Once again, I have been smelling the aroma of hospital soap.
For seven days, I was on the blankets of a bed at the GV Health hospital with the same problem as before.
A blockage of the small intestine might not sound much, but it hurts like hell and can have serious repercussions.
There was a 5mm diameter plastic tube fed through my nose into my small bowel to drain the offending organ, which was not fun.
The outcome is that I learnt a lot about ramping up the hospital wards and the workload that our hospital system is under.
It is easy to say we need more staff, beds or ambos, but the problem is far more than that. Yes, you can throw more money at hospitals, but let’s look at how many people need our hospital system’s services.
Shepparton once catered for a population of, for example, 100,000 people, but we are well past that, and so is our hospital’s capability.
But let me say again: the issues are more than just numbers and money. The staff we have are just magnificent with the work they do — all levels of workers, from ambos nurses, orderlies, cleaners and to some extent the management.
If you want to know more, you should spend some time at our hospital to learn just how it all fits together.
When I called for an ambulance, one was sent at once; however, a more urgent call came up, so a second one was sent, this one from Nagambie.
In the meantime, a single vehicle, the single driver, arrived to assist; while he was doing his best, the second ambo arrived within 20 minutes. Not long after, I was at the GV hospital, where it took me six hours to get admitted to the emergency ward.
This has a little to do with fishing, and I am getting to that point.
One of the people who was doing blood tests lived at Jamieson, which along with Bonnie Doon, Peppin Point and all the other areas of Lake Eildon, is part of one of the best regions for inland waterways.
At this time of year, the fishing is patchy, with cod, yellowbelly and redfin all worth fishing, and trout becoming more active.
A terrific place to fish is Dartmouth Dam, closely followed by Lake Hume and Lake Mulwala.
You can also try Waranga Basin, where redfin and yellowbelly can be caught. You can also catch the occasional Murray cod and trout. Give the incoming channel a go where the inflow from Nagambie Lake flows into this basin. The trout respond well to minnow-style lures.
Both rivers, the Goulburn and the Murray, are fishing well. The water is flowing and cod are biting. Although most fish are juvenile in size, they will grow. In the meantime, they provide plenty of action.
Other waterways worth a try are both the Broken River and the Broken Creek; one runs through Benalla to Shepparton and the other runs from Numurkah through Nathalia to the Murray.
We are heading into a period when trout become more active. As they get larger, the trout become hungry, and they move to the surface during the day.
I had a long chat with Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff. Rod said saltwater fishing provided plenty of action. He was catching plenty of snapper, but with one problem: seals. Instead of bagging two dozen fish at one spot, the seals saw to it that they caught about half that many.
He says most fish are being caught offshore, but inside the heads, there is plenty of whiting as well. The tuna are scarce around the heads, but Rod says they are being caught in good numbers further along the coast at Apollo Bay and Portland. He says they are about 15 to 20kg.
Other areas to fish, according to Rod, are Western Port Bay and Ocean Grove. Barwon Heads is also fishing well with slimy mackerel and blue-eye trevalla.
North of the NSW border at Eden and Narooma, fishing has been affected by some unseasonal stormy weather.
John Liddell at Eden said the weather was starting to improve, and it should become better for fishing soon.
I do have one more story about my hospital stay.
It concerned a woman who suffered an accident while working in our region; she broke both her arms after tripping over a suitcase.
Can you imagine what you have to go through to keep going, blowing your nose, going to the toilet and other everyday actions?
Helping a patient in this sort of situation is another example of what the nursing staff do every day.
They get my nod of approval for the work they do.