My sister’s neighbor is dying of Covid update: Latest update last post!

[Melissa Louise]

Just now, TCB said:

I am right there with you my friend. I don’t know if it is compassion exactly but more that I can no longer give of myself like I used to be able to. It makes me sad, but I’m not beating up on myself because I too am a human being.

Totally fair. You've experienced moral injury, on top.of everything else.

The fact you turn up to work is all that we non-HCW's can ask, and we should be damn grateful you do. 

[DreamerGirl]

One of the things I have a hard time with COVID is the number of children being left orphaned by both parents dying or one parent. I have seen that play in my grandparents generation with TB.  They had to take a lot of their nieces and nephews in as we do not have a proper foster care system in my country of origin even now.

Those children were older than my dad and his sister and there was always a very good relationship between my grandparents and them. But it must have been super traumatic for them. 

TB is one those things that caused a blight on my family that was felt for generations. I feel incredibly sad whenever I hear of stories of people dying leaving young children alone. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have the luxury of being able to be wearily resigned to people having the natural consequences of their choices.  Those natural consequences always included a certain percentage of antivaxxers being just fine and a certain percentage of vaxxers not being fine. It’s just that the percentages vastly favored the vaxxed.   But my emotional luxury is because unlike HCWs in Covid related professions especially, I do not have to try desperately to undo those unfavorable natural consequences when they occur. 

Edited January 31, 2022 by Jean in Newcastle
Homophones

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Janeway said:

I have never heard anyone say they do not believe in Covid, even from those who won't vaccinate or mask. What I hear is, I do not believe the vaccinations work or I do not believe they are safer than Covid.  And also, I do not believe masks work. 

 

Personally, I do not believe masks work, other than for when people sneeze and such. I feel that only social distancing and such truly works, and I do not mean just stand 6 feet away but then walk through each others' space. 

I am sorry about the neighbor, but are you sure she was not vaccinated? Because every single person I have known to die from Covid since the vaccinations came out was vaccinated. 

Interesting. Every single person I have personally known who died from Covid was unvaccinated, either because they died before there was a vaccine, or they refused the vax. My two childhood friends who just died were against vaccination. 

[Catwoman]

8 hours ago, Janeway said:

I have never heard anyone say they do not believe in Covid, even from those who won't vaccinate or mask. What I hear is, I do not believe the vaccinations work or I do not believe they are safer than Covid.  And also, I do not believe masks work. 

 

Personally, I do not believe masks work, other than for when people sneeze and such. I feel that only social distancing and such truly works, and I do not mean just stand 6 feet away but then walk through each others' space. 

I am sorry about the neighbor, but are you sure she was not vaccinated? Because every single person I have known to die from Covid since the vaccinations came out was vaccinated. 

Serious question — Can you explain why you believe that masks do not work? They have been used all over the world for many, many years to help prevent all kinds of infections. Why wouldn’t they help prevent the spread of Covid? 

[melmichigan]

4 hours ago, kbutton said:

I feel a sense of anger when people I have a personal connection to choose not to vaccinate, and I have to hear the progression toward death unfold in predictable fashion. It's like being forced to watch someone do something terribly dangerous like running blindfolded in traffic, except that it takes a lot longer, and people not only want prayers, they want acceptance, a go fund me, and meal deliveries to help them cope. I just can't with all that. I am sad for them, but I cannot be sad in the same supportive way that I am sad when someone fights cancer and loses or is in a tragic accident or even just someone facing a surgery that makes them unable to care for their family, so they need a meal. This is not that, and no one can make me equate them in my mind. 

This exactly. Every day there is another go fund me posted, another benefit looking for sponsors, or "proceeds going to" in my small community.  This weekend, with 34% positivity rate we had a big get together at the local brewery to raise funds for another family that lost Dad to covid. I don't wish anyone ill will, but I'm struggling to be compassionate while my family is stuck under shielding protocols because even though I'm tier 1, my doctors don't think they can get MAB.  At the same time, as a HCW I'm grateful that I have that luxury.

@Mrs TiggywinkleI am glad your family is doing well and hope they have light cases.

Edited January 31, 2022 by melmichigan

[KSera]

22 minutes ago, melmichigan said:

I'm struggling to be compassionate while my family is stuck under shielding protocols because even though I'm tier 1, my doctors don't think they can get MAB.

8 hours ago, WendyLady said:

I'm struggling to be compassionate while my family is stuck under shielding protocols because even though I'm tier 1, my doctors don't think they can get MAB.

 

See, and this is a place where  I feel justified in feeling some anger at people who won't get vaccinated. It is patently unfair that you are shielding to stay safe and will be unable to get MAB if you get sick, despite your high risk health status, because there are so many unvaccinated people who are getting very ill and they are given first priority due to how risky it is to unvaccinated with covid, even though there's is by choice and yours isn't. That just feels so d**n unfair and yeah, it makes me angry.

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by KSera

[kbutton]

On 1/29/2022 at 12:55 PM, kbutton said:

Meanwhile, I found out I have an elderly relative currently having a heart attack who has had chest pain since Sunday but wouldn't go in until today because he's afraid of getting Covid. When I say elderly, it's only a number--he's the poster child for likely to live an active life to age 100. He wouldn't have to fret a trip to the ER if people weren't so stupid (and I don't know if he is vaccinated or not--he might be lying low out of both a fear of Covid and a fear of the vaccine). His wife got Covid while in hospice in 2020. 

A day and a half later, he has a bed in a hospital an hour away. We assume that he requires stents or something since they transferred him (small town). He seems to be stable and in good spirits given the situation. 

[melmichigan]

5 minutes ago, kbutton said:

A day and a half later, he has a bed in a hospital an hour away. We assume that he requires stents or something since they transferred him (small town). He seems to be stable and in good spirits given the situation. 

I am glad he was able to get a bed. I hope he has a quick recovery whatever procedure is needed. 

[Kassia]

42 minutes ago, kbutton said:

A day and a half later, he has a bed in a hospital an hour away. We assume that he requires stents or something since they transferred him (small town). He seems to be stable and in good spirits given the situation. 

I missed your original post.  I'm glad he's in a bed and stable.  Hope everything goes well for him.

[Slache]

2 hours ago, Catwoman said:

Serious question — Can you explain why you believe that masks do not work? They have been used all over the world for many, many years to help prevent all kinds of infections. Why wouldn’t they help prevent the spread of Covid? 

I have heard that cloth masks do nothing, there are studies to prove it, and that the CDC says don't bother with them. I have no idea of any of that is true, but I've heard all of it more than once.

[Catwoman]

15 minutes ago, Slache said:

I have heard that cloth masks do nothing, there are studies to prove it, and that the CDC says don't bother with them. I have no idea of any of that is true, but I've heard all of it more than once.

Yes, but @Janeway didn’t specify that a certain type of mask was ineffective. She made a general statement that masks don’t work.

And between you and me, I would rather see someone in a cheap 2-ply cloth mask than no mask at all. I’m not excited about it and the protection might not be great, but it’s still better than no mask. And there are cloth masks that are manufactured to high standards and have additional filtration built into them.

The CDC is telling people not to wear cloth masks because a lot of people use a single layer of t-shirt fabric and call it a mask, despite the fact that anyone with half a brain should already know that a single layer of t-shirt material would be useless.  The CDC is obviously hoping that people will make better mask choices.

[KSera]

40 minutes ago, Slache said:

I have heard that cloth masks do nothing, there are studies to prove it, and that the CDC says don't bother with them. I have no idea of any of that is true, but I've heard all of it more than once.

That’s actually not true. There is lots of data that even cloth masks reduce exposure—the better the cloth mask is, the better, but they are significantly less effective than a filtering respirator, which filters over 95% of particles of the relevant size. Even a cloth mask that reduces risk by half is very worthwhile (and they work better for outward protection than inward). The CDC held off for a (too) long time because they were trying to avoid people thinking that only a certain kind of mask was worth wearing. They want people to wear the best mask they can, and if that is a cloth mask, that is what they want people to wear. They most definitely aren’t saying don’t bother. Clearly, as usual, the messaging from them has been muddled. 

[goldberry]

Regarding masks, many people never understood that masks were one way of reducing (not eliminating) risk and were best used in combination with other risk reducing strategies.  "Someone wore a mask all the time and still got sick, masks don't work."  Now we are seeing the same reasoning about vaccinations.  Showing the same lack of understanding about how vaxxes work and how risk-assessment works.

Oh, funny thing I was thinking about the other day - condoms.  You know how condoms *if used correctly* have a very high success rate.  And yet they are so often and consistently NOT used correctly, that there are adjusted figures for "average usage".  And the longer they are relied on as a sole means of birth control, the worse the figures get, because there is more time for misuse.

We should see that for masks. : )  

 

[KSera]

5 minutes ago, goldberry said:

Regarding masks, many people never understood that masks were one way of reducing (not eliminating) risk and were best used in combination with other risk reducing strategies.  "Someone wore a mask all the time and still got sick, masks don't work."  Now we are seeing the same reasoning about vaccinations.  Showing the same lack of understanding about how vaxxes work and how risk-assessment works.

Oh, funny thing I was thinking about the other day - condoms.  You know how condoms *if used correctly* have a very high success rate.  And yet they are so often and consistently NOT used correctly, that there are adjusted figures for "average usage".  And the longer they are relied on as a sole means of birth control, the worse the figures get, because there is more time for misuse.

We should see that for masks. : )  

 

Great post. Maybe we need to revive the Swiss cheese model of pandemic defenses that was so popular earlier in the pandemic. 
 

eta:

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by KSera

[Lisa]

This is so sad.

I'm an RN and have been taking care of covid patients for the past year and a half. Its been terrible. Right now we have 3 covid units. I usually work in the intermediate care unit. About 90% of our patients are unvaccinated. Some refuse Remdesivir. 

So terrible this is happening to this young mom and family.

[brehon]

15 hours ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

I am starting to wonder how any HCW are going to come out of this without being irretrievably broken.

I’m certainly not. I’ve been yelled at, spit on, hit, kicked, and shoved because some patient and/or their family members were adamant that Covid “wasn’t a thang”. I’ve had patients who were in cardiac arrest not because of Covid, but because they decided that self-dosing ivermectin from a tube they bought at TSC was better than vaccinating or at least taking the disease seriously and being cautious. 

Yup — broken HCW over here. 

[I talk to the trees]

8 hours ago, Slache said:

I have heard that cloth masks do nothing, there are studies to prove it, and that the CDC says don't bother with them. I have no idea of any of that is true, but I've heard all of it more than once.

Perhaps it’s time to actually read what the CDC has to say. Below is a direct quote from the CDC page about mask guidance, updated on the 14th of January. NEVER, in any of the updates on their official website, has the CDC said “Don’t bother with masks.” The message has been consistent throughout the pandemic that -as stated below- any mask is better than no mask. Here is a link to the CDC page with current masking recommendations as of 1/14/22. To borrow a line from Norm Abram, “Be sure to read, understand, and follow” the recommendations on that page, and you won’t have to rely on hearsay!
And, yes, I am intelligent enough to realize that factual information from the CDC is unlikely to make anyone change their mind about anything. People have already made up  their minds, dug in their heels, and will believe whatever their Uncle Carl's best friend's brother told them, simply because it is far easier than taking any personal responsibility. But at least I feel like I am putting up a tiny fight against the misinformation tsunami. Carry on y'all.
 

“

• Masking is a critical public health tool for preventing spread of COVID-19, and it is important to remember that any mask is better than no mask.”                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                              

[MEmama]

22 minutes ago, brehon said:

I’m certainly not. I’ve been yelled at, spit on, hit, kicked, and shoved because some patient and/or their family members were adamant that Covid “wasn’t a thang”. I’ve had patients who were in cardiac arrest not because of Covid, but because they decided that self-dosing ivermectin from a tube they bought at TSC was better than vaccinating or at least taking the disease seriously and being cautious. 

Yup — broken HCW over here. 

You and all HCWs cannot be thanked and rewarded enough for your selfless service. My heart goes out to all of you. 

[Slache]

6 minutes ago, I talk to the trees said:

Perhaps it’s time to actually read what the CDC has to say.

I didn't know if any of it was true because I generally don't care. Just because the CDC says something I don't necessarily believe it. I disagreed with the 2 week quarantine because it seemed that most experts said it should be 3, then they dropped it to 5 days and I think that's ridiculous. I mask because to the best of my knowledge, gathered from multiple sources, it's the smart thing to do, and if the CDC did say don't bother I still would. If there are a lot of experts saying there's no reason to mask then there's still several saying the opposite and I will make my own decision, which right now is to err on the side of caution. I don't disregard what the CDC says, but we're in (what's that word again?) unprecedented times with ever changing information and sometimes the newest ideas aren't the best.

[regentrude]

2 hours ago, Slache said:

Just because the CDC says something I don't necessarily believe it.

Re CDC: one needs to keep in mind that the CDC is making public health policy recommendations that don't simply recommend the most rigorous scientific solution, but must take into account what is feasible to expect of people. If you read the explanations behind the 5 day quarantine decision: that is what they think they can get folks to adhere to in an attempt to get people to quarantine at all. 5 days is their compromise between reasonably (not perfectly!) safe and untenable for most people. 
So, it's not that the scientific understanding has changed much - it's the realization that with a ten day quarantine, the majority of people are either unable or unwilling to comply and simply won't stay home at all.
The outcome is a flawed recommendation that takes into account the realities of the flawed society (no paid sick leave for example) and of the  flawed human nature (a large number of people don't give a crap about their fellow humans).
 

Edited January 31, 2022 by regentrude

[Tanaqui]

DreamerGirl: One set of my mother's cousins growing up lost a mother and, I believe, an infant to TB. Their father had already died, and the fallout from this seems to have affected every child in that generation of cousins, not just the ones who lost their parents.

Even just losing one parent, as happened to me when I was a child, is considered a serious ACE that can cause long-term health effects.

re: masks - if nothing else, a cloth mask (especially one that goes over the head rather than fastening with ear loops) can greatly improve the efficacy of a surgical mask, because it helps close the gaps at the side. Cloth mask + surgical mask may be more affordable for some people over N95 masks, and they may be more comfortable for some people who, perhaps, like to wear one mask when in a low risk situation (such as out and about in the open air) but will double mask when entering a building or a crowd.

[KSera]

4 hours ago, Slache said:

I didn't know if any of it was true because I generally don't care. Just because the CDC says something I don't necessarily believe it. I disagreed with the 2 week quarantine because it seemed that most experts said it should be 3, then they dropped it to 5 days and I think that's ridiculous. I mask because to the best of my knowledge, gathered from multiple sources, it's the smart thing to do, and if the CDC did say don't bother I still would. If there are a lot of experts saying there's no reason to mask then there's still several saying the opposite and I will make my own decision, which right now is to err on the side of caution. I don't disregard what the CDC says, but we're in (what's that word again?) unprecedented times with ever changing information and sometimes the newest ideas aren't the best.

It sounds like you’re erring on the side of caution, which seems prudent. There are lots of other people though that want any excuse to do the minimum or nothing, so when someone makes a statement that the CDC said don’t bother doing xyz (when they didn’t), it contributes to misinformation because all too many people will be happy to jump on and further spread that statement to others. That’s my big concern with that. 

[Happy2BaMom]

4 hours ago, brehon said:

I’m certainly not. I’ve been yelled at, spit on, hit, kicked, and shoved because some patient and/or their family members were adamant that Covid “wasn’t a thang”. I’ve had patients who were in cardiac arrest not because of Covid, but because they decided that self-dosing ivermectin from a tube they bought at TSC was better than vaccinating or at least taking the disease seriously and being cautious. 

Yup — broken HCW over here. 

I know 3 hospital-based HCWs, in 3 different regions of the US. All report exactly what you do here. They are being ROUTINELY disparaged/accused, physically threatened and/or assaulted, verbally abused, etc etc. And it's the unvaxxed (or, more often, their family members, who are doing it when they get sick enough with Covid to need the hospital (I'd really like JUST ONE to answer why they go to the hospital at all if they are so convinced that the hospital is a dangerous place to be).

HCWs are leaving in droves, and while there are numerous causes for that, the straw that is breaking the camel's back is the mistreatment at the hands of the entitled. A surgeon at my friend's hospital announced his resignation shortly after a patient spit IN HIS FACE for asking about the patient's vaccination status (patient pulled down their ill-fitting mask to do it), among many other abuses he'd endured. So the wait for a surgeon in that town is about to get even longer, and the good are punished along with the bad. I mean....can you imagine going through the utter hell of medical school and residency to wind up routinely personally harrassed and f*cking SPIT ON??

I'll stop personal commentary there.

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

10 minutes ago, Happy2BaMom said:

I know 3 hospital-based HCWs, in 3 different regions of the US. All report exactly what you do here. They are being ROUTINELY disparaged/accused, physically threatened and/or assaulted, verbally abused, etc etc. And it's the unvaxxed (or, more often, their family members, who are doing it when they get sick enough with Covid to need the hospital (I'd really like JUST ONE to answer why they go to the hospital at all if they are so convinced that the hospital is a dangerous place to be).

HCWs are leaving in droves, and while there are numerous causes for that, the straw that is breaking the camel's back is the mistreatment at the hands of the entitled. A surgeon at my friend's hospital announced his resignation shortly after a patient spit IN HIS FACE for asking about the patient's vaccination status (patient pulled down their ill-fitting mask to do it), among many other abuses he'd endured. So the wait for a surgeon in that town is about to get even longer, and the good are punished along with the bad. I mean....can you imagine going through the utter hell of medical school and residency to wind up routinely personally harrassed and f*cking SPIT ON??

I'll stop personal commentary there.

Yes, I can, because I see it every single day that I work.  Patients that refuse to leave masks on. Patients that laugh at us then cough on us for askinG them to put masks on. Patients who spit at us when they find out they’re not going straight to a hospital bed but out to the waiting room.

the abuse of HCW has always been an issue. My husband has a permanent shoulder injury from a combative patient. I’ve had surgery due to torn ligaments from a combative patient.  I have a friend who got hit in the head with an oxygen tank and passed out.  I have another friend; a nurse, who got choked by a psych patient until she passed out.  All of this before Covid.  It’s just gotten worse now.

[Innisfree]

We need to award some order of valor to the health care workers who have served during the pandemic. Not that that's enough... They need some practical compensation in recognition of what they've endured. I don't know what that would look like, but I'm thinking about the GI Bill. Certainly access to counseling, and preferment in future job opportunities. 

Probably not feasible politically, given our sorry state.

[MEmama]

In light of these horror stories, is there anything a patient can do to make their HCWs feel appreciated and respected? I mean, besides the obvious like not behaving like complete a@#holes?

Honestly, you are absolute superheroes. Truly.  

[Frances]

Another sad story of death due to vaccine refusal. It sounds like he was likely influenced by QAnon and got lots of media and political attention for defying the Governor.

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2022/01/former-state-trooper-50-who-told-off-gov-jay-inslee-over-vaccine-mandate-dies-reportedly-of-covid-19.html

[MEmama]

5 minutes ago, Frances said:

Another sad story of death due to vaccine refusal. It sounds like he was likely influenced by QAnon and got lots of media and political attention for defying the Governor.

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2022/01/former-state-trooper-50-who-told-off-gov-jay-inslee-over-vaccine-mandate-dies-reportedly-of-covid-19.html

Yeah, when they are proud of their actions and the expected happens as a result, how are we supposed to feel? Why should we feel pity for people who are literally getting what they ask for? 

[Frances]

7 minutes ago, MEmama said:

In light of these horror stories, is there anything a patient can do to make their HCWs feel appreciated and respected? I mean, besides the obvious like not behaving like complete a@#holes?

Honestly, you are absolute superheroes. Truly.  

Not exactly a patient perspective, but if you have friends, family members, or neighbors who are healthcare workers, I’m sure a meal or special treat and heartfelt card would be welcome.

I’m guessing most healthcare workers like my husband would also really appreciate as much positive feedback as possible, both directly to them and to their supervisors and employers.

[Jean in Newcastle]

21 minutes ago, MEmama said:

In light of these horror stories, is there anything a patient can do to make their HCWs feel appreciated and respected? I mean, besides the obvious like not behaving like complete a@#holes?

Honestly, you are absolute superheroes. Truly.  

Local ad from health care workers.  "Thanks are appreciated but we'd rather you thank us by getting vaccinated. " 

[elegantlion]

18 minutes ago, MEmama said:

In light of these horror stories, is there anything a patient can do to make their HCWs feel appreciated and respected? I mean, besides the obvious like not behaving like complete a@#holes?

Honestly, you are absolute superheroes. Truly.  

I don't know if it makes any real difference, but one thing I did was thank the HCW in the ER while I was in the ER. I filled out the survey the hospital system mailed me after my visit. I thanked the workers, expressed my personal outrage at how may people weren't wearing masks, and that I sympathized with their position. 

 

[Frances]

8 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Local ad from health care workers.  "Thanks are appreciated but we'd rather you thank us by getting vaccinated. " 

That and complying with public health mandates in regards to covid (especially masking) and being very careful not to spread misinformation.

[MEmama]

4 minutes ago, elegantlion said:

I don't know if it makes any real difference, but one thing I did was thank the HCW in the ER while I was in the ER. I filled out the survey the hospital system mailed me after my visit. I thanked the workers, expressed my personal outrage at how may people weren't wearing masks, and that I sympathized with their position. 

 

I’ll be sure to do the same, for sure. 

After DH was in the ICU for a couple weeks I sent flowers and a card, but it felt so insignificant for you know, *saving his life* and then taking such good care of him for so long. I guess I just wish there was more I could do.

[KSera]

23 minutes ago, Frances said:

Another sad story of death due to vaccine refusal. It sounds like he was likely influenced by QAnon and got lots of media and political attention for defying the Governor.

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2022/01/former-state-trooper-50-who-told-off-gov-jay-inslee-over-vaccine-mandate-dies-reportedly-of-covid-19.html

People think they’re dying for some grand belief. But they’re not, they just got used as a political pawn and thrown away. They served no greater purpose whatsoever in throwing away their lives. And that’s really sad for them and their families. 

[Slache]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

It sounds like you’re erring on the side of caution, which seems prudent. There are lots of other people though that want any excuse to do the minimum or nothing, so when someone makes a statement that the CDC said don’t bother doing xyz (when they didn’t), it contributes to misinformation because all too many people will be happy to jump on and further spread that statement to others. That’s my big concern with that. 

I wasn't trying to indicate that they said that, but if that's being said it would encourage those who choose not to mask. My point was that I'd heard the rumor, not that they said it.

[Sweets]

In my own family, I have seen the effects of vaccinated vs. nonvaccinated. My husband, youngest son, and I are all vaccinated and boosted, we still mask, and have been selective about going out in public places. We have not had Covid. We are especially cautious because of my husband's health status of end-stage kidney disease and diabetes. 

My brother-in-law and his wife (who is a nurse) were big believers that Covid was just the flu and were not vaccinated because they did not believe that the vaccine was genuinely safe. In October 2021, they both got Covid. My SIL was hospitalized, intubated, in ICU, and recovered but has and will have long-term health effects. My BIL was very, very sick but there were no hospital beds for him as his oxygen sats were still "acceptable." He was quarantined at home, but he was too weak to get out of bed for about two weeks for anything but the bathroom. We live out of state, but my husband went over for a month to help out with my BIL and SIL's business so they would at least have money still coming in. My MIL, at 87 years old, vaccinated, boosted, and masked, was at her son's house daily with food and taking care of the pets. He is her baby, and you never stop being a mom. She did not sleep at the house. My MIL did not get Covid. My husband did not go anywhere near his mother or brother during that month to minimize any chance of covid. We plan to go visit in February, but we are staying in a hotel. We told BIL and SIL that we cannot see them until they get vaccinated.  

Now my BIL and SIL are still refusing the vaccine. I just.do.not.understand.it!  

[Melissa Louise]

My ex SIL, who lives in Florida, has gone full anti vax. It's like her brain has been hijacked. She is normally quite a sensible person. She's had a breakdown upon hearing that her parents went ahead and got their booster shots, told ex MIL the booster will kill her. It's not like she's made a private decision, and is now doing her best to mask up around others and test etc. She's threatening her parents they can't come to visit the grandkids because the vaccine will shed and damage the kids. Sadly, she's a teacher. 

I apologize if she or her husband end up in hospital using up the goodwill of HCWs. I don't know how to explain what's happened to her. 

I have an aunt who believes in the whole 'shedding' theory. She and her family have chosen their church, which preaches against vaccines, over the vaccinated side of the family. Her eldest sister is distraught. But at least this aunt is not trying to stop other people from getting vaccinated. 

[Faith-manor]

NM, oops, wrong thread.

Edited January 31, 2022 by Faith-manor

[Happy2BaMom]

15 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

My ex SIL, who lives in Florida, has gone full anti vax. It's like her brain has been hijacked. She is normally quite a sensible person. She's had a breakdown upon hearing that her parents went ahead and got their booster shots, told ex MIL the booster will kill her. It's not like she's made a private decision, and is now doing her best to mask up around others and test etc. She's threatening her parents they can't come to visit the grandkids because the vaccine will shed and damage the kids. Sadly, she's a teacher. 

I apologize if she or her husband end up in hospital using up the goodwill of HCWs. I don't know how to explain what's happened to her. 

I have an aunt who believes in the whole 'shedding' theory. She and her family have chosen their church, which preaches against vaccines, over the vaccinated side of the family. Her eldest sister is distraught. But at least this aunt is not trying to stop other people from getting vaccinated. 

I think many of us have people in our lives who are choosing not to be vaccinated, and, yes, the issue is the degree of crazy that can (& frequently does) go with it. And it is inexplicable and mystifying (the crazy) in many cases. My theory (not that I'm the only or original one to think this) is that there's too much instability, stress, and pressure in the world, and some people's reaction to that is to form complete & utter certainty by taking odd Stances. I can't think of any other reason why so many people have gone round the bend, rather than just, as you say, making a private decision and carrying on while taking precautions. Most unfortunately, they frequently completely overrun the hospitals when they & their brethren fall quite ill. 

It's all hard. I don't like being angry, but being angry is a natural reaction to feeling powerless while the lights in the life support systems around you start to dim and consistently flicker. I'm actually following the Daily Stoic now, which is helping.

Hard times.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Happy2BaMom

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

From my sister:

Baby girl was born two months early Saturday morning. She’s doing very well and is off the vent.  They have not named her yet; they’re hoping Mom can wake up and choose the name. 

Mom is on ECMO now as a last ditch effort. Her name is Brittany, if you want to pray/light candles/keep her in your thoughts by name.

[BusyMom5]

Prayers for this family, and thank you for updating. 

[freesia]

I’m praying for Brittany. 

[Ditto]

Praying for Brittany, baby girl, and their family.

[SKL]

Prayers for Brittany and her family.

[Soror]

Prayers 🙏🙏

[SKL]

I am vaxed and boosted and all that good stuff.  I wish people would stop believing that is fool-proof.  We got Covid.  I have at least one unvaxed sibling and parent who haven't had Covid (so far).  I have at least one sib who did get covid while unvaxed (her whole household got the original strain and were no sicker than we "protected people" were with presumed omicron).  As for the vax, my dad has been continually ill since he got his booster in November.  He had to cancel Christmas and various other things over it.  This is real and nobody is allowed to say it.

I wish certain people would get vaccinated.  I understand why some of them don't (good reasons), and I don't agree with others, but it's their choice.  I don't feel superior to anyone based on my health choices.  I really wish people wouldn't encourage each other's schadenfreude.

[Tanaqui]

If nobody is allowed to say it, SKL, you must be real brave to post it here. I sure hope the covid cops don't arrest you for your defense of free speech.

[Arcadia]

21 hours ago, MEmama said:

After DH was in the ICU for a couple weeks I sent flowers and a card, but it felt so insignificant for you know, *saving his life* and then taking such good care of him for so long. I guess I just wish there was more I could do.

At the cancer center that I went for chemo and radiation treatments, patients would often bring in store bought baked goods for the staff. Often it is a large tray of cookies or muffins. I know the nurses there love finger food because they often don’t have time to eat when the place is fully booked. 

[Kassia]

11 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

At the cancer center that I went for chemo and radiation treatments, patients would often bring in store bought baked goods for the staff. Often it is a large tray of cookies or muffins. I know the nurses there love finger food because they often don’t have time to eat when the place is fully booked. 

That's a great idea.  When I was in the hospital, I know the nurses and staff seemed to really enjoy a tray of bagels someone brought in so that's what I did after my stay but I like the cookies/muffins idea even better because those are quicker.