Sick day

Today me and H had a sick day. Yesterday I woke up with a sore throat, but still decided to go ahead and have my NZ winter flu jab (we went as a Neurology bonding session between ward round and consults - my registrar got his chest out). That afternoon I spiked a fever, and a lovely nurse took my temperature and gave me a lollipop. I <3 paediatrics!

I decided to stay home today as I was poorly and chesty. H probably has the same virus, but it has manifested itself as labyrinthitis. She almost threw up on a scleroderma patient this morning.

This means I have been reading an awful lot of guidebooks. Here are some facts about New Zealand:

Humorous facts:

• Sunday newspapers were illegal until 1969.
• The human population of NZ is 4.5 million (1/4 of which live in Auckland) and the sheep population is 40 million.
• During the week of the release of the first Lord of the Rings film, the NZ government appointed a 'Minister for the LOTR' to parliament, and renamed Wellington Middle Earth.
• It is considered extremely offensive to sit on a table.

Interesting facts:

• The disposable needle, childproof pill bottles, Velcro, and the use of a whistle in a football match are Kiwi inventions. Thank you New Zealand :)
• New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the right to vote.
• However it only decriminalised homosexuality in 1986.

Depressing facts:

• New Zealand has the second highest rate of domestic violence in the world. This was hammered home to me in an incident yesterday in the hospital, but I'm not allowed to talk about it.
• The inequality between the White Caucasian and the Maori populations is staggering. I am sure I have barely scratched the surface, but there is a huge difference in health and healthcare provision between the two. Also, I have only seen one, maybe two, Maori doctors, a handful of Maori nurses, and predominantly Maori support staff/cleaners/canteen workers. It's how I imagine Britain will have been decades ago, with the added guilt that it's the indigenous population that is in the lower socioeconomic classes.