It’s a very tired day here in the CatBox. Yesterday’s trip it the Oncologist was a disaster. When we got there, they pulled us back into an examining room. The nurse told us my chart had been flagged that I might have been exposed to Trump* virus and needed to be isolated. They said someone would be “right in” to explain. The assistant I was scheduled to see that is pregnant, and they would not send her into the room with me. Not knowing that, I sat in ever-increasing pain for well over an two hours. Nurses asked occasional questions through the door. They finally determined that the flag must have been in error, and the pregnant assistant came in. She said she didn’t understand what had happened, because they had never seen a chart with that flag before. WWWendy would have been unable to wait the additional three hours, and I was in too much pain to stay, so we rescheduled for next month. The assistant sent me a “my chart” message explaining the mistake. The hospital decided to routinely flag the charts of app patients who have been tested for Trump* virus, but they neglected to inform the Oncology office of that policy. Because my chart was their first time to see the flag, they didn’t know how to handle it. They apologized. I bet Nameless has a collection of similar hospital horror stories. In any event, the pizza is magnificent. Tuesday is Flush Your Republicans Day. Hold that lid tight!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:15 (average 5:29). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Short Takes:
From NY Times: President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. plans to name Janet L. Yellen as Treasury secretary, a nomination that would put a woman in charge of the Treasury for the first time in its 231-year history.
The expected appointment came as Mr. Biden moved to fill other top cabinet roles, selecting Alejandro Mayorkas as the first Latino to lead the Department of Homeland Security and Avril Haines as the first woman to be the director of national intelligence.
Mr. Biden is also expected to create a new post of international climate envoy and tap John Kerry, a former secretary of state who was a chief negotiator for the United States on the Paris climate change accord.
In choosing Ms. Yellen, who was also the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, Mr. Biden is turning to a renowned labor economist at a moment of high unemployment, when millions of Americans remain out of work and the economy continues to struggle from the coronavirus.
Overall, these are good picks, although there are some I would have preferred that are more progressive. I like Yellen, and Kerry is a solid environmentalist. I need to learn more about the others. RESIST!!
From Alternet: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is expected to step down in the next Congressional session following stark criticism from progressive lawmakers due to her handling of U.S Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination hearings.
Multiple people close to the situation confirmed Feinstein’s plans to Politico, and she later released a statement confirming her intent. Although she will be stepping away from the judiciary committee, she did note that she will be working with the Biden administration and will continue to serve on other committees.
“After serving as the lead Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for four years, I will not seek the chairmanship or ranking member position in the next Congress,” the California Democrat said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to serve as a senior Democrat on the Judiciary, Intelligence, Appropriations and Rules committees as we work with the Biden administration.”
That’s good news for the Judiciary Committee. I’d like to see DINO DiFi head the Senate Washroom committee. RESIST!!
Frio YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Trump Administration Officially Authorizes Biden Transition
This is the best news we’ve heard since Biden passed 270. I think Trump* has actually given up. He is playing at fighting the results at this point, because he’s realized that fight is a far more profitable method of Sheeple-fleecing than Trump U or Trump Steaks ever were. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast for the planet): Bad Moon Rising
They were most prescient to understand so many years ago the climate tragedy we face today. Pray that Kerry’s leadership will help bring Good Moon times. RESIST!!
56 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!
18 Responses to “Open Thread – 11/24/2020”
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OMG, that wss a fiasco. I am SO-O-O-O-O sorry! Thank God for good pizza.
News from Carrie B: “Baby boy Burton due in April does not have any type of Syndrome. We still need to wait to find out about an abnormally low heart rate. More news later, but at least we have no reason to fear Edward’s Syndrome. thank everyone for prayers, but ask for a few more.”
Cartoon – That’s certainly a theory.
NYT – I can tell you that Blinken has been on Sesame Street (we have a saying in my household that you’re no one unless you’ve been o Sesame Street.) He educated Grover on refugees. I should be able to find the clip for the Video thread.
AlterNet – Well, you know, her views have hadrened up over the years, sadly, but she isn’t stupid. I suspect she foresees (or her people foresee nnd she listens) the outrage that would come from a grievously hurting America if she tried to assert power at this point.
Blast – It’s less difficult to be prescient if you have access to (and pay attention to) all the facts that the plutarchs are hiding. Those facts were discoverable then, but most of us had other things on our minds which didn’t need to be investigated to be known.
Happy to hear the positive news from Carrie B. regarding Baby boy Burton. On Sunday, I was wondering how they were doing. I’ve been including Carrie. B and family in my daily prayers since you first mentioned it and will continue to do so. Thanks Joanne
Thanks so much, colleen.
Woooo Hoooo Carrie B! 🙏
Cartoon: Yes, they did.
NYT: How exciting! I’m tickled blue over Joe, and his other selected cabinet members.
AN: Glad to see that she is stepping down. LOL on your comment.
MSNBC: Finally! Great news!
BFTP: Great song!!
After reading of your experience, it seems like yesterday was a nightmare for you and WWWendy, with ya’ll being there for over two hours, being in pain, and not getting any assistance either with an additional 3 hours tacked on! I’m so sorry that it happened to you and to Wendy too. Glad that you and Wendy cancelled to come back another time. Hope that that experience and lengthy time wait is a one time incident too, for you. Get your rest, and take in a well deserved nap. Take good, good care, and Thanks, Tom.
This just in: George Takei @GeorgeTakei- “For four years, I have been a proud member of the Resistance. With today’s announcement of Biden’s national security team, honoring the hard and honest work of career civil servants who reflect the diversity of America, I am proud to join the Restoration.” ~ HT – Joanne D. ~
2. “What’s NOT next for Joe?? Golf.” ~ Terry B. ~
3. “Biden very explicitly stated that there would be none of his children working in the White House.” ~ John P.~
4. “According to CNN, Joe Biden got a street named after him in Scranton, PA. dt is about to have a cell block named after him.” ~ Bill P. ~
5. “Trump is golfing, the Senate is on vacation, there’s no covid relief, food lines stretch for miles, 40 million people face eviction, Americans are dying in droves. Is this what they mean by American exceptionalism?
~ Robert Reich ~
6. “Judge blocks dt’s plan to cut food stamps for 700,000 adults.” ~ Aimee P. ~
TJI #1 – Yeah, Mr. Sulu just laid out a lot of (graphic) work for me, but I think I’m up to it. Some of the ones I’ve already done I can change, of course. But not all. And I do have a few unused backdrops already saved.
TJI #5 – Even in better days, there has always been too much of this kind of exceptionalism in America, sadly.
*sigh*
What an unfortunate disaster! I’m glad you made it through mostly unscathed – and that the pizza was delicious!
I have always encouraged my patients (family, friends, acquaintances, etc.) to always feel free to speak-up when things go sideways in a medical setting.
Mistakes and F/Us (the usual F/U meaning – NOT the medical acronym for “Follow-Up) are obviously not confined to medicine – but might have a more ominous impact.
Trust me – we want to know when things are not going right. It can literally be a matter of life or death.
(Of course, we also don’t think it’s too much to ask to present legitimate complaints in a civil manner. You have NO idea the stress healthcare people are constantly under – and NOT just during a pandemic.)
So never feel like you’re being a burden when you have serious concerns about your care. Healthcare workers didn’t dedicate all those years of training to turn their backs on their patients.
Sir William Osler, the Father of Modern Medicine, is famous for this salient quote:
ON A PERSONAL MEDICAL UPDATE
I am glad to report that not only am I feeling better than I have in months – but my own hospital care was excellent!
From the minute I arrived in the ER to my discharge – from ER docs, hospitalist, pulmonologist, cardiologist, radiologist, nursing staff, lab technicians, dietary folks, etc. I could NOT have been more pleased!
I honestly do NOT think it had anything to do w/ my being a physician – because most did NOT know that (at least to start with. Like all work environments – word gets out.)
The only time I was disappointed was when I was still in the ER (beds are at a premium EVERYWHERE- thanks Donnie, you F/U!). They tried to wean me off my BIPAP in less than 24 hours – way too fast.
I understand their hope/reasoning – ALL BIPAP and AIRVO machines were in use – and more were needed.
Their protocol (which I thought was reasonable) is that after they take you off the machine they give you four hours to see if you can tolerate it.
Off the machine I was still getting 7 Liters of O2 flow by nasal cannula (which can actually only deliver 5-6 L).
In less than 2 hours I was again gasping for breath. My nurse kept telling me I needed to think “Positive thoughts.”
I finally told her – “I’m POSITIVE I can NOT tolerate being off the BIPAP now!”
When my O2 saturations dipped into the 70%s (Normal is >95%) – she finally agreed and put me back on the BIPAP!
I fully recognize they are caught between a rock and a hard place – LITERALLY making decisions on who will live and who will die (F/U Donnie!)
Everyone brings a different skillset and understanding to this Trump-induced medical disaster. So use your best judgment when things do start going sideways!
Glad to hear that you’re feeling so much better Nameless.
Nice to read of the great work everyone did from the onset of your emergency, your hospital stay to the moment you were released.
I applaud all of the medical staff; doctors, surgeons, nurses, lab/x-ray technicians, and all others who have worked 7 days/long extended hours ever since the Covid-19 virus first started. Plus to suffer watching so many people die from this virus and to remain strong enough to continue working. It’s amazing what they’ve done and still do.
Hopefully they will have a vaccine out soon, so our country can get some sort of control over the pandemic.
My experiences with the hospital itself have been good, but the Oncology Outpatient Unit has ranged from excellent to horrid.
I could not be more pleased that the care you received was so good.
For the first 90 minutes, I was quite respectful, but after well over an hour of pain, evasion and disrespect from them, I started yelling at them through the door.
As I said on today’s open thread, pain sucks. But what really got me to the point of sarcasm when I had surgery was an error that had been foreseen and that everything had been done in advance to prevent, but was made anyway. (And there was pain also. I had not yet healed to where 6 hours between pain meds was enough. That too another several hours. Incidentally, that had also been foreseen, but the nurses disregarded to doctor’s orders.)
NYT: Watched Joe and Kamala this morning when they introduced some of their new cabinet members. Can’t wait till January 20 when it’s all official.
Alternet: Great…..It’s definitely time for her to step down.
BFTP: Great song.
Sorry to hear of the awful ordeal you were put through yesterday. Seems like someone screwed up royally, just too bad you had to be the one to suffer. Glad they rescheduled your visit and infusion session.
Hope that you were able to get some rest today.
Take care. Thanks TomCat
Thanks Colleen. I apologize for forgetting to mention that my prayers are up for your care. 🙏
Actually, I think “No day passes that I am not in prayer for all here” (from 11/20) counts.
TomCat, you poor thing, the torture they put you through for nothing. I hope the delay in having your next infusion won’t make too much of a difference.
I’m glad the pizza made up for it a little bit.
See today’s Open Thread.
Thanks and Hump Day Hugs to all!