Opinion Australia

A guy on the Gold Coast is lucky to be alive after being attacked and bitten by a funnel web spider.They are more prevalent this time of year as the males meander about looking for mates and even the dought is bringing them me and more into contact with humans.
This guy is lucky to be alive. He was bitten four or five times and described in detail how the venom surged up his arm into his body.

There has been an anti-venom available for some time but it still needs to be administered within hours… preferably less… and of course if the spider itself can be captured it makes the process of selecting the appropriate remedy far easier. Having said that it isn’t exactly the sort of thing you’d concentrate on as you scream in pain with 10mm fangs sinking into your flesh pumping venom into your system… is it?

I wrote a short piece yesterday on a guy who survived a sinking boat and spider bite. Since then more details have emerged. The full story is here.

Basically Robbie Hamouda and a mate were on their way home from a fishing trip when the battery died on their way up the Georges River. The battery died and the boat became stranded on a sand bank. Robbie decided to swim ashore to get help.

Just why he thought this was a sensible move bearing in mind it was after midnight is open to question…� but off her went. He struggled through the heavy bush alongside the river… then fell in a ditch and over a cobweb. Feeling something on his hand he brushed it aside… and was bitten four times by a redback!

Before collapsing he was able to call triple-0 and searchers spent two hours locating *which* stretch of river he was on and then another 20 mins finding him. Luckily for him he was still alive though he reports feeling he was close to dying.

He was rushed to hospital where the bites were identified and anti-venom was pumped into him.

Most of us have redbacks in and around our houses and usually we take little notice of them… other than to squash them whenever we can… but this is a reminder of just how dangerous they are!

Robbie has been released from hospital… with a *very* swollen hand… an excellent story to tell over Christmas… and the 5 bream he caught.

Yet again in response to some weight loss my back has started hurting. Yet again the method was the same as always. I lean forward, pick up something relatively light, and move it from left to right.

You’d think by now I’d have learned to avoid moving that way! Trouble is it doesn’t *always* do it… it’s a very intermittant occurrence. In fact… the last time was almost three years ago while my sister was here on a visit… and I can honestly say that if she and her husband had *not* been here then I don’t know how I’d have managed!! That time I could hardly *walk* let alone drive the car so without them the kids would have had a lot of time away from school.

Shouldn’t complain really. The worst time it happened I was in severe pain for nearly 18 months… just after finishing my degree at PCL in fact. I was in our somewhat cramped bedroom, and had picked up the dogs basket to move it so I could vacuum… as simple as that. The pain was so bad then I was seriously considering surgery to fuse my vertebrae! Luckily, and bizarrely, after 18 months… making the *same* move that caused the problem… whatever was wrong cured itself… lord knows how… and I’ve never been quite that bad since.
Back to today though and so far… thanks to the wonder of painkillers… this time the pain is just about bearable… if I don’t move too much. But the effect it’ll have on Xmas is my worry. Helping Father Christmas carry presents is going to be a bit of an issue… as of course will standing around cooking! Still… I’ll just have to fill up on Nurofen and soldier on hoping for the best.

This is a little reminiscent of the “sixties” in style and form, but the underlying message is still as real now as when it was written back in 1952 and at least it avoids the ‘yuck’ factor present in ‘Deck of Cards‘ by T. Texas Tyler (1948)!!

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Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

One poor sod went fishing on the Georges River south of Sydney yesterday and his boat sank. So unable to summon assistance… he swam ashore… only to be bitten by a spider as he struggled through dense bush after coming ashore.

The 24 year old man is currently in Westmead hospital being treated… and protected from further mishap before Christmas. Hope he makes it though to next year at least