Anything V

[fanuilhgkar]

I was reading the Air Force Times today (there's a partial list, with pictures, of the missing and confirmed dead from the Pentagon in this week's issue), and found out that the Red Cross hasn't yet implemented the new rule about not being able to give blood if you were in Europe for more than 6 months cumulative, beginning in 1980. So I grabbed my husband and hauled him downtown so we could give blood. They still need donations, and will for quite awhile, so if you can give blood, do it!

It was quite a feat to get hubby there; he hasn't given blood since the early 80's, and that was while he was in Saudi Arabia and he only did it because they got paid $100 per donation.



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[PollyMath]

Damn.

It never rains, but it pours.

My Father had to go to the emergency room very early this morning (CA time). He was admitted. It looks like at least one fairly huge gallstone. They are doing a number of nasty tests (from both ends) to make sure that is the only problem.

He will certainly have to have surgery for this problem. Lets hope this is the only one since it is fairly straight forward to fix (though excruciatingly painful for the moment).

I have talked to him. He sounds totally zonked. Mother is coping by stressing out about the small stuff. I can't even absorb stuff like this after the past two to three weeks. It jsut feels the same.

How am I supposed to think about buying a car at a time like this?

Love to you all,

Sarah

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[sindatur]

Polly, if they're gonna do it orthoscopically, it's a nothing operation to have the gall bladder removed. 12 years ago, when I was 25, I had mine taken out orthoscopically and drove myself home the next day. Three small slits about 1" or smaller right below the rib cage (for the cameras and other instruments) and undo your belly button to pull it out through.

And yes, the gall stone attacks are excrutiatingly painful, much worse than the recovery or ill effects from the surgery.

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Sindatur - The Grey owl Wizzard

[fanuilhgkar]

Oy, Polly. I'll keep you all in my thoughts!

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[PollyMath]

Well, it's done. The final test to make absolutely completely sure it was a gallstone, was filling him up with slightly radioactive liquid and watching it flow through for about 4 hours. They couldn't even see his gallbladder, that's how blocked off it was. They did the surgery on an emergency basis last night, because they were worried it might burst. I haven't talked to him yet, but my mom stayed until she did talk to him (about midnight). So, all in all, the whole thing took about 21 hours from iniital attack to waking up after the procedure. He will probably be able to go home Sunday.

So, does anyone have an idea for a good get-well present that doesn't involve flowers? I'd like to be a little creative.

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[fanuilhgkar]

Well, Polly, I've been racking my brain but I'm afraid I'm not real creative either. A book, maybe, that he wants to read but hasn't gotten yet? Or... how does he feel about teddy bears? Maybe a gift certificate to a store he likes? A movie pass? Or rent a movie he wants to watch and can't get out to rent himself?

Sorry, that's the best I can come up with at the moment. I hope he's feeling better, and that your mom is holding up, too.

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[sindatur]

I'm with Fan, if he's laid up in bed, one of the best thing I would want to do in that condition is a marathon of something I'm familiar with that I could still follow as I drifted in and out of sleep. In my case it would be B5 or Star Trek OS, or something of that nature. But, comedy would be good too, laughter is the best medicine you know. How about 3 Stooges or Abbot and Costello or some kinda other classic comedy movies or series.

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Sindatur - The Grey owl Wizzard

[Nommy]

A poem I thought you all may enjoy.

___________________________________
This hand, to tyrants ever sworn the foe,
For Freedom only deals the deadly blow;
Then sheathes in calm repose the vengeful blade,
For gentle peace in Freedom's hallowed shade.

- John Q. Adams
1842 Journal Entry



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Nommy

[fanuilhgkar]

My sister sent me an email, a friend of hers is panicking and wants to buy a gas mask because he heard the military has "lots of them" and that the public has to get ready for biological warfare. I sent her a note back, and then I wondered if maybe I should post my reply here (I deleted names), since it seems lots of people are running out to buy gas masks and antibiotics and the experts are interestingly silent on the futility of it all. So, here's what I sent her, FYI.... (I was in the AF for 20 years, most of that in mobile radar units, and I have scads of time accumulated wearing chem gear)...

It's a good thing you can't see me, 'cause I'm rolling my eyes. Not to belittle ____'s fears, I'm sure it's worrisome, especially for those of you who never had to wear a gas mask or were ever educated on the details of chem/bio warfare. The armed forces have *always* had lots of gas masks, we were expected to wear them in combat since the bad guys were expected to use chemical and biological weapons against us. This is not news. We've been doing it since World War I.

I've been reading in the papers and seeing on the news how so many people are running out to get gas masks and buy antibiotics, and it's too bad, really, because at best it gives people a false sense of security. How are you going to know if you've been contaminated with a chemical or biological agent? In the military, in combat, at least we have sensors that let us know when we're under attack, and let us put the masks and gloves on (since we'd already be wearing the chemical warfare suits and boots) when the missiles were inbound. Once they impacted we had devices that had alarms on them that went off if any chemicals were detected. There is no way to detect a biological attack until people start getting sick.

My suggestion would be to try to calm down (easier said than done, I know), take a breath, take a step back and try to regain a little perspective. If you guys want to go get gas masks, go ahead. It won't hurt anything except your wallet. You may be able to find them in a military surplus store. I don't recommend buying them on the internet, since there are no doubt an endless supply of crooks out there who are even now preying on people's fears by selling them old surplus gas masks that have been condemned (and unless you know how to inspect a gas mask, and that takes training, you won't know if yours is still good). Even if you find a decent mask or two in a surplus store there's no way for you to know for sure whether the filters in the gas masks are any good, and unless they have spare filters to sell you and you can determine whether *they're* any good, you won't be able to change them out when they need changing without training (and they aren't good forever, once they're out of the packaging). And even if you could do all that, how will you know *when* to change them? As I said, the military has a system for all of this, and that's because we were expecting to have to deal with it directly, up close and personal.

If you were *wearing* the gas mask when you were hit with a biological agent, it wouldn't help. The filters in gas masks filter chemicals, not biological agents. So, it's sort of an exercise in futility anyway. If Oklahoma gets hit with sarin or mustard gas, a gas mask will help. With anthrax or botulism, useless.

As for buying antibiotics, you could do that too, although I don't know how you'd know when to start taking them. With anthrax, once you start showing symptoms it's already too late. You'd have to know ahead of time, and that would require some other people getting sick first and the health care community getting the word out. It'd be a pisser to waste them if a flu epidemic hit and everybody panicked, thinking it was anthrax. You can't take antibiotics indefinitely, and if you take them incorrectly you end up with antibiotic-resistant germs.

Me, I'm not going to buy gas masks or antibiotics. I don't see that they will do any good. I'm going to press on as I always have, try to keep healthy and hope for the best.

Have a happy Tuesday, y'all.

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[This message has been edited by fanuilhgkar (edited October 02, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by fanuilhgkar (edited October 02, 2001).]

[Nommy]

Maybe it's just me, but if we get hit by a biological agent, I figure Im a gonner anyway...so..Ill bite the bullit.

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Nommy