The Infected Eppiglottis

On Friday morning I set off for my walk. Not far from my house a neighbour, whom I could hear but not see, called out to me asking me to put my dogs on a lead. I didn't hear what she said the first time.

"What?"

"Would you put your dogs on the lead please?"

"What for?"

"Because it's the law."

I disgraced myself with the rudeness of my response. "I don't give a stuff about the law."

"Obviously."

I said no more and walked on. A few metres further on I felt something in my throat, as if there was something stuck. I tried to clear it with a gentle cough which seemed to make the irritation worsen. I continued coughing to no avail until I couldn't stop, and after a while, about half way to town, it turned to retching then vomiting, back to retching. It was like an auto response to something stuck in the throat and was uncontrollable. I hacked and spewed up all manner internal garbage including plenty of saliva and blood after all the solids had gone and was in quite a state. I felt gripped by some kind of fit and thought for a brief time I was in the act of actually dying. I sat on the park bench in JAC Russell Park for a while as I recovered some composure, and wondered what the devil was going on. I was exhausted. At 7.30 in the morning.

I'd had a bad time in the preceding couple of days. I was involved in a meeting with the council on the Thursday over the tribulations of the Emerald Museum and Nobelius Heritage Park committee. There was much toing and froing of emails between various members and myself in the lead up to this meeting and come meeting time the acrimony of the last few months created tension and unpleasantness. Following the meeting there were more emails Thursday evening and in the end I couldn't sleep and sat up drinking red wine morosely until about 2.30 am. "How did I ever get involved in this?" was the question I kept asking myself, as I took another slash.

Resuming my walk when I felt up to it, I bumped into my wonderful neighbour Allison outside the post office. She told me I'd given her husband Rick a good laugh earlier as he heard my altercation with the other neighbour. Her motherly instincts immediately sensed I wasn't well and she offered to drive me home but I declined her offer, feeling that I would be OK. When you've had a vomiting fit you don't really want to be close to anyone.

I went to the Doctor about midday. He said my throat was badly infected and my epi glottis was enlarged and hanging down giving rise to the feeling that something was stuck in the throat. I'm on antibiotics and other tablets to reduce the swelling. The throat is still giving me curry but otherwise I feel fine. It's the stangest thing.

Here I am two days later about to go to the museum to do my duty on the roster. On my walk today I put my dogs on the the lead when I walked past that neighbour's place. Sometimes you have to eat humble pie to prevent bad blood in the street where you live, and it doesn't hurt me to put them on the lead there. There are dogs in her place that bark aggressively at mine going past and that could be what concerns her, but I wouldn't know.

On the bright side I can't help but feel so pleased that yesterday saw the end of Essendon and Carlton for 2009 as they were bundled out of the finals. And that on top of Hawthorn going out last week and disgracing themselves with poor sportsmanship. I doesn't get much better that. Now today while on duty I can listen to StKilda v Collingwood, hoping for a Saints victory relegating Collingwood to an elimination final next week. How sweet would that be?

I'm glad they found Tim Holding alive. He was very lucky his slide off the mountain wasn't fatal.