Corona virus, what's different for you.

The coworker who tested positive at the beginning of June finally returned to work today. Nearly two months later. I haven't spoken to her, so I don't know how she's doing but to look at her you wouldn't have known that she'd been sick. Hopefully, she had a mild case and won't be suffering from any long term effects.

I also got myself tested again yesterday. My work brings me into more or less direct contact with around 20-60 or more people a week. I do wear mask, gloves, etc, and use sanitizer afterwards. And indirectly with 3-4 times as many. Before direct contact, we do use a set of guidelines and questionnaire. But you never know, so I thought it would be better to be on the safe(ish) side, not only for me, but the guys I work with and people I can meet.

I don't really have any symptoms. I did forget to take my allergy meds for 2 days, and started getting a runny nose and a sinus headache. But once I took them, that cleared up. The only thing about the allergy meds.... they can give you headaches, sore throat, back pain, cough, tiredness, muscle weakness, reduced smell and taste, trouble breathing, trouble swallowing, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea. So yeah, the symptoms of Covid-19. Luckily the only ones I do get would be a bit of a sore throat (goes away at night, comes back after taking the meds, goes away when I forget to take the meds), a little bit of dry mouth.

But I pretty plan on getting tested every 6 weeks or so, or if I experience symptoms that I don't currently feel as side effects.

And to be honest, I get nervous about the results from the test, even last time, when I was pretty certain I was fine.

Got my results back... pretty quickly too. I had my swab taken on Monday around 10:30 or so in the morning. I checked earlier today around 5:30, then about 20-30 minutes ago and the results were posted.



That's a whole faster than some of the others on here have taken to get their results back. Like I said above, I was nervous about the results. Especially considering the number of people I've been in contact with in the last two months, the last time I was tested was the beginning of June.

So far, I've had two video appointments with NPs. Both were on time (one was early). The first one, the video worked fine, but the audio tanked (probably a problem on my end, because it wasn't long after that that my computer crashed) and the second one was smooth as silk (new computer). I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of providers decide it's easier and quicker to do video calls for routine appointments and start offering it as a regular option. The governor and legislature are working on ways to permanently loosen the regulations on videoconferencing as well.

ACK! Missed this.

Good luck. Hope it is all mild.

Well, all the payments are made, the approvals are waiting, and we are going to be busting Pop-Pop out of the home.

I have to say up until the point of COVID the assisted living community was pretty decent all around. They really did provide a ton of things for the people who go into one and their family. This was really not a "old age home" in that sense. They really made it possible for those who could afford it to be as independent and active as possible, while also providing enough convenience so they could feel confident in giving up their cars and tools of independence like that.

However, they did try to pull some bullshit about keeping him there for 60 days. I get that means 2 months of charges for him, and whatever pull they get with doctors for community population. But they were saying they could not release him for 60 days and that they were going to require him to quarantine to leave. Yes, they were going to punish him with quarantine if he left. Not that he was not already on lockdown, but they were going to take away his ability to leave his apartment and go for a walk on his own because we were doing this. That was his last thing.


I could have told them that was a bad idea because they had to deal with his daughter. All that ended real quick because mom knows how to be a powerful karen when she needs to be. She is an Italian/german american karen. So they are going to let the movers in to get his things when it is time to move.

Aside from that the schools around here are starting off online so we have less to worry about with the nephew. He is learning better without the timetables holding him back.

I should look into getting periodically tested, even though I temp myself at work multipl
Working front end in grocery/retail... yeah, that's direct contact with a looooot of idiots

My wife got tested this weekend. They said it’s 7-10 days to get the result.
A few months ago she got tested and it was barely 24 hours.

I got tested a couple weeks ago. Fucking hurt. Didn't have the 'Vid, thankfully.

Well, I bought a big box of medical facemasks yesterday. They're apparently good ones - in that they protect the wearer from stuff getting through in addition to protecting others from the wearer.
I'm still trying to get into the habit of treating a mask like my phone and keys when I leave the house - something I just reflexively take.

Also, after a couple of months of reasonably good news, there has been a small uptick in cases here recently (as in much of Europe) so any further reopening of the economy has been paused. We're at the stage now where most things are open with the exception of anything that involves crowds of people. Controversially, the government have decided that pubs which serve food be treated as restaurants and allowed to open and while those which don't, can't. It feels fairly arbitrary and the suspicion being voiced that "fancy restaurants in Dublin" are being looked after while rural communities are being denied seems like it might have some substance to it.

Umm, well front end grocery workers aren't usually the sharpest of folks either. Is this your chosen career?

Speaking of idiots...

Wouldn't be surprised if you're stocking peas.

No, but it sounds like a perfect job for you.

That's the best comeback you have? #weak

It's all you're worth.

I was just at the corner store getting some beer, and three teenagers tried to shoplift some Monster drinks. They were the only ones in there not wearing masks.

damn kids

On Wednesday I had to have an ablation done to get rid of an atrial flutter. Because of COVID policies my wife couldn't come in with me. Since we live over an hour away and we didn't know if I was going to be admitted, she had to stay in the car in the parking lot and wait for a call.

I hope your procedure went well. I also hope that you've gained a greater appreciation for the struggles other people have in getting and affording medical care, but I doubt it.

I've been in and out of hospitals since the day I was born.

I think you've missed the point.

I think many of you don't understand that some of my experiences are the reason I reject government involvement in healthcare.

Educate us. Make it a green or blue room thread if you don't want it in the red room.

You've been misconstruing the issue since you first popped up on TBBS years ago.

He won't. He'll just do his usual song and dance about how affordable health care is not a right (except for him, of course) and then he'll go away... until the next time.

Well, he was able to get the care he needed so it must be the same for everyone else.

We have a local playtesting session this morning, and what would usually be a quick "everyone come here" is a big of a discussion over the available space and ensuring everyone has masks.

Maybe Warren Buffet is his daddy. Or George Soros.

While I was growing up I learned that there were two hospitals in Philadelphia that I could have gone too for my heart defect. Both were teaching hospitals. Because of my birth issues and the fact that my father was a local truck driver, they needed help for my medical bills so I was covered by the government. The one hospital was and advance and more modern facility. The other hospital, where I went, was "St Elsewhere" and looked like something out of the 40s and 50s. My mother was told that the people were nicer where I went and that is where I was to be taken for treatment. During one of my stays for a surgery there was some renovations going on and opening up some of the walls let out cockroaches and other bugs that could be seen moving around on the floors. Years later, after I was completely paying for my own insurance, I needed another surgery, my cardiologist sent me to the other hospital for it. When we walked in and saw the building, my mother asked why we couldn't have gone here.

I'm on disability so I'm getting medicare (or is it medicae) but I'm paying an insurance company to manage it and give me extra coverage so I can go where I want to and not be limited. Government just looks for the lowest cost and the quality comes second. The people where I did go were very good people and did what they could with what they had. And I'm here because of them, but I always wonder if things would have been better at the other hospital. I'll never know but it is what it is. That is why I fear lower quality for all if the government takes over.

Years ago, one of the elders' wives, who lived part of the year in her home country (The UK) and part of the time here, told me that we should never go the way the UK did with healthcare. She said it was not as good as we have it hear and this was during one of the times the US was talking about UHC.

This is me, recovering from my third surgery in 1981: