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WONDERFULLY MADE

I was reading an interesting question on a discussion board the other night.  The board was a place where medical students and residents pose questions to each other. The question had to do with whether supplemental oxygen can address shortness of breath in cases when a patient has pump failure or COPD (assuming at the same time), the patient has adequate O2 arterial saturation.  In the event that some readers have wondered about this themselves, providing O2 per mask or cannula can not...

As you heal from your aneurysm repair

AS YOU HEAL FROM YOUR ANEURYSM REPAIR

This post is a continuation of a previous post titled Omi’s Aneurysm. In this post, I plan to journal what I hope will be a very uneventful recovery in the days and months ahead following my dear wife’s surgery, which occurred on August 9, 2024 for a 7 mm saccular, intracranial aneurysm. The word “intracranial” means within the cranium, or inside the bones that form the head. More than likely in this context, it refers to the largest of the...

Omi's aneurysm

OMI’S ANEURYSM

One of the most important questions Deena and I had to ask of the other when we first met was whether we shared the same faith (or if any faith at all.)  We could not at the time foresee my eventual cancer or Deena’s cerebral aneurysm.  But having a mutual belief system meant that we had a common stratagem which we could fall back on when the road got bumpy (and as we were both approaching the age of seventy, the question...

Waiting

WAITING

On the eve of Ron’s fourteenth chemotherapy treatment, he asked me if I wanted to write an update on how I was dealing with his illnesses.  I asked, “On what? The Big C., Parkinson’s, your heart issues, your shoulder pain, or your other issues?”  He said, “No really, my readers might want your perspective.”  I quietly answered, “I am labeled as a strong woman and for the most part, I am and can be, but I have my days and the gloomy...

The doctor will see you now

THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW

Sesame Street character Elmo paid a virtual visit to X recently with a post that said “Elmo is just checking in. How is everybody doing?” The fact that Elmo is 43 years “old” means he has been entertaining and inspiring Americans for almost two generations. Thousands of people responded to him, though relatively few responses came from children. The respondents were clearly worn out, anxious, fearful and outright “down” in their prospects for a better life. Many families are stressed...

Is it almost time?

WHEN TIME IS TIGHT

Ladies with babies have almost always experienced labor, unless they were sectioned or their children were adopted.  The anticipation of childbirth while pregnant, the approaching date of confinement, the first contractions, bring joy to an expectant mother’s heart. Hurried visits to the clinic or hospital in the last trimester only to be turned away and sent home with a disappointing diagnosis of Braxton Hicks contractions otherwise known as false labor are on the other hand discouraging. Some women get very excited...

Time to mask up again?

TIME TO MASK UP AGAIN?

Because the COVID-19 severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus continues to circulate, but more importantly, because of an uptick in infections and hospitalizations, I’ve decided to start a new thread, since the old one is a pretty large file.  Let’s begin with a status check.  As of mid-August 2023 there were: U.S. Hospitalizations from COVID Deaths from COVID in U.S. Doses of vaccine given in U.S. 6,256,971 1,145,659 676,728,782[1] [1] As of May 2023. Variant Name R0 Value Comments XBB.1.5 Kraken TBD Emerged in Fall...

Your spiritual needs as you get older

YOUR SPIRITUAL NEEDS AS YOU GET OLDER

Early this morning well before sunrise, I had a period of sleeplessness. I had time to reflect on how I have been feeling, on upcoming appointments with my cardiologist, my urological oncologist, podiatrist, physical therapist and so on. I should mention that I’m six months beyond my seventy-fourth birthday. Or, as Jack Benny might have said, “I just celebrated the fortieth anniversary of my thirty-fourth birthday.” This post will examine your spiriual needs as you get older. Knowing when you...

SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) NEWS THREAD

When I launched this thread last May, Delta was just beginning to explore and infiltrate our communities. The vaccination rates were still climbing and many people–myself included–hoped we were out of the woods. But then the new case rate and the mortality rates climbed while the vaccination rates reached a plateau. Now, some epidemiologists are predicting another year or two of the pandemic. Note that I use the term “epidemiologist” and not “radiologist” or “opthamologist.” Doctors such as radiologists and...

DEADLY HARVEST: AGENT ORANGE & OUR VETS

On Thursday, January 18, 1962, I was in seventh grade. Chubby Checker had the Number 1 song in America, called “The Twist.” Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, the largest black university in the U.S. was shut down over civil rights demonstrations, and President John F. Kennedy gave final approval for the U.S. Military Assistance Command to proceed with Operation Ranch Hand, which was a “a massive effort to defoliate the forests of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos with an herbicide known as...

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