10. Denial, Denial and More Denial

Period: May 2011

In constant pain, with highly unpredictable bowels and occasional vomiting, we set off on our road trip down the west coast of NZ.  Despite my symptoms I remember being happier then than I am now. Either the memory is a beautiful thing that has deleted the misery or ignorance really is bliss (personally I think it is the latter!). I do remember the constant worry, but somehow it was secondary to all the amazing new experiences I was having. 

For example, we spent a lot of time sleeping in the car to save money, usually stationed near toilet facilities as the first hour of the morning generally guaranteed at least one urgent watery poop. It is much easier to ignore your burning A-hole when you wake up overlooking a vast lake with mountains in the distance, before turning your head to this sunrise

However, there was one morning when I was close to despair. Having been living in the wilderness and eating very little, we treated ourselves to McDonalds on an a pretty epic scale. In retrospect I should have known better, but in case it isn't clear yet I make bad decisions! The following morning I woke up with crippling stomach cramps and, worse still, having parked and slept in a lay-by overnight I was forced to perform my morning ritual in a cluster of bushes. Let me just say, I was far more concerned about the incredible pain in my stomach to care about where I was pooping. 

Nevertheless, we prepared to drive to our next destination and headed for the lay-by exit. Unfortunately, that's all we did before the car stopped dead in the now-pouring rain, over 5km away from the nearest town, Greymouth. My companion had credit on his phone and no battery, I had battery but no credit - and they were incompatible for swapping! If you see NZ as a place of permanent sunshine. Wrong. In this particular area of the South Island when it rained it poured. As I lay on the back seat curled up in a ball of agony we pondered our options. Without any other choice, he set off in the rain in the direction of Greymouth and returned within the hour, having called a tow truck from a nearby house. Thankfully, by the time we arrived at the garage my stomach was finally starting to settle, but unfortunately the car had to be scrapped. The lovely people at the garage gave us a ride to a hostel and after good nights sleep we continued our journey by bus and hitch-hiking.