Coronavirus prep

You know--reading this thread is like watching a movie for the second time. It's sad for me because here, in Italy, we went through this all 3 weeks ago.

News from Northern Italy is very bad. They don't know where to bury all the dead. People are trying to flee to the South or the islands where they have vacation homes. The virus will spread so they're trying to stop that. It's better than being shut up in an apartment with little kids, or bored teens, is the reasoning of most people. To tell the truth, I wish I was at the beach house. Too late now. This morning I got up at 6 and went fast walking for half an hour around the piazza half a block from us. At that hour, only 4 people were around. My husband refused to get up that early, so I went by myself. I think I'll do it again at 6 this evening when it starts to get dark.

Stay safe everyone.

smithker75 wrote: »

@Nony_Mouse I'd like to think everyone could extend a little kindness and compassion at the moment but I'm afraid these things don't always bring out the best in people.
Our Prime Minister for one...want to swap?...

@smithker75 Yes, it would be nice to think everyone would extend kindness and compassion. Hopefully the majority will.

I think the plan is just for NZ to take over and name you guys West Island, isn't it? I see in the news that Aus is now following us on the 14 self isolation for anyone coming into the country. Better late than never, I guess

lleinphx1 wrote: »

Have you seen the pictures of DFW & ORD customs? It’s a nightmare. Hundreds of people arriving from Heathrow from god knows what country they’ve visited, standing shoulder to shoulder for hours. Insanity.

In other news, I’ve been eating like a lumberjack for days and unraveling months of progress. No exercise, just food and Twitter. I know I should put the phone down, but this is, you know, a big deal. Le sigh.

Me too. Stress eating and using this virus as an excuse. I need to get my act together and get back to it. Weighing 25# more certainly isn't going to be helpful.

My dh works at our local high school, with around 1000 students, more than 125 of those dorm kids from lots of different countries plus up until the big spread in Italy happened, students were still on trips abroad. They can't even get more than 2 cases of disinfectant wipes. Their school is big?? I really hope they decide to shut down even though dh said it's not that easy to do. I realize there must be a LOT of planning that goes into that but......?? Even taking 1 class into consideration such as culinary or automotive, it'd be difficult to shift from on-hands teaching to online. But still, I think it'd be a very wise proactive move to make.

I hope and pray my family, friends, and all of you stay safe and healthy through all of this. My dd lives in Seattle, which scares the beejeezus out of me. My ds lives in a county with known cases and he's diabetic. My other dd lives in NC with more cases every day. My dh is a smoker and at age 69(almost) I wish he'd just retire. My sister and her dh are both elderly and in very compromised health. ::(
My brother told me yesterday, the Mormon church(he's a member) has closed all services for the unknown future and he heard there are 2 cases about 15 miles away from us(a place where I go to a LOT). It's hard to know what's true, what's not, what to worry about and when you're simply being paranoid.

rheddmobile wrote: »

I heard from one of my high school friends today - we are planning on getting together online since we can’t meet up in person this year. He’s concerned about his mom who is in a nursing home which stopped accepting visitors to prevent exposure.

I made reassuring noises, but what bothers me about his mother’s situation is that I remember when my own dad was in a nursing home and the staff were completely untrustworthy. Once when I came for a visit I found my dad’s dinner tray sitting untouched on a table across the room from him - he wasn’t ambulatory and needed help with eating - they were just bringing in the tray and leaving it out of his reach, then taking it away again later so that he was actually starving. The “speech therapist” claimed she was “having great sessions” with him after he became completely non-verbal so I checked up on her, and her idea of a great session was sitting in silence reading a book to herself and then charging our insurance for a session. Since my dad had MRSA I asked for gloves to visit, and they didn’t know where the supply of gloves was. So yeah, it’s not like they were using them when changing IVs or fiddling with a picc line. Only by making sure someone visited every day at random times did he stay alive, and when I got a cold and couldn’t come for a week, not surprisingly he died. And the thing is, I talked to a friend who is an RN about what to do about the place, and did some research, and found - none of this was news, they were already under warnings for all kinds of violations - but they were the only place we could get my father into and we weren’t able to keep caring for him at home. And even if we had been able to pick a different home, pretty much every place else had a long list of the same kinds of violations, and according to my nurse friend it was standard practice to just sort of blow off care, since the staff felt that the residents were “circling the drain” anyway, why try?

So now, all across the US, these same staff members are in charge with no family members to keep tabs on them. They haven’t suddenly changed and become better people. They aren’t any better trained, or smarter, or more conscientious, they just know they don’t have to worry about what things look like when someone’s kid or spouse shows up. Some of them are the same staffs you have seen on the news in past years letting old people sit covered by filthy flood water after disasters, or not bothering to move them across the street to a hospital when their power went out and grandma’s ventilator stopped working. And now all across America they know no one is watching to make sure they do their jobs, plus, they are suddenly the front line who are supposed to be preventing the spread of deadly disease.

THAT is terrible!!!! We don't have a lot of rehab or nursing homes close by so our options are limited. BUT we certainly know which ones to consider if we ever needed one and they had beds available. When my parents went through times when it became necessary, my sister and I saw more than our share of questionable neglect; though I don't recall anything as bad as what you're talking about. My B-I-L just spent 3 months in a nursing home and my sister traveled there 98% of the time and everything she saw was wonderful. I also visited with her several times and was treated the same way. They treated her like gold, they treated him like gold, they were friendly and helpful. It was amazing. BUT the downside to all that is they hardly ever have empty beds. With health situations like this virus and even with the simple math of the baby boomer gen increasing the need, expansion of facilities should be happening at an enormous rate.

And your 'circling the drain' comment hit home so hard from when my parents were going through it. I cannot tell you how many times our concerns weren't held up as much as they should've been. We brought our dad from the 'home' to the ER(right across the street) because he was fading fast, waiting for a pacemaker from the VA. The ER doc said he's doing fine and to just go back and pinch some 'nurses' *kitten*'. Yep, his exact words. Brought him back to the ER because the 'home' wouldn't accept him back, said to put up a stink. So we did. They put him in the hospital, talked to the VA to up the pacemaker appt. and we had our dad for a few more wonderful years.
My mom had fallen and broken her vertebra, gone to a 'home' recovered okay, went back to live at home, fell again, went to the ER, dr. gave her morphine and asked her 20 minutes later if she felt any pain. Of course not, so she must've been miraculously cured, sent her back home where she couldn't even walk.
We really need to be the voice for ourselves and our loved ones because others don't listen unless pushed hard.

If it is a nice day where you are can I encourage you all to get outside even if just to your yard or local park. I am not sure and the evidence is not in for covid-19 but Vitamin D in normal get some sun every day levels been shown to help immune system fight off other viruses. Also a bit of fresh air and exercise helps with anxiety, depression. So yeah get outside if at all possible at least 20 minutes a day.

pinuplove wrote: »

snickerscharlie wrote: »

bmeadows380 wrote: »

hmmm. a post I put up an hour ago never appeared here. My luck, it'll show up tomorrow and be repeated 6 times.....

pi day, but I didn't have any pie ;(

I was in McDonald's today and was just wondering if they would go to drive thru only. I would be behind that - they could focus on the kitchen and prep areas and not have to worry about constantly trying to keep the lobby clean, and they would be limiting the number of people the crew would be exposed to. That particular McDonald's actually did that last summer during their remodel, as did the local Arby's, so the precedent and procedures are there for it.

I think that's a great idea.

I wonder if they would allow pedestrians in the drive-through? Because otherwise *someone's* gonna get their panties in a twist about it being discriminatory to the car-less.

Good point. Maybe carry out only? Pedestrians in the drive-thru seems like a recipe for disaster.

for those restaurants who have two drive through signs, I supposed they could mark the outer one for pedestrians, and then direct them to walk to the closest door for pickup.....

But it doesn't matter what they do, someone is going to get their knickers in a knot - whether they stay open, don't stay open, be drive through only, etc lol

Just like I was going to say that with mobile ordering now a thing, they could direct foot traffic to order through the app and pick up at the door, but then there'd be all those people who don't have the app, don't have smart phones, or don't have internet access (which is actually a pretty big thing where I live - cell service is very spotty, and decent, reliable internet access is only available to a fraction of people)

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

Nice, not

https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-risk-of-reinfection-2020-2

I had been hearing and reading statements from medical authorities saying they hoped, based on other viruses, that those who recover from covid 19 would have immunity for some period of time, but that so far they didn't have any idea how long that immunity might last. Lay questioners on talk shows seemed to assume that it was a question of whether immunity would last for just a few years (like vaccines that you need boosters for) or for essentially your whole life. but I noticed the experts' responses didn't seem to commit to even "a few years." I guess they were right.

ETA: on the other hand, from the article PAV8888 posted, it appears they've only seen one case of presumed reinfection so far, and it's not clear that this individual ever tested negative. just that they were discharged from the hospital after "showing signs of recovery." I don't know how they decide whether it's a (so-far) rare case of reinfection, or a (rare?) case of an individual who has remained infected for a long time without fully recovering, just going through ups and downs as their body fights the disease.

EATA: Unlike the headline and the paraphrasing by the writer, the actual quotes from medical experts in the story PAV8888 linked seem to be speaking about relapse, not reinfection from another individual.

Thanks for posting this...I feel the same way about the scare-mongering "news" articles but I'm tired and when I started posting a rebuttal to that, "You will re-catch it!!!!!!!!" article I was so tired yesterday...you said it all. That article was badly written and had zero science behind the known facts we have about how virus immunity works.




@MikePfirrman
Maybe you missed Just Em (moderator) who came in on the last page telling us to keep politics out of this.


I'm going to make an attempt today to not get into the "discussion" about it. Seattle continues to be scared. I have enough food and TP for a month.

Yeah. I need to stay out of this thread.

pink_mint wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I belong to an international online group for "Elder Orphans": People over 55 living alone, with no spouse, partner, children, parents, siblings - at least not any close enough (geographically or emotionally) or able to be a support systems.

We have a number of issues that those with families don't (health care power of attorney, will and estate issues, even logistical stuff like making it to outpatient surgery if there's no one to drive us there and wait while the surgery happens, as many medical facilities now require; and much more).

I'm not whining at all, just describing; mostly, this is manageable. It's just non-standard.

In one of the local branches of my "Elder Orphan" group, a nurse/member is setting up pairs of people (who ask for this) to get each other's contact information, and commit to check in daily or on some other agreed basis, with instructions between the two of them about what to do if that contact can't be made.

This group includes people so isolated that they have few/no real-life relationships (sometimes because reasons ). But of course there are similar people without even online connections.

@AnnPT77 I never knew something like this existed. I am married and have young children. However my extended family is both small and a sad, fractured, alienated mess.

Husband's family has issues too. There are most definitely reasons (birds of a feather flocked together in our case, part of why we hit it off initially). Having a good spouse is definitely a source of support. But raising young children with zero extended family support... you have more energy going out than coming in.

I wonder if there is something like this for me. I'm 40 so maybe not in the required age range for that group.

It's times like this that a support system or lack of is something you really start to feel.

I didn't know such things existed, either, but would really be interested in knowing if such a group was something that is available in my state. Right now my parents are right across the road with my sister, but they are getting on in years, aren't the best of health, and my sister is completely unreliable. My brother is about 1 hour's drive away, but I don't know if I could depend on him, either. I have acquaintances, but very few that I'd consider close enough to call for help, and my church is made up of a lot of older people.

I'm also thinking of my best friend; I'm her only point of contact for help. She is not close to her brothers, and the one brother that she would be willing to work with is a couple of states away and has his own problems and wouldn't be able to come if she needed him.

I do think about the future as a single person with little family, no spouse, and no children, what I will do if I get in the shape I can't easily care for myself any longer. I hope I will be like my grandparents - my dad's parents are in their late 80's/90's and still living at home and independent, as is my mom's 81 year old grandmother, but I also know I can't depend on being able to be like that if I get to their age.

@Snowflake954, I'm so sorry Italy is suffering so badly with this. I appreciate your posts from there and commend you for sticking with us here at MFP and for being an honest information gatherer. Passing on what you know and have learned is invaluable. I fear we here in the US are still on the upward swing of this thing and perhaps some of us are much more aware of the dangers facing us because of the warnings you are giving us. It's time for all us to focus on what we can do regardless of what the Federal Government is saying and doing.

Yesterday my husband and I, 72 and 70, decided that even though we are at lower risk because of our general good health (although he is slightly more at risk than I) we would adhere to the general consensus that we should just stay home unless it is essential we leave the house. We run a small business here in So Cal and will continue to ship product and go to the post office and bank only as financially necessary. We are going out for a few supplies here and there, but no big shopping trips or waiting in lines. We are not eating out at all or attending any social functions. We had a family gathering scheduled for Easter weekend which we have cancelled and that includes some flights for family members. I have a Dr. appointment tomorrow which I will keep as I've waited 3 months for it but I will take extra precautions while there. We believe it is our responsibility to not spread the virus or take up precious medical resources that others will need more than we might.

@psychgrrl, thanks for the well wishes re our daughter.

She was tested Friday at a drive thru testing site in SF. She tested negative for COVID-19 (thank goodness). Her doctor has instructed her to stay home while she is ill and perhaps beyond in the hopes she won't be exposed, especially since she is already sick and her lungs are compromised from 40 years of asthma. They may re-test her in the weeks to come. Her boss delivered a laptop and a few essential supplies to their apartment on Friday so she will be able to work from home until things improve. Her husband is legally blind and relies on her for transportation, grocery shopping and other essentials things that are difficult for him so she needs to continue with some of those things but only as necessary. He's a lawyer and will be going to work 2 days but staying home the other 3.

With the help of a neighbor and some online shopping they were able to stock some essentials so should be fine for a couple of weeks. They were unable to find TP, hand soap and hand sanitizers, so we sent them what we had and I made our own sanitizer and saved enough of our TP supply so we don't temporarily run out. She was able to get the last 3 canister case of sanitizing wipes delivered from their local Costco. She thinks these are important since her husband is still working with the public.

Anyway, that's what's happening in our neck of the woods. I'm feeling confident that my husband and I will not become ill for now, but I do think that eventually most of us will contract the virus. Maybe by then we'll know more and be better prepared to take care of everyone. Perhaps even a treatment or some sort of vaccine will be available who knows?

Stay safe and well!