Anni-versary

 

Thank you WordPress, for being here with me for the past 11 years.  Thank you for the friends I’ve made, the stories I’ve read, the photographs and art that have touched me ever so deeply.  Thank you for helping me to find a voice to express what matters to me, as it just might connect with another and help them to find their voice also. Thank you.

Last month was the two year anniversary of having Dawn, my camper van, and I’m extremely grateful to her faithful service, and giving me a home when I really needed it.  She’s enabled me to meet inspiring people as I travel about the country.

It’s also coming up to my birthday……. one I hardly expected to reach.  It’s been a challenging life more often than not, and that’s given me some interesting stories to tell around the campfire 🙂

And what’s in a name?  For most of my life I didn’t like the name/s I was given at birth.  For a multitude of reasons. So a few years ago I changed it, and have never regretted it one tiny bit at all.  I cannot say exactly why I chose the name I did…. let’s just say I went with my instinct or intuition.

Then, after my first night on the road living in the van, I found myself using this as an introduction to a fellow traveller in response to his moniker, as “I’m Annie from Anniwhere”  And so it has stuck….. and truly, I am from anywhere……

 

 

 

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Australian committee on ME and chronic fatigue syndrome nearly finished report

ME Australia

by Sasha Nimmo

The Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) Advisory Committee, set up by the National Health and Medical Research Council to advise the government on research and clinical guidelines, has one more meeting before releasing their report for public consultation.

The ME and CFS Advisory Committee will be finalising the report at the next meeting. The same group of people are advising the government on who should be consulted. People with ME in Australia have pushed for a more transparent process and consultation with experts.

If you would like to be notified when their report is available to the public and open for feedback, email the NHMRC at me_cfs@nhmrc.gov.au.

The minutes from August and September meetings have not been published yet. Previous meetings’ minutes are on the NHMRC website.

The NHMRC have added a section ‘Information for Clinicians‘ which does not include…

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Heartless Minister D’Ambrosio refuses to help suffering retiree

via Heartless Minister D’Ambrosio refuses to help suffering retiree

Woolshed Cave rocks

The coastline of Eyre Peninsula is varied, and interesting.  Near Elliston is Woolshed Cave.  A flight of wooden steps takes you down to the level where the cave can be viewed, but not entered.  I visited the area last December, and was happy to revisit this section once again, because I loved the colour and shape of the rocks. 

There are large lumps of limestone that can drop down from the cliff edges, and plenty of warning signs to keep well clear of the unstable edges.

This is the limestone roof of the cave.  Very difficult to photograph because of the lighting conditions.

The rocks really are the prettiest shade of pink 🙂

Meet the Scientists: Dr Alice Richardson

ME Australia

By Sasha Nimmo

‘Meet the Scientists’ is a series of interviews with researchers working on ME and chronic fatigue syndrome. We hear about current research directly from scientists and meet the people doing important work to improve our health. The series will introduce early career researchers through to interviewing scientists and clinicians who have been working on the problems for decades.

Dr Alice Richardson is a biostatistician at the Australian National University’s National Centre for Epidemiology & Population Health in Canberra, Australia. Dr Richardson is passionate about applying statistical methods to data that can improve people’s health and lives. Her work is being used in a leading Australian clinic to diagnose severity and identify subgroups. One of Dr Richardson’s published papers also supports earlier findings of a potential biomarker, patented in Australia.

Dr Richardson taught undergraduate statistics for two decades at the University of Canberra, and collaborated on a variety of quantitative…

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Sunset on Cactus Beach

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We found our peace, on Cactus Beach.

Port Neil

We only stopped briefly at Port Neil.  Another fishing village, surrounded by farmland, also with tourist facilities.

A lovely shaded picnic area overlooking the jetty and surrounds.

I’m noticing more signs these days, with NO.  Especially the NO Dogs.  Hmmmm….

When I first pulled into the carpark, there was a farm ute parked close by, and when I got out of the van, the dog tied up in the back, caught my eye.  He had a very welcoming look on his face, and responded to my chitchat.  He was missing one foreleg.  Then his owner arrived back to the vehicle and told me the story of this young dog.  Bought for a packet of cigarette papers, this lovely kelpie dog a few months later was unfortunately sleeping under the tractor when the owner started it up, and was so injured.  Unlike many farmers, he chose to accept responsibility, and spent $2000 on the vet’s bill to fix his mate.  Just recently, he spent more money on desexing him, to hopefully stop his wandering.  Lovely to know there’s still men with compassion for creatures out there.