CRAZY TOWN WAITING ROOM - TESTS coming up? All Stages Welcome.
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Hi Ladies...back again...Lucy my grandson cannot get a test because he has not symptoms (thank God)..even though he was exposed to someone who tested positive....he is just waiting and my daughter checks his temp every day, and he does the breathing test which was recommended by the Dr....
I have not been out of the house for close to 2 weeks..was going to Mass everyday, but the church put the brakes on that..plus my kids went postal because I was a going...20 people in the church and we all had literally our own section..my daughter 5 pews behind me ordering me where to sit..which priest to go to..who touched their face and was giving out communion...was ready to punch her lights out...
The kids have been bringing food to the house os I don’t have to go out..my son-in-law drops it off on the patio table then runs like hell yelling don’t come near me...he is the husband of the daughter that was ordering me around in church....now we can’t go. so I don’t have to deal with that...
I said to the kids..who died and left all 6 of you Boss, and when did I become the child and you became the parent’s....the other day I drove to the drive thru pharmacy..when I walked out the front door I yelled ..FREE AT LAST THANK YOU GOD I AM FREE AT LAST’”....
I also gained 3lbs from all the damn food they are bringing over....between my 6 kids, their husbands/wives/ and my 18 grandchildren they are driving me insane..I am pretty sure I am safe from this Virus..since my husband died 28 years ago, I am pretty certain he is. making a deal with The Good Lord..to not sen me up there..cause he is not ready to handle me again...LOL..
So your all take care...stay safe...and this too shall past..maybe like a Kidney Stone, but it will pass..Hug...
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".was ready to punch her lights out..." Lol!!
My dog has been persuading me to walk outside an average of 6,000 steps a day, fitbit helps. But he is MOST insistent. Luckily he does not know the difference between a short walk and a long one. Music does lull the beast asleep most of the time.
Bishop Barron has a daily Mass, and a bunch of other places. I try to "participate" daily, even if my attention span is shorter than that of my dog.
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Ducky ..BaHaHa 🤣 so funny ! I so miss your stories when you're quiet !
Mary .I'm positive my attention span is shorter than my dog's .!!!..Our little poodle loves a walk too ...but hers are shorter now too !
Chemical ..so sorry the doctor hasn't got back to you ...I hope you hear something today ...Maybe ring again and say your worried ?
I've been awake a lot of the night .ugh..I think the updates about the corona virus are coming between me and my sleep . It's all so awful...:-(
Hugs
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Went to get a few essentials today and I managed to get one container of disinfecting wipes!
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Going up to near 60F tomorrow, so will do a fitness walk. Normally a chore (especially with my painful toe-tip callus), but rarin' to go. Will be doing a lot of zigging & zagging to keep my distance, of course.
Took my audiologist's advice and downloaded a free white-noise generator app--have a pair of inexpensive in-ear wireless earbuds, so will juice them up tonight and Bluetooth them to the iPhone I keep at bedside. (Apps cross-populate among my Apple devices, so I had to download this one only once). Will see how well it works--I got to bed at 3am last night, and despite the pulsing in my L ear was exhausted enough to fall & stay asleep, courtesy of CBD. (I take it only at night, a couple of hours before bedtime).
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Just got good news a bit ago from my friend who was tested for the Coronavirus. My prayers were answered, results came back as negative! She’s on complete bed rest as it turns out it is a bad case of pneumonia.
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Lucy55, still no news. I'm reminded that my oncologist had told me because of tamoxifen/anastrozole/lupron that if I have any gyn issues (probably mostly bleeding, which I don't have), to get right in. The test was done in my doctor's office by a nurse practitioner, not my doctor, and I think she is who I have to go back to see. My doctor does not do these things (he won't even give me a breast exam), and the NP is rarely in the office. It's alarming to me that no one is telling me anything, with my medical history. An abnormal pap would not be NBD.
My medical office is far behind with technology, they don't to my knowledge even have an email to contact. They don't seem to return phone messages. There was just a receptionist in there yesterday. I have written before on this forum about issues with this clinic. They will not give results over the phone, they require people to come in to receive normal results (I waited three hours in his waiting room in February almost a month after my mammogram, to receive my (thankfully) normal results). This is also an office that made me come in mid-chemo and sit in their waiting room to wait to fill out a form. I'm stuck with this.
I've called and left a message with my MO. I explained what happened and that I was also supposed to report immediately if there were gyn issues.
And we wait.
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Excellent news M0mmy! (Well, other than the pneumonia part).
In your pocket, Chemical
Octogirl
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I was thrilled to hear her news! I worry about all my friends and family that are in the healthcare field
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TY everyone, I heard back and they explained it was a recall for a failed sample, not an abnormal test.
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Just checking in....
Got PET scan results over the phone yesterday, all good. Oncologist appointment has been put off indefinitely, and I hear that a few people in the hospital's breast center have tested positive for COVID. They're only seeing the sickest patients right now. The scan itself had been my last trip into Manhattan before everything shut down. We fetched our son from college on the 15th and have been home ever since, save for the occasional supermarket run, which is followed by obsessive-compulsive hand washing and use of alcohol wipes. We're getting along, but I do miss having time to myself. We all do. We all have work (or college classes) to do, but it's hard to be extremely focused for long periods.
We're fortunate to have a park across the street. I've been walking there daily, snapping photos of the beautiful forsythia and daffodil plantings, and the trees, which are all in bud. The surreal part is that on the other side of the park is a hospital that was featured in a NY Times article on the effects of COVID on the local ERs. From a hill in the park, you can see the tent that's set up outside the emergency room for triage. And while I haven't walked over to look, I know that on the other side of the hospital, a refrigerated truck has been parked to hold the overflow of bodies. And meanwhile, in the park, birds sing and toddlers run about.
At home, like everyone else (Hi Molly), I've been baking. The sourdough is doing nicely, and I've been getting calls from neighbors asking if I have yeast. I have a lot of it in the freezer, since I switched to full-on sourdough, so I've been giving it away.
So that's my report from the current epicenter of COVID. I hope you are all staying healthy and occupied!
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rainny, good to know you are doing ok, i am due for phone call with my onc on wed and then currently planned to do chemo on friday. My center is only for cancer patients and no visitors allowed.
All of this is so hard and to know that if i was diagnosed with the virus, they would likely triage me, bottom of the list. I confess i came downstairs this morn and first thing i did was take my temp and bp, both are normal. Off to a late breakfast, stay safe everyone
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Rainny...so good to hear from you ..and know you are well...The walk you took us on through your park made me teary ...with the beautiful park , and gardens , with the kids playing and having fun as usual ..but the horror of life's reality being so close ..that's all our life's now .trying to keep things at home nice and normal ...all the time .knowing what's happening ...and praying that our families and friends are saved ..
Iris ...thinking of you ...it's scarry just having to leave the house now ..let alone having to have the chemo and not being able to bring a friend ....
Chemical ..That's great news !!!
We are trying to isolate ...only leaving our home for walks ...although had to be brave yesterday and head out into the real world to go to the doctor's to get our flu shots ...scared of getting the flu and corona virus at the same time ..which I guess does happen sometimes .
Take care all
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If it is any comfort, Lucy, my doctor nephew has told me that less than 2% of Covid positive persons also test positive for the flu....
but at least there is a vaccine for the flu and glad you have had it! Hope one for Covid comes soon!
Good to hear from you Rain!
Octogirl
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Rain, great news--but your park is still open? Last Wed. our mayor closed all city parks, trails and the lakefront, because runners & cyclists were congregating and passing way too close (as little as a foot) to each other. The last straw was a pickup soccer game on Cricket Hill by Montrose Harbor beach. Millennium Park's "Bean" (real name Cloudgate) and surrounding portrait fountain was closed 2 weeks ago.
I am making do--fortunately, it's not time for a root touch-up (supposed to go every 6 weeks but I get lazy and wait till 3 or even 4 months when I go for my Brazilian Blowout and trim). As I get more salt (as opposed to pepper) in my gray, and have one natural silky "resistant" platinum streak that looks like a pricey highlight, I can go longer between touchups. My color is light blonde (10N), not quite champagne, so gray shows up much less than brunette used to. Nails are trickier--have 2mm "free edge" outgrowth from my no-chip gel polish mani, which tomorrow will be 3 weeks old. (I usually get manis every two weeks and pedis every four). Just had my first one "lift," but unless it pops off completely I can't peel it off lest it damage the nail beneath. So I glued it down. When the first one pops off (usually in the shower as I run my fingers through my hair) I will do the matching shade of regular polish (with base & top coat). When all begin to lift up, will bite the bullet and do the slow acetone soak-and-wrap. Let 'em breathe "naked" for a day, then decide what color in my collection I want to try. No need to address the pedi (except--gulp--ingrown big toenails) till a week from tomorrow. Can't see the podiatrist, of course. On the bright side, I'm saving a bundle on makeup and sunscreen.
Bob insists on going in to cover the hospitals (thank God they won't let him near the ICUs). Every other doc over age 60 has pretty much refused to walk into a hospital (much less see patients in person), and Bob's partner (a general internist) is 62 and still recuperating from last week's lumpectomy. So it's on Bob and the young (40-something with 3 kids) interventional cardiologist with whom he trades call, to wade in and see hospital patients (albeit non-COVID and non-critical ones). He is 70, and livid over his colleagues retiring younger or abandoning their sense of duty while still in practice. But every one of my own doctors, regardless of specialty, is working only from home, doing e-visits. I asked him why he insists on going in, and he shrugs and says "I'm 70, and I've lived my life." I challenged him, saying I'm not ready to be a widow, especially before celebrating our 49th, much less our golden, anniversary. And also that if his theory of micro-exposure leading to immunity is true, he will be more valuable than ever--eligible to take up the slack of non-infectious cases from younger critical care docs and donate plasma, which would be impossible should he actually get sick, since the odds of surviving the virus at our age are poor. IL put out an emergency alert (we all got it on our phones & mobiles) pleading for everyone with any kind of health-profession license (even dentists & chiropractors) to come out of retirement and volunteer. But most docs these days are retiring before age 65. 70 is much riskier, BTW.
(Today's emergency alert gave me a déja vu attack: in Bob's last year of med. school, his ER rotation at Seattle's Harborview Hosp--sorta the Super Bowl of ER shifts--held a teetotaling New Year's Eve party. We toasted midnight with ginger ale and cake. I was about to leave, but the ER chief resident pressed me into service irrigating the wounds of some guy who was treated earlier for an OD & discharged but then got drunk & depressed and decided to slit not just his wrists but both forearms. Bob was suturing as fast as I could irrigate. The patient was out cold. Then a surgical resident came in and proceeded to teach me how to do simple sutures so another student's wife, who was a nursing student, could take over irrigating. I kept praying "Dear Lord, please don't let this guy wake up and find out a lawyer was working on him!" Fortunately, Bob finished suturing the first arm so he could switch and I could stay on irrigating duty. That night--lasting well past dawn on 1/1/78--validated my decision a decade earlier, over which I'd had a long & nagging regret, to choose a Humanities rather than pre-med major. I did do my gap year--between college graduation and entering law school back in 1971-2--as a viral genetics lab tech. P.S.--the patient lived and was furious that he was treated at all instead of being allowed to die. Fortunately, while there is a cause of action for "wrongful death"--and in some jurisdictions, "wrongful birth" for botched deliveries or failed sterilizations--there is no such case at law as "wrongful life").
We had 4 masks in the house (courtesy of the V.A. hospital where my housekeeper's DH is being dialyzed 3x/wk, which used to provide them freely on the dialysis floor)--giving 2 to Gordy & Leslie. Bob has a few in his trunk, and is issued one whenever he goes into any hospital, clinic or either of his offices. No N95s or gowns, though--only the E.R. and ICU personnel get those, and they have to wear and reuse them more than is prudent. I will start wearing a surgical one outside, accessorized with one of my fake designer scarves over it, tied over my face like a fashion-forward bank robber. I knew there was a reason I never threw out my cheap polyester scarves.
Running out of moisture lotion for my hands after washing (I tried Aquaphor from my radiation days...nope). I am washing between 12-15 times a day, because there's no way to avoid touching the inside of my mouth to flosss, or remove or reinsert my retainer--not about to trash all those months of obsessive-compulsive Invisalign orthodontia (much less what I paid). Handwashing is chewing up my skin, however.
Tonight I drove over to Gordy & Leslie's house to drop off mail (ironically, his passport and RealID card) and a care package of a roll each of TP and paper towels, a package of dinner napkins, a bottle each of acetaminophen, Mucinex and Nasacort allergy spray, and a spare asthma inhaler just in case he uses up his allotment of three (one a month) his insurer will cover. I have a fresh one at bedside, in my purse, and two unopened ones in reserve--with my next refill coming in mid-April. He texted me after about masks. Will pop over there tomorrow--his day off. (He's working the 1-10pm shift from home--beats his pre-pandemic schedule of 3pm-midnight, having to commute on what is now a fleet of rolling Petri dishes, aka the CTA trains. But still, a day off is a day off. Leslie doesn't quite get days off: in fact, because schools are closed and working parents--even telecommuters--don't have the time or expertise to homeschool, her dance card is pretty full. She's tutoring English & history, but the other part of her job is recruiting other online tutors--especially STEM and the younger grades).
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Sandy, the parks are still open, but many of the playgrounds are closed. I think NYC is different from Chicago in that so many of your wonderful public spaces are on the lakefront, whereas ours are scattered through the five boroughs. That said, I hear that the most popular parks, i.e. Central Park, Prospect Park, are pretty crowded. We've also been fortunate in that we've had rainy, cloudy weather these last several days, meaning people have stayed indoors for the most part. We are absolutely social distancing when we're outside. This is from a few days ago. Brooklyn Tech high school is the building on the far left, and the photo is facing downtown Brooklyn. My son has been tracking the red-tail hawks in the park; he thinks they're nesting on top of the high school. Stay well and safe, everyone!
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Morning all, well i am set to have phone interview at noon with my onc. The pet scan was canceled but as of now, my chemo is still on for friday. Just got off phone as the patient portal made it seem like i needed to download a link to install a video setup. I fuddled around, got tech on the phone who said i should have a link in the message.....none found. So called the onc office and she said not to worry this is just a phone call. Whatever!
Sandy, i so get it on the inhalers, so far i am fine although my breathing stinks when i first get up till i use my advair, magic med for me. Also seem to need the mucinex more these days. Dealing with it. They run A commercial here about who is most at risk for this virus, i get bonus points for age, asthma and cancer.
Was messaging with a pal yesterday, she lives in rural area of Missouri, she said her browser is sending her messages that this virus is a fraud and is must a basic flu. Oh gads, i tried to explain ny & nj to her and believe she believes me but that is terrible that internet would promote that sort of thing.
Well guess need to gather my thoughts for onco call, stay safe all.
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Iris, in your pocket for the call!
Octogirl
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well onc and i talked, i told her i was monitoring my bp, temp and staying in with no visitors.
So the sloan plan is to deal with the next 2 to 3 weeks when they think the virus will peak in ny and nj, trying to reschedule as much as can. Like the phone call, but since i am at hi risk due to age, asthma and chemo, she is suggesting that we cancel treatment for the next month and then talk on may 1st. She also thinks she will likely be redeployed to nyc where there are dealing with corona patients.
Ok, so not sure how i feel about this but honestly sort of glad she took the decision out of my hands. Guess the idea is to survive the next 3 weeks around and pray for a plateau of some sort
Stay safe all, this is one frigging crazy town here!
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Iris, is there a CTCA (Cancer Treatment Centers of America) reasonably near you (probably Philadelphia)? They are normally moneygrubbing semi-frauds who try to massage their success stats (by taking only good private insurance or cash--no Medicare/Medicaid/"bronze" ACA policies--and Stage II or less); but they have announced that so long as the pandemic is on, they will treat any cancer patients whose hospitals are COVID-slammed or would otherwise put them at risk. You might call them--perhaps they will treat Stage IV patients for now until it's safe to return to MSKCC.
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I don't think there's a reason to deploy to CTCA, though it's a good suggestion. I also talked to my onc's NP at Sloan last Friday. I was supposed to have a routine follow-up and they said not to come in, that I could have a phone consult in a few weeks or just wait longer for the next scheduled in-person appointment. (Whenever that is.)
Iris, you probably know that the Lauder center, where all of the breast cancer MDs are and where BC chemo is given, is a completely separate facility from the main hospital, which is where the inpatient cases are, including COVID cases, if any. So if you do need to come in for a MD appointment or an infusion, you won't need to go into the hospital itself.
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thanks rainny, i really have never been to the nyc sloan facility. I did have surgery at columbia pres which is same area. I am not looking to default to ctca, there is one outside philly I believe.
It is an odd feeling, i,have asthma which has been under control for many years but this morning, my breathing was not quite right. It may be the flowering trees, more than likely!, which is directly ouside my front door!
Sandy, i have a great insurance plan but it is medicare. &..a good suppliment,
Well just got my peapod delivery. Couple of subs but lots of stuff just not available, so guess will do a tad bit of looking tommorrow when i pick up my pills at pharm! Much smaller order than expected!
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My sis in Arlington, VA had to wait 2 weeks for her Peapod delivery from Giant. Instacart & WF are much faster here, though either lots of subs or out-of-stocks. Instacart actually gives the choice of "don't sub," "sub with most similar," or "choose specific sub."
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Bob just came home (midnight)--suddenly his days are longer because of mask/gown/glove procedures. (He gets one N95 per hospital, and is expected to reuse it till it falls apart. He doesn't get a paper cap either). My heart sank when he told me he was at Little Company of Mary, where he saw 22 patients--15 of whom have COVID-19. He was not in the ICU, and he stayed 6' from their beds, but still...none of his colleagues (all a decade younger--he is 70, smokes 1/4-1/2 pack a day and drinks a lot at night) are going there. The rival cardiology group on the SW Side has forbidden its doctors to see any but strictly cardiology patients--and not at all at Little Company (where those two Evergreen Park Wal-Mart workers died). Advocate Christ now has two COVID-only floors. At least he gets an N95: the only masks the nurses get are the simple surgical ones.
Yet he won't spray his clothes down at the hospital, won't leave his coat in the car, and won't take his shoes off inside the door. He promises he will go upstairs to strip & shower. I'm now terrified to do laundry (I will now have to wear gloves)--we don't have a separate hamper or laundry basket. Do I order him to sleep in a separate room now? He likes the TV in our bedroom--but all my clothes are in there (and I have four times as much as he does). He also likes the den TV and is willing to sleep on the sofa there--but that's also where the closet is where we keep all our paper goods.
It's getting real. He has multiple risk factors, made worse by his refusing to retire. There's a possibility I could lose him before our next anniversary in June.
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Sandy, i am so so sorry to hear about how your husband has chosen to take this whole crazy time. I am assuming you have tried taking to him about it? I know of a couple other men who seem to have slightly unusual reactions to this thing.
I was going to post something a tad more, well crazy today, think I will just to be a little crazy! I have an antique cookbook writen in about 1850. It has some well interesting suggestions as the second half of the title is....and ".....how to cure anything." Seems a tincture of opium added to your fav recipes will just about do it! Or make it so you do not care I guess!
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Bob has always been gracious & selfless towards others—but unfortunately, he expects me to join him in doing so. (As long ago as when we were engaged, I had a bad cold with fever. We needed to take a cab back to my house, but another couple hailed it at the same time, and he let them take it—despite my being sick). He is the opposite of a narcissist or sociopath—he has empathy by the boatload, but so much so that it keeps him up nights brooding about it.
Not gonna take tincture of opium, but OTOH a can of CBD seltzer...
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Sandy, there is a line between selflessness and suicide. Especially when fuzzing the line puts his wife at risk. Tell him so.
Perhaps you can distance yourself from him within your home. A natural consequence of his behavior. You can tell him that you are doing it because you love him.
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sandy, i do hope you are able to work things out and that we all come back to crazy town when this is over, best wishes to all
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He's not going back to the hospitals (at least not seeing patients there) for the next couple of weeks. We do have a system now--his clothes go into a separate laundry bag to be professionally cleaned and pressed; and he did change into slippers when he got home tonight. He's spending time out on the deck for a nightcap (or two or three) before going up to strip, shower and get into clean scrubs (we use them as PJs--he has his and I have mine and never the twain shall meet). He'll sleep in the guest room tonight, and we can get back together tomorrow.
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Glad he would negotiate. Aah-- yes, you are the lawyer.
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