RUTHIE AND JONNYG OUTBACK AUSSIE ADVENTURE

Post 57 - Monday July 21st 2025

Lewy Body Dementia has been a massive game changer for me. It has definitely changed the course of my life in ways I had never thought possible. The days of free living, the days of being out and living life with no holds barred has been flipped on it's ear. Look, life is still for living with this LBD issue but it is now lived different. It is controlled and structured living.

The carefree and recklessness of my life was what I loved so much, I was very fortunate in how things played out for me across almost 65 years. This LBD has changed that dramatically over the last few years. It's not just the way it has messed with my cognitive structure that causes this change, mentally and physically it has been like dropping the anchor slowing life to an almost crawl.

Cognitive changes have for me been the hardest to grasp in my LBD journey. The changes have messed with so much of my mindset and with that it has messed with my ability to navigate the way around my own though patterns. I am no longer the logical critical thinker I once was. My cognitive ability to assess and function with thought patterns is forever changed.

Two problems here. First, the changes with my thinking ability scares me, I know I am no longer the same bloke I have been through the years because I clearly see and recognise I am headed down an awkward path. I do not think the same, I cannot retain and sift through problem solving thoughts as I once did. Look, I am sure old age comes into play here, but this is different, and sadly I see the differences. This will not end well for me, and I am very, very frightened by that thought. I am going down.

Secondly, this cognitive change means I am no longer in control for me. As said, my life is now a life of specifically structured maneuvers that mean I can get by and thankfully stay safe. I see that. But it takes away any input that I have into my cognitive capacity around how my life could operate. I am not in control for me, and I am really struggling with that understanding. This is not just a thought; it is my reality. Any hope of being the carefree spontaneous bloke I once was has now disappeared. But sadly, for me it does not end here.

My physical health has also taken a massive hit in this time and some of the fallout from that has impacted significantly on my overall health status. Life is tough, life is lived with constant pain and this bitch of a pee bag really does mess with the mental ability to stay on track.

Now the associated hernia at my stoma point in my tummy is becoming an awkward issue, it continues to swell and has become oddly pronounced. Hiding the wee bag and hernia is not possible anymore. I feel trapped.

And the prostate removal, that too has messed with me in huge ways, as a man I am done, and while the physical changes from the prostate issue are simply crap the psychological fallout is overwhelming. As for being a man and all that did and should mean, wow, that has been shattering and is really difficult to come to terms with. I struggle with how this has changed my very being, my emotions are shot and again, psychologically, the struggle is pronounced. It is a tough and awkward time. 

As I have written in previous posts the mental downturn from not having my manly functions cannot be adequately expressed. It is really hard to get a handle on and messes with your mental capacity and this lack of emotions and feelings is just darn sad. Cruel almost.

Couple the physical fallout from the cancer issues with the cognitive decline of the LBD and we have health problems of gigantic proportion. Trying to remain positive during the real awkward down times is a challenge, I reckon I do life ok but as said, this life is best lived with structure and control. Making rash decisions is probably not in our best interests, I need to be very aware of that in every form.

So, with that understanding, how could Ruth and I possibly think we can head off for a few months and tour this great country. Somehow, our plan will see us travelling over 15,000km, heading from south to north, west to east and venturing to every Aussie state and territory except Tassie and all this while living off-grid for the most part. Tough ask indeed, we will need many things to go right over that time, but we both have great confidence in the plan. But I do accept this looks like a rash decision of biblical proportion.

When Ruth and I first brainstormed this Aussie adventure, we really did act on a spontaneous thought but quickly had to take check and understand that the life we are now living is different. We know life needs lots of planning and with health being the biggest issue we needed to sort through so many aspects of life before we could make the plan become reality. But we pushed on.

For some time, Ruth had been keen on a trip back to WA to visit her son Michael and his family in Dunsborough, that is something she was really keen to do. It was not a road trip that interested me as such, far from it. The previous times Ruth has been to visit family in WA she flew to Perth then went by bus to Dunsborough. I always thought that if Ruth wished to go again then that idea looked best.

But, now as our outback adventure plan hatched and took shape we thought why not drive across to WA and once the family duty was over we would head to Perth and then embark on this trip up the west coast all the way to Darwin. Make it a real adventure.

Ruth has travelled the Nullabour Plain before but it's something I have never had the chance to do so what better place to get our journey rolling. After Dunsborogh and Perth we talked about Dampier and Tom Price, both places I had worked at in 1979 and 1980. Marble Bar was another place we added for the trip then we reasoned, once we had travelled so far why not head to Darwin, then drive back down through central Australia and through South Australia heading on the return leg to Ballarat. 

The basic proposed route sort of fell into place as it followed the highways around the country but the side adventures to other places like Halls Creek, Kununarra, Brunette Downs out on The Barkley Tablelands near the Queensland border, Tennant Creek, Coober Pedy, Woomera were then added as possibles. 

With this plan in mind we thought about all the places in between that had either been home or work towns during my years in the NT. Poor Ruth, she has always heard the stories good and not so good I tell from my life in these places, now she will get to see them for herself and I'm sure to again hear me tell the same stories.

Over the next few days, the plan took definitive shape, and we sourced maps looking for highways, distances, what would the weather be this time of year, places of interest, places to stay off grid and anything else that added to our trip. We both have a happy knack of planning, and it was not a difficult exercise for us putting things into perspective. Making sure we could stay connected to the medical people we need on side, accessing scripts for medication was a key plan we needed to implement and as the time for the trip gets closer we can tick of all the different bits we need to cover.

Together we watched countless You Tube videos to see how other travelers successfully covered the areas we wished to go. That was really valuable info, we learned lots about the journey across the Nullabour, up the west coast of WA, inland to Darwin, back down the center, over to Queensland and back into SA. We learned about places we knew, places we didn't know anything about, and an itinerary was forming. Ruth as example would swim with the crocs in Darwin, mmmmmmm, yeah, I know but we added many possibles

So, our planning continued. The Queensland connection originally took us to Camooweal just 30 plus kilometers inside the border but not to be put off we then decided to go a little further and include Mount Isa. From there, once back at the Stuart highway in the NT, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock were all must places to visit. In SA we needed to include Coober Pedy, Woomera and many places in between.

Later as we refined our trip destinations we thought if we are going that far around Australia before returning to Ballarat why not head into New South Wales and drive across to Canberra giving us the coverage of all states and territories on the mainland. As I write this the Canberra section of our amazing journey is still a maybe but if everything is fine health wise and logistically then it is probably a goer. 

A date to start this great Aussie Outback Adventure is tentatively set for September 21st. The pic on the left is a map that hangs on our dinning room wall and it is a countdown clock indicating how many days until we are on the road heading west. We both have fun marking off the days, yep, this is an exciting time.

Naturally we still have some things to take care of with planning and with the gear we will need for off grid living along the way as we head around Australia. The 292 days we spent living at Camp Recluse on Green Hill Lake in Ararat has given us both full confidence in being prepared for the trip ahead. 

Our unit here at Wendouree Lodge in Ballarat will stay with us meaning we have some stability once we return. What date we get back is still open, the thought is we would be at least three months on the road. But if things get tough and we are struggling with health then we will simply head back early. And with the final leg of the journey possibly taking us to Canberra and then traveling back down the east coast that three-month time frame could well push out and we will do Christmas on the road.

It is no secret that personally, I struggle here and have failed to settle, but I know it is much better for Ruth to have the stability of a home base. So yeah, we keep the unit. What we will do to have the unit cared for is not something we have totally signed off on, but we have a likely plan. We still have time to lock in any plan.

One given is that we will be on the road for the AFL grand final, mmmmmmmm, I mean what if this is the year of the Cat, for as tough as it would be to miss the excitement of being here in Victoria for the game we are planning to be in Esperance WA on the day so will find a decent pub there and go watch. Go Cats ...

But our excitement for the trip is shared, we are so fortunate being able to do something like this and to both share in the fun for everything that is in front of us. It is not really a farewell tour knowing the LBD issues I face but, for that said, it is our chance to continue living life to the best of our ability. Make hay while the sun shines is probably the best way to view this. Guess I can say this, watch this space for more info as our departure date draws near.

For the record the trip will be highlighted as best we can with pics, maps, chats and Facebook posts. So, fear not, you will all be included, I love keeping a written record of how things are progressing. It is a part of who I am. Oh yeah, and Ruth, well she loves her notes!

Now, as you all know, for my own personal record in this LBD journey I continue to add some posts to my JonnyG Remembers blog. At this time on the journey, I can still, for the most part, remember what is going on in life and how far I have gone down the LBD road. But the time will come when that changes and as I find myself struggling to recall how the journey unfolded, so importantly I know this blog will be my go-to written record. And of course, given my love of writing then the blog is win, win. This is a work of positive enjoyment give the topic.

So, how am I doing other than the obvious health troubles? A couple of silly falls have not helped my physical health this past week. Stumbling around inside or outside was something I seem to do a lot of with this LBD issue but with that said, in recent times I seemed to have been doing better. 

So, the tumbles last week and on the weekend were a touch out of the blue. The falls have left me rather sore; my left  knee took the force of one crash and has come up being tender and has restricted my mobility. More pain and discomfort.

And the head wound as shown in the pic opposite was the result of a silly mishap, not a fall but just a mishap when changing a trye on the Ruthie Jeep. It hurt, I really did get myself a beauty and there was plenty of blood from the cut. But, keeping things as fun as possible, my thought is, this could have happened to anyone but yeah, yet again, it happened to me, Silly boy.

Ok, I reckon that's it for this post. For anyone who reads my blog, thanks so much, I appreciate your support. Ruth and I were back in Adelaide two weekends ago, so pics and the story of the trip are listed below. I have also included some other pics and stories from our time since the last blog post so please go check them out if that be your wish, I add these extras as a form of timeline that I know one day will be of great value to my LBD troubled mind, I will be able to look back and hopefully appreciate the memories created..

Do I have a JonnyG funny to add before I finish, Of course I do, but heads-up, it's R Rated ...

In the outback they are called 'bush doctors' but I am very sure than anywhere else in Australia they're simply called gynecologists ...

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My dear mum Joan Winifred Green would be 103 today ... mum was born at the Berri hospital in country South Australia on Friday July 21st, 1922, her parents Henry and Winifred Danvers were from Barmera, mum was the second born of the six Danvers kids ... mum died in the Barmera Hospital on Saturday August 4th, 2012, aged 90 ...

This is the last pic taken for the family as a group, what a great pic full of memories and so much family history ... just 13 days on from this pic being taken in Barmera, mum passed away ... but we are blessed with so many loving memories of mum and the family ... a number of the family have been lost since this pic was taken July 22nd 2012 but thankfully we still have this great shot ...

Pics of Mum across the years ... 2008 at my Morphett Vale unit, Barmera on July 21st, 2012, with me and Veronica on the day of Mum's 90th birthday, Mum and I in the driveway of 132 Nookamka Terrace in Barmera 2011 and this time in Tassie at Veronica's farm 1980 ...

More of Mum from her life, with Bradley James at his first birthday in Barmera at our Vasey Street home in 1984 and then in Port Pirie with her favorite aunt, Peg Wauchope celebrating her 100th birthday, Mum's sisters Madge and Irene are in this pic ...

A favorite pic of Mum, Cataract Gorge in Launceston Tasmania in December 1950, Mum and Dad had been on their honeymoon at the time ...

An unusual memory of my mum, the flowers is something she would love, mum was forever a gardener and grew flowers in her own garden across many years, fresh cut flowers were always one of her special loves ... here in Ballarat at Wendouree Lodge Ruth and I do not have many fresh flowers to choose from in our rather small garden but we collected all we could today and this is the result ... the tuna burgers, well mum was a great salmon pattie maker in her days and I have always loved the idea that she handed on to me her cooking smarts, so the tuna burgers are my take on her salmon pattie recipe so in honor of mum, Ruth and I enjoyed a feed today ... Happy Birthday Joan Winifred Green

My sister Jan sent this pic today ... this rock is placed on the graveside for mum and dad at the Barmera cemetery, the words are powerful in describing our mum and our grandma, just brilliant ... and we all know Grannie would be a touch chuffed with how her beloved Adelaide Cows are doing this footy season, yeah it's only July but her mob is going ok and look the real deal at this point ...

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The trip back home to SA in the first week of July was special ... Ruth and I had a 60th birthday to attend for my cousin Joff Sander, a really good night and the chance to catch-up with family and friends, thanks Joff ... Ruth had a few visits with her mum Joyce at Hope Valley and Ruth had grandkid time with Isabella and Harry while in Adelaide, that was really important ... we stayed with Raija in Morphett Vale and had some fun times and the company was great ... sadly the trip included a funeral, my Uncle Brian passed away and we attended his funeral service on the Tuesday, a moving time with family ... then on our return trip Ruth and I had two nights in Barmera with my sister Jan and her family, as always that was most enjoyable, just a good chance to chat and spend some time together, as said, most enjoyable, thanks Jan and Peter ...

And just like that I returned to ABC radio, that came as a surprise ... because just like I thought my greyhound calling days were done and dusted, I definitely thought my time on ABC radio was long past ... but fate stepped in and alas, somehow the radio time became a reality and there I was back on the ABC, just for a moment but a moment none the less ... and to sign off, John Green for ABC news ...

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My uncle Brian Green passed away on June 28th aged 93 ... Brian was my dad Jimmy's younger brother, and he was the last of the Green siblings to pass on ... across his life Brian was a great bloke, a marvelous man who loved his family, he loved life, racing was his go to and he spent a lifetime being involved in the sport, starting as club secretary for the Port Lincoln Racing Club, next as track manager at Cheltenham in Adelaide and finally at Sandown in Victoria through until his retirement ... footy was another love and in retirement bowls also got a gig ... Brian William Green you were a great friend and uncle, you will be missed ... for the Green family, this is the end to a truly great era ...