Broome to Perth

Our travels of late have been extreme!!! Not the fun kind either. We scored Influenza A which knocked us both around. Not fun suffering in a caravan, particularly with vertigo on top of the flu. We spent 5 days in Broome, but only saw the chemist! Being so contagious we didn’t leave the van.

From Broome we drove 2 hours south to Barn Hill Station. This looked like a fun place on the beach but we were still struggling and didn’t get out to experience it. This is where I started to worry about my hearing loss in my left ear. I rang virtual ED (it’s awesome, look it up anywhere in Aus!) and I was told to get to emergency. We could have driven back to Broome but decided to continue south to Port Hedland. Lucky Paddy was on the mend as this was a 6 hour drive.

I was seen in ED there and given a CT scan. This showed a possible infection in the mastoid bone (left ear). They consulted the Royal Perth hospital and the advice was to make sure I had a MRI within the week. This is where the problems began – northern WA is very remote and there are no MRI machines except in Perth!! At this stage we were 3 days away from an MRI machine. We were not heading back, so we continued to make our way south.

Port Hedland to Nanutarra Roadhouse was another 6 hour trip. We stayed there the night but I was woken by a vertigo spell and full head spin at 3a.m.. I woke Paddy around 4a.m to let him know we needed to get going asap to get to Geraldton Hospital. I was no longer just deaf in my left ear but completely off balance and feeling very nauseous. This was the day trip from hell. We left at 4.20am and within half hour had hit a kangaroo. Paddy one/kangaroo zero! We were fortunate to only get minor damage to the front of the car. This drive was completely remote. Nothing around except very long straight roads (& lots of road kill!). It took Paddy 11 hours towing the van to get me to Geraldton ED.

I was given another CT scan, which showed there may have been an abscess at the back of my ear. They also consulted with a Perth hospital and it was decided that I needed to be flown down to Perth to get the MRI so we could get more specific answers. I waited until morning, but the weather had turned really bad and no Royal Flying Doctor Service Flights were taking off. The hospital allowed Paddy to drive me the 5 hour trek to Perth. That man is a bloody legend!!

He got me to the Sir John Gairdner Hospital in Perth and by some miracle they were waiting for me. ED was packed so this was a godsend. I really couldn’t sit in another ED room, my 4th in 3 weeks!! I was taken to the ward and seen by the ENT team almost immediately. The following day I had an MRI and a hearing test. I then spent another night in hospital waiting for results. The nurses there were so amazing. I really appreciate the care I received.

The outcome is that I have been diagnosed with deterioration in the skull bone behind my ear. There is no infection as first thought, it is brain fluid leaking in to my left ear. They are unsure why it has happened, perhaps caused by menopause (??) and they will be meeting again with me on the 4th September to discuss how they will fix it. Looks like it will need surgery. They gave me a vaccination for pneumococcal to prevent infection, like meningitis. Good thing is I don’t (& haven’t) had any of these symptoms, but we have been told to keep a look out! A positive is that my hearing loss does not look like it will be permanent. The fluid is just blocking the nerve in my ear for the time being. Once they clear the fluid my hearing should return. Fingers crossed as I am way too young to wear a hearing aid!!!

I came back to the van for 2 nights but felt really off balance and agitated by everything. We bought a walking stick to help the balance and booked in to an airbnb in Scarborough (on the beach) to give us both a bit more freedom. Unfortunately today was the coldest day in Perth in 50 years, so the beach has been a no-go zone! It was bloody freezing! We haven’t seen rain on our travels since the end of April (on Kangaroo Island), but these past few days have made up for it. Looking forward to the end of the week with some lovely spring weather predicted. Ready too for the next appointment to find out what is next in my health journey……good things I hope!