We have a situation where we’re looking very strongly at sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms, where you turn the faucet on in areas where there’s tremendous amounts of water, where the water rushes out to sea because you could never handle it. And you don’t get any water. You turn on the faucet — you don’t get any water. They take a shower, and water comes dripping out, it’s dripping out very quietly, dripping out.… People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once. They end up using more water. So EPA is looking at that very strongly at my suggestion. – Donald J. Trump
All I could do all day was stare at the television. Too ill to read or even think.
Fifteen fuckin’ days. Basketball in the Bahamas, Rudy G and the Ukrainian Boys Choir, football everywhere.
In the middle of the night, the old man’s fever broke. Didn’t even know he had a fever. Sheets wet, pillow wet, hair wet, chilly. First thought, maybe a water pipe burst. Must really be sick.
Thanks be to God, I have been blessed with a sexily-shaped skull.
A new dent in my foot. That was the first sign of the weight loss. A dozen pounds in the first six days. Not one of those diet plans you should joke about.
Life lesson. If you keep your weight at an allegedly “perfect” level at all times, when something messes with your routine, you just might be screwed.
Confession. I went with ice cream, eggnog, chocolate chip cookies and spinach dip. Pleasured myself. Got all but five pounds back already.
Still not well. After a week, I could read. Caught up with a year’s worth of The New Yorker back issues. Watched a few movies I had been avoiding. Like a 5’6″ Tom Cruise playing 6’5″ Jack Reacher. I could only imagine an assassin armed with a squirt gun.
After fifteen (15) days – did I mention that? – the wife and I decided we had recuperated. Felt like crapola, weak and empty. But we never miss the Red Mule Runners annual Christmas party. At the home of our club sponsor, the Red Mule Tavern.
That was last night. We were home by 8:30.
And the puppy and I walked for an hour this morning. Apparently, we missed the fall season on the Gulf Coast.
Moral of the story. Felt like death. Thanksgiving seemed an oxymoron. But then I thought of old friends battling real ailments. Strokes and heart and paralysis. Rehab and ramps. Somebody else is in bigger trouble than you are.
That gave me strength. Joe, God bless you and hope you are home soon. Jack, you are a life force. Praying for all of us.
This is our time when we show what we got.
A respiratory bug affecting children is spiking in Florida emergency rooms
The virus known as RSV is common, but severe causes could lead to bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times
Local emergency rooms are filling up this time of year, thanks to the flu. Now another culprit is on the rise, causing wheezing, sneezing and possibly more serious symptoms.
The respiratory syncytial virus leads to infection in the lungs and respiratory tract, and is common this time of year. While it causes only cold-like symptoms in adults and children older than 5, premature infants and babies with chronic lung, heart or autoimmune issues can become severely ill from it.
Doctors refer to the virus as RSV, and Florida is experiencing a rise in cases.
“We see a lot of RSV this time of year, but it usually spikes at different times than influenza,” said Dr. Patricia Emmanuel, chair of pediatrics at USF Health. “It causes the sniffles and sore throats in adults, but it can really wreak havoc on premature infants. It gets into the lower respiratory tract and can cause pneumonia or bronchiolitis.”
The Florida Department of Health recorded five RSV outbreaks since July and one pediatric death.
By mid-November, 7 percent of children under 5 discharged from Florida hospitals and urgent care centers were diagnosed with RSV symptoms, the state reported. That was up from 5 percent at the height of the season last year and 4 percent the previous year.
Florida’s season for RSV lasts longer than most other parts of the country and has distinct regional patterns, according to the health department. While the entire state is currently “in season” for the virus, Tampa Bay’s most active time for RSV extends from August to March.
The emergency room at AdventHealth Tampa has seen the number of RSV cases double from October to November. About 30 cases have been reported so far this month, said Dr. Michael Patch, an emergency room physician.
“It’s hard to pinpoint why we’re seeing this spike,” Patch said, adding it could be due to drastic weather changes people experience when they travel this time of year.
Symptoms of RSV include congestion or runny nose, a dry cough, low-grade fever, sore throat and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause wheezing, difficulty breathing and cyanosis — a bluish coloring of the skin due to lack of oxygen. Doctors can diagnose the virus with a swab in the nose.
“There are hundreds of strains of viruses that cause respiratory problems this time of year, and RSV is just one of them,” said Dr. Tina Ardon, a family medicine physician with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. “RSV might be more rampant in our communities than we think because it presents as a mind cold most of the time.”
Most cases aren’t severe. And RSV is so common that most infants have it once by the time they’re 2 years old, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“We get asked a lot about when is it time to bring a kid to the ER,” Patch said. “The best time is when you notice rapid breathing, like if the child is using his abdominal muscles to breathe, if he has a high fever or you see a change in color around the lips.”
The virus spreads through droplets, usually when sneezing or coughing and can live on surfaces for long periods of time. Doctors recommend hand washing, especially around the holidays, to keep this virus and others away.
“It’s a good idea to keep people out of the baby’s face around the holidays,” Emmanuel said. “The most common way infants are going to get this is from family members.”
There is no vaccine for RSV, Emmanuel said.
“But there is a monthly micro antibody infusion available. The patient criteria for that is pretty strict, however. It must be a significant case and it’s only for infants,” she said. “So unfortunately, most of what we can do is just supportive care, like provide oxygen or fluids.”
The human life cycle is a bell curve. Think of me as a premature infant.