Not Dead

It's a bit of a story here whereby a hospital began to notify relatives that a woman had died, when she hadn't. In fact she had no connection to the hospital aside from once receiving a referral to the hospital, which she never followed up.

In Queensland police were sent to inform her elderly aunt of the hospital patient's death.

It is hard to imagine how this could happen. If you attend a hospital, every medical person you see will check your details, including your birth date and at times your home address and phone number. 

Believe me, I know, and I am repeating what I wrote at the time.

I was to have surgery to remove a melanoma on the back of my neck. I attended the hospital to see a consulting specialist and this was the one time when I wasn't asked my birth date.

She began detailing the planned treatments to my chest, how deep the cuts would go, all the information I needed to know, but I was puzzled. She was clearly puzzled herself, as the realisation dawned on her that chest treatment wasn't matching the neck issue. Eventually she said, 'There something really wrong happening here'. Details were checked, and of course she was so apologetic about the mix up.

It took me time to realise what had happened. There was a patient there with the same first name as mine, and a similar sounding surname. When his name was called, I thought it was my name and stood up and went with the surgeon to a consulting room. 

And she was the only medical person in a hospital who did not check my date of birth. 

There was also some confusion once at the pharmacy that provides my drugs, and I expect it was the same person who was wrongly confused by the hospital.

Never get tired of having your birthdate checked in hospital. It is so important, and if you suspect you are wrongly identified, speak up straight away, because none of you want to know the extreme treatments you might undergo when it was not about you and your treatment will be much simpler. 

Your wrist band should be checked if you are an inpatient. I'm sure Nurse Pixie was always thorough about this. 

Less Serious

This post is kind of like a Sunday Selections. I haven't posted many photos of late. 

The tram approaches the tram stop at New Preston Tram Depot stop from the distance. Once out of the city, trams only stop if someone wants to get on or off. If you sit on the seat within the shelter, you can't see the tram coming and if the driver can't see you as they approach, they could go straight past. Meanwhile, the other end of the shelter is clear glass. A Yarra Trams advertising slogan once was 'Think like a passenger', for their staff. Perhaps Yarra Trams should have thought like a passenger at this tram stop. Idiots, idiots and imbeciels. . 

Jass with her friend Amber. 

Stomach unprotected and eyes closed. She trusts us.

They could do with a repaint, but I do like these Russian style dolls. 

Monday was a dramatic sunrise. 

And there was more drama below where a motorist got in the way of a tram in an unimaginable manner and they bumped together.

 

It was all over in ten minutes, I guess details quickly exchanged. The car driver was wearing a full length overcoat while driving, far too restrictive for driving, in my opinion. You know, cars do have heating and can make you very toastily warm.

Incompetents abound. 

Exit the Famous Bearded Media Person

That is how I used to refer to fellow resident Derryn Hinch if I mentioned him.

He lived in our building for around as long as I have, some 24 years. He was always friendly and chatty when we engaged in lift conversations, and expressed his condolences when he knew Ray died. 

His publicly aired opinions were strong and often controversial, and I did not always agree with them. Nevertheless, he was a neighbour doing his job as a media person, just as I did my job. I didn't question him about his and he didn't question me about mine. I thought of him as an essentially a decent person. 

He served gaol time, for contempt of court, and one of home detention (he was allowed to leave his apartment to use our pool and gym), perhaps for the same reason, after naming yet to be convicted paedophiles as a warning to the community. 

He travelled the world in his media role, was a radio broadcaster, tv presenter, charity donor of time and money, made fortunes, lost fortunes, owned a winery and was married five times.

As was said at his funeral, he loved media, women and alcohol. He was a huge drinker of wine, I heard a figure of six bottles a day as a minimum, and this caused problems. Here on his balcony late at night he would burn papers in....... I can't remember the name. It was Japanese outdoor thing you could burn stuffs in? Hibachi? The smoke used to annoy his next door neighbour who liked to have her windows open. The then the body corporate became involved in the neighbour dispute and he was warned more than once.

His drinking also led to liver failure and he received a liver transplant about the same time as our late friend's brother in the Austin Hospital, so they got to know each other. The brother of our friend, a non drinker, is still going and I exchange occasional messages with him. His lovely wife now sadly has dementia.

Derryn owned a ground floor apartment but lived in a rented apartment on an upper level. His PA, and general everything who sorted out his life lived in the apartment he owned, and he eventually bought the apartment where he lived.

He was married five times, twice to the same woman, the famous actor Jackie Weaver. His animal activist girlfriend, Lynda Stoner, from the eighties became his last partner. While he lived here  he met and married Chanel. I knew her rather better than I wanted to, as I, she and the building's cleaner were stuck in a lift for an hour or more in 2009 when a bushfire burnt through a major electrical cable in the north of the state and most of Melbourne lost power. She was pleasant, very glam and to use an old fashioned phrase, of a nervous disposition. She recognised a couple of old queens, Ray and myself, as cool guys, and while aloof with most people, she was over the top friendly with us. She owned a private detective agency. 

They did not live together though. She lived in another apartment, and her parents moved into yet another apartment. Although Derryn once drove around in a Rolls Royce, while he lived here he owned a huge converted to right hand drive black American Cadillac. The carpark in a large building behind the Highrise used to have a car wash facility and Derryn used to have the staff there come and collect his car, clean it thoroughly, and return his car. One staff smashed up his car, and it was off the road for months as parts were hard to obtain. He stopped driving many years ago.

His physical deterioration was quite rapid, and rather sad to see. There was nothing wrong with his mind and he continued to write up until the day before he died in his sleep.

Up until about three years ago, he used the Italian restaurant opposite as his office in the afternoon. With his laptop, he would dine, work, socialise and drink moderately for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The restaurant closed, and so he would be seen less often going out.

After numerous falls and leg infections, he died in his sleep. 

Yesterday he was honoured with a State Funeral, and it was broadcast around the nation by commercial television. At two hours, it was a long watch and I skipped through the music as I watched in a little delay. I seldom praise commercial media, but Channel 9 made it a terrific coverage, without ads. 

My eyes wetted up when Jackie Weaver spoke via video, and his very emotional PA spoke, who obviously I know from lift encounters. Also mentioned and was a pall bearer who was the local resident who organised my repainting and recarpeting two years ago. In the last year or so he put in a huge effort to look after Derryn and his PA.

Oh, I haven't mentioned that he formed his own political party and became a politician in Victoria's upper house, as a member of the the Legislative Council.

Nor did I mention he published 14 books.

Nor that in the early noughties when he was reported in the media, he was described as living in an exclusive St Kilda Road apartment building, which quite amused us and fellow residents who live in the cheap seats of St Kilda Road, but it wasn't always.    

Eras end, and so has another. Vale the Human Headline, the Mouth from the South and Beast from the East, Derryn.

Blotting your copybook

In the 1980s Aboriginal Australian Rules footballers were often taunted with racist comments when playing on the field. Woe betide you if you do that now. You will be found by guards and cctv at paid grounds, and you will be piled on by social media, and banned from football venues.

In that time Aboriginal player Nicky Winmar made a stand and pulled up his player jumper and pointed to his dark skin.  The photo is a classic, and I read it as 'I am a black Australian Aborigine and I play football really well. This is the colour of my skin, and youse can all get fucked".

He went on me win many accolades and honours. 

How horrible it has been to learn he has been convicted of three cases of assault against women. His name has quickly been removed from the AFL Hall of Fame. Two statues of him have been taken down. 

It is so awful that a hero to many has been taken down but it is deserved. We don't use racial abuse anymore, nor do we abuse women. 

It seems Nicky, you blotted your copy book beyond redemption. So sad, you stupid dickhead.

Life snapshot

Wednesday shopping. Phyllis drove. He is competent at driving, quite good really, but I still had my foot on the passenger side imaginary brake pedal at times.

After shopping, Kosov drove with his learner plates displayed. Kosov did drive a car in India, and has an Indian driving license, 'bought' by his parents. 

He was a left foot braker in India, which really isn't the right way to drive. I don't think our driving test people would accept that now, although I know it still happens with local drivers born overseas. It can be easy to tell as they ride the brake with their left foot as they drive and their rear brake lights are lit. I am seeing this less than it used to be. 

Kosov's driving has steadily improved. He is far from competent yet, but doing much better. I had prepared myself to compliment him, and so build his confidence.

I don't fully understand what happened, but when it came to turning into our carpark entrance, he went past where he was meant to turn and then went up onto the footpath. I yelled 'stop', and he did. I told him to get out and I would reverse the car back onto the lane and drive to our building's garage. 

I now know he confused his left and right feet, and was braking with his left foot and accelerating with his right foot. Before he should have turned, he was already getting the turn wrong. There was chatter about when to press the button to open the carpark gate. Maybe that distracted him. Look, his speed was only about 10 km/h but had someone been standing on the footpath...

More driving Thursday, and it was clear the experience yesterday had rattled him, as he drove less confidently. While at about 20 km/h, I warned he and Phyllis that I was about to test the electric handbrake It worked well enough, and I can stop the car with my intervention. He did make a serious mistake today, but without consequences, and nothing like yesterday's. I do feel preparing him for a driving test is going to be a long haul.

Naturally he was mortified, and kept apologising. Phyllis kindly said nothing at the time. What my mind was occupied with was what happened and how to ensure it didn't happen again. 

Not too much has happened this week. Ex Sis in Law and her husband flew off to Bali this morning, and had to leave home at 3am. 

This afternoon my Indonesian neighbour invited me out for coffee, he being the father of his daughter who has twice locked herself out their apartment, and called on me for help. 

He grew up in poverty in Indonesian Borneo, with an abusive father and an uncaring mother. Somehow through sheer will and being smart, and some luck, he ended up being a being a highly desirable employee, working in the tech area of public transport and other areas and became a rich person in Australia. In the last few years he spent time working in Indonesia. He is very handsome, for a fifty one year old. There came an opportunity to ask him if he had Chinese heritage. Indonesia has a population of Chinese heritage people but mostly a native Moslem population. His heritage is Chinese. Sorry if this offends you. It is the way my mind works, and I established that he is not circumcised. Wouldn't mind seeing it.

He has a house too, in an expensive outer eastern Melbourne goes up for auction today. I need to do some searching. Maybe it's a middle suburb now. What were outer suburbs seem to have become inner suburbs.

Whatever nonsense I've written, it was a nice catch up with my neighbour. He was kind to me when Ray died.

Friday Fandango

Gosh can this guy dance. He must have put so much time into this short clip, but must also must have a natural dancing gift. It would have been nice to see him do some Irish tap dancing or perhaps the world famous Melbourne Shuffle.

Quiz answers

I've visited the Canadian provinces British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. 

Ray had cousins in Saskatchewan.

Surely we all know Quebec, province and city. 

I also knew Newfoundland and Labrador. 

I missed Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

So you've been edjicated about Canadian provinces, but probably not remember most.

We won't go down the road of Canadian territories.