Hmm…This morning Emily seemed okay with her ankle, but we weren’t entirely sure whether it was okay or not. Our worry was that when we leave for Asia next weekend, we’d want to be confident that her ankle was okay and getting better. Although it was bandaged up well (any sheep or cow would have been pleased with the result!), we decided that we should get it checked a bit further, and make sure there were no broken bones.

That turned out to be a bit more difficult than we thought! We had to drive to Whangerai Hospital, about 40 miles away on a windy, twisty, hilly road. The rain, which had started at midnight, had caused the local streams and rivers to surge, so we quickly came across a flooded road. On the photo you can see where the road is – it’s the bit under the water, between the white posts. We made it across, just, but we saw two cars on the other side that hadn’t! If it had been too deep, we’d have had another 40 mile detour.

At the hospital A&E the treatment was quick and efficient – after a check from the nurse, and then an inspection by the doctor, Emily was taken to have her ankle x-rayed, and the verdict was delivered. But unfortunately it was inconclusive – she could have broken her ankle, but the x-ray showed a shadow rather than a definite break. So they recommended that we put her into a plaster cast for the next week, and then get it checked before the plaster comes off. Two and a half hours later we left hospital with Emily plastered up to the knee, and wondering what we should do next.

Everything should be okay for the plaster to come off next week, but we’ll have left New Zealand by then, and have flown to Singapore. Rather than head straight off to Malaysia, we’ll stay a few extra days in Singapore, so that we can get Emily checked in one of their good hospitals, and then move after everything’s been confirmed to be okay. It’s better than it could have been – if she had definitely broken a bone, the doctor would have put her into a bigger plaster and recommended for it to stay on for six weeks, and we’d probably end up spending extra time in New Zealand. At least we’ll be able to get to a beach in Asia for a quick bit of recuperation for her!

Emily’s happy anyway, because she got to eat tea at McDonalds as a treat, and she got a get-well balloon signed by Ronald McDonald, and a little bag of goodies.