Why are people with COVID symptoms not being tested?
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hilary1617
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People with pneumonia here in Chicago and suburbs are not getting tested. How are we ever going to get back to the swing of things if we don't know who has had this before and who actively does now?
Exactly my point. I never trust statistics because 60% are made up on the spot. And Trump exaggerates.
I personally know 8 people who are positive they recovered from this. 6 of them were flat out refused a test. The other 2 were presumptive.
I dont know about anyone else, but I could get used to quarantine. I already lived this way, avoiding contact. The only thing I really miss is my 7 month old grand daughter.
I personally know 8 people who are positive they recovered from this. 6 of them were flat out refused a test. The other 2 were presumptive.
I dont know about anyone else, but I could get used to quarantine. I already lived this way, avoiding contact. The only thing I really miss is my 7 month old grand daughter.
hilary1617
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I love working from and being at home; really not hard for me at all to have to stay here.
That said, I really need to get medical treatment soon and can't risk it until things stabilize. I've got lesions on my spine that are growing and worry about unchecked progression while avoiding infection....
That said, I really need to get medical treatment soon and can't risk it until things stabilize. I've got lesions on my spine that are growing and worry about unchecked progression while avoiding infection....
Spiky Bugger
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I’m not convinced that Trump exaggerates.
That’s way less than what he does.
He lies and then lies about his lies and then blames others for his lies. He can’t help it. A malignant narcissist has SUCH a damaged...irreparably damaged...psyche that he has to create a reality that boosts his vision of who/what he wants to be. Add the Aderall (sp), the drugs former Apprentice employees mention, the creepy kissy-face photos w/Ivanka, and his raging incompetence and he is too dangerous to be employed as School Crossing Guard or the kennel cleaner at the animal shelter.
He is useful to other countries and temporarily useful to Americans who say things like, “Well, I don’t approve of everything he does, but as long as he ____, I’ll vote for him again.”
What scares me the most is the useful idiots here who support him.
That’s way less than what he does.
He lies and then lies about his lies and then blames others for his lies. He can’t help it. A malignant narcissist has SUCH a damaged...irreparably damaged...psyche that he has to create a reality that boosts his vision of who/what he wants to be. Add the Aderall (sp), the drugs former Apprentice employees mention, the creepy kissy-face photos w/Ivanka, and his raging incompetence and he is too dangerous to be employed as School Crossing Guard or the kennel cleaner at the animal shelter.
He is useful to other countries and temporarily useful to Americans who say things like, “Well, I don’t approve of everything he does, but as long as he ____, I’ll vote for him again.”
What scares me the most is the useful idiots here who support him.
Spiky Bugger
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What kind of treatment? In a facility? Lots of hands-on stuff?
hilary1617
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I need more diagnostics, first, but reality is I probably need chemo or radiation or surgery or a combo.
Scans are showing them looking more and more suspiciously like metastases (something to do with halos and I'm no angel). Though they think it is highly improbable that these are mets from my primary cancer as they are not lighting up on Gallium 68 scan, so don't have the receptors that my other neuroendocrine tumors have. It's probably not a primary bone cancer as these rarely occur in the sacrum (and bonus lesion in T11). I think the local doctor suspects breast given the clue she has ordered a mammogram, which I am not about to get at this time. Then again, my uterus is now "prominent" so maybe there's something going on there.
I can't get down to NOLA to my normal team so I probably have to get a new team assembled here. The hospitals here are loaded with COVID-19 too.
I have lung damage from pulmonary embolisms and my liver is 21 cm - if I catch COVID-19 and need a vent, I'm not likely to survive. So, COVID-19 is a more grave threat than cancer for the moment. I'm just putting all of my worries on hold.
Spiky Bugger
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<sarcasm font> So glad you aren’t having to deal with anything serious.<sarcasm font>
And Houston? Still hoping to make that one?
Spiky Bugger
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Re the original question:
•Some places that have all the equipment are the lacking staff needed for the tests that take 15 minutes each.
•Some locations have sufficient staff and almost everything they need. In some cases, they had none of the required swabs. Others have the swabs, but not the medium needed to store/transport the swab. Ad nauseam.
AND, In My Humble but not Scientific Opinion...while it is good that many kinds of tests are being developed...I think uniformity would help in availability.
hilary1617
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Getting Liam's tumor out is a way bigger priority, but I'm starting to lose confidence in the June date.
That said, one silver lining is that my work has been so crazy busy lately that I haven't had a lot of time to dwell on these concerns. We're managing risks across 65 different countries via Zoom.
damn
hilary1617
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Yep. That describes how I feel in one word.
That said, we'll be fine, we always pull through.
Yep. That describes how I feel in one word.
You're in my thoughts.
We got an email from the school district saying that schools would be closed through the end of the year and I saw this quote that really surprised me: "Today Texas has 17,371 reported cases of COVID-19 in 192 counties with 428 deaths and an estimated 4,190 recovered. A total of 169,536 Texans have been tested."
I'm really shocked so little have been tested and I know people who were sick and couldn't get tested. It's also not surprising that Federal testing has stopped. And we won't even peak until April 29th. I also need diagnostic imaging on my back because it is hurting so bad and I am having a challenging time walking upright. Nothing cancer related like Hilary. Next month will be 11 years since my fusion and I'm expecting another fusion in my future. But between that and most of my relatives and family being high risk, this has been such an anxious time.
I'm really shocked so little have been tested and I know people who were sick and couldn't get tested. It's also not surprising that Federal testing has stopped. And we won't even peak until April 29th. I also need diagnostic imaging on my back because it is hurting so bad and I am having a challenging time walking upright. Nothing cancer related like Hilary. Next month will be 11 years since my fusion and I'm expecting another fusion in my future. But between that and most of my relatives and family being high risk, this has been such an anxious time.
The definition of elective procedures is not black and white. Just because something can be done today, tomorrow or next week doesn’t mean it isn’t urgent and indefinitely deferrable.
Over the last couple of weeks, Dad has had a sedated bladder biopsy, and an overnight sleep study after an at-home qualitative study showed severe sleep apnea. And Charles has had a paracentesis and sedated EGD. Both sedated procedures had to go through a review at the surgery center to get approved, and presumably the paracentesis procedures were given a blanket exemption.
Unfortunately (but not the worst news), the biopsy showed a high grade non-invasive epithelial cancer in his bladder. Dad is scheduled for weekly instillations of BCG (really interesting treatment, actually) for six weeks starting late next month (they want the biopsy sites to heal first). But those are quick appointments in the doctor’s office.
On the other hand, Dad has been accepted by the neurosurgeon for further evaluation of his normal pressure hydrocephalus. While the neurosurgeon wants him to have the outpatient diagnostic spinal tap (a single outpatient large volume spinal tap, not the 3-day slow draining which requires hospitalization, because of COVID), if that demonstrates that he is a candidate for the ventriculoperitoneal shunt, he will have to wait to schedule that procedure (1-2 nights in the hospital).
We each have a paper mask (with cloth ones on the way courtesy of Sheanie!), and I understand that each visit is a risk, but some of these just can’t be delayed. If the shunt works, Dad’s gait is likely to improve significantly, making him more mobile and less likely to fall and break a hip, to say nothing of slowing/halting/reversing his dementia.
I’m also very glad that where possible, doctors are now using TeleHealth appointments. All therapist appointments have been by computer or phone. We got the biopsy results by Zoom. The consult with the neurosurgeon was by phone (he had the previous diagnostic results in front of him). I’m hoping that this experience will mean that TeleHealth becomes standard for doctors’ appointments which don’t require hands-on contact in the future. So much less time and stress (and exposure to sick people!) to not have to go to an in-person appointment, and wait and wait ... I really like them.
So this is all a convoluted way of saying I think you can justify getting the diagnostic procedures done locally as an outpatient, and they can be approved - and can be done at facilities which are less likely to be treating COVID patients (diagnostic radiology clinic vs. hospital CT scanning, for example). I would do those things, wearing a mask, and doing everything you can to distance and not touch anything.
If I had to travel for medical treatment at this time, I would do it in our RV, where I can control our environment as much as possible.
Over the last couple of weeks, Dad has had a sedated bladder biopsy, and an overnight sleep study after an at-home qualitative study showed severe sleep apnea. And Charles has had a paracentesis and sedated EGD. Both sedated procedures had to go through a review at the surgery center to get approved, and presumably the paracentesis procedures were given a blanket exemption.
Unfortunately (but not the worst news), the biopsy showed a high grade non-invasive epithelial cancer in his bladder. Dad is scheduled for weekly instillations of BCG (really interesting treatment, actually) for six weeks starting late next month (they want the biopsy sites to heal first). But those are quick appointments in the doctor’s office.
On the other hand, Dad has been accepted by the neurosurgeon for further evaluation of his normal pressure hydrocephalus. While the neurosurgeon wants him to have the outpatient diagnostic spinal tap (a single outpatient large volume spinal tap, not the 3-day slow draining which requires hospitalization, because of COVID), if that demonstrates that he is a candidate for the ventriculoperitoneal shunt, he will have to wait to schedule that procedure (1-2 nights in the hospital).
We each have a paper mask (with cloth ones on the way courtesy of Sheanie!), and I understand that each visit is a risk, but some of these just can’t be delayed. If the shunt works, Dad’s gait is likely to improve significantly, making him more mobile and less likely to fall and break a hip, to say nothing of slowing/halting/reversing his dementia.
I’m also very glad that where possible, doctors are now using TeleHealth appointments. All therapist appointments have been by computer or phone. We got the biopsy results by Zoom. The consult with the neurosurgeon was by phone (he had the previous diagnostic results in front of him). I’m hoping that this experience will mean that TeleHealth becomes standard for doctors’ appointments which don’t require hands-on contact in the future. So much less time and stress (and exposure to sick people!) to not have to go to an in-person appointment, and wait and wait ... I really like them.
So this is all a convoluted way of saying I think you can justify getting the diagnostic procedures done locally as an outpatient, and they can be approved - and can be done at facilities which are less likely to be treating COVID patients (diagnostic radiology clinic vs. hospital CT scanning, for example). I would do those things, wearing a mask, and doing everything you can to distance and not touch anything.
If I had to travel for medical treatment at this time, I would do it in our RV, where I can control our environment as much as possible.
