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| The boys toasting to the events of the evening, the night we celebrated Rita’s birthday. From left to right; Danie, Leon, Tom, Gerhard, and Ken. What a fun night we had! |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| Tom tossed out some cut banana peels to the kudus, and one landed on Big Daddy’s head between his massive horns, of which he was well aware. After eating these pellets, he made his way to a tree using the branches to “sweep” the wayward piece of banana peel. Sorry, Big Daddy! fIt took him a few minutes to resolve the issue, but once it was done, he walked away, shaking his head a few times. |
OK, here’s more medical talk. For those of you who are “sick” of it, I apologize. Here’s an update for those of you who frequently write if I don’t report anything.
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| We girls had our hands on the top of our heads for some reason, from left to right, Louise, Dawn, Me, Linda, and Rita, the birthday girl. Kathy and Don sadly missed this party when they were away. |
After leaving his office, we headed to the local pharmacy to refill my zillions of heart-related medications for the next six months. In about three months, I’ll place another six-month refill with the online pharmacy I’ve been using since the onset of our travels, Progressive Rx.
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| He was visiting dung beetle minus his ball of dung and his partner. |
By sending them an email of the prescriptions bottles/boxes with the labels intact, they can refill any non-scheduled prescription. Their prices are reasonable, generally lower than any pharmacy in the US or Canada. Their customer service is outstanding.
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| Zebra and two impalas were sharing the lush greenery. |
But, the request for refills must be sent months in advance since their processing time is slow, and the package often doesn’t arrive for six weeks. This may not work for many seniors and others who may not pay in advance when the prescriptions aren’t received quickly.
The slow arrival time has been the case, particularly for us, when receiving prescriptions, while in other countries, the package has to go through customs and be approved for import.
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| The chicks from several months ago had undoubtedly grown. Here they are, still hanging out with Mom and Dad. Dad is in the back with the black feathers. Youngsters and females have lighter-colored feathers. |
That is another reason we don’t wait to place an order. Also, that’s a reason why narcotic prescriptions cannot be shipped. We don’t use any narcotic medications, so that isn’t an issue for us.
Yesterday, when we submitted the multiple prescriptions to the pharmacist, we expected they wouldn’t have the amounts we needed on hand. However, they would order those they couldn’t fill for our pick up on Monday when again we have another appointment with Doc Theo, after tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) appointment as well.
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| Not Willie but Son of “Dad & Son” who visit every so often. “You got any of those pellets for me?” Of course, we did. |
I knew I was in for a tough night after he applied the cream, especially when he warned me to expect a fair amount of pain. He wasn’t kidding. A few hours after we returned to the house, I was practically climbing the walls.
I took the pain meds every four hours but couldn’t seem to stay on top of it. By bedtime, after I distracted myself for a couple of hours while we watched a few episodes of Ray Donovan on Showtime, I knew I was in for a tough night.
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| It was a dreadfully hot day when I made eight pumpkin pies for our Thanksgiving dinner in the bush. The temperature was 40C, 104F and I had trouble rolling properly in the humid heat. Thus, I made all of them with a thick crust, all I could manage in the heat and humidity. They tasted good anyway, so they said. |
Overall, I may have slept three or fours hours, but surprisingly, I don’t feel tired today. The pain is now about 50% of what I experienced last night, and I expect to sleep better tonight.
Isn’t it funny how everything is worse at night, such as pain, worry, fear, and grief? It seems our defenses are down as we attempt to free our minds of the day’s activities and thoughts. Here’s a link to the connection between pain and sleep that provides valuable information.
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| Another fun gathering at Frikkie’s Dam on a Sunday. |
I’ve found that the less I complain, the better I feel. It is so easy to get caught up in a vicious cycle of “whinging” (as “they” say regarding “complaining” in both the UK and Australia) to a spouse or other member(s) of the household. When I have severe pain, I tell Tom about it but generally try not to bring it up again, at least until a day or so has passed.
If complaining reduced pain, it certainly would be worth doing. But, it doesn’t, and all it does for caregivers, family, and friends is add to their anxiety about your illness and their feelings of hopelessness in trying to relieve your discomfort.
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| Two Big Daddies head butting for dominance. |
Believe me, if Tom could take away the pain, he would. And it’s his excellent attitude that rubs off on me, aiding in reducing the healing time required to get well. Also, he never questions or minimizes the extent of my discomfort when I do mention it. I take great pleasure in getting well, not only for me but for him as well.
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| Bush-tailed bushbaby at Jabula’s veranda one Saturday night. |
Tomorrow morning we’ll head back to Doc Theo for another dose of the cream and new bandages (they’re called “plasters” here in South Africa). We’d made a reservation for dinner at Jabula for tomorrow evening, but I will wait and see how I feel before we go. We can readily get takeaway if necessary, but we’ll miss the socialization we so much enjoy at this fun establishment.
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| When we first arrived in Marloth Park, we couldn’t get enough biltong. After several months, we’d had enough and stopped buying it. Maybe one more time before we leave? |
That’s it for today, folks! Tomorrow is another holiday in South Africa, Freedom Day (click here for details). If as many tourists come to Marloth Park as during other holidays, we expect our wildlife friends won’t stop as frequently as they have this week. We’ll see how it goes.
Happy day, happy Friday, happy weekend!
Photo from one year ago today, April 26, 2018:
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| A good-sized turtle was crossing the road by our house. For more photos, please click here. |