Snow falling.

Shopping in Karow.

Karow station. (web image)

Karow (pronounced car-ov) is one station south of Buch (book). Ben tells me his German is "nicht gut" (nikt goot, "not good") yet he seems to be getting around reasonably well. He's shopping today, buying fruit from a Vietnamese vendor at the Karow market. Hopefully the hated haircut has grown out by now and he no longer has shortish hair on top with close-cropped back and sides, the result of a visit to a local hairdresser just after arriving in Berlin. The image that immediately comes to mind is Beaker from The Muppet Show who also happens to be quite tall, if I remember correctly. There are no specific plans for new year's eve and I sent Ben an article about celebrations in Berlin. According to the article, it's the only day of the year when fireworks are permitted and there are explosions everywhere. "It's like war," said the writer.

Christmas day.

Guesthouse,
Campus Buch (web image)

Ben's the sole occupant of the Hans Gummel guesthouse in Campus Buch where a room is only €90 per week (long-term rate). The guesthouse has a shared kitchen so Ben would have some company, if anyone was staying there that is. He went for a walk yesterday and discovered that the cafeteria was closed and everything else was closed as well. He'll have a minor nose operation in mid-January and isn't permitted to fly for a few weeks afterwards.

A family member and her boyfriend sail to Tassie tonight for a one-week visit to see the sites. Visiting Ben was on the itinerary however they've still booked a night's stay in his "home town".

Christmas eve forecast.

Christmas day is looking especially bleak; 1°C to 5°C with strong winds and rain. Not a good day to be venturing out very far. By way of comparison, the forecast for NE Tas is 13°C to 21°C with slight winds and showers, probably not a good day for venturing out either. At least Ben's Berlin accommodation is substantially better than his usual Tasmanian accommodation. I'm told that most people in Germany celebrate Christmas on the 24th and absolutely everything is closed; what happens on Christmas day remains a mystery.

In other news of the day, a second-hand trailer has been purchased for the next (major) trip to Tasmania. According to the registration certificate, it's a hand-built trailer produced in 1980. It's big enough to carry a motorbike plus some luggage. The trailer is wide and it may even be possible to pitch a tent on the trailer's wooden floor. The faded tarp is a bonus because items can be stored on the trailer until more permanent accommodation is organised.

Attempted delivery.

Posted over some CT scans last Thursday and they've arrived already, although it looks like the delivery was unsuccessful. I was hoping that anyone at Pension Geissler could sign for the parcel but perhaps the designated addressee has to sign. Pain relief medications are working well and Ben has called in to see the specialist a few more times. There's one more thing to attend to before returning and that's fixing his troublesome nose once and for all.

evening update: The reason for the attempted delivery is that Ben's no longer residing at Pension Geissler. He's moved to cheaper accommodation in a guest house in Campus Berlin-Buch where he has a very large, bright room on the second floor. He's positive that this, his 21st year, is going to be a very good year.

late update:
Article Number EE750901528AU
Date/Time         21.12.11 13:53:00
Current Status  Delivered

21st birthday.

(web image)

It's Ben's 21st birthday today. The original plan was for a small gathering at Weldborough, Tasmania but that's been shelved till his return from Berlin. I know from experience that he's not big on birthday celebrations so today may be just another day. I'll send an SMS later, and wish for clear skies and plain sailing. Looking forward to the day when riding motorbikes, sailing, fishing and fossicking are more important than health concerns.

Late evening update: Ben received the birthday SMS's sent by relatives and I read the Facebook messages to him over the phone. The Hotel Geissler staff gave him a box of chocolates. It snowed in Berlin a few days ago.

Early morning messages.

Berlin is 10 hours behind Melbourne so early morning calls are happening regularly. Often the calls are brief because Ben's out and about, or sometimes he's not feeling the best. Unfortunately, my first reaction to phone calls is to worry, then take a deep breath and answer while earnestly hoping that everything is OK. Fortunately, the past few days, there have been no major concerns. This morning at around 2AM, the phone signalled that a message had arrived. I got out of bed, found the glasses and read the screen: Sry about cutting off all the time. And for waking you up just now. Sleep well.

Sense of humour returning is a good sign.

Side effects!

From drug website: "It may take up to 4 weeks before your symptoms improve. Serious side effects: sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; sudden severe headache, confusion, problems with vision, speech, or balance; Do not stop using ... suddenly."

A forum post was more colourful: "Has anyone else had any problems with ...? It really WAS making me go utterly bonkers. Seriously feeling 100% better since dropping that ****. Not as many emotional wobblies, can conduct a conversation without bursting into tears, no long sweat-ridden sleepless nights, no more wild and furious pseudo-intellectual arguments with myself."

Those first few days on new medication were rough. Somehow, while dealing with these side effects, Ben managed to travel for six hours on the Inter City Express, switch to a local train in Berlin then make his way back to the hotel. (Fortunately, they had a spare room.) Ben phoned after he got back. He was confused, very upset and unable to say more than a few jumbled words. Now, a few days later, with the dosages adjusted, he sounds and feels a bit better.

Jazz goes to the vet.

The giraffe is too tall.

Jazz had a problem with her left eye and went to the vet today. My diagnosis of an infection like conjunctivitis was plausible but incorrect, she has a scratched cornea. Fortunately the scratch is only shallow and she's been prescribed pain relief plus some ointment. With the pain relief medication I've been told to watch for side effects that can occur with some dogs. There's a follow-up appointment in a few days and I'm quietly hoping that no more treatment is needed because of the expense.

The 'problem–accurate diagnosis–fix it' scenario does happen but not always; though we can't help but hope that it will always be the case. From a very early age we gain the expectation that a visit to the doctor (or maybe an operation) will make any problem go away. However, browse around and it's not hard to find way too many descriptions of 'chronic pain no diagnosis' cases and stories of people 'bouncing around the medical system' for years. Some persist with the medicos, some experiment with alternative (even magical) therapies while others decide that the best strategy is to manage symptoms and do their best.

After many tests and investigations, the recent result of 'no neurological aetiology' is just a technical way of saying 'don't know'. The symptoms are present but the precise causes remain unclear. We're thankful for the investigations because many possibilities have been considered but the hope that there's one problem with a definite solution remains just a hope. The planned four-day hospital stay was reduced to two. I'm sure they were prepared to operate if necessary but there was no specific target and invasive explorations are too risky. Other medication to manage symptoms has been prescribed.

Last Wednesday Ben moved south to Freiburg and is staying with friends he met on the previous trip to Germany.

Evening update: The trip to Freiburg didn't go well. New medication caused worrying symptoms that resembled stroke. Ben ended up in a hospital emergency department where a CT scan was clear, no blood clots. He's travelled all the way back to Buch and staying in Hotel Geissler again.

Don't wish me good luck.

Admitted as an inpatient today. Ben's very hopeful that his health problems will be fixed once and for all. "Don't wish me good luck," he said on the phone. He doesn't like luck, it's been very unkind in many respects. He wants to get well, return to Tas, ride the bike, catch up with friends and find work. The story continues, one step at a time...

Medical chart.

Euros to AUD.
(source: http://www.x-rates.com)

Here's an important medical chart. There's a prepayment due today and hopefully the exchange rate will be at a favourable point on its (very bumpy) roller coaster.

Afternoon postscript: The chart doesn't help all that much because it shows wholesale rates, not retail. For this transaction, we'd have paid $300 less if the wholesale rate was applied. However we're only minnows in an ocean full of whales.

The focus of investigation.

The cervical spine.
(web image)

There's much to learn about how the human body works but, when it's working properly, there's little inclination to ponder. And when it's not working properly, the complexity is almost overwhelming. Some have suggested that Ben's problem might be in his head but that's not true*. The problem is below the head and above the shoulders where there's an amazing collection of highly important bones, nerves and muscles:
Spinal nerve C1 ... provides motor innervation to muscles at the base of the skull. C2 and C3 form many of the nerves of the neck, providing both sensory and motor control. These include the greater occipital nerve which provides sensation to the back of the head, the lesser occipital nerve which provides sensation to the area behind the ears... The phrenic nerve arises from nerve roots C3, C4 and C5. It innervates the diaphragm, enabling breathing.  (Wikipedia)

Symptoms of problems in this area include headaches, migraine, neck and shoulder pain, muscle spasms, allergies and asthma. All of those sound very familiar. The focus of the next investigation is a possible "developmental problem" in C2, axis. "Developmental problem" is a term that we've encountered before, twice in fact.

* I did ask if the recent MRI of the head showed any large empty spaces but was told there's a perfectly formed brain in there.

Up in the air.

Juggling.
(web image)

Ben will be admitted on Tuesday and stay in hospital for about four days. The specialist has identified a possible problem in the cervical spine and plans to do a CT scan but we're not sure what else. There's hope that the cause of the painful symptoms may finally be isolated. Prepayment is required immediately with the final cost depending on what additional tests, procedures and follow-ups have to be done. How to cover the eventual cost is a big worry, especially if something significant has to be done. There's a limit to what one person can do. And when another person, who should be helping, delays, makes excuses or offers to "pay half" then won't, that makes the situation more difficult than it needs to be. We've been let down before and it's happening again.

The Australian Patient.

The English Patient
(web image)

The Australian patient is slightly less patient than his English counterpart. The next appointment has been brought forward to tomorrow 12 noon. It's not really a matter of patience since waiting two weeks is much the same as sitting in a taxi at traffic lights; the meter is still running and, in this case, accommodation comes at a cost of €37 per night. The trial medication is, at best, providing relief for symptoms and there are some days when Ben would rather be home.


Sunrise in Berlin Buch today was at 7.54am and sunset is at 3.55pm! That's one hour and twelve minutes less daylight than the deepest depths of a NE Tasmanian winter and sounds rather depressing.