Day 5, Sunshine and Doctors

It’s been beautiful here in NZ, warm during the day, cool at night. The kids have been enjoying the pool quit a bit, going in multiple times a day. Us adults have been working on getting all sorts of things figured out. Gerard is getting used to driving on the left, and getting the muscle memory established of where the blinker is and the seatbelt, also getting in on the right side of the car.

The people from Totara health have been very welcoming. they have furnished the house, and we even have a outdoor table for meals. We had dinner outside on Wednessday. I established care with them as a patient to get my fracture looked at. I had a phone call with a doctor, and she helped me get an x-ray and talked to the Ortho resident at the hospital, the call them resi here. They then recommended that I go to the ED to be seen since the clinic was closed for holiday break. I spent most of the afternoon in the ED, had a CT scan, where they saw that the joint space looked pretty good, and that surgery may not be needed after all. the resi then reset the fracture and casted it, they gave me nitrous for that part. She was happy with the way the x-ray looked once the cast was on, so here’s hoping it will heal well without much stiffness or impact on my range of motion. This will likely set me back in terms of when I can start work, but we’ll see.

We’ve gotten internet, phones and bank account done, got an umbrella for the deck, and other things for the house. They have drive through sushi here, and we also went to a good BBQ place last night close to the house. Our landlord is very nice, he and Gerard have already shared a beer or two, and his wife works at Mahora school, where we are hoping to send the kids once school starts

The top is right after the icecapade, and bottom pic is from yesterday.

As I sit here, watching the kids in the pool,, there is a tiny praying mantis keeping me company!

T-14 Days

‘Tis the busy season. We are having a low key Christmas this year but still put up decorations and a tree. It is so nice to have snow before Christmas this year, really makes it feel so festive. The kids are getting excited about the trip and so are the adults. It will be nice to have a few days in Honolulu to unwind a little until the craziness ensues in NZ with all the things we will need to take care of there after we arrive. We plan to enjoy the time we have left in NH with family and friends and have some fun things planned for this weekend. The kids last day of school is Tuesday 12/23, only 3 more days left of school for them! I only have 3 more shifts at Exeter and one more on-call day with Lamprey. The packing has come along and we are almost there with the house and our bags.

Wishing you all the best and joyful holiday season.

Ana

T-minus 24 days!

OMG!

As we get closer to leaving there are lots of mixed emotions. We will miss everyone here in the US tremendously. It is also such a busy time of year since we are well into the Christmas season.

We found a house to rent in New Zealand, 813A Caroline Road in Hastings. It has 4 bedrooms, a beautiful outdoor space and a pool! We are all excited about it. The clinic I am working at will provide us with furniture and a car, and they have all been very welcoming and helpful. It will be middle of summer there when we arrive, so we will shed our winter clothes!

We are leaving on January 1st! Going to Hawaii, Waikiki beach for a few days, then on to New Zealand.

I plan to hopefully put updates here weekly with our experience in NZ both as a family and as a doctor.

Warm wishes to all and happy holidays!

Ana and the Goubert’s