(Old) It's the heat AND the humidity in the MMP!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

Hi, everyone - poking my head in. The summer is flying by and I don’t think I’ve said hey since May. For what it’s worth, I haven’t yet smothered the husband unit, though it’s been a near miss.

Mom is still somewhat stable - for now. She has run out of treatment options for her cancer and the tumor has begun growing again despite the radiation. We have another “big” appointment next week. We’ll see. It won’t be good. Luckily, my sister has been visiting a lot more, so we’ll all be there. I’m scared shitless.

On another note, overlygirl broke her ankle, then the next day because her boot made her unsteady, she broke a toe. Then she rebroke the same danged toe the following week when she tripped over her own feet. She’s fine now - toes and ankle all intact.

On yet another note I’ve got a story about camp (not mine). Sorry for the length - I have to live up to my name somehow. So, overlygirl and her friend begged to go to sleepaway camp. We (meaning me and her best friend’s mom) let them pick which one at the local Y. They chose a hiking camp. The other mom & I read through the literature and thought, “Sounds like summer camp,” so we signed them up.

Despite a lot of protests that camping equipment isn’t cool, I got overlygirl to bring a sleeping bag & pad with her, plus a lot of bug spray and sturdier clothing than she wanted just in case (even when you’re cabin camping, you usually plow through clothes like they’re going out of style). Turns out the literature had been…kind of vague. Vague enough that the girls had chosen the equivalent of a survival camp and us moms didn’t really catch it because literally all the other camps involved cabins. The girls thought they’d be on easy street.

Imagine, if you will, two 13 yo girls expecting bougie cabins and being informed they were sleeping on the ground for five nights, cooking their own food over a fire and learning deep woods survival skills. After the initial shock, they apparently had a ball - made a few tight friends, had some insane stories about racoons eating some kid’s hair and being known as the Valkyries of the local camp after pretending to complete a 10-mile hike. They got all the glory, while doing approximately zero of the work and went swimming and played cards instead with their counselors who didn’t feel like hiking 10 miles on the hottest day of the year.

I was super impressed they were able to make the most of the situation, but having my kid tell me, “We will talk about this in the car,” when I picked her up was not the way I expected pickup to go. But they’ve already told us they want to go back next year, for longer if possible.

22

Southern Ca, IIRC. With sojourns in other wicked hot places like NM. He always writes unabashedly about being a beach-loving boy, even in his mature years.

He is welcome to my share of heat and humidity, give me moderate Midwestern prairie springs and autumns. Winters are ok, I can not only tolerate them but enjoy certain joys like the silence after a snowstorm or the sublime joy of piling on another sweater or fluffy blanket, burrowing in and devouring a book. Summers are just ruthless and hateful.

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Thanks for being so kind, but I think it’s nice that you expressed the same sentiment. If I were cookie, I couldn’t read that too many times.

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Afternoon all. Shopping and Jersey Mike’s #3 with chips have been procured and stored/eaten as required. Will let it digest for a bit before doing the Moanday swimming. Did check on my annunities, they are slowly recovering from the 2022 setbacks, at least I don’t have to worry about running out of money (until there is another financial setback). Cloudy and some early thunder, with afternoon tunder-boomers expected. The city is having their fireworks display tonight so we’ll see if the weather holds out for them.

Like nellie and BBBoo said, we’d kinda like you to stick around the MMP for awhile longer too. Best Wishes.

Pilot, I set my AC to 77F and most people think it’s too high. How about the aircraft you fly, do the pilots have control of their area in terms of temperature settings?

talkie, good to see you around. Glad Mom and Husband are still with you. And ouch!! to overlygirl. And that kind of camp probably would have been the death of me…glad they coped so well.

OK, need to change to my swimmin’ trunks and backstroke and sweat my way out of a couple of pounds.

25

I feel like I’m battling a hydra. As I may have said, Mel, the knee doc’s nurse told me I could call her for results of the MRI. Normally, after an MRI, you have to wait about a week for someone to call you to make a follow-up appointment another couple of weeks out, where you finally get the diagnosis and discuss a treatment, so another three weeks after the MRI. I need to hurry that process because a) I’ve been in too much pain for too frickin’ long and b) I need this resolved by the 31st, when I head to Chicago. Hence Mel offered a short-cut I could get results from her by phone and set up an appointment for treatment or pre-op or whatever.

But Mel isn’t in today, and the other nurse told me I’d have to wait for the appointment, which I don’t even have yet. I went into the reasons why I didn’t want to wait that long, and she’s going to ask the doc and get back to me. I cannot wrap my head around how long a wait every frickin’ step entails. It’s already been three months since the severe pain started, and it’s been a month since the appointment when he ordered the MRI.

Sorry for the rant.

26

I’m back. Things are going. That’s about all I can say about it.

Chefguy, I’m wishing you the very best. You sound like my husband. He had a triple bypass on April 18th. He said the same as you. He’ll either wake up, or not. Not thinking that way with him, or you! This place wouldn’t be the same without you, damnit!

So, my husband did great with his triple bypass. Now, last week, he rolled over in bed, and felt something in his abdomen sort of ‘pop’. He started out in pain, and the pain became more severe as time went on. I could sit there, and watch his abdomen getting larger, and larger. Finally, on the third day, he allowed me to take him to the ER. He was a stubborn twat, when I bloody BEGGED him to let me take him the first two days. Nope. Well, the pain got to be too much, and away we went.
The trauma team worked on him for 8 solid hours, and then they sent him to surgery. Apparently, an ulcer ruptured. He didn’t even know he had one. It never, EVER bothered him. When it ruptured, it blew a hole in his large intestine. That’s why he was filling up like he was.
He has been in ICU. They took him to a regular room, yesterday.
He is being a right asshole. He’s angry, and mean. He gets a shot of Morphine every two feckin’ hours. He can’t have anything by mouth. He’s sucking water from a sponge.
They did a test on him this morning. Filled up his stomach, and he didn’t leak. So, I guess that’s good. I don’t want to be around him, so, I let my daughter go visit him without me. Fuck that. He’s being absolutely vicious. Made me cry, even. Don’t know when they’ll send his mean ass home.

All of this second round of hospital stuff, without ANY insurance. His FMLA ran out, and his company had to let him go. So, we’re fucked. I don’t know how we’ll pay for this one. We spent all of our savings on his bypass, and that’s when he HAD insurance. It’s STILL not paid off.
We are pretty much destitute right now. No money for anything. We can’t get help, because he’s expecting some money to come through, from something he cashed in. Not a lot, but, it’ll buy food, and maybe pay a few bills.

Then, we had a beautiful storm. A derecho, that knocked out power for three damned days. No power. No cell phone signal. No internet. Most importantly, no air conditioning!
I now have heat rash in places that shouldn’t even have a heat rash, and it’s now BLISTERING. I tried to put some Calmoseptine on it, and I ended up bawling, because it hurt so damned bad. I can’t even go to the fucking doctor for it. So, lots of powder, I guess.

Please take care, everyone.

27

G’morning, kids! It has been a heckuva few days.

I wound up calling in sick from work on Thursday because I had truly nightmarish stomach pains Wednesday night. I think perhaps the bacon I cooked with was a little off? But I would imagine that bad bacon would have put me in the hospital, not just on the bathroom floor for a night. In any case, I was fine by Thursday morning and haven’t had any further issues. It was certainly alarming, though.

Then on Friday I went in to Fargo for that meeting with the Dean of Libraries at NDSU. She took me on a tour, introduced me to some people, bought me lunch, and generally just talked shop for a while. She seems to think I’m god’s gift to the profession… My impression is that she’s been dealing with a lot of institutional resistance and recalcitrance to change there, and so my generally positive can-do change-is-good attitude is probable a dramatic contrast. By the end of our get together she’s no longer talking about recruiting me for a Librarian job…

… She’s talking assistant director. Holy shit. So… Yeah. I would still vastly prefer to get the Senior Librarian job in Minneapolis and go there (should hear about 2d interviews there in a week or two) but if that doesn’t pan out… Assistant Director would be a hell of a resume-bump.

Lazy Saturday, then yesterday that guy I mentioned before asked to take me out for sushi, so I got dolled up and went back down to Fargo. Had a lovely time. I’m kind of torn up cuz… He’s really sweet and lots of fun to talk to and I want to be good friends. Not feeling so much as a flicker of attraction though. Which sucks. I’d honestly like to be bi, it’d make things much easier. Oh well. Maybe I’ll get the Minneapolis job and just move far enough away that there doesn’t need to be an awkward conversation.

No work today, no work tomorrow. I’ll have a walk to the pharmacy now, then maybe cook something for supper - we shall see. Love y’all!

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Yeesh. I haven’t walked since the 23rd. Only made 2.98 mph over 3.13 miles today. The deck painting, and then two days waiting for/being here for the plumber took its toll. Time to hit the shower after this ‘cup’ of coffee. Then it’s off to town. I need to remember to buy a new Discover pass on the way back.

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I’m so sorry, nonacetone. Hospitalization and pain do awful things to people. And the cost of medical care in the U.S. is just outrageous. My heart aches for you and what you’re going through.

Best of luck to you, cookie! I didn’t know you were having a procedure; I’ve been too under a rock lately. Heal swiftly!

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I have a horse-related question for you - we drove past a field where 2 of the horses had what looked like orange spats - maybe 12" tall - one had them on all 4 legs, one had them on the 2 front legs. So, what’s the deal?? If I’d been more with-it, I’d have taken pics.

Add me to the club!!

Holy crap on a cracker!!! Will you take some hugs?? {{{ace}}}

We installed the port and starboard navigation light boards.
Port:
Imgur
Starboard
Imgur
The ratty looking teak trim bits are next on my list - I’ll strip them, then Cetol them. That’s next week’s project.

MIL and BIL just dropped in so I need to go be sociable…

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Thanks for the good wishes, all. I’m no hero when it comes to illness. Any sign of something not right and I’ll be heading for the ER. The main issues for this (or any) surgery is infection and DVT. I plan to be up and about as much as I can, as it promotes healing.

32

Holy crap! Can you do one of those ‘go fund me’ type things? I know from past experience that if you contact the mods, they’ll likely allow you to post a link to it on the Dope and I also know that Dopers are generous and will help out. Let us know.

33

Whoa, that’s a lot of crud on that cracker! I’m glad you’re avoiding hubby since he’s being so, uh, difficult. I’d talk with his doc about this. It might be the pain, but it could be a side-effect from meds, including morphine. That stuff can affect people in weird ways. My late elderly friend once had to be restrained (wrists tied to the bed) in an ICU because he got violent. Luckily, I remembered morphine made him delusional. As soon as they got him off of it, he returned to his sweet self.

I had a friend who was unable to pay a hospital bill. She had high-deductible insurance and had two surgeries three months apart. The second one was just after the new fiscal year, so she owed over $12,000. She presented a plan to the hospital that would have her starting payments in three months and thereafter, she’d make monthly payments. You can also negotiate for lower charges.

I hope things turn around for you soon!

ETA: FCM, that’s a fine-looking boat!

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Actually, you are a hero! You are every nurse’s dream patient. Keep doing exactly this.

Use pain meds early and often initially so you can get up and moving. You’re so right, that pays big dividends. Stay ahead of the pain rather than trying to knock it back after it gets bad. There are no, zip, zero medals given out for not using pain medication.None, not even a t-shirt.

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Yeah, the doc was very adamant about that, as was our nurse niece. I don’t have a problem with it, as I’m a wimp with pain. It’s not taking the meds that’s the problem, of course; it’s weaning oneself off of them.

36

Sounds like you have a good handle on this. If won’t be hard to wean off~your doc won’t keep prescribing them for too long a period. Just don’t free-lance and take more pills at one time than prescribed or shorten the time interval between doses-that’s how people get themselves in trouble.

Towards the end of your pain prescription, go down to one pill if the prescription is 1-2 pills as needed. Start stretching out the interval between doses. Augment with OTC pain meds as the doc or your pharmacist recommends. Just be aware of the total acetaminophen you take in a day-many pain meds already have acetaminophen in them.

And if you have questions, you have nurse niece and us!

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@nonacetone

I am so sorry to hear of this

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Side project: It was a one night class. We were give material and home work instructions to make this out of 3 1/2" squares and bring it to class:

We were each given a packet of instructions that contained a small cutting template:

Eva, our teacher, showed us how to use this small ruler to cut the “home work” apart and sew it back together to make this table runner:

It was fun. There was not enough class time to finish but once I was caught up in my main product I got back to it and finished it today.

I can imagine using this little ruler to deconstruct other projects.

39

Holy cow, that’s horrible, nonacetone. Please double-check on Medicaid again. Eligibility is income based and if you have no income this month, you are eligible for this month. Assuming the money you are expecting will be a one time deal, all you need to do is report it when you get it. At worse, that will make you ineligible for the month you received the money (but probably not because your state probably has rules saying they can’t cut your medical coverage off without 30 days notice), which is not last month when the medical shit started happening. Medicaid can be and often is back dated so it is very possible you can get medical coverage for last month which would cover a good deal of the hospital bills. You could probably get this month covered as well.

Please look into it, you have so much shit falling on you right now, being able to get the medical coverage out would allow you to breathe while dealing with the other shit.

40

nonacetone, I’m so sorry! I wonder if the hospital has a bridge assistance plan. And so sorry for your husband’s medical distress as well. Best wishes to him, and to everyone in the thread with medical issues and procedures.

Successful dump run with a full pickup load, including bamboo poles, metal fence posts, rebar, scrap metal, dead exercise bike, rotted boards, plywood, styrofoam, glass, cardboard, a broken table, bags of broken stuff, branches, area rugs, wire chicken fencing, and a big ratty plastic mat for under the exercise bike. Because our local waste center includes recycle/upcycle/debris areas as well as the landfill pit, and gives a discount for recycling some items, this cost $11.