winds, flooding rain, and watching trees fall outside our windows.
Power went out at 12:30.

Around 2:00 the winds slowed, the rain lessened, and we all took a deep breath.
I was in contact with a friend, another ER doctor who lives here and works in Rockhampton.  We were to be on-call to be deployed to the Yeppoon ER if needed.
Thankfully we were not. 
Once the rain settled down, we were able to get out and have a look around. 

Blue sky in the distance

Our beach

We mourned the large old trees that fell during the storm.

The palm tree pointed out in the video

Poor eucalyptus is bleeding

We walked to Will's school, and viewed the damage there (very little, remarkably).

And we finished the day in darkness and quiet, thankful that the storm had gone and we were safe and together.

Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!

Another first!  A cyclone is headed our direction.  Growing up in West Texas, a cyclone is not something of which we are accustomed.  Needless to say, life is pretty exciting around here.  Cyclone Marcia is currently a category 4, possibly becoming a category 5 when it hits the coast early Friday morning.  Yesterday, I went to the store for hamburger buns. Fortunately, I thought that maybe I should get a "few" extra items to have on hand, just in case. 

A "few" items

Today the girls had their opening mass for school.  As I sat in the pew with my new friend, Eileen, she suggested that we might want to be prepared for a power outage. She recommended that we make sure we have some torches (flashlights) and batteries available. She also offered their home if we felt in danger in ours'.  As soon as mass concluded,  I ventured to Big W to get the essentials:  flashlights, batteries, a small portable gas stove, gas, rubber boots, and lanterns.

Stocked up

And while I was at the shopping center, I thought maybe I should get a few more items for the pantry, so I headed for Woolies.  Boy am I glad I had the thought yesterday to get a "few" items.  There were several empty shelves.  No more cold milk, no more loaves of bread, no more bottled water.






No more bread

No more water

No more milk

Almost no toilet paper.  Yikes!

Torches going fast

Don't worry Mom, we are all stocked up with several days worth of food, but I did buy a few boxes of almond milk, just in case. 

All loaded down with my "just in case" items, I headed to the car.  On my way home I had the thought of possibly needing to fill the car with gas, just in case.  As I pulled into the gas station, I realized lots of people where thinking about the "just in case."  Lines were quite long and there were attendants outside directing traffic around the gas pumps.  Finally feeling more prepared, I headed home.  Much to my surprise, I got a text from Peter announcing that he too would be home soon. Watching the weather, Henk, one of the  Rocky ED doctors, sent him home, just in case.  The road between Yeppoon and Rocky is known to flood, and Peter did not want to be stranded.  About the time he arrived home, a few more of our new friends, Corne` and Natalie along with their children, came by our house and brought us a lovely flower and some words of cyclone advice.  We followed their advice and moved all of our outdoor furniture.  They also offered words of reassurance and calmness, having experienced such an event. We are grateful for wonderful new friends who are kindly helping us find our way here.  As of now, the kids have been picked up from school and all schools have been canceled for tomorrow. We are at home, hunkered down,  just in case, waiting for the storm to pass.  We will update tomorrow or Saturday (or when we have power) with the rest of the story...

Settling in for the storm,
Tricia




We're at Yeppoon



Tropical Cyclone Marcia

Medical alphabet soup

When I was accepted into medical school, my parents gave me a new Stedman's Medical Dictionary.
It's not a small pocket book.  No, the Stedman's is a grand book every bit equal in size to a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.  That pretty much solidifies the argument that medicine has a language all it's own.

 Our decision to move to Australia, of all places, was made in part because we, like many Americans, are bound by our dependence on the English language.  Thus, a move to Australia felt safe enough, in that we would not have to learn a new language.  But, just as we have had to learn a new twist on English, I have had to learn a new twist on "Medical". 
Not just new words, but the abbreviations are maddening!  I'll show you what I mean.
First, however, I must point out that I discuss here out of love, humor, information, entertainment.  Not, in any way, critical.  I mean, how could I be critical of a top-tier medical system that provides compassionate care to such a diverse population spread across a vast amount of land?  Well, I can, but I won't just yet.

Let's start with you, the patient.
Dial 000 (Triple zero)
If you call for the ambulance, you get QAS.  (Queensland Ambulance Service)
  Staffed by the "Ambos"
If you call the police, you get QPS.  Don't confuse the two.

QAS may then bring you to the ED.  (Emergency Department)

There, you will be seen by a nurse and a doctor.
Now, in order of level of training, the doctor could be an SMO (Senior Medical Officer, like me), a PHO (Principal House Officer), a RMO (Resident Medical Officer), or an Intern.
If you need a specialist or admission to the hospital, you will then see the Registrar or their supervisor, the Consultant.
If you have to have surgery, the Surgical Registrar will take you to Theatre.  No, you will not be going to see a musical, you will be in the "Surgical Theatre".
But wait, you may have heard of going to a Surgery.  That's different.  That's where you see the doctor in their office, or "Surgery".
If you need to see your family doctor, you will go see your GP (General Practitioner) in the GP Surgery. 
If you get a prescription, you take it to the Chemist.  And if that prescription is paid for by the government, it must be a PBS drug.  (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme)
Confused yet?

I work at CCH&HS (Capricorn Coast Hospital and Health Service).
I've also been working some at RBH (Rockhampton Base Hospital).
Not to be confused with RBWH (Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital).
If you go there, you might go by RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service).

If you break your arm, you'll likely get a backslab (not a splint).

If it hurts, you might take Panadol (paracetamol), which is the equivalent of Tylenol (acetaminophen).  Or you could take Brufen (ibuprofen).
If you have chest pain, you won't get nitroglycerin (NTG), you'll get glyceryl trinitrate (GTN).

In my relatively brief time in Oz, I've had the privilege to work in a small local hospital, as well as a very large regional hospital.  I've seen a wide variety of cases, from runny noses to snake bites, cattle-related injuries, train injuries, heart attacks, embedded fish-hooks, Ross River Fever, flying fox bites, and on and on. 
But, as I had hoped, this is exactly what I needed to snap me out of the complacency that can come without new challenges.  The challenges of learning new names, new ways of treating illness, new places to practice, and new types of illness has been a wonderful experience so far.
And as I always remember, I am truly grateful for this country, this hospital, and these wonderful people of Australia who have welcomed our family with open arms.
C-Ya M8!