Kathryn and Oliver Daly wish to announce the birth of their beautiful daughter, Matilda Eleanor Daly on the 29th of September 2006 at 7.53pm weighing 3.425 kg (7 lb 8.8 oz) at the Royal Womens Hospital. Mother and daughter are both very well and father is too.
Don't worry, you'll see the photos soon....
It has been quite a while now being 741 days since my last entry and quite a lot has happened. For context:
At the time of the last entry I had just graduated from University of Queensland with a medical degree and was about to start as an intern in early January. Kathryn had just arrived, as my fiance, and we had moved into a great Victorian terrace in Moonee Ponds, renting of course. Since this time:
Medicine - Being inducted into the world of the working it was a bit of a fright and however hectic, life as an intern at the Western Hospital became routine doing the usual core 10 week Medical, Surgical, Rural, Nights and Aged care. General surg was the most gruelling working quite late and sometimes feeling a bit unappreciated but it seems the busiest and most pressured job with good supervision and support is often the best learning experience.
Wedding - In the midst of this, Kathryn arguably had the tougher job of organising our wedding, a wonderful family affair at the wedding registry office in Spring St ( highly recommended ) with the reception at Mamma Vittoria's in Smith St, Fitzroy. The upstairs area, with fire place, beautiful bluestone walls and candelabra gave the evening an intimate atmosphere along with great food. It was followed by a week with Kathryn's family ( visiting from the US ) which involved a fantastic road trip along the Great Ocean Road as far as the 12 apostles ( now only 8 left standing ). I recommend (Chris's at Beacon Point)
This was followed by a bit of alone time travelling down the east coast of Tasmania staying in the Tamar Valley, Freycinet national park and Eaglehawk Neck (Port Arthur) *tip* fill up your car within business hours 'cause there aren't many petrol stations open after 6pm.
Perth - WIth the intern year over, Kathryn and I use our holidays to visit my father and Christina in Perth, once again doing the road trip down to Albany (the Al pronounced as in Alistair) and back up the West coast via Margaret River. Great fun.
Medicine - For 2005, I decided to stay at the Western Hospital to give me a better chance of getting the rotations I wanted. Second year as "resident or hospital medical officer" started in Mildura doing Paediatrics which was a great experience, followed by surgical nights, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Intensive Care. All were great for general experience.
House - During our time in Mildura, Kathryn and I thought it would be a good time to buy a house, with the generous first home buyers grant from the government ( not as generous as it was and even less so now ), stable house prices and it being a good time to put down some roots. Kathryn did all the critical work and it culminated in us buying a house in Nunawading in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne with a reasonable sized piece of land and close to family.
USA - While waiting for settlement, Kathryn and I used my annual leave to travel to the US to spend some time with her family. We had a great time visiting Cleveland, seeing the Cleveland Symphony with Kathryn's grandfather, hanging out with uncles, aunts and cousins... Then we spent a couple of weeks in beautiful South Carolina with Kathryn's parents. It was Spring so we had great weather for boating and all round family fun. I also visited Charleston with Kathryn's mother and brother-in-law which was great fun. The civil war really came alive, Charleston being in the midst of it where the first shot was fired... amazing history. Then sadly my month was up so I headed back to Australia and Kathryn went to Austin, Texas for another couple of months to finish her Masters which she did in grand style. So it wasn't long before we were back together in Australia having moved into our new house.
Medicine/O&G - Mid-year it was time to think about applying for the O&G RANZCOG training programme ( see later entry ) with the usual applications and interviews. Although my experience of paediatrics in Mildura did suggest paeds might be a career option, the great experience of Obstetrics in Townsville as a medical student made it clear that O&G was the go. Luckily, the college and the Royal Womens hospital felt I was good material and granted me a place on the training programme in 2006. A huge relief and a good foundation giving some stability knowing that for at least the next four years of the six year programme, we know where we were going to be.
Baby - So with the house and work settled, Kathryn and I felt it was good time to think about a family and I'm ecstatic to say that Kathyrn is pregnant and expecting in September. Nervous but exciting times...
O&G - I've now finished one week at the Royal Womens and amidst slowly coming to grips with a new hospital and the demands of O&G training it's all pretty exciting..
So here's to a good 2006 for all...
2003 was indeed a good one. In a nutshell, Kathryn and I were engaged, I graduated and found a job in Melbourne and to top it off we found a fantastic house.
Hope 2004 is even better for all!!!
Govt to change drug dependence disability ruling
Regarding: Disability Discrimination Act
Case: Marsden v HREOC etc..
The government's proposed legislative changes to disallow the classification of drug addiction as a disability raises a number of concerning issues.
John Howard said "It will not be unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of addiction to a prohibited drug if the person is actually addicted at the time of the discrimination," and "That is why the Government has decided to change the law to make it absolutely clear that drug addiction is not a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act"
To consider the points of these propsed changes, definitions do have to be considered. Firstly, in medical terms, drug dependence is in fact a mental illnes. It can be defined as a maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. There are different definitions of drug dependence but they all have a common thread. For example, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness uses seven criteria guide the assessment, based on tolerance, withdrawal, substance use used in larger amounts or for longer than intended, desire or unsuccesful efforts to control use, time spent obtaining,using, or recovering from substances and continued usage of substances despite the awareness of a problem caused by the substance.
Secondly, while open to constant reclassification, there is a difference between impairment, handicap and disability; impairment being an abnormality of body structure or function e.g. broken arm or brain lesion, handicap being a reduction in the ability to perform basic tasks or activities e.g. eating, and disability being a disadvantage in fulfilling social roles. In legal terms, a disability as it is defined by the act, is in part "a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour" that may occur presently, have previously or in the future or be imputed to a person. In general, however, it is an inability to fulfil a social role in life e.g. as a valued employee or breadwinner, as a consequence of a condition. It may well be argued that a state of drug dependence, as opposed to merely being under the influence, inteferes with a person's ability to act in accordance with their appropriate social role in society. Does drug dependence not constitute a disability?
One point the Prime Minister has failed to clarify, is the fact that just because a person is "addicted" to a substance at the time of the discrimination does not mean the person was under the influence of that substance at the time of discrimination and this is where the Disability Discrimination Act is so important. Presumably, one aspect of anti-discrimination legislation, is to prevent discrimination against those who, despite being able to fulfill the requirements of a role, may be less desirable employees for one reason or another. Ofcourse in the case of the Disability Discrimination Act, this act concerns situations where that undesirable quality is a disability.
Does the current legislation infact allow an impaired drug affected individual to be immune to punitive measures whilst acting in a certain roles? I can't answer this, but it shouldn't allow this ofcourse. It should, however, prevent a disability such as the drug dependence itself, from being a basis upon which an individual is discriminated against. Surely the legislation is designed to protect against this kind of discrimination. If there are adverse affects of the current legislation changes should be not be made but they should not based on a technical legal or medical definitional argument. Rather, the spirit of the legislation should be upheld. The law should be written for the majority to benefit, not against the minority who may choose to exploit the law. The government needs to be careful to assess who is affected by this proposed legislative change.
In the bigger picture, drug dependence is in part a societal issue. The pressures society places on its members may drive them to many forms of dependence including tobacco and alcohol. To weaken legislation and deny natural justice is further penalising those with an already debilitating disorder. Will we find that those with a heavy smoking habit will find themselves able to be discriminated against because of this dependence? This is an extreme example but may indicate the impact of such legislative changes.
If it is true that a society may be judged by the way in which it treats its sick and elderly, the quality of our society is suffering through it's failure to protect those vulnerable members of the society by appropriate legislation. These changes would only serve to further disadvantage a vulnerable segment of society. Apart from the related federal court case, Marsden v HREOC & Coffs Harbour & District Ex-Servicemen and Women's Memorial Club Limited [2000] FCA 1619, it would be interesting to know whom or what prompted such a proposal and who such a change would serve.
Once again, an already marginalised segment of the community is being further disadvantaged through an attempt to weaken their protection against discriminatory behaviour, such behaviour that at a community level only serves to deepen the problem of drug dependence
Yes, finally, she _has_ arrived. It was a mere 61+ day wait, though it felt much much longer, but now she is here and all is well...
Kathryn is the one on the left
Welcome to Australia!
Kathryn's arrival may also be in part responsible for my lack of new entries... although this is more of a convenient excuse :-)
Another comment on Male dominated child birth.
The debate over Male determination of the female role in society rages on.