Now it has been a long-running job in my family that I am somewhat accident prone and I like to check out the NHS's resources where ever I live (in Rochdale there was the gashed head, in Hull there was the broken knee-cap, and in Sunderland there was the wrist - to name but a few!) Now I was hoping that the trend wold not continue once I had left the country but it appears I've been cursed again and have been forced to check out the Australian medical facilities.
I'm back at work in Cairns in North Queensland and was at the end of a long nightshift when relatively innocently I decided yes the tummy was rumbling and a snack was in order. What I did not take into account is that 21-minute noodles are apparently slightly vicious snacks to cook and should come with a government health warning. Yes, one minute they were all innocent and then the next, a scalded wrist and a trip to the 24 hour medical centre. Now whilst this did get me out the rest of my shift (all 95 minutes left) it was in no ways worth it. I now have one wrist bandaged very much like a boxer (pre-glove of course) and the other hand is being forced to work overtime. Now thankfully it is not a bad burn but it has blistered, and the doctor reckons it's a good idea for me to keep it bandged for the time being. And, well, if that wasn't enough a bank machine decided it would be rather funny to swallow my card. Now there are two major problems with this one; it was my British bank card so will take a while for me to get a replacement. Secondly had the ATM been like most ATMs and been attached to a bank I could have simply gone in and politely told the bank teller that the machine had swallowed my card, produce some ID and be given it back - (can you tell this has happened to me before?!) But no, it was a free-standing machine so the card is gone, lost forever in an Australain ATM. However as per usual I was rescued by my Mum (she has a habit of knowing what to do in these circumstances!) Having calmed me down and reassured that yes whilst I only have one functioning wrist and no means of getting cash out right now (my Australian account balance wasn't really an option, the balance apparently too low to give me anything...good job payday is Monday...) she managed to transfer some money to me, using Moneygram, a service apparently specifically for travellers like myself who tend to get into a fix more often than not and need their Mums to bail them out! So on Mothering Sunday I owed my Mum more than the usual Cheers for being there - a massive thank you and also a fair amount of cash!
Now the only worrying thing is that rumour has it things happen in threes - that's two down, what next?...
Claire
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