Hi on behalf of Annie
Unfortunately Annie's pancreas blew up (thanks to sludge in the gall bladder) just after she and Danni "made it" around the block! She was taken by ambulance to ICU in Shepparton on 30th October and transferred to St Vincent's in Melbourne 3 weeks later. And that is where she resides at present... 'suffering' acute pancreatitis in the Hepatobiliary Unit. It's a slow old trip to getting it resolved but Annie maintains the cheerful spirits you all know. She has a window to look out, fortunately, and has kept down 4 real meals in a row in the past 36 hours. Ok - they were 2" square, but they stayed down this time. She says she is feeling more "normal" as some of the fluid is finally draining off and she is finding it easier to breathe and move about (though she is still on oxygen.)
Danni is quite happily ensconced at Numurkah in a respite house she knows from previous visits, and enjoys. The delightful Skye is here in East Gippsland with me and my dog Timmy. Annie's good friends Penny & Ian were able to drive 12 hours out of their way, on the way home from Canberra, to pick up Skye from the vet kennels in Numurkah and bring her to me. Skye was so excited to see the home where she had been housesitting for 2 months (12 months ago). She rushed into the house, straight to the toy box and started throwing Timmy's toys into the air and playing with the balls. She has been no trouble at all and is gradually losing a bit of weight with running around the property and eating smaller meals and *no* snacks!
Annie's motorhome, car & trailer arrived on a tilt-tray semi trailer last week and are stored in my farm shed. Here is a picture of it leaving Numurkah
Annie sends her love to everyone and will tell me when to post more info.
Cheers, Laurie
PS - special thanks go to:
#1 - Alison, from Numurkah, who spent an entire morning cleaning up the motorhome after Annie was carted away in the early hours. I never met her before, just rang a number from the CMCA Fellowship Guide, explained the problem, and Alison volunteered her services straight away and headed over to the CP the very next day.
#2 - Carol & Peter Duggan from the GV Gypsies Chapter and another Chapter member, Carmel, all from Shepparton. I rang them out of the blue, explained that Annie was in Shepp Hospital and had no nighties or slippers - or anything. They went straight out - bought nighties et al - and took them to Annie within an hour of my call. Then Carmel kept up the visiting and washing of Annie's things and making more purchases. How kind all these people were! The Duggans even drove up to Shepp on a few hours notice and packed up the motorhome ready for transport on the semi.
