Current Fish
I was asked to post a status for myself here, so here goes.
I’ve been in the hospital with c.diff and cellulitus. (the spell checker wants to change that word to “celluite”. That too.)
I’ve lost a lot of fluids, and my right leg is swollen and red. I was in the hospital for a week, and I’ll be in a hotel for two more weeks
getting IV’s that I guess I will be putting in myself. On top of this, I was booted out of the place I was staying, (yes, while in the hospital!) so in two weeks, where I go to live is unknown. I was told I could “reapply” to come back, but no guarantees. Not that I want to really go back there if I can help it, as I have been nothing but sick since I was there. I need my own space.
More as things develop.
Ron
Two Week Update: I am getting better…..but the c.diff is still there, but much less. The leg is less swollen and red , but still red and stiff enough that they are extending my treatment for 2 more weeks. (I think still in the same place) It’s been good for my head to think things through. Many thanks to all Ambioids for their support!
Ambiance 
chickelit said,
June 12, 2013 at 9:38 am
Thanks for the update, Ron
chickelit said,
June 12, 2013 at 1:59 pm
On top of this, I was booted out of the place I was staying, (yes, while in the hospital!) so in two weeks, where I go to live is unknown.
Inhospitable!
As I mentioned on the phone, Palladian is now homeless as well. Obviously, homelessness strikes the intelligent indiscriminately.
An old friend (the minstrel I mentioned here) had a major stroke last November and is now confined to a wheelchair–probably forever. We had lost touch but his sister found some old letters and she contacted us. He’s lucky to be alive because he was working alone and somebody found him unconscious after the fact. This happened in Butte Montana where it turns out social services are pretty generous.
It’s funny how we can grow apart but all end up in the same place.
SM_Icepick said,
June 12, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Sheeit, I didn’t realize Palladian was homeless now too. He’s one of my favorite people to goof off with on the internet in the middle of the night.
…
Ron, good luck with all that’s going on. Unfortunately, that’s all I’ve got to offer.
PS: My harddrive died a few weeks ago, so I’ve lost all my password data. Thus I’m not posting at the moment. Not that I’ve got anything worth posting, but I haven’t let that stop me before.
mockturtle said,
June 12, 2013 at 6:45 pm
Ron, was the C.diff a result of the antibiotics? It usually is. C.diff is nasty and can be life-threatening. But with cellulitis you need IV meds, so…My son in law is doing his own IV meds [PICC line] for cellulitis right now, as he is self-employed and didn’t want to lose any clients by having to go into the clinic for infusions. It’s working out well for him. I used to teach patients to administer their own or family member’s IV meds.
But, wow, no place to live? That does present a problem. Hope things look up for you soon!
karen said,
June 12, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Grrrrrrr!!
It sounds like a really crappy board game where you move one step ahead and two steps back– over a bank wall. At least your hips are in one piece– right?
How much bad luck can a jolly fish chuck?
Not blue fish, either.
Heal quickly, Ron. W/two weeks in a hotel, maybe that’ll be quiet space enough to get you back onto two healthy legs.
I’m sorry to here of Palladian’s plight, as well. He’s a very bright fella and i enjoy his comments at Althouse. Let him know he’s in the thoughts of- me? Thx.
karen said,
June 13, 2013 at 12:10 pm
What i’d like to know is… how can they kick you out of a homeless ctr?
Isn’t that exactly what you need right now? You haven’t been there overly long- i don’t think. Long enough for you, i’m sure, but still…
Also, you had told me in an e-mail– that, if this was all God testing you- then i could tell Him that it was enough, already. I got to thinking(grammatical vs familiar and familiar wins!)- maybe He wants to hear your voice, Ron. Maybe He wants you to talk to Him, ask Him what the heck’s up w/all this testing crap because you’ve gotten the message already… which is? What have you learned so far? it’s a journey…
kngfish said,
June 13, 2013 at 12:37 pm
Their theory is that kick you out if you aren’t trying to find work. I not only have been doing that, but I had just let them hold some of my last amount for my “housing” fund. What it is really is that they are under pressure by both county and the feds to “turn over” beds and not let too big a queue be waiting to get in. I didn’t say it made sense.
Oh, and yes, the C.Diff probably came from antibiotics given me here in March. I had a terrible bronchitis which got a flu bolted on top of that, so they took the risk. And here I am!
I’m not sure if there’s anything to learn from this! Let me mull that one over….
chickelit said,
June 13, 2013 at 12:46 pm
Is it possible you were kicked out for reading Nietzsche?
kngfish said,
June 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm
Ha! Uncle Fred would be proud of me!
mockturtle said,
June 13, 2013 at 2:22 pm
I know you didn’t want to read Confederacy of Dunces at this time but Ignatius J. Reilly, when his mother finally kicked him out, found some interesting employment adventures. ;-)
As you probably know, the title comes from a quote by Jonathan Swift: “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”
mockturtle said,
June 13, 2013 at 2:45 pm
PS: That sounds a bit Nietzsche-esque, doesn’t it?
karen said,
June 13, 2013 at 6:09 pm
I know this sounds extremely naive(ugh- they’re talking about bedbugs right now on the local news- a bedbug detecting dog will be working in the infested building searching out the hidey holes… what does he do, sit and scratch?).
Train of thought, karen, train of thought— can you take any probiotics to build up your good intestinal bacteria colonies?
mockturtle said,
June 13, 2013 at 6:22 pm
Did you know that, in extreme cases, sh*! transplants have been used to restore ecoli in the intestine in severe cases of c.diff?
kngfish said,
June 13, 2013 at 6:48 pm
Answers: Yes, I can take probiotics for purpose (Amba and I have already discussed that) but not until I finish the antibiotics I am now on.
Yes, I know about the shit transplants….not yet!
A said,
June 13, 2013 at 6:52 pm
Re Karen’s and Mockturtle’s c diff suggestions, loading up with probiotics is certainly worth trying; just time them in between doses of antibiotic so they have a chance to colonize.
chickelit said,
June 14, 2013 at 2:49 pm
just time them in between doses of antibiotic so they have a chance to colonize.
“Colonize” has great double entendre in the present context.
mockturtle said,
June 14, 2013 at 3:34 pm
LOL! Is your colon colonized? And if so, with good or bad bacteria? Great icebreaker in conversation.
kngfish said,
June 14, 2013 at 3:52 pm
My colon was a happy tribe, with 368 words for “corned beef”, the ability to tell the production month of the RC Cola I just had, and an absolute thrall to the God Cappuccino. Then, WHAP! The C.Diffs from SouthYorkshire wiped us out.
Imperialism! You know how it works at a gut level!
chickelit said,
June 14, 2013 at 4:27 pm
I get your Drift, Rorke!
karen said,
June 15, 2013 at 7:50 am
Oh, Lordy.
Did i do that?
I never see double when i say things-
i am a great ice breaker:0).
Except for… when i’m not!
karen said,
June 19, 2013 at 7:21 am
Still swimming against the ~current~, Kngfish??
kngfish said,
June 19, 2013 at 8:02 am
Yow! I can’t swim! They are now messing around with my doses…
karen said,
June 19, 2013 at 10:14 am
i’m not much of a h2operson, myself. I do this froggy thing w/my feet.
Doses of antibiotics? They don’t have that down pat yet??
kngfish said,
June 19, 2013 at 10:58 am
No, apparently not! The first batch they gave me was too strong, so they came and took those away and gave me a weaker dose…which is still too strong, so I’m down to doing it once a day compared to twice.
mockturtle said,
June 19, 2013 at 11:57 am
What antibiotic are you on, if you don’t mind divulging that information?
kngfish said,
June 19, 2013 at 6:09 pm
venkomyacin (sp) and erdapenum(sp)
chickelit said,
June 19, 2013 at 6:21 pm
venkomyacin (sp) and erdapenum(sp)
Ertapenem is also called Invanz.
Vancomycin’s name derives from the term “vanquish.” It’s scary complex looking and also goes by the name (1S,2R,18R,19R,22S,25R,28R,40S)- 48- {[(2S,3R,4S,5S,6R)- 3- {[(2S,4S,5S,6S)- 4- amino- 5- hydroxy- 4,6- dimethyloxan- 2- yl]oxy}- 4,5- dihydroxy- 6- (hydroxymethyl)oxan- 2- yl]oxy}- 22- (carbamoylmethyl)- 5,15- dichloro- 2,18,32,35,37- pentahydroxy- 19- [(2R)- 4- methyl- 2- (methylamino)pentanamido]- 20,23,26,42,44- pentaoxo- 7,13- dioxa- 21,24,27,41,43-pentaazaoctacyclo[26.14.2.23,6.214,17.18,12.129,33.010,25.034,39]pentaconta- 3,5,8(48),9,11,14,16,29(45),30,32,34,36,38,46,49- pentadecaene- 40- carboxylic acid.
I just had an idea for an essay called “The Awful Chemical Language” loosely based on Twain’s essay, “The Awful German Language.”
kngfish said,
June 19, 2013 at 9:33 pm
[listens to long chemical explanation from chickelit]
[Slim Pickens voice]
Doggone it, you told me you’d get me the Primary!
Weeeeeellllll,shoooot! We ain’t come this far just to throw this thing in the drink! What’s the nearest Target of Opportunity?
“The ICBM complex at Kodlos”
All right then! At this height they may harpoon us, but they dang sure ain’t gonna see us on no radar screen!
Thus my drugs work in Strangelovian ways….
mockturtle said,
June 19, 2013 at 11:55 pm
:-D
SM_Icepick said,
June 20, 2013 at 1:43 pm
You know, Slim Pickens was the only part of Dr. Strangelove that I liked. I really don’t get the love of Kubrick: He clearly hated people and was an obvious pervert. (And no, I’m not even considering Lolita in that last part.)
karen said,
June 21, 2013 at 8:01 am
O/T– our cow, amba- had a baby girl yesterday.
I thought maybe, amba- you’d like to name her? Anyone w/ ~A~ names available would be great because i can’t tell you how many animals i’ve named in my lifetime, but i think i may be running out of ideas:0).
Sugar also calved in– like, her 5th calf… all girls that i can remember.
Sydney
Sunday
Skittles
Sage
& Summer, yesterday… & today!
My husband and i- to use a crude expression aptly… are dragging butt(ok- deviated from the ass). Haying is full bore these days- very late for 1st cut, but the weather has been a nightmare. So, we usually put our hay up in those big round marshmallows- wrapped tightly against the elements and fermenting along like fine Summer wine(wine smells better, though). We had a kid visit from Arkansas– he actually threw up when he smelled out barn- and, trust me– our barn smells nice compared to many.
Wish us luck today- our bodies feel aged.
“Make hay while the sun shines.”
kngfish said,
June 21, 2013 at 9:01 am
Not to butt in — Amba, it’s your call — but how about “Astra” , like “Ad Astra” (to the stars) As for Sugar’s calf…. “Spelunker”, “Sofrito”, “Spitfire” “Summa”
Just riffin’!
karen said,
June 21, 2013 at 10:12 am
I like Astra.
I have an Alma and she had Alpha(i almost named her Alfalfa).
kngfish said,
June 21, 2013 at 10:49 am
Also…don’t forget the Battle of Alma!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alma
Say….how’s about “Austerlitz”? Fred Astaire’s real last name! Plus the site of the greatest victory of Napoleon!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austerlitz:_Napoleon%27s_Greatest_Victory
If you look on Fluffy Stuffin on Dec 2 I usually celebrate Austerlitz day…
karen said,
June 21, 2013 at 1:18 pm
I don’t know how anyone would know that!!!
Walking Historian, you.
My mom’s middle name is Alma- that’s how i know it.
chickelit said,
June 21, 2013 at 1:31 pm
I had an uncle whose middle name was Altha.
mockturtle said,
June 21, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Speaking of notable battles, how about Agincourt? :-)
kngfish said,
June 21, 2013 at 3:27 pm
I have a sort of oddball interest in the Crimean War….It’s really your first war with “modern” things in it. Like what you ask? The Railroad for one, the telegraph, which drove commanders back in London and Paris daffy because their bosses could communicate with 20 times a day! And don’t forget the Minie Rifle. Not a “rifle” like we would know it, but it did have rifling in the barrel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini%C3%A9_rifle
It really grew out the modern newspaper, due to the efforts of Florence Nightengale (showing how corrupt British Military procurement was) and creating the ethos of modern nursing. The Charge of The Light Brigade was led by none other than Lord Cardigan (he of the neat-o sweaters) and nearly every military encounter was some godawful disaster after another. Made Vietnam look like D-Day! No one really “won” the war….all the sides just gave up and went home.
mockturtle said,
June 21, 2013 at 4:32 pm
Yes, it was a disaster. But it did yield Florence and nursing as a serious profession.
My personal favorite battles involve the English Civil War, ca. 1642-1648 or so [I didn’t bother to look it up]. The Battles of Marston Moor, Naseby and Preston, for instance. Cromwell was a skillful general.
chickelit said,
June 29, 2013 at 2:11 pm
I am getting better…..but the c.diff is still there, but much less. The leg is less swollen and red , but still red and stiff enough that they are extending my treatment for 2 more weeks. (I think still in the same place) It’s been good for my head to think things through. Many thanks to all Ambioids for their support!
Ron, I hope you’re keeping up the gym activity you spoke about on the phone. This could be an important place to build a stronger recovery. Use the words of Chuck D in an otherwise offensive rap:
Mental self defensive fitness
Image yourself becoming so into fitness that you train others (and believe me that is a growth opportunity, there). You could regale people with Nietzsche phrases and will to power lifts while taking their money. Lots of people like to blab while losing the flab.