BC witness Posted March 20, 2020 Posted March 20, 2020 Yes, the medical staff are the heroes in this battle, for sure. It has to incredibly frightening to go to work with infected patients, not knowing if protective gear is effective enough, or will last long enough to get through the days and weeks ahead. My 2 part time gigs have been affected, in almost opposite ways. My dental delivery business ended abruptly on Tuesday, when all offices in BC closed to all but emergency services, while my occasional Skip the Dishes shifts have become very busy, as all restaurants have gone to take out and delivery only, with deliveries to outside the door with no personal contact. Fortunately, my past construction and structural drafting experience prompted an engineer acquaintance to hire me on as a part time inspector this week, where I can be on job sites at acceptable social distance and file reports on line, so I hope to suffer minimal financial stress. My heart goes out to all of you in this very strange and trying time. God bless you all. 2
Twist Posted March 20, 2020 Posted March 20, 2020 I work in trucking. We do a lot of medical supplies. We have been deemed an essential operation by the government so we do not get effected by shutdowns. Prior to this all going down my boss was in Europe, Italy and Spain to be specific so he has made it back stateside this week but is in quarantine. That leaves me in charge of the entire show as I"m #2 for the company. We are a cross country carrier so on a daily basis I have to interact with drivers that are just coming back from runs across the country. We service Maine to California. God bless these drivers for being on the front line and willing to drive and deliver anywhere in the country despite fears. So far we have had 2 employees that are awaiting results, they have come back negative for FLU so Corona test is next, they most likely have it given the symptoms. We have strict cleaning regiment we have to perform every 2 hours and we have to wash our hands at least once every 30 mins. I've had to balance my week between calming down scared employees, running the operations, and on conference calls and meetings about what we do next. I have to do my best to keep this thing going, I have a lot of drivers, warehouse workers and office staff that need their paychecks as long as they can. Plus we are delivering things to hospitals that are necessary to operate. I"m both mentally and emotionally worn out tonight, and I cant go see my gf because I dont want to expose her to anything. I go to work and come home trying to interact with the "public" as little as possible. I hate the idea that I could be a carrier that does not show symptoms and could be spreading it at stores or gas stations but I need to keep doing what I can as long as I can to move essential items and keep my people paid as long as possible. Stay safe out there people. 4
hiflier Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 You are spearheading the next line of heroes in this fight. I wish you the best in your health and your fortitude. My heart goes out to you and your company under such weight. Keep putting your hand up here, my friend, because I'm not the only one here who gets it. Because of your position, and other like you, I would think frequent testing would be recommended, even without symptoms. Hey, if it good enough for professional sports teams is MORE than good enough for you guys and should be part of the job considering the circumstances. 1
Twist Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 Thank you, I appreciate the kind words and well wishes.
cmknight Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 4 hours ago, SWWASAS said: Dean Koontzs was pretty close 38 years ago. That first page, 312, is not in The eyes of Darkness. This meme has been floating around Facebook for a few weeks now.
CallyCat Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 My relatives are in direct patient care, I teach, so I'm home working. What information I get is from what they see directly. So far those working in x-ray are seeing consolidations at the CV angle that looks like "crushed glass". What is happening is that they present complaining of flank/chest pain and lethargy; no fever or shortness of breath. These patients think they have a kidney stone or having some kind of cardiac issues, so they are testing these early presenters, and letting them go home on quarantine with instructions to come back if their symptoms worsen. It is taking up to 5-7 days to get test results back. So far 75% of the 53 patients, all ages, who have been tested have come back positive. Some might progress and get worse, they'll just have to wait and see. No deaths or intubations yet as a result of the infection in this particular hospital so that's good.
hiflier Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 (edited) That IS good CallyCat Hope your relatives remain well along with yourself and your family. BTW, the page 312 facebook meme is from Sylvia Browne's 2008 book End of Days Edited March 21, 2020 by hiflier 1
Rlee Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 My wife and I lead the good life, eat properly and get exercise. We are both healthy. In the fall we take a trip every year from British Columbia ,where we live, to Sedona, AZ then Moab, UT then home. Last year it was the first two weeks in November, about 4 months ago. While in Sedona I picked up a cold. I didn't feel too bad but one thing that never happens to me was that I was short of breath. We were mountain biking and hiking with our dog and I wasn't quite right if you get what I mean. We got home and a few days later I was back at work and my wife got sick. She had made a trip to the dentist and visiting friends with kids so we didn't think much of it. A week went by and she wasn't better. We figured she had the flu. Another week and it didn't break. Then she told me to take her to Emergency. O2 was low so she was on oxygen immediately, in isolation and a constant drip of antibiotics. After a couple hours the internist came in and told us she had pneumonia from the virus and needed to be intubated. We opted to wait a few hours, luckily her blood oxygen levels started to rise. Four days in ICU isolation while they ran every test they had, no positive results but they thought she wasn't contagious. Then four days in a room with other sick people and two months at home and is finally healthy again. If you or someone close to you gets sick keep a level head and ask lots of questions. Your doctors are smart and Nurses sometimes have a lot of information that is important. We have talked about if we both had Covid or not, I really wonder how long it has been around? We are both taking all the precautions we can as I do not want to be the one who spreads it around.
Catmandoo Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 How well are your lungs working? Years ago, I bought a 'pulse oximeter fingertip blood oxygen monitor. They typically cost about $20---$30. lately, I have been testing myself daily. I have a good, long term baseline blood oxygen level history. I run about 98--97%. If I hit 95%, I would go to red alert. Below 95%, to lower 90 values, I am in big trouble. I have been there. About 20 years ago I was sick with a pneumonia like illness. I tested 93 or 92% at a clinic and I was in bad shape. Congestion, 'hacking hairballs'.I was given an inhaler, stayed home and laid low. The meters are inexpensive. Typical error is single digit percentage. Errors can occur with dirty fingers, poor circulation and other health issues.. A user needs to determine their own baseline values. I look at respiratory function before temperature. Non contact infrared 'thermometers' give readings with variance based upon surface reflectance. I don't zap myself with my IR heat guns.
cmknight Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 14 hours ago, hiflier said: BTW, the page 312 facebook meme is from Sylvia Browne's 2008 book End of Days I knew it was from another book, but I didn't know which one. If you look to the left of page 312, you can see the cover flap. It's a different colour than The Eyes of Darkness. I was thinking maybe something along the lines of one of L. Ron Hubbard's books. Thanks for the update, hiflier!
BlackRockBigfoot Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 17 hours ago, norseman said: If you wanna get sick..... go to the hospital. :/ Sorry to hear about the folks who have passed. However, places like MD360 are the easy to visit... Around here at least for now. My girlfriend came down with a sinus and ear infection this week, but was hesitant to go seek medical attention because she didn't want to be in a waiting room filled with coughing people. I convinced her to go before the medical resource in this area get overwhelmed. The emergency care center have signs up stating that they are not equipped to treat anyone with flulike or CV 19 symptoms. A nurse was stationed outside the door and screened anyone wanting to enter. My girlfriend reported that there were only 2 other people in the waiting room on a Friday afternoon. All of the staff wore masks, goggles, and gloves...and there were people sterilizing constantly. I have a feeling that it would be a much different experience in a short time
SWWASAS Posted March 21, 2020 BFF Patron Posted March 21, 2020 15 hours ago, Rlee said: My wife and I lead the good life, eat properly and get exercise. We are both healthy. In the fall we take a trip every year from British Columbia ,where we live, to Sedona, AZ then Moab, UT then home. Last year it was the first two weeks in November, about 4 months ago. While in Sedona I picked up a cold. I didn't feel too bad but one thing that never happens to me was that I was short of breath. We were mountain biking and hiking with our dog and I wasn't quite right if you get what I mean. We got home and a few days later I was back at work and my wife got sick. She had made a trip to the dentist and visiting friends with kids so we didn't think much of it. A week went by and she wasn't better. We figured she had the flu. Another week and it didn't break. Then she told me to take her to Emergency. O2 was low so she was on oxygen immediately, in isolation and a constant drip of antibiotics. After a couple hours the internist came in and told us she had pneumonia from the virus and needed to be intubated. We opted to wait a few hours, luckily her blood oxygen levels started to rise. Four days in ICU isolation while they ran every test they had, no positive results but they thought she wasn't contagious. Then four days in a room with other sick people and two months at home and is finally healthy again. If you or someone close to you gets sick keep a level head and ask lots of questions. Your doctors are smart and Nurses sometimes have a lot of information that is important. We have talked about if we both had Covid or not, I really wonder how long it has been around? We are both taking all the precautions we can as I do not want to be the one who spreads it around. Your trip took you through the area of the first outbreak in Washington State. I think it is has been in the state for at least 6 months in the Seattle area before being tagged because of the outbreak in the nursing home. They completely botched things and it spread out of there. I had something in early Feb with all the symptoms. Eventually they will probably have antibody tests to see how many people have actually had it. I am sure it is far more than they expect. What I had in Feb seems to have damaged my lungs. Now and then I feel like I have a great weight on my chest. Seattle and the other Port cities of the West Coast have been exposed to sailors from China continuously through this mess. Some may have spread it when they were ashore.
Rlee Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 A antibody test would be the way to curb this. Right now anybody who is sick goes on a 2week self isolation. The problem is they don't test anyone who isn't high risk. So you get the flu or a cold and return to work not knowing that you can still get and spread Covid.
SWWASAS Posted March 21, 2020 BFF Patron Posted March 21, 2020 Is anyone else a little perplexed about the lack of masks, gloves, and other protective equipment in hospitals? The outbreak in China was months ago. Surely medical professionals would expect that the virus would spread to this country. None of the protective gear has shelf lives and is used routinely. So there would be no harm in stocking up. One would think that the buyers for hospitals would have been stocking up for months and not have run into a brick wall lately with shortages. Even more bewildering a local contractor just a few months ago bought hundreds of masks from a government surplus sale. He donated them to local hospitals. Why would the government declare masks surplus when a pandemic was looming on the time horizon?
Huntster Posted March 21, 2020 Posted March 21, 2020 Just In Time supply strategy. Obviously, that was as wise as outsourcing our medical manufacturing. 1 2
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