Lily had her fifth chemo treatment today, and while we were there I saw the most curious looking dog:
From some angles, it looks like he has NO legs whatsoever, but I thought he looked kinda like a Jawa Landcrawler. He shuffled when he walked.
At any rate, the only note from my doctor this week was “Lily continues to be amazing.” Which is true! All her bloodwork was fine, her platelet count dropped, and everything seems to be ok, so we are just gonna keep on keeping on. She got showered with attention by all the nurses and vet techs, and got a pretty new bow:
After we walked out of the hospital I tried to get her to go on the grass and potty, but she headed straight toward the car and was ready to get on the road.
Got home, and the peeps are doing well:
And just because I love you, here are pictures of Rosie and Lardass. Rosie is too stiff (like all JRT’s) to curl up, so she just makes the bed work:
And Steve just sleeps wherever the hell he wants:
Remember, that recliner is a chair and a half oversized job.
I have no idea what happened in politics today and plan to keep it that way until tomorrow.
Lapassionara
Thank you for this hopeful report.
John Cole
Test
Cheryl Rofer
Thanks for the update, John! Glad Lily is taking the chemo well. Did anyone id the birds the other night? They don’t look like housefinches to me, maybe robins.
Zooey had an adventure. During his time outside on Friday morning, he found a pinacate beetle, which are quite common around here. They are also known as stinkbugs, because they have a defensive spray against predators. Zooey pawed at the beetle a little, sniffed at it, followed it, pawed some more, sniff—
He leaped and ran, managed to pull out of his harness. But he stopped nearby, drooling. His eye and his mouth were irritated for a couple of days, and it’s only today he’s eating normally. He seemed afraid of food for a while – I think maybe the beetle smelled like food at first.
Baud
@John Cole: I tried that. It doesn’t work. The blog doesn’t work.
TaMara (HFG)
@John Cole: I didn’t study.
LesGS
@John Cole: Crap. I hate pop quizzes.
cain
You mentioned lardass, but I didn’t see any pictures of you, John.
Thanks for the update ;)
jl
@Baud: Blog is full service at not working
But to end on a constructive note: thnx for nice petpix.
OTOH, why is Cole always griping about his pets taking up his space? If Cole is going dump a lot of junk on the recliner, who cares if Steve sits on what’s left? Stevei is merely making efficient use of wasted space. Very unfair to Steve. Shame. (Edit: shame, shame)
nicdanger
Yay Rosie,and yay Mr.Cole.The news continues to be good,and “keep on keeping on” sounds like a fine plan.
raven
Ya’ll quit sweatin Cole.
Cheryl Rofer
If the blog isn’t working for you, email Alain. You can find the form and his address under “Quick Links” at the top of the page. He was doing something to the blog earlier today.
jl
@raven: Are you not aware of all Balloon-Juice traditions?
We’re supposed to give Cole a minimum level of grief or we lose our newsletter subscriptions.
Ruckus
What the hell is wrong with shuffling?
It’s better than falling down.
Damn young whipper snapper.
Elizabelle
Lily excels at chemo too. Who’s a good girl.
And those little birds are thriving! I hope birds start heaving themselves into the Cole household too. It has worked well for the resident animules.
ETA: Love the Rosie picture.
schrodingers_cat
I love Lily’s bows! Is that grosgrain ribbon?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@John Cole: They said there’d be no math.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: Yes, dad.
raven
I’ll only take drug tests if they are take-home!
PIGL
Lily is the prettiest and goodest little doggie in the whole world ever. From the profile photo of her in the car with her new ribbon, I can tell these things.
schrodingers_cat
@?BillinGlendaleCA: They lied, math is everywhere.
raven
Schiff just told Rachel the gang of 8 is who is going to be meeting with the Intel peeps.
stinger
Thank you for this post. I feel much affection and concern for your critters, perhaps because they remind me of my own (I too have 3 dogs and a cat, all rescues).
schrodingers_cat
@TaMara (HFG): Don’t you love surprise quizzes?
jl
Lily looks great in the bow tie.
Mnemosyne
Yay Lily!
I’m doing laundry. I hate laundry. But it has to be done because we’re going away to Santa Barbara this weekend and I need to have clothes to wear while we’re there.
Major Major Major Major
Damn, those birds are growing fast.
Samwise has been really vocal and insistent about hanging out lately. And kinda picky about his food too. That sorta happens sometimes right? He’s not dying? Water is clean, no ants in the apartment or anything (that can totally throw him off kilter).
dmsilev
@raven: So the Trumpians caved on the whole “only our selected lickspittles who can be relied upon to cherrypick and leak will attend” idea?
Nicole
Thanks for the update and the photos; much appreciated.
TaMara (HFG)
@schrodingers_cat: I freak out when I have to take the car in for an emissions test!
Steve in the ATL
WTF is going on with posting? Was Jared tasked with fixing this too?
TaMara (HFG)
@Mnemosyne: Sure, rub it in (Santa Barbara, not laundry). I’ve been a bit homesick for the past few months.
PIGL
@Mnemosyne: Prices vary a lot from City to city but when I’m on the West Coast I take a weeks laundry to the Korean laundromat up the road and it comes back clean and folded for about $14 … that’s just over twice what it would cost me in quarters and soap to do it myself —no folding— in the dismal laundry room of my condo building. So laundry no longer has to be hey a miserable at sure if you can spare five or 10 extra bucks a week. It’s money well worth spending I’d say because I hate doing laundry s’much it sounds you do.
NineDragonSpot
Humph. I never got a pretty new bow when I was on chemo. ?
Mnemosyne
@PIGL:
We actually scored the Holy Grail of Los Angeles apartments and found a place where we have OUR OWN washer and dryer, so at least I don’t have to go anywhere else with my clothes.
I do fluff n fold when I just can’t stand it anymore, but I also have sweaters and stuff that can’t go to fluff n fold. ?
Yutsano
@John Cole: I’m. only auditing.
Mnemosyne
@TaMara (HFG):
We had to postpone our annual trip last fall after I hurt my knee. We are REALLY looking forward to getting away. We even managed to identify a weekend where Gerard doesn’t have any classwork.
Now if that full-time job he interviewed for would just call him back one way or the other … ?
FlyingToaster
Wait a second — there aren’t supposed to be any fucking tests…
I have to fall asleep soon; tomorrow morning is WarriorGirl’s Class Breakfast and as “Class Parent” I have to go in extra early to set up. Plus I’m bone tired from today’s episode of “clear the crap out from under the Dogwood and then fill in the holes”. And 3 loads of laundry. With folding.
jl
@Yutsano: You still have to turn in the homework, though.
Gin & Tonic
@Mnemosyne: I actually kinda like doing laundry.
Davebo
Curious about what puppy chemo costs. Went through something similar with my Lab. Surgery and extensive drug therapy afterwards that ran over 6k but we still lost him within 3 months.
Truth is, my wife would have spent 60k if she thought it would save him.
Davebo
@Gin & Tonic:
Got an address I can UPS to? I’ll pay return shipping!
jl
@Mnemosyne: Lily wouldn’t let you borrow her bow tie?
Omnes Omnibus
@raven: He was a volunteer, so he chose tanks. Everything follows from that.
Gin & Tonic
@Davebo: *My own* laundry.
scav
I know it’s an indulgence and mechanically wasteful but if I could only have one first world luxury, it might very well be a private clothes washing machine. Especially one of those little ones that spin like a jet engine taking off. Don’t mind washing dishes, so we’ll slide it in there.
Omnes Omnibus
@PIGL: Do they starch everything? The laundry I used in London did. I had to get very firm with them that I wanted pressed but not starched shirts.
debbie
No Thurston?
jl
@scav: Wait, what? There is a gadget that does both dishes and clothes? At the same time? I’m in. Where do I get one? Can I use it to shower too? Windows?
Wow… this’ll be sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!
Edit: And I’ll pay for the add-on for car wash.
J R in WV
That ad, the new one that won’t go away…
Try adding this to your list of banned sites:
https://Connatix.com
https://cdn.connatix.com/min/connatix.renderer.infeed.min.js
I think the second line is what did it, maybe the first one. Or both.
PIGL
@Omnes Omnibus: my wardrobe doors not extend to such finery….but they are so neatly folded I think they must be pressed
Davebo
@Gin & Tonic: Just as well. The local wash/dry/fold place shrink wraps my underwear which is AWESOME! And yes, I have a washer and dryer but it’s only semi automatic and doesn’t shrink wrap shit!
jl
@J R in WV: Your comment made me notice that, for me, noisy and movie clip ads completely disappeared today. I kind of miss that old white haired man who prattled on and on, though. He never had sound, but the sight was touching, when I noticed it.
Mnemosyne
@Gin & Tonic:
Come on by. We have craft beer and cats.
Gelfling 545
Glad to see that all the pets seem to be in fine fettle.
Flora is sulking because my granddaughter who was here for 2 days went home and I have been out all evening. I’m just from my 50th HS reunion. The ladies were still whooping it up when I left; playing Name That Nun.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Davebo: we went through that with a golden. It was thousands of dollars, and her metabolism was so fast that any ameliorating effects lasted only a short time. After only two chemo sessions she was gone.
scav
@jl: Well, I suppose my under-the-counter jet engine gizmo could manage plates, but only if there was a lot of careful and extensive super-gluing afterward. I doubt the car could make it up the stairwell for the attempt.
Steeplejack (phone)
Test.
Steve in DUVAL!
Did anyone watch the Nancy Pelosi town hall on CNN? I was enjoying it until the host said “Democrats love to tax and spend…”
Can we not respond that taxes are required to pay for civilization and the alternative to taxing and spending is spending and piling up debt that will eventually require cranking up the currency printing presses?
Steve in DUVAL!
@Steeplejack (phone): C-
geg6
When you said Lardass, I thought we’d have a Thurston pic. Steve is big, but I don’t see him as a lardass. He’s just a big boy.
zhena gogolia
We love you, Lily.
We just watched the royal wedding on YouTube (we were traveling Saturday). But I had first looked at Leslie Jones’s tweets, so I couldn’t help but hear her voice dubbing unprintable thoughts onto the Queen as they were singing “God Save the Queen.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in DUVAL!: God, you are generous.
Patricia Kayden
@John Cole: Cute critter photos. I believe the only pet missing is Thurston. Glad to hear that Lily is doing so well.
Patricia Kayden
@geg6: Steve is floofy.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack (phone):
Yes, E. H. Shepard (sp?). I couldn’t comment in the thread below.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Omnes Omnibus: gotta keep those student loan dollars rolling in. Failing people, even those such as Steeplejavk who clearly deserve it, details the money train.
And if republicanism has taught us anything, it’s that only money matters.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in DUVAL!: Come over completely to the dark side you have.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I’m wondering if this is a thing in LA/etc. Each unit here has a washer/dryer combo. So doing laundry isn’t that bad. No quarters and no spending time in the basement waiting for a machine.
Shell
@cain: At ‘lardass’, I thought he meant jelly-roll Thurston. He does get stinted at picture time, it seems.
*********
Lily looking fine! Love how she sits in her seat as if “Cmon, Cole. Lets hit the road.”
Steve in DUVAL!
@Omnes Omnibus: because management-side labor lawyer wasn’t dark side enough?
That said, two days ago I proudly voted in the democratic primary in my red town in my red county in my red state. Happily voted for a college friend for judge, for a law school friend for judge, and against a law school not friend for judge.
Ruckus
@Yutsano:
Auditing? A scientologist? Say it isn’t so.
jl
@scav: dammit. You shattered my dreams.
@Steve in DUVAL!: I agree. Could we agree to respond “Hey, cut the bullshit. You people wonder why no one watches your old folk’s TV dog and pony shows anymore. What about the GOP shoveling money to rich people while cutting off everyone else’s balls and bankrupting the country? Huh?… Hey, I asked you a fucking question…” Nancy could make that sound very dignified, I think.
Steeplejack
@Gin & Tonic:
Me, too. I sort of keep it on the down low, because at times in the past I have gotten a sexist eye-roll from some women who seemed to assume that I “liked” doing laundry only because I was a Neanderthal who threw all sorts of incompatible fabrics together and blasted them in the washing-machine version of beating them with a stick on a rock down at the river.
I admit that I don’t have a tremendous array of exotic fabrics in my current wardrobe, but I do consider myself to be aware of most, if not all, laundry traditions.
ETA: I am blessed in my current apartment with an over-under washer-dryer pair in what used to be (I assume) a closet. Meets all my needs for bashing a load of laundry river-rock style.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in DUVAL!: Hey, you know I am just fucking with you, right? *
*Rare seriousness.
Steeplejack
@J R in WV:
Thanks. I’m still trying to remember where to insert it in AdBlock Plus. Been quite a while since I had to do a manual edit.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Gin & Tonic: @Steeplejack: dossiers updated. Mental illness is more rampant than suspected.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
My god
Steve in DUVAL!
@Omnes Omnibus: bien sûr. Anyway, I’m a labor lawyer and father of two daughters. Nothing anyone says can hurt me. Plus, and I know this will upset you, I know that you say that from a place of love!
ETA: I may or may not be on my second bottle of wine at a hotel adjacent to the Mayo Clinic. If the wife would wrap up her tests quickly enough, I have a tee time at Sawgrass. Of course, her health is the priority. Until it gets close to my tee time….
Steeplejack
@Steve in DUVAL!:
I admit, I phoned it in. Not my best work.
Skepticat
I second that emotion. And I’m SO happy to see Lily rocking it.
Ruckus
@jl:
You don’t want to dignify that question. That covers up the seriousness of it. And the asswipes are going to make you sound bad anyway. So say it like it needs to be said. There is no dignity in what conservatives are doing, they are trying to fuck everyone but the rich but because of what they are doing the rich will eventually get fucked anyway. Of course by that time, if you aren’t rich, you will be completely, totally fucked, with no way out other than dying.
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
This is the first time that either G or I have had an in-unit W/D in any of our apartments, so we were pretty excited to find it. It does seem to come in the more expensive places.
Steeplejack
@Steve in DUVAL!:
So the straight cronyism ticket, then?
jl
@Ruckus: I’ll go with your version. I also think Pelosi could say ‘asswipe’ with appropriate grace and civility. Better than ‘fuck’ and its derivatives.
rikyrah
Lily is beautiful ?
It’s Steve’s world and you just live in it?
The babies are so cute. Do you feed them, Cole?
Viva BrisVegas
@Steve in DUVAL!:
Easy riposte to that:
“We Democrats want to tax those who crashed the economy in 2008 and have been making out like bandits ever since.
We Democrats want to spend those taxes on those who had years of their savings wiped out by that crash and have been struggling ever since.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in DUVAL!: Fuck you and I hope you get an answer about your wife.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Mnemosyne:
Lucky you. I’m down to only one of those. My poor elderly cat Peter (a twin, in appearance, of M4’s Samwise) sneaked out last Wednesday night and never came back. Normally he’d have come back in 5 minutes, so I knew right away something was wrong. Yesterday our next-door neighbors and their big German shepherd came back after two weeks away, and the dog immediately flushed a coyote out of our backyards. I’m 99.9% sure it got Peter. I’ve dutifully run through the lost-pet algorithm – distribute flyers, register with Animal Control, check the shelter, post on Nextdoor.com, etc., etc., but it all seems hopeless. I’m so sad. He was a wonderful cat.
We still have adorable orange kitty Scoot and the craft beer. It’s a little comfort, but not enough.
Steeplejack
@Steve in DUVAL!:
Thoughts and prayers (sincere) for the missus. I hope you get some light at the end of the tunnel.
eclare
@Steeplejack: I like doing laundry, must be the it thing to do tonight, I’m on my third load. General thought, though, I recently had to replace my old washing machine that had an agitator, so I got a new HE (High Efficiency) washing machine. No cycle lasts less than an hour. So before when I could do a load in thirty minutes that was inefficient? Has anyone else noticed this?
Yutsano
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Oh my gosh how horrible! Poor kitteh.
Elizabelle
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I’m sorry. I hope Peter returns to you. How sad.
Yarrow
Lily girl! She is the bestest doggie ever! Love her little bow. Every week her bow is different and they’re all gorgeous and look adorable on her. She makes every accessory look good. I love how she’s sitting at attention in that photo. She is ready to go!
Thanks for the photos of the other critters. Steve cracks me up. “This is my armrest, human. Don’t think you’re getting any closer.”
Steve in DUVAL!
@Steeplejack: yes and no. These are people I’ve known for a long time, so I’m well aware of who’s an asshole and who’s not. I voted for college classmate for judge because he’s good people; if I were in Kentucky I would vote against college classmate for governor because he’s fucking awful. And seriously, it was a small school and I knew EVERYONE* and everyone knew me**, and I didn’t know Bevin.
*not literally, obviously, but darned close
**literally
eclare
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: So sorry about Peter.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Omnes Omnibus: va te faire foutre, et aussi merci!
@Steeplejack: grazie!
@eclare: dossier updated; mental illness is spreading at pandemic levels. Also, HE washers take longer but use far less water and energy and are far easier on your clothes.
Steeplejack
@eclare:
I don’t know the provenance of my washer—it is at least six years old, I know that, and probably a good deal older—but an average load does take 45-55 minutes. Doesn’t really bother me, since I’m typically sitting around pantsless anyway, but I could see where it would be a nuisance if you’re trying to plow through three loads. I probably average one load a week. (Simple, casual wardrobe, almost everything can be washed together.)
Steeplejack
Gotta go watch Archer. Will respond to invective and “someone’s wrong on the Internet” in about 30.
Steve in DUVAL!
PSA: American and Finnair are having a fare sale to Germany/Austria/Switzerland. Sub $500. Book now!
Steve in DUVAL!
@Steeplejack: sounds like you’re entering the danger zone!
Steeplejack
@Steve in DUVAL!:
Ha! Still waiting for Kenny Loggins to make an appearance this season.
Divf
I am in a hotel Pittsburgh with no suitcase (I inadvertently left in at the baggage check in my hotel in Chicago this morning). Fortunately I go home tomorrow and the hotel will put my bag on the ups truck in the morning.
We went to the cubs Cleveland game at Wrigley last night. In was in the mid fifties in the upper deck and I was in shirtsleeves. People kept asking me if I was cold and I told them that I was used to it – most night games in Oakland are at this temp.
Normally I do not comment with such mundane details but being this close to the Cole Mother Ship moved me to do so.
Yarrow
@Steve in DUVAL!: Departing from where?
Faction
Seriously? 100 comments and no one’s pointed out that he’s talking about a Bantha, a hairy animal, and not a Sandcrawler, a metal vehicle? Fucking nerds.
Mnemosyne
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
Oh no! I hope Peter just found a safe spot to hide that he’s not ready to come out of yet. We’ll keep our paws crossed.
John Cole
@Davebo:
Initial hospital stay was just short of 6k. Every week since has ranged from 275-350. In a couple week it will be 400+ for one or two weeks because it is a different drug. Overall I imagine this will end up costing between 12-14k.
I couldn’t have done it without the the balloon juice peeps covering the initial stay.
John Cole
@Faction: I meant the metal machine.
SWMBO
@Steve in DUVAL!: How long has this been going on? Have they found NOTHING they can deal with? Good lord, no wonder you’re on your second bottle. Please keep us posted.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Yarrow: TO:
Berlin (TXL)
Dusseldorf (DUS)
Frankfurt (FRA)
Geneva (GVA)
Hamburg (HAM)
Hannover (HAJ)
Munich (MUC)
Vienna (VIE)
Zurich (ZRH)
FROM:
Austin (AUS) – $464
Birmingham (BHM) – $464
Boston (BOS) – $464
Bozeman (BZN) – $488
Buffalo (BUF) – $464
Burlington (BTV) – $464
Cedar Rapids (CID) – $464
Charleston (CHS) – $464
Chattanooga (CHA) – $464
Chicago (ORD) – $464
Cleveland (CLE) – $464
Dayton (DAY) – $464
Denver (DEN) – $464
Des Moines (DSM) – $464
Destin (VPS) – $466
El Paso (ELP) – $469
Fayetteville (XNA) – $464
Fort Myers (RSW) – $464
Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) – $464
Greenville (GSP) – $464
Hartford (BDL) – $464
Houston (IAH) – $464
Indianapolis (IND) – $464
Jacksonville (JAX) – $464
Knoxville (TYS) – $469
Las Vegas (LAS) – $464
Lexington (LEX) – $464
Little Rock (LIT) – $464
Long Beach (LGB) – $488
Louisville (SDF) – $463
Manchester (MHT) – $464
Medford (MFR) – $488
Memphis (MEM) – $460
Miami (MIA) – $464
Myrtle Beach (MYR) – $466
Nashville (BNA) – $464
New Orleans (MSY) – $464
New York City (LGA) – $469
Oklahoma City (OKC) – $464
Omaha (OMA) – $464
Orlando (MCO) – $464
Pensacola (PNS) – $464
Pittsburgh (PIT) – $464
Portland ME (PWM) – $464
Raleigh (RDU) – $464
Richmond (RIC) – $464
Rochester (ROC) – $464
Sacramento (SMF) – $488
San Antonio (SAT) – $464
San Francisco (SFO) – $464
Savannah (SAV) – $464
St. Louis (STL) – $464
Syracuse (SYR) – $464
Tampa (TPA) – $464
Tucson (TUS) – $488
Washington DC (DCA) – $464
Wichita (ICT) – $488
Wilmington (ILM) – $466
WHEN: August to September 2018
NORMAL PRICE: $850+
AIRLINE: American, Finnair
BUY BY: We think these fares will last less than 6 hours
maeve
@eclare:
I have a new HE frontloader – it definitely does loads faster – especially smaller loads – it senses how much it needs to do by tossing the load back and forth a few times to get the weight. It does leave spots on the wash sometimes ( detergent? oily stains?) which I attribute to the low water not rinsing as well all the time.
So my HE is faster in my experience (its an LG washer) but I also live alone and do small loads.
Corner Stone
I…I…did Cole just say something negative about Rosamund Pike? Because…I mean….
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Coyotes got a cat in front of my place. That was a couple of months ago, I’m still careful with my dogs.
Steve in DUVAL!
@SWMBO: over two months! It’s crazy. Their last “fix” gave her pancreatitis and two weeks of pain worse than childbirth and almost as bad as dealing with union thugs. If only doctors were as competent and useful as lawyers.
@John Cole: if you were John Cole from Elberton, Georgia, we would have been college fraternity brothers and then law school drinking buddies. Regardless, you’re a good man and we juicers have your back. At least when it comes to pet-related issues!
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Steve in DUVAL!:
I’ve said it before but I’m so sorry your wife isn’t well. How does she generally feel day-to-day?
Hey I resemble that remark
danielx
Steve is looking particularly boneless in that picture.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Aw, hell, no! Fightin’ words!
Steve in DUVAL!
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: acute pain 24/7. It’s nuts.
While I represent management in labor relations, I have the utmost respect for most unions (exceptions include MLB umpires union* and one asshole local I deal with) and I take the position that employees have the right to decide whether or not they want to be in a union. And that companies that have unions are almost always companies that deserve unions. With the job you have, you would almost certainly be fucked without union representation.
Millard Filmore
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: If I win the lottery I’ll buy a machine gun tower! You need some of those to have a proper Christian wall.
Aleta
@Steve in DUVAL!: The drs. better figure this out pronto. I hope the pain is over soon.
Thanks for the fare news. Kindly keep up this valuable service until I can go somewhere.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Another one bites the dust. Maybe.
looks like a conservative district, but who knows…?
Aleta
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Republicans have become the PIT, the Party in Turmoil.
Yarrow
@Steve in DUVAL!: Thanks! My cousin visits friends in Germany once a year or so. I’ll let her know.
Hope they find something definitive to help your wife. It sounds awful. Is it pain all over or just in one general area? I remember she had surgery in Atlanta a week or so ago and I guess that didn’t help. Sending good thoughts.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Aleta: thank you. Will post my credit card and frequent flyer numbers if that will help!
Steve in DUVAL!
@Yarrow: abdominal pain. They can’t find the cause. Performed an ERCP to try to find the cause, but that just caused pancreatitis. Mayo has already given us some ideas, and should know more soon as they keep running tests.
Don’t know much German but I understand that it’s a compliment to call someone a scheißkopf.
Yarrow
@Steve in DUVAL!: If it’s in any way related to gastrointestinal issues, I can very highly recommend a doctor for that. He’s a traditional gastro but also sort of a Dr. House type and looks outside his field to learn and help his patients. He’s also funny and nice and his office is fantastic. Can’t recommend him enough.
But hopefully you guys won’t need to see another doctor and Mayo will come up with some answers for her.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Yarrow: thanks, will keep that in mind if these clowns let us down. What geography is your guy in?
Yarrow
@Steve in DUVAL!: St. Louis. Dr. Leonard Weinstock. You have to see him in person at least once but he’ll work with you remotely after that. They are set up to work with out of town patients. The office is busy but they will get to you and his assistant who schedules him and helps you with tests and medications and so forth is top notch.
Edit: If you google him you’ll find his website and his “Second Opinion Syndrome Clinic” where he works with people with hard cases. MCAS and POTS and things like that.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Yarrow: cool—thank you St. Louis is only a one hour flight away. And whenever I’m there, Quinerly and most other local posters are conveniently “out of town”!
Yarrow
@Steve in DUVAL!: Funny how that happens!
I notice on his website Second Opinion Syndrome Clinic section there’s something called “complex regional pain syndrome.” I don’t know anything about that, but maybe that would be relevant to your wife’s case? I’m sorry this is so difficult for you guys. Again, hope Mayo can help.
I know how hard it is to be outside the normal medical diagnoses with something people can’t seem to diagnose, let alone treat. You have my sympathy. Sending good thoughts for a definitive diagnosis and treatment plan.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in DUVAL!: Madame had really bad abdominal pain for a year or so before we got married, they couldn’t figure it out. Turned out to be gall stones. They did an ultrasound that eventually confirmed it.
SWMBO
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: So sorry to hear about Peter. I do hope he finds his way back.
@John Cole: Pixie blew out her back on April 16 and had to have emergency back surgery. The initial hit was $4400. By Friday, she wasn’t any better and they did a CT scan and an MRI. Second round of back surgery. The MRI showed they hadn’t gotten all the debris out so she needed a second round. When she checked out a few days later, the final bill was $6300 (the $4400 was a deposit). A few days after that she chewed her back foot up until 3 of her toes had to be amputated ($1800) more. This doesn’t include all the outpatient tests and drugs. Thank God for credit cards.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Steve in DUVAL!:
That’s too bad. You said it’s abdominal pain? Where exactly?
And I was joking, if you couldn’t tell. We have coordinators at our job who work up front with us. They don’t get extra pay for it,though they should since they’re responsible for practically everything that happens up there. A guy I know, he works as one, and he’s been at my store for over 10 years and he only makes $11 something an hour, but I guess it’s better than nothing and we do have the grievance process.
An uncle of mine worked at a casting plant and he told me a story about his union. He used to call the dues, “the privlidge of working for the company dues since the union was run by pro-company idiots. He was made the safety man in charge of the union’s safety committee. The union was responsible for ensuring safety reg compliance among the workers. He tried to actually make sure the workers were wearing the right equipment and the union leadership removed him from the position immediately. I think it was the company through their puppets that removed him. He also told me they never discussed anything substantive at their meetings, just talked about what the did earlier in the day at work and that was about it. Oh, they went to the bar to drink first before every meeting.
Origuy
American Airlines’ web site is down. How long are the fares good for? I wouldn’t be able to go until September. I’m having arthroscopic knee surgery next week, so it will be a couple of months before I’m able do to enough walking. In August, I’m going to Whitehorse, Yukon for the North American Orienteering Championships, so my knee as to be back in shape. I really don’t want to cancel that trip.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
Edit since WP is acting up: I’ve always thought it’s in a company’s best interests to be unionized. Unions can ensure that employees’ rights are respected and are paid adequately enough to live without being on public assistance. Workers who are paid more can also spend more. And really, it’s in the best interests of labor that the company is doing financially well and providing excellent goods/services. But then that can cut into profits and we can’t have the serfs getting uppity.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Yarrow: yeah, the “unusual situation” is why we are at mayo and not just sitting around Emory.
@?BillinGlendaleCA: symptoms sound a lot like gallstones, but it’s unlikely since her gall bladder was removed two years ago!
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: unions are like any other organization: sone things are great, some are bullshit, and either way there is a lot of bureaucracy.
$11 an hour after 10 years? Time to rethink his employer or his skill set.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Origuy: no idea, but sales pop up all time. You may want to wait until your knee is healed before planning any more travel. We have passed on a lot of trips owing to the wife’s heath issues.
Btw if I haven’t said it before, nice to meet you at the SF meet up at the Thirsty Bear!
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Steve in DUVAL!:
Exactly. An organization is also only as good as the people that lead it or make up its membership.
He mentioned he makes around 15-16,000 grand a year to me. He has been thinking of applying for a job a friend of his works at that would be full-time, but is worried that it would not provide health insurance. It’s a vape shop and would involve a lot of sitting. He wants that primarily because he has had terrible back pain for the last 15 years, when he had a back surgery when he was 15. I recommended he look into Medicaid and the ACA marketplaces for insurance.
Origuy
@Steve in DUVAL!: Thanks, you too. Best wishes to your wife. Not knowing what’s going on is the worst.
Aleta
@Steve in DUVAL!: You might look into teaching hospitals. They sometimes come up with answers because doctors with varied experience put their heads together to solve.
eta Oh wait–Emory sounds like it might be a teaching h.?
Never mind. Though U of Penn saved my relative when she finally was sent there.