"The elephant in the room, Covid-19"

Discussion in 'General' started by Richard_arch74, Mar 23, 2020.

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  1. Dan Albrich

    Dan Albrich Well-Known Member

    I think many Americans feel that we're separate from the rest of the world and perhaps better than other nations. I realize it's unthinkable to some Americans that we might be second in anything, but frankly if we can't protect our care givers with basic protective gear, then we really have nothing to brag about. My wife signed up for kits to sew masks for medical professionals using provided materials and patterns which is less than ideal, but she's glad to do what she can.

    My wife and I have been very lucky to have good jobs, and they're letting us work from home at least for now. We're sheltering in place, and skipping all forms of outings not essential. We revitalized our making bread at home skills and that sort of thing to extend the time between getting groceries. I am hopeful we can allow folks to stay home to slow this thing down but also keep people housed and fed.

    When I realized I wouldn't be getting out for a long time, my priorities were to buy beer and candy. My wife bought all the stuff that we actually need. One of my friends says he imagines every door knob, atm keypad, ... to be covered in ****. It helps him to remember to wash his hands and not touch his face. I got a kick out of that!

    I wish us all well. I am thankful for this forum and its community. We will get through this thing together.
     
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  3. Richard_arch74

    Richard_arch74 Active Member

    Here is another link (MedCram)for an excellent source of information especially if you are interested at the micro level. Dr. Seheult is a teaching medical professional. I wish I had had a professor who was this interesting in college. Try him out.



    Sent from my SM-G955U using Inside EVs mobile app
     
  4. Touché.
     
  5. ClarityBill

    ClarityBill Active Member

    I am the maintenance supervisor for a small dairy processor. We put milk in the gallons, half gallons, etc, that you buy at the grocery store. We normally just run four days per week on specialty milk. We are now in seven-day per week production.

    My oldest daughter is a Physician’s Assistant in the trauma ward: She expects to get the virus. One of her employees thought they should be allowed to work from home?

    Her husband works at the post office. He mentioned that people are sitting in quarantine, licking envelopes, and dropping them in the mail: He expects to get the virus.

    I would love to sit at home and play with the grandkids, but it really feels good to watch truckloads of milk head to New York City.
     
    coutinpe and Richard_arch74 like this.
  6. Paul K

    Paul K Active Member

    I am in my late 60s and in good health but feeling a little vulnerable. I also shelter a sibling whose health is frail. More concerned about him. I have been telling clients for the last few years: "I'm retired but still working". Now it looks like I'm at least temporarily retired. Can now go so long between charges that I forgot a few nights ago that it was time to plug in again. Accidentally charged to 100% and used the heater on a short run just to draw the battery down below 90%.

    If the U.S. is like a big bad Harley Davidson motorcycle, Canada is like the attached side car. Here in Canada I think we've gotten ahead of the curve but not so South of the border. I fear most that the U.S. is going to spiral out of control and our economy will take a huge hit from this in addition to our own lock down measures.
     
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  8. hobbit

    hobbit Well-Known Member

    We really need the senators to pull a "Julius Caesar". The denial has
    just gone way too far.

    _H*
     
  9. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    That is what I thought Senator Rand Paul was trying to do.
    I'm 70 and my wife is older. I'm her primary care giver and she no longer drives. We both have Afib and other ailments that increase our risk. Being retired, I'm the one who goes out. The only thing that gives me pause are fresh fruits and milk. Everything else gets cooked.

    So what I've done is make a folded, 'medical history' card with contact and insurance information. All of my personals and daily meds are on the card so if I have to go, the usual '20 questions' are answered.

    On Monday, I started a spreadsheet with the timestamp; temperature; blood pressure pulse; pulse oximeter, and; meds. I sample randomly during the day but otherwise, nothing unique.

    Bob Wilson
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2020
  10. davidtm

    davidtm Active Member

    In my second week of working from home as a community psychiatrist, "seeing" patients by phone. May expand that to video calls if/when feasible. I did go in to the office this AM for regular AM meeting due to the ICE vehicle needing oil change and state inspection (shop next door to work). So, my wife, who is still having to work on-site (state hospital physician), got to take my EV to work. She and I are both in our 60's and healthy so far, but exercising caution, to be sure! Get out to grocery shop once or twice a week when not busy.
     
  11. Well, my wife and I are mid-40s. We both work in the entertainment industry in Las Vegas and are both at home on furlough, not getting payed.
    We don't know when we will be able to get to work again. Very unsettling!
     
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  13. Richard_arch74

    Richard_arch74 Active Member

    Best of luck to the two of you. Hopefully the Senate and house will agree on the Senate Bill, as imperfect as it is. Hope you get your checks soon.

    Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
     
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  14. FloridaSun

    FloridaSun Well-Known Member

    I'm very lucky as so far, the virus has had no financial impact on me. I work in IT for one of the world's largest banks (name starting with C and ending with E). I have been with them for 16 years and my severance package would be significant as also my retirement plan that I could cash out if they would lay me off. At this point, I would actually benefit from getting laid off as I would get about $150k before taxes. If I would get laid off, I would focus on my home flipping/rental business. I have 5 free and clear rentals and I'm getting close to financial independency. I'm not planning on selling any of my rentals, so, even if the housing market collapses, I will still get my rental income. if the market collapses, it would be even better for me as I would have the severance package to buy distressed properties in that case. My net worth would take a tumble if real estate would drop but I don't care as I don't want to sell any of my properties. I have zero $ in the stock market, so the collapse on the markets didn't cost me a dime. The only impact I can invision is new taxes or higher that government will likely have to collect to pay for their stimulous..
     
  15. gooki

    gooki Well-Known Member

    I retired end of January at the ripe old age of 39.

    Our country is in lockdown now, so wife is working from home and I’m looking after our puppy and kids. I’ve got plenty to do around the house, and have most of my DIY tools and supplies already. So I try and knock out one task each day.
     
  16. Credit Suisse?
     
  17. Danks

    Danks Active Member

    or Chase
     
    FloridaSun likes this.
  18. FloridaSun

    FloridaSun Well-Known Member

    5 letters. CH..E :-D
     
  19. FloridaSun

    FloridaSun Well-Known Member

    I was bored, so I built this yesterday and today.. Put my F150 Crew Cab to work.. Haven't driven it much since I got the Kona..

    20200326_190722.jpg 20200326_190701.jpg
     
  20. Threw me off when you mentioned "world's". Made me think it was not a US bank. Having said that, JPMorgan (the holding company) is indeed one of the largest banks in the world, holding the #6 ranking in assets. And #1 in the US.
     
  21. FloridaSun

    FloridaSun Well-Known Member

    They treat their employees well.. We have many people who have been there for over 10 years.
    They also have a great severence plan which is great especially if you have been with them for a while.. i started with them as Software Engineer in 2004..
     
    R P likes this.
  22. coutinpe

    coutinpe Active Member

    Bill, Be proud of yourself and your family. I hope (without too much hope) that after all this nightmare is over people will feel more appreciation for people like yourselves, who are THE really important for all of us, instead of all those brain dead overpaid rich "celebrities". Keep it safe and God bless!
     
  23. craze1cars

    craze1cars Well-Known Member

    [/QUOTE]
    Been hesitating participating on this because the disease continues to hit home in different ways, and it's a fluid thing that changes by the day. In order:

    1. Yes
    2. I'm 49, retired at 47. But "gigging" as a handyman/mechanic/electrician doing side work mostly for hobby, not financial need. This work indeed has mostly dried up, but if someone needs outdoor work done I go ahead and do it, send emailed invoices, and they pay me electronically or via mailed check. I'm not working much thru this...electively...and I don't need to work so that's fine. I've shut off my advertising.
    4. (out of order for good reason). Yes and no. I'm mostly a one man show, but for larger jobs I occasionally hire friends as cash labor. Many of THEM have been contacting me, because they are laid off and suddenly available for ANYTHING I can find for them to do and pay them for. So now when a customer contacts me and wants a job done, even outdoors and socially distanced, I'm passing on the job and giving referrals to my friends who have more financial need than I do. So not my employees, but I'm purposefully giving some of my potential income and customers up to my friends.

    3. YES. SEVERAL. And this friggin' question is why I have hesitated participating. Yes indeed I know of 4 personal friends who have tested positive. Also about 4 others who PROBABLY had/have it based on all the symptoms, but were denied tests due to not available/not high risk, and instructed to assume you have it, go home and self quarantine, and don't go anywhere until all symptoms have been gone for at least 3 days. All 8 of these friends have been ages 45 to 60 ish, generally healthy, and have handled it without too much drama other than extremely painful dry cough and quite a bit of pain. For all it seems to last intensely for 14 days, and then linger for a couple more weeks.

    A ninth dear friend, I just found out yesterday, is at day 11 of fever and dry cough, was admitted to hospital yesterday, and given the Covid test yesterday. Should have results in 3 days, assuming she has it. On IV and oxygen, not on a ventillator yet and not in ICU yet. This is the scariest of all because she is the only friend who needed hospitalization over Covid, and I'm terrified frankly. 60ish I think and not the healthiest among my friends. Please pray for her.

    And 4 days ago a dear friend lost her mother to old age/natural causes. Yesterday her husband (also a close friend) dropped dead of a heart attack. I normally would spring into action, drive 10 hours to go up there and help with the whole situation, give hugs, etc. But I can't. There will be no funerals for either because of the gathering risk and the closed churches. Friends bringing meals to the widow, etc? Not really gonna happen. The widow who just lost her mother and husband over the course of 4 days is going to have to handle this situation MUCH more alone than normally would happen. All the traditional things that people do in these situations are upended because of Covid. It's hitting people in different ways, even if it's not the disease itself directly hitting people.

    My mother has kidney cancer. Needs a kidney removed. The surgery keeps getting postponed, and postponed, and postponed. Because of Covid. If this handn't happened she would have that kidney out by now and be recovering...hopefully cancer free. But instead it MIGHT be spreading. The unknown is driving her, and me, nuts. We both want that diseased organ out of her body, but surgeons and hospitals are reeling. Now rescheduled for the 3rd time to April 9. Please pray for her too.

    Folks this disease is new, kinda brutal, hitting a LOT of poeple, and if it hasn't already it WILL effect your life in ways much more than the current quarantine situation...sooner rather than later. At the same time the fallout of the quarantine from a world economy standpoint is also doing untold damage in so many ways. No matter how anyone feels about Trump, I believe he made a fleeting comment recently stating that he "doesn't want the cure to be worse than the disease?" or something similar. Politics aside, this is a BIG question he verbalized. Here is a disease that hits a few % of the population, and 1% of those it hits dies, and it's awful. And it's hitting several of my friends...and one friend is a big question mark on whether she'll survive it. But world economic collapse causes widespread poverty, unemployment, and large numbers of deaths in other ways that have nothing to do with Covid. So I believe this quarantine thing actually MIGHT be worse than the cure. And we're all going to be released back to normal life eventually, and gradually, and when this happens there will still NOT be worldwide containment or cure or vaccine or immunity with regards to this disease. It will simply live among us. It will be just one more thing trying to kill us every day like cancer or flu or murder or accident. Eventually treatments will improve and by emergency, the hospitals and equipment will catch up to continue handling the larger number of cases. I believe governments all over the world will be forced to make unpopular choices...essentially to save one group of people, but at the expense of another.

    Sorry for the downer, but that's where my headspace is at right now. I'm a very optimistic and happy guy, a Christian who does not fear death and eagerly awaits my place in eternity...though I'm not rushing it! I have very strong faith. So do most of my friends and I find great comfort in that. And I have been having a lot of social fun doing things with friends from 8 feet away in person or over technology -- played board games and drank beer with the neighbors last night via facetime (a friday night tradition but now split into our own households instead of in person) and had a blast! I have a deep and wide network of friends, tight and loving family, lots of people to talk to and I talk to them often, and I have a wonderful wife and a wonderful life. But in other ways my heart is also heavy and I've personally seen a few different types of suffering from this event so far, and I fully expect to personally see much more as time marches on. It has been much more than just a news story for me, that's for sure. It's effecting a LOT of people I know very directly, and I'm not even counting the whole quarantine and job loss thing. It is almost time to make my daily reach out to those who have been recovering and I worry about...selfishly to know their recovery continues. I know, and you should know, that only God is in control. Have faith. He can move mountains.

    I don't know any of you personally, but this writing was a form of therapy for me. Thank you for listening.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2020

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