So once again things have not gone to plan and I find myself once more in Brisbane. I guess stating that I was leaving for the final time in my travel blog would inevitably result in my return. I was silly enough to jinx myself.
So my first and what turned out to be my only night in Rainbow Beach I felt like I was dying. My throat was so swollen I couldn’t swallow my own saliva and breathing while lying down was pretty much impossible. My brain felt like it was exploding inside my head. It was not the best of times.
Come morning probably around 5am I decided enough was enough and having had a look at state of my throat it was clear I required medical attention. Only problem it was a Saturday in a little beach town miles from anywhere. After ringing round lots of places it turned out there was no weekend doctor in Rainbow Beach and the emergency on-call one wouldn’t answer his phone, no one could give me details of Hervey Bay medical centres and I did not want to make a trip to hospital, wherever the nearest one of those might be. Eventually it came down to a few options; 1) stay put and be deathly ill until Monday, 2) get back to Noosa where a doctor office would be open until 12 or 3) get back to the civilisation of Brisbane where doctors are open 7 days a week all day.
I opted for the last option because there was no way to get to Noosa before 12 and so at 9 in the morning I had checked back out of my hostel and was on a Greyhound bus to Gympie and then swapped to a Bay Wide Transit Bus to Brisbane where I had managed to get an appointment with a doctor. How I managed to organise this in the state I was in I really don’t know but it worked out and I got to a doctor who took one look at me and prescribed lots of drugs but not before giving me a massive injection of high dose antibiotics in my backside.
A former flatmate, came to collect me and once again I ended up back at the flat where I was taken care of for a few nights being passed between peoples floors. No one actually minded but I still felt bad being there again.
My medical treatment continued with several more shots, a lot of penicillin tablets and some throat sprays all adding up to a nice big medical bill which I am still trying to sort out with my insurance.
I’m now living in the city centre in Base Brisbane Central hostel where I’m saving a bit of money by working as a housekeeper in exchange for free accommodation. I was hoping to get a paying job while I was here as well but having handed out around 30 CVs and applied to at least another 10 or 15 things online it looks like I’ll just be saving money and not making it while I recuperate. I don’t massively mind since I can hang out with the guys at the flat and take it easy a bit and I’m getting an education in Classic American films on our movie nights strangely from a Dutchman.
On the up side I’ve been accepted to the Cairns Tropical Zoo volunteer programme. They told me they were pretty busy but would make space for me due to my previous experience which I assume is because I told them about my volunteering with Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I gave them dates in June and there going to fit me in so I’m excited that’s getting organised. I just need to find somewhere to live in Cairns but I have some places I’m looking at. I still need to finalise my volunteering with BlazeAid in Tully and give them a rough time scale as well but things are looking up for further north just need to sort out when I’m leaving Brisbane (again) and my stop offs on the way north.