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COVID 19 shopping


TJM

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Just got back from a big trip to WINCO. 100% nonperishable food and supply run. Canned goods, pasta, beans, fruit, sauce, medicine, water, flour, sugar, soups, hand sanitizers. Only thing I forgot was paper plates and plastic utensils.

I would have done something similar with out COVID 19 but probably not today. Enough stuff that we wont have to replenish for months.

Crazy? I think not. I estimate we are mere days away from a real outbreak in US. This is the REAL thing. If your invested I would lighten up. There is ZERO good news possible and almost guaranteed bad news. It is so obvious that people dont trust in the obvious outcome.

Not trying to scare anybody....but I really would not ignore this. Once the supply chain in the economy is interrupted real economic damage results. If my business cannot get supplies we shutdown. If my employees dont show up for work I shutdown. And I can never get that production back. And if you have a lot of debt payments as a business......

Peace

Tom

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There’s wall to wall media coverage on this stuff, driving me a little crazy. My cousin is getting married in San Diego this summer (the baby of the family), last night my Dad called to tell me not to go.  
 

We just started a clean out some junk project around the house where we discovered a mystery box that didn’t get unpacked when we moved here 10 years ago.  I just wanted to pitch it but hubby wanted to look inside.  It was our emergency supply of canned goods (Spam) from Y2K!  How that sucker made it through three moves I will never know.  

We tend to buy in bulk ever since living in Florida for hurricane preparedness, now tornadoes just in case.  I think we’re covered.  

Kansas City is often considered the “fly over” city.  I’m hoping this crisis does the same.  


 


 

 

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Members of LUNGevity’s Scientific Advisory Board recommend basic public health measures such as staying home when ill, handwashing with soap and water (or using a hand sanitizer), and respiratory etiquette including covering the mouth and nose during sneezing and coughing. If you feel any flu-like symptoms, please visit your healthcare provider. While the risk of contracting the virus remains low within the United States, everyone is advised to exercise judgement when making travel plans. Please check with your doctor before making international travel plans.

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Unbelievable. Another new case of COVID 19 discovered in Oregon and being treated at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical. No known contact with others with disease. Damn

Also happens to be 50 miles from where I live. Also happens to be the exact same hospital I got the Port put in at today.

Really......wonder what happens next? I lose the winning lotto ticket?

Peace

Tom

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Hi Steve-

The media coverage is just insane.  Buried at the bottom of my news feed this morning was an article that the CDC and FDA are pulling out all the stops to develop a vaccine through an accelerated process and if necessary the Defense Department can order a ramp up of just about anything. 
 

Personally, the flu is a bigger risk as Katie indicated. The Spring is coming so cold and flu season will hopefully burn itself out.  
Michelle

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Washington state native here... Very upsetting to hear someone died. So many unanswered questions.

I made a grocery run this a.m. and saw the crowds in the store. The shelf that holds disinfectant wipes was completely empty. There was zero hand sanitizer. You could tell people were trying to be nonchalant about it but you could also see the concern and worry that there were no Lysol wipes to be had...! I ended up buying far more food than I would normally need... I obviously got caught up in the panic. I started buying things like toiletries "just in case" -  trying to buy for the next six months! I got in the car and thought "What am I doing? This is insane!"

I'm trying very hard but feel very frightened by this virus. Especially exposure to it for many of us with lung issues. Am I at high risk? I keep thinking I am, but am I? Am I at risk simply because I had a lobectomy? Right now I'm not being treated but watched as I have another suspicious nodule. My breathing has never been as "good" as it was before surgery, unfortunately. I tend to get winded when I walk or talk too fast (!). The idea of catching this virus and being at high risk due to existing respiratory issues is very troubling.  Is anyone else feeling edgy about this as well???

My son and I just watched a news conference re: the first U.S. fatality from the virus in our state. He attends college and is worried that he will bring the virus home to me and expose me. I'm worrying about him and telling him I don't want him to ride the bus - I'm insisting on driving him every day... but that doesn't make much sense when he'll still be in a crowded classroom. I'm just afraid of either of us getting this and not being able to be there for the other one.

I was supposed to see my surgeon in April and get my next follow-up CT in Seattle. I am going to cancel the appointment due to this virus. I'm going to get a CT locally (hopefully before more cases start showing up here) and meet with a local pulmonologist in late April here instead. I would love to see my surgeon, but if this virus continues spreading as I suspect it will, I don't particularly want to travel to a larger city at this time. I don't want to die from lung cancer and I certainly don't want to die from this virus or get a severe/fatal respiratory illness because of it.

They keep talking about "social distance" in regards to protecting ourselves... How far can we go with that without becoming absolute hermits?

Am I crazy or worrying inappropriately?  I feel like I'm trying to prepare to fight against something I can't see. Far too much like cancer itself. Going for a walk as we finally have some sunshine... Hopefully that will calm my fears and clear my head! Thanks in advance for letting me rant here! :-)

 

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Your not crazy, but dont panic. Stocking up on non perishable food, avoiding crowds, improving on cleanliness habits, following the news and developing a plan is NOT crazy...it is wise.

I have a plan. Why I posted my COVID shopping spree I took where I loaded up on canned goods and supplies already. 

I consider myself somewhat compromised  because of the surgery but not bad. My immune system is in 100 percent fight mode. But that wont be true after Chemo starts. I have a plan for that as well....I'll describe it and get the board's collective wisdom sometime in the next week.

Am I panicked? No. Do I have a plan. Yes. And just like cancer...the fact I have a good, well informed plan, makes me feel much more in control.

Dont panic, but dont bury your head either. You got this.

Peace

Tom

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Oh. And I live in Longview and was at the same Hospital as the person from Oregon is at yesterday getting a port put in. I had no clue he was even there. Funny how close I was to an actual case. What? 100s of yards.....

Tom

"Sorry - I thought I was in a different string. This post redundant."

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Thanks Tom.  You sound well-grounded and I agree that a good, well informed plan does help one feel much more in control. I am missing that feeling of control right now.

Off to walk. Hopefully to be inspired and re-energized with a plan that works for me and my son.

Yes... That would be quite a reckoning to discover you were within yards of this situation... I think we are all going to be finding that in due time.  Keep up the great attitude!

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Coronavirus is in GA now so. Getting a little anxious here in east TN. I see my mom in a nursing home several times a week and take my wife to radiation every day. More worried about me picking something up and giving it to my wife.

I picked up some masks when my wife's chemo started several weeks ago. We have asked folks coming into the house to wear them and stay several feet away from my wife. As someone else put it, we have become hermits.

Everything I read says that the masks I bought really aren't the best type and masks don't really work for the general public. In the same sentence, these masks should be worn only by folks with the coronavirus and health care workers caring for them. Why do they work for health care workers and not for the general public? Sounds like horse pucky to me. This sounds like "guilt tripping" since there may not be enough to go around, especially for health care workers. It always seems like those of us that tend to get ahead of the game, get frowned upon because we are taking up needed resources too fast.

This is a pet peeve of mine. I go out and get gas if I feel a shortage may take place, extra groceries if needed, etc. I don't get mad at other folks if I miss out on something because they got it before me.

Sorry for the rant ... Steve

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Virus Worries:

After sixteen years of survival, I still have twice yearly consultations with my medical oncologist and one CT scan every year. At my September consultation, my oncologist told me my high risk medical concern is pneumonia, regardless of cause. He's prescribed 20 doses of Levaquin (750 mg) as an emergency supply of antibiotic that I am to start if my sputum starts to darken. This was done in coordination with my GP. If I start symptoms of chest congestion with darkened sputum, I start the Levaquin and report to my GP or medical oncologist, depending on who I can see soonest.

I am also up to date on all my vaccinations, including flu, pneumonia, and shingles. I don't have a compromised immune system but with about 30-percent lung capacity, anything I catch that moves to my lungs is dangerous. But, I haven't put my life on hold, and I don't fret about catching the flu or Coronavirus. I do, however, practice some common sense actions that thus far have kept me in the game. These include:

  • Steering clear of folks coughing or sneezing
  • Rigorous hand washing
  • Wiping down shopping carts with Lysol wipes

Our modern connected world seems to hype everything that happens into a world-ending emergency. Yes, we have global connectivity and participate in a global market, but the US and Canada have vastly different in population densities than far east countries and European cities. We also have a world class CDC that is backed up by the best pathogen research facilities in the world---the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences. Both are working hard to identify, track, treat, and develop vaccines for pathogens that pose a threat to the US.

Here is some interesting data on Coronavirus. How accurate are these statistics? I wouldn't know but the US data as of today shows 103 total cases and 6 deaths. These numbers seem to square with news reports. Review the current statistics on lung cancer, here. I conclude, lung cancer is clearly our primary threat.

Most of us here choose treatment for our lung cancer. The objective of treatment is to extend lives. How long? I wouldn't know but while in treatment, I worried away my extended life by fretting about recurrence. That amounted to about 3 years of wasted life extension. I don't worry anymore. I try and live in the day, exercise common sense hygiene, and follow my doctors advice. 

Stay the course.

Tom

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Just a quick opinion on madks. The surgeon and nurses in the OR wear them. They also wear them in the ICU. But the reason they wear them is to protect patients.

Masks VERY effective in stopping YOU from giving something to me.

Starting tomorrow anyone who visits me will be wearing a mask.

Peace

Tom

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Didnt get to see my mom in a nursing home today. They are refusing family member visits except in emergencies for the foreseeable future. I guess 7 cases of coronavirus here in TN got very real for nursing homes. I'm sure Washington state didnt help.

Steve

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or, hopefully, the tragedy that is unfolding in WA state WILL help so that the same mistakes aren't made and people's lives are protected... at least I hope so!

This must be very difficult to have a loved one in a nursing home and not be able to see them. I know I would have a very difficult time with that.

Is there a way to see your mom through a window at least? Is the nursing home assisting with time to visit via some electronic device? I saw on the news here in WA state that is how some family members were keeping in touch. Not the same thing, obviously, as being able to physically speak with them or touch them, but at least a way to let them know you are there for them.

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They just implemented this morning as I was driving up ... 1 1/2 he drive! I was told we would get a phone call and/or a letter explaining. We can call the nurses desk and ask to speak to her if they aren't busy ... they are understaffed and always busy.

Steve

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I'm so sorry... To drive all that way - on top of everything else you have going on...

I feel equally for the residents and the staff at the nursing homes...

I don't know what to say other than  I'm thinking of you - and all others whose lives are affected by this. You aren't alone.

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