Family and Life Updates

[Seraphim]

🙏🏻🙏🏻prayers for your cousin. 

[boltnrun]

1 hour ago, Seraphim said:

🙏🏻🙏🏻prayers for your cousin. 

Thank you. 

[boltnrun]

My cousin is currently intubated and sedated. It's unclear to me if she's on a ventilator. Her husband said intubated while my other cousin who visited her said she's on a ventilator. Not sure if she knows the difference. My cousin is sedated and is basically not conscious, or at least is not awake.

She has sepsis. She is diabetic and had a foot infection a few weeks ago. She was in the hospital for a few days,  was treated with intravenous antibiotics and then sent home with oral antibiotics. She immediately went back to work because they can't afford to be without her paycheck. Apparently she was back in the hospital a couple of days ago and the infection has spread.

Her doctors had decided against amputation but I have to presume they are at least reconsidering.

I just hope all the antibiotics do their job well and she can heal. As a family we will support and help her if she does end up with an amputation. We all love her dearly and will help out however we can.

[Seraphim]

I am so so so sorry.  Intubated would mean a machine is breathing for her . That would be why she is sedated as well, otherwise people rip the tube out . 
 

Yes, diabetes is a no joke disease. 
 

I will pray hard for her. If she makes it , it will be a long haul back to her previous life . 

[boltnrun]

From what I read intubated is supplemental oxygen. A ventilator does the breathing for you. My other cousin said the nurse said they are able to start reducing the amount of supplemental oxygen. 

Thank you for the prayers.

Of course we will love her no matter what and we will do what we can to help her adjust if an amputation is necessary.

[Seraphim]

5 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

From what I read intubated is supplemental oxygen. A ventilator does the breathing for you. My other cousin said the nurse said they are able to start reducing the amount of supplemental oxygen. 

Thank you for the prayers.

Of course we will love her no matter what and we will do what we can to help her adjust if an amputation is necessary.

My step dad had supplemental oxygen through nose canula . If she is sedated I would expect more involved. 
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[boltnrun]

I didn't want to hijack the travel thread or bring it down into the dumps.  My brother is almost certain he has Covid. His coworker who he shared an Uber with three days ago has it and my brother said he has symptoms and feels sick. He's getting on an airplane today anyway because he's on a work trip on the other side of the country and he wants to come home. He doesn't want to stay there until his symptoms get better.  He said he'll wear a mask. Hopefully he's not infectious. What a lousy situation to be in. 

That's why I won't fly. I know it's extremely likely there's at least a few people who have Covid or RSV or the flu on every flight.  No thank you! Traveling isn't essential so I can wait. I'll stick to road trips and maybe train travel where you can at least maintain some distance. And I wouldn't want to be in the position of having to decide if I should quarantine on the other side of the country or risk infecting a bunch of strangers. 

A bunch of my cousins just got over it. It definitely is not "gone". 

[boltnrun]

My cousin was able to have the supplemental oxygen removed. She also could potentially be moved out of the ICU and into a regular room in the next day or two. She is very, very tired (understandably). 

If she is moved to a regular room I can have flowers delivered to her.

[Seraphim]

I am so so so glad !! That is great news !!

[boltnrun]

Thank you! I am hoping and praying she continues to improve.

[Seraphim]

2 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

Thank you! I am hoping and praying she continues to improve.

I will keep my prayers up. 

[boltnrun]

12 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

I will keep my prayers up. 

Thank you.

[boltnrun]

My brother is upset because he found out the coworker who infected him with Covid knew they had it but chose to travel and attend the conference anyway. But...he knows he has it and chose to take two Ubers and get on two flights with a layover. I love him dearly and I'm sorry he's sick. But I'm really peeved he chose to travel while Covid positive when he had the option to quarantine in his hotel room for three days. But he wanted to go home. I hope he didn't infect anyone. 

I think he'll recover OK, he feels sick but it doesn't seem too bad. I advised him to drink lots of water, take vitamins and OTC painkillers and rest. 

[boltnrun]

My cousin is still in the ICU.  She no longer needs to be on oxygen but she is still heavily sedated.  The doctor told my other cousin she will "be here a while".  In other words, don't expect her to be released in the next few days.  The infection is still present.

The doctor (according to my other cousin) stated that she had apparently not been taking care of herself.  She has a few medical conditions in addition to diabetes.  She has not been careful with her diet, has not been consistent with taking her medication and I know she does zero exercise.  If she doesn't want to go through this again she will need major lifestyle changes.

We are hoping the infection can be resolved and then I presume some decisions will need to be made regarding what to do next.  I may have to sit her down and remind her that her child needs her.  No more slacking off with diet, medication and exercise.  I get that it's difficult but what got me through my major medical crises was knowing my kids needed their mother.  I was NOT going to leave them.

[boltnrun]

My brother has a pretty strong case of Covid. I suggested he ask his doctor call in a prescription for Paxlovid. He said "Um, I don't have a doctor. I haven't seen one in a decade." He has a pathological aversion to seeing a doctor. He will wait until he needs hospitalization, then complain about how extensive his medical issue is.  I presume this is because our mother had a chronic serious medical condition that required regular medical care. I can't get him to see that doctors don't make you sick. He also believes making a will causes you to die. As the old saying goes, "Oh Brother!" 🙄

It's so hard to see people you love refusing to take care of themselves. 

[Seraphim]

I am so sorry. People can be so darned frustrating when they won’t care for themselves. I am praying your brother and cousin fully recover quickly . 

[boltnrun]

Note to self:  excessive caffeine consumption during the day = inability to sleep at night.

[Batya33]

8 hours ago, boltnrun said:

Note to self:  excessive caffeine consumption during the day = inability to sleep at night.

I hope you sleep better tonight.

[boltnrun]

1 hour ago, Batya33 said:

I hope you sleep better tonight.

Thank you.  I knew I was taking a chance yesterday but the morning was cool for the first time in months so I enjoyed an extra cup of hot tea.  And I also drank a diet soda (which I seldom do).  Fortunately it was Saturday night so while I had to get up early to go grocery shopping (in order to be back home in time to watch football), I didn't need to be super sharp like I do for work.  I'm tired though.

[boltnrun]

The count is up to four for the number of people my brother's coworker infected with Covid. I'm sure the number will go up as every one of them had no idea this woman deliberately traveled to the conference while Covid positive, so they attended meetings and presentations and group meals without taking any precautions. 

Oh, but she was tired of online meetings and wanted to see her coworkers in person!!!  🙄

[boltnrun]

My cousin had a bad day yesterday. I'm really frightened for her. I'm begging for her to be sent healing. 

[Seraphim]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Batya33]

2 hours ago, boltnrun said:

My cousin had a bad day yesterday. I'm really frightened for her. I'm begging for her to be sent healing. 

I’m so sorry. I hope today is better. 

[boltnrun]

On 9/27/2023 at 8:21 AM, Batya33 said:

I’m so sorry. I hope today is better. 

Thank you. Yesterday was also bad. I don't know what to do 🙁

A coworker who NEVER wears a mask showed up wearing one today. Makes me go "hmmm". I will avoid him. 

[Batya33]

3 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

Thank you. Yesterday was also bad. I don't know what to do 🙁

A coworker who NEVER wears a mask showed up wearing one today. Makes me go "hmmm". I will avoid him. 

Maybe he’s just been exposed and or is now being cautious ? Can you speak with anyone at the hospital as far as whether all is being done? I’ve been wearing masks even more frequently. When I was exposed mid august and didn’t get sick I was never close to people. Also when I did go to a store I wore a mask and was really far away from people. I do self check out. I never had symptoms or felt sick. Same for husband. He tested as per his employer requirements and also didn’t go back in person during quarantine. Our son who had it had mild symptoms that went away fast. Fortunately we tested him right before an orthodontist appointment and day before school orientation so he skipped both.