It was 44 degrees and windy when I took Colin out at 8am.
I spent an hour with Bob yesterday afternoon. When I arrived the nurse was getting ready to bathe him and change his gown. We talked as well as interacted with Bob while she took care of him.
Things seem to be slowly moving in the right direction. They had his bed in the chair position and he had been up all morning. He is breathing on his own. The swallowing is getting better. The collar is still on to keep the secretions moist and to protect his airway because he still has the lung issues and the cough. I could understand some of his mouthing, mostly short responses to my questions.
Better! That’s good to hear.
Awesome!
n
I’m glad to hear we have progress.
I have been informed by my doctor that I need to get a shingles vaccination as I had chicken pox when I was a child and am at risk. I will get the injection in the next couple of days.
I was informed last year that I needed the Prevnar 13 injection to protect against pneumococcal pneumonia. The closest place the VA offered the injection in Murfreesboro TN about 140 miles away. So I went to Walmart and got the injection, cost about $240.00, for nothing as Medicare pays for the injection.
I have also been informed that I also need the NEW pneumonia vaccine that was just recently developed. There is an older version that is being administered that should be avoided as it does not protect against as many strains as the new version. Lot of places trying to push the old vaccine on people to deplete old stock. I was informed to push for nothing but the NEW vaccine.
After hearing what happened to RBT I think it is good advice to get the immunizations as soon as possible.
The local (so close I could walk there) hospital periodically offers a $99 heart scan. After hearing what happened to RBT, I think I should get one.
Earlier this year, I got the flu and went to the doctor. The doctor asked if I had gotten a flu shot. I have never in my adult life gotten a flu shot. I though flu shots were for old people, meaning people over 50. This flu season I realized I’m 52 and a flu shot might actually be a good idea. Maybe next year I will start thinking about all the other vaccines Ray mentioned.
My wife had chicken pox when she was a kid but never had a case of the shingles. A couple years back her doctor convinced her to have the shingle vaccine. Within a few months she came down with the shingles and was miserable. I’m not an anti-vaxer by any means, in fact I’m vaccinated for just about everything now that I’ve lost my spleen, but I do find the timing curious.
Since I hang out here, I’m obviously pro science and therefore pro vaccine. Though I actually read the information the doctor’s office gives you when your child is vaccinated. I found it strange that they suggested that you should call your child’s doctor if they have a temperature of 105 degrees or higher after vaccination. I was thinking that was stupid, because my daughter would find her way to the emergency room before her fever got to 105.
I got the shingles shot during my actinic keratosis diagnosis. I’ll look at the pnemonia shot next year.
Most of the stuff I read says 64 years of age on. Is there an age restriction to get the shot? I’d hop up to Nellis AFB to get it for free.
There is a new version of the shingles shot that my doctor recommended taking even though I have had the earlier one. Supposed to be much more effective.
Any idea if the new pneumonia and shingles vaccines have anything to differentiate them? We see the Prevnar13 commercials all the time and thought maybe the newer vaccines that you’ve been recommended might be similarly branded…
The official gooberment line on pneumonia shots for seniors:
https://www.cdc.gov/features/adult-pneumococcal/index.html
We get our vaccinations at Costco, they always have the most current vaccines. Listen to the Pharmacist on what to get first and when.
“I was thinking that was stupid, because my daughter would find her way to the emergency room before her fever got to 105.”
That is rote talking to the lowest common denominator. As Jerry put it, by definition half of the population is below average in intelligence. Could be more if you factor in common sense.
I have been informed by my doctor that I need to get a shingles vaccination as I had chicken pox when I was a child and am at risk. I will get the injection in the next couple of days.
I got the shingles vaccine shot earlier this year. No ill effects. And BCBS paid for it, I paid zero.
The shingles vaccine shot used to be limited to 60 and above. They moved that down to 50 and above a year or so ago.
I corresponded with RBT on computer matters some years ago, and always enjoyed his daynotes. I hadn’t been so interested in his chemistry and prepping activities, so dropped him off my reading list. Shocked to hear of his current problems and I certainly wish him and his family well.
I also recently noted the passing of Jerry Pournelle, that original and most sagacious blogger.
After Jerry’s more serious problems I would dread opening his page as I knew that sooner or later, we’d lose another library…
Keep checking back Dr Bob, Barbara is updating most days and we’re here to keep the fire burning or at least the coals banked until Bob gets back to his old self.
The problem with computers these days is that they’ve gotten so cheap and ‘good enough’ that very few people have any real need for specs or high end choices. Gamers would be it, because in high end viz and scientific computing the end user isn’t making the choice, corporate is. (Or I guess maybe high end content creators, outside a corporate world- but they’re gonna skew heavily Apple.)
Computers have finally made the transition to appliances that DO SOMETHING for most users. USING the pc isn’t the goal, watching youtube is. I’m typing [keyboarding- and even that sounds ancient] this on a 4 inch square by 1 inch thick windows 10 machine I bought for my dad. I think it was <$150 including the extra microSD for storage. It will use any HDMI HDTV as a monitor and works very well for ordinary daily use.
My daughters (6 and 8yo) don't distinguish between their tablets regardless of OS, they are all ipads or 'tablets.' They talk to google on the household all-in-one, which has a touch screen. They move easily between the iphones (config'd as tablets), ipads, kindles, leap frogs, and the all in one. They ASSUME a talk and touch interface….I looked at upgrading the all-in-one since it's probably 4-6 years old, but the new one in the same range hasn't changed AT ALL except latest version of the processor (7700 vs 4600). I can't believe that would be worth spending $550 to upgrade.
I haven't read a processor review, hard drive speed test, or even have any idea what latest memory is, in at least 4 years. My desktop is good enough, my laptop is a 10 yr old Toughbook because durability and ports are more important to me than processor speed or light weight. I'm thinking about buying another of these little tiny pcs for my bedroom tv, and one for the living room as media consumption end points.
In other words, I don't think most people have anything to talk about with PCs anymore…. which must really suck for all the [former] pundits.
Again, though, please keep checking in.
nick
“Though I actually read the information the doctor’s office gives you when your child is vaccinated.”
@dave- I was shocked by the number of vaccinations they pushed on my kids. and almost had to physically restrain them from injecting my newborn. No need for hep on day one of life. REALLY don’t think that is a good idea. EVERY day at the hospital they came back and tried again.
we got them all their vacs but spread them out. I also didn’t see the need to give 7 different vacs ON THE SAME DAY. Freaking hell.
I think a lot of the knee jerk anti- anti vaxxer folks have no idea how many vax they want to give to kids or how many at the same time. I’m pro science and vax and I pushed back hard.
nick
I also didn’t see the need to give 7 different vacs ON THE SAME DAY
During my time in the USAF I was given orders to TDY overseas for a couple of weeks installing a new computer system. I was given three hours to pack and get on a plane. This also involved a trip to the clinic to get my overseas inoculations. I was given six different injections of various kinds while they were busy stamping my shot records. My arms ached for a couple of days.
Of course it did not help that I had all four wisdom teeth removed just two days prior, stitches were still in place and my face swollen from the procedure. I guess my skill set was more important than my health. So off I went on a 13 hour flight to the Philippines completely miserable.
Being indispensable isn’t always a good thing….
Nick,
Yes, our computers are “Good Enough” these days. I haven’t been very interested in high specification gear since I retired about 10 years ago, and the computers I put together back then have been fine. The photo and video enthusiasts get excited by specifications.
I did recent upgrade my office, and medium-range notebook computers with largish external screens are perfectly satisfactory. The total cost of three notebooks, two additional screens, some software and a few external drives was about US$3000.
I don’t recall your name from previous RBT communications, but whatever your relationship, you are doing an excellent job.
@nick,
I think my six year old daughter has had about six vaccinations. I think the first was when she was a few months old in the doctor’s office. I agree that in the hospital after birth is to soon for a vaccination.
I think a little healthy skepticism with vaccines is fine. For example, since Gardasil is new, I am more skeptical about it than other vaccines. I have heard stories of suspected adverse reactions to Gardasil. I don’t know whether they’re true or not. I know I want more information before I have to decide whether my daughter gets the shot or not.
@Dr Bob, thanks!
Some time ago, RBT gave 3 (that I’m aware of) of us access and encouragement to post based on our prolific commenting, but Jenny has been busy with other things, and OFD is also laid low with health issues. RickH has admin access and could post, but hasn’t…
Blog traffic falls off significantly without consistent posting. I know Bob is not concerned with traffic, but a nice community has developed here, and I wouldn’t want it to wither while he was incapacitated, so I’ll do what I can to keep people engaged. [wow, that was a lot of commas.]*
We also have a nice way to offer whatever encouragement and support we can to Barbara.
nick
*which is the type of thing to bring at least one or two grammarians into the comment thread…