Another busy day today- first up, dad is in the hospital again, and they figured out why he was having problems last week. He had some indigestion and chest pain, so mom and dad called an ambulance and whisked him away. They took him to one hospital, which then sent him to another for cardiac care, and my mom had to take an uber rather than drive in downtown Charleston. At any rate, he had a mild heart attack and his stent from several decades ago was completely blocked. They have replaced/fixed/cleared that, and he is currently resting.
Obviously this is not a good thing, but it is kind of impressive that cardiac care is so good these days that a man can have a heart attack, have stents put in, and then live another 20 years- long enough to clog the stents. That is all I know and I will update you with more tomorrow when I know something.
This made me laugh out loud when I read it:
President-elect Donald Trump campaigned relentlessly on grocery prices in the 2024 race, vowing to bring down costs quickly for American families if given four more years in the White House.
But in an interview with Time in conjunction with being named the magazine’s “Person of the Year,” Trump now says doing that will be a “very hard” task.
Trump was asked if his presidency would be considered a “failure” if he didn’t deliver on his promise to slash Americans’ food bills.
“I don’t think so. Look, they got them up,” referring to the Biden-Harris administration. “I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard,” Trump said.
It’s going to be so much fun watching the Republicans in control of every branch of government, break every “promise,” and still, with an assist from the media, blame the Democrats.
Got another busy day tomorrow prepping the house for an invalid, as Joelle’s surgery is on Monday. Picked up some Family Medical Leave act paperwork so she can get some time off, picked up her post op meds, anddid some other minor stuff, and tomorrow it will be arranging furniture in the living room which is where we intend for her to stay for the first week or so. Just don’t need any obstacles or stuff in the room for her to trip or fall over, and to give her space to do rehab at home. So that should be a fun day.
Y’all behave.
War for Ukraine Day 1,024: Russian Drone Swarms Followed by Missiles
cain
Yeah they gonna blame us but fuck em. They are getting what they voted for.
Nukular Biskits
For some reason, was thinking Joelle’s surgery had already happened.
Don’t ask me … it’s been a long week and … well, … other stuff.
Watergirl, if you’re lurking, lemme know. I need to send you an email.
kalakal
“The biglyest and bestest prices ever”
Manly men will be coming up to him with tears in their eyes “Sir, these grocery prices, they’re the highest ever. No one else could have done it”
Jackie
@cain: My feelings exactly – even though it’ll effect me, too, BUT I knew that BEFORE Nov 5.
Jackie
JC, sending healing vibes to your dad.
As for Joelle, sounds like you have things planned out well. Grab bars in the shower and a two-handed toilet seat support will also help. They attach to existing toilet seats with hand grips to support getting up.
RevRick
Behave? Jackals? Oh, you sweet, naive man.
Omnes Omnibus
@RevRick: As a group, we seem to approve of Joelle while wondering about some of her life choices. Behaving in this thread should be achievable.
WTFGhost
I think it sounds reasonably good – a quick recognition of the symptoms, and, the problem was the same as happened 20 years ago, not a new location. So if you’re having runaway worry, that’s a good reason not to, and, it sounds like you’re already in the “but let’s wait to hear the all clear before stopping *all* the worrying” which is also a good idea.
trollhattan
“Please sir, may I have twelve-dollar eggs?”
“Done! Now get the fuck out of my sight you smelly loser.”
Best wishes to Pops Cole. Simple plumbing solution sounds…promising.
Nukular Biskits
On the subject of stents, had a coworker who, after diagnostic testing and seeing a cardiologist, was told he’d need two stents.
Follow up visit, he was told he needed a triple bypass.
Work-ups for the actual procedure, they discovered he needed a quadruple bypass.
I told him he needed to stop going to to the doctor, that the bypass count incremented every time he saw one.
Post-procedure report from him after being discharged and at home few a couple of days, and I quote:
Sorry, Cole. The emojis were in the original.
Jay
Best wishes for a speedy recovery to your Dad, John,
And good on you for prepping for Joelle’s surgery.
BellyCat
Modern medicine is amazing. Truly.
scav
@RevRick: Nah, there was no unstated expectation of good in that single word suggestion. At most a tenuous hope that outright structural damage would be minimized.
Jackie
O/T: Oh, jeez! Can’t we be spared just one repeat scam to line TCFG’s pockets?
frosty
My best wishes for your Dad, too – sounds like he’s in good hands. And for Joelle – Ms F and a few others I know have had knee replacements and though it’s tough to get through the first couple weeks and the PT, the reward is worth it.
Omnes Omnibus
@scav: I often leave minions at work with the request, “Don’t burn the place down.”
dmsilev
I feel your pain. Large part of why I’ve been scarce the past couple of weeks. Dad is doing better, but it’s a long road to recovery, particularly at his age. Still housebound though, but we’re hopeful that he’ll be able to go out briefly with a walker soon. The house has a lot of stairs though (Victorian, converted to a two-family decades ago), so getting outside is not trivial. My mom still remembers the feeling of accomplishment when she was able to walk half a block a month after her hit-by-car accident six or seven years ago. We’ll get there.
sab
@RevRick: Obviously you have watched a parish full of people.
Another Scott
Sending good thoughts for a quick and full recovery for both Papa Cole and Joelle. And minimal stress and worry for you and Mama Cole.
Hang in there, everyone.
Best wishes,
Scott.
sab
@Omnes Omnibus: Did that ever succeed? Never tried it with the stepkids. We valued the indoor cats too much.
Tehanu
Best wishes to both Dad Cole and Joelle. My dad had cardiac problems and a double bypass, which added at least 20 years to his life, and friends who have had knee and hip replacements swear by them. So I hope their results are as good.
Kristine
Best recovery wishes for your Pop and Joelle!
sab
All these youngsters in their fifties and sixties haven’t lived into their seventies. My skin is suddenly crepey. I cannot see well enough to drive at night. My blood pressure medicine makes me faint. I worry that my cats will outlive me with no caretakers.
Steve LaBonne
Sounds like your dad is getting quality care and will be fine. May it be so. And best of luck to Joelle.
Melancholy Jaques
@Nukular Biskits:
My Summer 2024 was heart attack, you need a stent, we put a stent in, but you need another one, no wait, you need a double by pass, and then once we got in there, we saw you needed a triple by pass.
I’m not complaining because I’m still alive and I finally got authorization for my cardiac rehab.
Martin
When Cole and I were born, a heart attack was pretty much on you to survive or not. It’s damn near miraculous just how many lives now get saved. I wish I knew how to get most people to be thankful enough for that benefit that they’d be willing to pay in slightly more to programs like Medicare and SS.
Glad your dad is doing better.
Omnes Omnibus
@sab: The place has not yet burned down.
Martin
@Omnes Omnibus: Might not be for lack of trying, though. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
zhena gogolia
I really don’t want to talk about or think about Trump. But all these stories about how he’s “contemplating” this or “weighing” that are so ridiculous. HE HAS NO THOUGHT PROCESSES WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
sab
@Omnes Omnibus: Well aren’t we cheery.
OT but my grandmother had an uncle who was gov of Wisconsin. Francis McGovern. He was Republican but he did good things. They were different then.
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
How about Biden acting on dismantling and auctioning off sections of the wall?
cain
@WTFGhost:
Just note that this is true a lot for men. I don’t know how true it is for women.
Nukular Biskits
@NotMax:
My sr senator, Roger Wicker (R-Of Course), has been whining about that immensely.
Lyrebird
@Nukular Biskits: Hey Nuke! Were you changing YouTube algorithms in your spare time? (ETA: bc I am not sure why this showed up on my first screen in YouTube, but it’s great.)
Anyhow, I recommend to anyone else in need of something OTHER THAN the news to watch:
Alcorn State Sounds of Dynamite (marching band) marches in before a performance. It is quite a march.
Martin
@NotMax: According to the story, it’s not even dismantling – it’s just components for the wall that were never installed, and are just sitting around having to be guarded so people won’t steal them.
Pennsylvanian
Make accessible plans for a shower/bath/sponge bath. That was the first lucid request Bob had after stenosis surgery. I had a plan and it helped, but did not reduce his pain. The shower was more important to him. And he was exhausted after, but being clean is his nature. Or maybe washing off a hospital was the point.
For knee surgery, maybe a shallow bath? Never be skeptical of Coles bearing gifts. A thousand blessings on your camels, and something about entertaining angels, but I imagine you already know about that…
Dignity may not always be primary, but should never be neglected. Safety first on all counts. Be well.
RevRick
Rep. Nancy Pelosi has suffered a fall while in Luxembourg. Reports suggest she suffered a fractured hip. This is not good news, given her advanced age, regardless of how spry she is.
As a pastor, I witnessed a man, who had played minor league baseball in his prime, turned into a shadow of his former self, following a hip replacement. He got MRSA, had to have a temporary spanner put in, undergo IV vancomycin treatment, and have another surgery to put in a new replacement. From then on he struggled to get from his bedroom to the living room using a walker.
Treating a hip fracture in the elderly is complicated by the fact that doctors become reluctant to use anesthesia or opioid medications for pain relief. The surgery is more complicated than a straightforward hip replacement, because the break has to be stabilized. I know Rep. Pelosi seems vigorous, but if she’s really suffered a fracture, she can still decline quite rapidly. The fact that there’s a question of whether she will be treated in Luxembourg or here in the states strikes me as not good, because that means she’s only getting palliative treatment… and then a transAtlantic flight??
I hope these are only rumors, because if they aren’t, the long term prognosis is a prolonged recovery at best.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, … Phys.org:
[ womp, womp ]
When I was growing up, there were occasional stories in the “news” of some people in the Soviet Union claiming to be 143 or so years old. Similar things were going on there (also grandkids would take their grandparent’s name, etc.).
Something something demands extraordinary evidence.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Nukular Biskits
@Lyrebird:
If only I had such power …
Nancy
I second or third all the well wishes.
mrmoshpotato
@cain:
Seconded.
Suzanne
@RevRick: SuzMom broke her hip last year in March, when her foot caught on the edge of her area rug. Doctor did the traditional screws surgery, because it wasn’t a bad break. She was recovering okay for a bit…. and then her pain started increasing again. We took her back to the doctor and they X-rayed it and found she had developed avascular necrosis. Basically, as the bone healed from the first surgery, blood vessels in the bone healed shut (as it was explained to me). She was in horrible pain and close to immobile for a couple of months until she got the full hip replacement. She’s doing somewhat better now, but she did not keep up with physical therapy — because she is stubborn — and thus she is not as stable as she was before. I worry all the time that she’ll take another tumble.
I hope Nancy Smash is OK.
mrmoshpotato
All the best to your dad and Joelle.
KatKapCC
Best wishes for Dad and Joelle. Human bodies are pretty crummy.
RevRick
@Suzanne: Yes, complications are common and difficult to resolve. I pray your mom improves.
prostratedragon
@Jackie: Where’s my shillelagh?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
The phenomena of Rural Cosplay.
https://youtu.be/6q_BE5KPp18?si=xvNKPPgu3SGuVr-5
People who insist they are farmers because they mow their lawn and drive a truck. I would argue this bullshit was big factor in the election.
WTFGhost
@cain: You’re 100% right. Many woman have microvascular issues, where the entire heart is seeing issues, so, they have different symptoms from men, and, they sometimes present differently from men.
In point of fact, some women have *symptoms* of CFS (aka me/CFS, aka SEID), or of fibromyalgia, but are actually having heart problems. And since CFS is often a “she’s a whiny patient” diagnosis, that can be a big deal. A woman goes in feeling horrible, but, since she’s not presenting like a *male* heart attack victim, she’s sent home, where (if we’re lucky) she lives.
Someone at LGM said that science is racist and sexist, because *people* are, and, I’ve come to agree with that, as a gadfly position. People think of heart attacks as a men’s problem, and they note the men’s symptoms, but women can have the same problems, with different presentations, and no one really cared enough to save those lives.
Which, you know, is pretty harsh, but how *accurate* is it? Even a tiny bit of accuracy excuses a *lot* of “harsh”.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Dan Savage on Rural Cosplay.
https://www.volts.wtf/p/dan-savage-on-blue-america-in-the
One thing I found interesting was he pointed out that Biden was the white working class president, almost all the programs Biden got passed benefited the working class, yet the white working classes despised Biden for it and the Democrats lost votes from their urban base.
Noskilz
Hopefully your father makes a speedy recovery.
Ruckus
@BellyCat:
56 yrs ago I wanted to be a doctor. Was in college and was busting my butt to do well in pre med. Because while modern medicine is amazing, I’ve always wondered what it would have been like to actually have that ability to practice. But sometimes life gets in the way of living one’s dream. It did for me. Oh well, still have had a good life and have quite a few more years ahead of me. Never made it to doctor, but ended up owning 2 businesses and enjoying seeing the sun come up. Did get to be a mental health counselor for 4 years way back when and of course as stated here before spent 3 1/2 yrs in the USN. Now I’m an old fart rather enjoying retirement.
Ruckus
@zhena gogolia:
He does have hurt process, mainly because so many actual humans see him for who and what he really is, rather than being cultivators of ship loads worth of BS.
gene108
I have theory about why Trump won’t get blamed for not lowering grocery prices, besides the MSM never bringing up prices aren’t coming down and right-wing media blaming Democrats.
People will put up with some level of aggravation, if they generally support the principle behind it. For example, I think most people on this blog are willing to tolerate building codes, despite the delays it can cause in a big home renovation, because the idea contractors’ work has to meet a minimum standard is something we would support.
The Republican voter would be okay with any promise Trump breaks, because they think it serves some sort of greater good that right-wing media will feed them. Trump can’t lower grocery prices but when he deports 10 million people everything will be better.
Ruckus
@RevRick:
It may be that she may want to return – rather than stay in Luxembourg, possibly for months, and get her surgery here, or it may be that she’s 84 yrs old, or it might be coming back to the states with a fractured hip may not be advisable.
I imagine we’ll find out more soon.
rikyrah
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽for Family Cole
J.
Hope your dad will be okay and that Joelle’s surgery goes smoothly and she has a quick recovery!
lowtechcyclist
@Omnes Omnibus:
That pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it?
I have faith that Cole ain’t gonna screw this up, he knows how lucky he is that those choices include him.
Betty
@Jackie: My sister did both knees at once and definitely needed the toilet seat adjustment. Easy bathroom access is critical during these times.
SteveinPHX
Hi John:
Was over in Tempe yesterday. Had lunch with a couple of my old library buddies at Haji Baba on Apache Blvd. Food was excellent as usual.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your dad!
lowtechcyclist
@RevRick:
I wonder what the reason for that is. It’s not like it would be a problem if someone in that age range got addicted, just keep giving them the drugs.
If they treat her over there, my WAG is that they’ll probably do so in France, Germany, or Belgium. Luxembourg is tiny – it’s about 1000 square miles in area. (Delaware is ~2500 sq mi; RI is ~1500 sq mi.) I’ve been there – my wife and I took a trip many years ago to see her grandfather’s grave in Margraten, Netherlands, and we took a day for a side trip to explore castle ruins in Luxembourg.
TONYG
@cain: Not a difficult prediction on my part: Now that Trump has been elected, “the price of eggs and the price of gasoline” will suddenly not matter any more to the idiots who voted for him. They voted for him because he hates the people who they hate, It’s that simple.
TONYG
@sab: Yes. I think that the phenomenon of the Republican Party becoming 100% far-right authoritarians started more than 40 years ago with Reagan. I remember as a youth in 1980 voting for a liberal Republican congresswoman in Rhode Island. It was shortly after that, that the species “liberal Republican” became extinct.
Subsole
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
It is huge.
Part of what aggravates me no end about modern America is this burning need among upper middle class suburban whites to do hillbilly cosplay in the vain hope of burnishing one’s trailer park street-cred…
way2blue
Not sure this qualifies as so much ‘fun’: