Football and Penguins!!

Hey all!

Once again I've kept myself busy transcribing NICU interviews and researching TBI and PTSD in children. I had a meeting with my PI to discuss a plan of action to compare child age and self ratings of trauma following an accident that lead to TBI to investigate PTSD's impact on recovery. We have a few data sets to work with, and while they involve different measures of trauma, I will be able to investigate a very wide age range (0-18 I believe).

One of the most impressive parts of the lab is the Queensland Trauma Registry (QTR), which records all traumatic accidents and follows patients longitudinally. It is a fantastic resource to the government with regard to policy development and hospitals with regard for treatment approaches. There's a movement based on the registry to inform the public about the prevalence of driveway accidents involving children - far too many children (in particular toddlers) are being accidentally run over; most accidents are not life threatening, but something still needs to enlighten the public about this risk. That's just one example of the applications of the Trauma Registry, which has been modeled after the Victoria Trauma Registry, following the implementation of which the prevalence of accidents, and particularly fatal accidents, have decreased to such a degree that researchers are constantly being questioned. The impact of information and knowledge can shape policies and safety measures that will save lives. Unfortunately with the governmental changes in Queensland of late, funding of the QTR has been entirely cut and the program is now finishing its final week. The lab is heartbroken and is doing its best to fight to save all the information they've worked to develop over the past ten years, but business continues as normal with the rest of our data and research.

On a brighter note, I've also had a very fantastic week touring around Brisbane and Melbourne! The second game of the State of Origin series (Rugby games between Queensland and New South Wales) occurred last Wednesday. I went over to a friend's house to watch the game and was blown away by the passion everyone has for the sport. It's very similar to football (called Grid Iron here - how awesome?!), so this may be my new favorite sport during the NFL's off season! I was also taught about all sorts of lollies (candy) that are popular here. My favorite are the candy teeth. They taste disgusting - think toothpaste but worse - but are so much fun! We had quite a laugh during the game with our lovely teeth. Unfortunately NSW beat Queensland (they're now tied in the series), but that means the third and final game in July should be extremely exciting!

What fantastic dental work!!

On Thursday evening I flew to Melbourne to visit a cousin. While Brisbane is very modern and very Aussie if you will, Melbourne is much more similar to the UK. I started my day in Federation Square where I walked around enjoying the fall colors. I stepped into the Ian Potter Gallery where I fell in love with Aboriginal art - the colors of their pieces are amazing! I then booked it by St. Paul's Cathedral and Chinatown over to the Parliament building. While walking through the Parliament Gardens, I noticed an impressive steeple through the trees, and thus I made my way over to St. Patrick's Cathedral - the most beautiful church I have been to in a long time. I wandered through some lovely parks and past the Royal Exhibition Building on my way to the Old Melbourne Gaol (Gaol = Jail, initially I thought it was pronounced 'ghoul,' but I fortunately put two and two together!). I walked through the old cells and saw the death masks from hanged prisoners. Creepy I know, but they used to make molds of the prisoners heads postmortem to study them during the first wave of phrenology! So cool! That evening I went to the Eureka Tower Skydeck on the 88th floor of the building, and was terrified! Who knew I wasn't fond of heights? But the views were amazing.

My favorite pieces of Aboriginal art

Melbourne from Federation Square

Department of Immigration? Thinking about it!

Phrenology is fun!!

At the Skydeck

 The following day I traveled to Phillip Island to watch the world famous Penguin Parade! I started the day at the Nobbies, the most breathtaking place on earth. I was speechless the entire time I walked around to all the views. After that I went to watch the penguins coming in from the sea for the night. I started out the evening in a heated skybox but then moved outside, right alongside where the penguins were walking. They were adorable!! Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take photos, but I did manage to find a photo opp before the parade.

The drive to Phillip Island

See the little penguin in his home??

So cold!!!

My favorite place on earth - the Nobbies

More animal photos :)

In all, I had a fantastic weekend! I even invested in a boomerang and TimTam Coffee Mug at the Queen Victoria Market! I'm back in the lab today and am ecstatic to be back in sunny and warm Brisbane. Now that I've gotten out my travel guides for my Melbourne trip, I've found a long list of things I must do in Brisbane as well! I intend to be very busy these next few weeks.

Cheers!