Yesterday morning I was on the receiving end of some very mild racism (read: verbal abuse from an angry idiot) while I was waiting to catch the bus to work. As usual, I stood there trying not to sweat as I listened to my music when a smartly dressed man with a large belly, iPad and iPhone approached me. He moved his mouth. I took my headphones off.

This is our conversation. Just keep two things in mind – I was polite to him and he was already a little bit angry.

Thom: “Hello.”
Man: “Do you know if this bus goes into the city?”
Thom: “Yes it does. It terminates at Circular Quay.”
Man: “I know that, but what streets does it go down? I haven’t taken the bus in a while.”

By this point the man is getting unnecessarily annoyed and his face is starting to turn red. I desperately try to remember the names of streets in Sydney.

Thom: “Hmm… it goes through Hyde Park…”
Man: “Where?”
Thom: “Hyde Park. The big park near the Australian Museum.”
Man: “I don’t want to go to the fucking park. I want to go to the city. Where does the bus go?”

I composed myself.

Thom: “Err… Elizabeth Street and… You know what? Sorry, I don’t really know. I’m new to Sydney, but you can call the bus helpline on 131500. Someone will be able to answer your questions.”
Man: “You know? That’s just typical behaviour of you fucking snobby poms. Think you’re all too good for us, don’t ya? You’re all alike – moaning, elitist and think yourself so fucking fancy.”

He looked like he was going to carry on so I turned round, popped my headphones back on and carried on listening to Jerusalem.

I wouldn’t describe myself as a naturalist. Whenever we were in the British countryside The Girl would occasionally ask me for the name of a bird or plant, but unless it was a crow or a willow tree I’d have no idea. Despite this lack of knowledge I’ve always been interested in nature and animals. And I’ve looked at my coming to Australia as a wonderful opportunity to meet exotic new species of birds, marsupials, reptiles and yes… even arachnids.

There are several bird species in and around Sydney which I enjoy seeing daily. Cockatoos with their little yellow mohawks fascinate me when I see them eat with their little feet, although they are loud. They make this terrible screeching noise as they fly and only when they fly. Rainbow Lorikeets are pretty little… err… rainbow coloured things. At dusk large, loud, colonies gather together and roost almost turning trees multi-coloured. Lastly there are Ibis birds which The Girl sees as giant pigeons because they’re always hanging around bins. Sure, they’re grubby and slightly awkward looking, but I have a soft spot for them. I think it’s because they have runny noses. Oh… and there are Common Myna birds which I also love because they look so intelligent and fierce. But I’ve been told recently that they ain’t indigenous and they’ve become disruptive to the native species.

Last weekend The Girl and I travelled up to Narrabeen for a Father’s Day / housewarming BBQ with The Girl’s family. Within minutes of us arriving, the uncle who’s housewarming it was presented us with a small Tupperware tub containing a spider he found floating in his new pool. We all gathered around the rotting husk, but no one could decide upon what species it was – some said Huntsmen, others said Black House spider. All I knew was it was the biggest spider I had ever seen. And there could be more out there. Then on our way home I spotted a cute little possum hanging out by the side of the road.

This weekend The Girl and I were invited to a family picnic in Lane Cove National Park. It was a lovely little spot in the middle of the Sydney suburbs, but it felt much more remote. There was a river, lots of picnic areas and the whole place was surrounded by dense woodland.

As soon as we arrived we saw two Blue-Winged Kookaburras, a male and a female, sitting on a branch. After a few minutes they started happily laughing away. After we had finished our lunch The Girl noticed something out of the corner of her eye, sitting on the river bank. It was a little Water Dragon. Just sitting there – desperately trying to convince us that it wasn’t there. I was fascinated. Everyone else was nonchalant.

Australia has this system where vehicles in certain lanes are still allowed to turn at a junction even when the pedestrian light is green. Obviously the vehicle has to stop if pedestrians are crossing, but drivers are people. People bend the rules. People push their luck. People make mistakes. And this is how The Girl was hit. She was on the phone to her mother when a white car drove around the corner, hit her, then carried on driving.

Bystanders leapt into action. One guy quickly explained to The Girl’s mother what happened. A matriarchal bank manager told me what was happening and what I should be doing. There were people with pillows and blankets. The Girl’s bosses, who lived round the corner, rushed to be with her.

As soon as I knew which hospital she was being taken to I jumped into a taxi. All I could think on the way there was “I hope they haven’t had to cut her trousers. They’re brand new. She’ll be furious”. It’s strange, the things which pop into your head at these moments. I had to believe that she was okay which is probably why I was worrying more about such trivial things.

At the hospital The Girl was lovingly looked after by a team of nurses, support staff and an Irish doctor who must receive at least one marriage proposal a day. Honestly, he had the whole package – salt’n’pepper hair, sparkly blue eyes, an Irish accent and he’s a doctor. There was also a physio who resembled a PE teacher. He had the unpleasant job of touching, bending and stretching The Girl’s freshly damaged ankle. That was not fun her. After about six hours of x-rays, exams and waiting we were sent home believing that it was just a severely bruised ankle.

The first week wasn’t too bad. I wasn’t working so I was able to look after The Girl. Bring her food, carry her to the toilet. There was a lot of pain and swelling, but she was very brave and toughed it out. We were due to spend the second week up in Brisbane to celebrate The Girl’s birthday with her mother, but the accident now threw that into doubt. But The Girl is very determined (stubborn) and with a pair of crutches hired from a local chemist we made the flight up there.

The Girl’s mother is a very well-loved and respected GP in Brisbane and she was able to trade in on some of the love and respect to arrange some appointments for The Girl. She was also able to provide the love and support that only a mother can. Over the weekend there was an unpleasant night where the ankle was causing a lot of distress for The Girl and she wasn’t able to sleep. For me, this was the first time that the whole thing seemed serious, real and upsetting.

First thing on Monday morning The Girl went in for two thorough scans of her ankle. It was there that we realised the true extent of her injury. The scans showed hundreds of micro compression fractures in the heel bone – one of the toughest bones in the body. The trauma was so severe that the Achilles tendon tried to tear away from the heel. This meant that the driver didn’t accidentally clip The Girl as we first thought, but in fact drove over her foot. The next appointment was for the fitting of her “robo foot”, a plastic cast which compresses and supports the ankle.

A few days later I flew back to Sydney to work, but The Girl remained up in Brisbane with her mother where she was due to meet the Head of Orthopedics just to get an expert opinion on the ankle. He said, and I am paraphrasing here, “it’s going to hurt a lot, but it’s going to be okay in four months time ”. This means that The Girl can fly home today.

It hasn’t been a fun experience for anyone, especially The Girl. But we do remind each other that it could have been worse. A lot worse. Both of us would like to thank the healthcare professionals, family and friends who have helped both of us over the past few weeks.

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