The Drop in Centre

[rickproehl]

40 minutes ago, MacGreg said:

Thanks for checking on me, Kitt. The fires were north of me. But, over 600 homes and businesses are now destroyed. True damage yet to be assessed. Unlike any wildfire I've ever witnessed, hitting a densely populated urban area. 

so sorry to hear about this. i saw on the news it was so sudden and they had no time to save anything.

gald that to hear you are safe Sir.

[mollyhousemouse]

17 minutes ago, rickproehl said:

so sorry to hear about this. i saw on the news it was so sudden and they had no time to save anything.

gald that to hear you are safe Sir.

my sister's friend had 3 minutes. the family & pets are OK. the kids have no shoes, but otherwise they're good. lost the house a vehicle & an RV along with their home. her son was on evacuation standby.

it's devastating

[Mikiesboy]

3 minutes ago, mollyhousemouse said:

my sister's friend had 3 minutes. the family & pets are OK. the kids have no shoes, but otherwise they're good. lost the house a vehicle & an RV along with their home. her son was on evacuation standby.

it's devastating

oh how horrible  god. 

[MacGreg]

29 minutes ago, mollyhousemouse said:

my sister's friend had 3 minutes. the family & pets are OK. the kids have no shoes, but otherwise they're good. lost the house a vehicle & an RV along with their home. her son was on evacuation standby.

it's devastating

I'm glad they are safe but sorry for their loss. Most people had little time to get out. 300k+ were evacuated.

[Wayne Gray]

4 hours ago, Ryan Jones said:

Why do they use a test for covid and then, when it comes back negative, it says:

POC Rapid COVID-19 BD Veritor Antigen

Learn more about this

• Negative

  Date:

  Dec 29, 2021 03:38 p.m. EST

  Negative results do not preclude SARS CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for patient management decisions.

   

  So that was essentially a waste of time. I've had "something" since Sunday evening. Fever, chills, muscle pain and a slight headache. Fatigue. Went to the doctor for the test on the 29th, they did this test and the other test that takes longer. So am I supposed to wait for the second test result? If I follow the new CDC guidelines I'm available to reenter society since it's been 5 days. I still have the sweating but no fever, headache is still around but minor.  I'm always masked up, I guess I'll do the double masking with a cloth over surgical.

These are antigen tests ... the BD Veritor. Meaning they have to detect actual chunks of virus to be positive, and viral shedding varies a lot, even if someone has the virus. That's the reason for the disclaimer. This means, if someone is symptomatic, and has a negative antigen test, we still treat them as positive until we run what's called a PCR (polymerase chain reaction). That test is FAR more accurate AND precise. It is considered the gold standard. Had you been positive on the antigen test and symptomatic, we wouldn't run the confirmatory test. It sounds like they've collected for their own version of the PCR test, so you should hear back soon (depending on the backlog).

The reason for running the antigen tests even with such limitations is two fold - speed and the fact that symptomatic+positive means not having to perform a far more expensive PCR test. They have their uses. Way better when the PCR can be resulted the same day to back up the results, though.

Good luck and rest.

[Kitt]

My bitch is how hard it is to schedule testing. Free tests, but you need to wait 2 weeks for the appointment. Umm...current quarentine is 5 days if you are asymptomatic? What's the point except to boost the number of positive tests to frighten people more?

My new 6 yrs old student lives in NYC. She would not get within 10 feet of me first lesson. The rules in the city have her scared to death. How am I supposed to show proper hand and foot position from 10 ft away?

[Wayne Gray]

17 minutes ago, Kitt said:

My bitch is how hard it is to schedule testing. Free tests, but you need to wait 2 weeks for the appointment. Umm...current quarentine is 5 days if you are asymptomatic? What's the point except to boost the number of positive tests to frighten people more?

My new 6 yrs old student lives in NYC. She would not get within 10 feet of me first lesson. The rules in the city have her scared to death. How am I supposed to show proper hand and foot position from 10 ft away?

Finding asymptomatic carriers is important. But without timely testing, it's really almost useless.

[Kitt]

Exactly. My daughter was exposed earlier this week and the soonest apointment she has found is Jan 10. Not much point by then.

[Wayne Gray]

9 minutes ago, Kitt said:

Exactly. My daughter was exposed earlier this week and the soonest apointment she has found is Jan 10. Not much point by then.

A huge part of my job currently is making sure that isn't the case for our patients. I am in charge of our testing supplies, interfacing with the state for allotments, tracking tests performed so our supplies are replaced, researching alternatives when our current supply runs out (the state warned us we need to switch testing methods a few weeks back due to declining stock), researching their limits (negative and positive predictive value, or false positive false negative %) and training staff on new tests as soon as I teach myself how to do them. This is now at least 30% of my job. It's not easy. But doing it means we can get someone tested the same day. We're lucky that my organization has deemed this effort worth allotting my time to do. Every organization doesn't have the staffing or connections baked into what is at my disposal. I'm not special - anybody could make this work if given the resources to do so. But again, a lot of places just don't have the staff and/or training required to make it happen.

Edited December 31, 2021 by Wayne Gray

[kbois]

I just saw that Betty White passed away. What an amazing life she had!

 

The last of the Golden Girls.

R.I.P. Rose!

[Wayne Gray]

27 minutes ago, kbois said:

I just saw that Betty White passed away. What an amazing life she had!

 

The last of the Golden Girls.

R.I.P. Rose!

Awwwww ... 

She was amazing. But you're right ... what a life!

[Ryan Jones]

3 hours ago, Kitt said:

Exactly. My daughter was exposed earlier this week and the soonest apointment she has found is Jan 10. Not much point by then.

I was wondering about that but when I called my doctor's office Wednesday and explained the symptoms they gave me a televisit time quickly, then afterwards said come in for the tests. When I came in one person was leaving, one guy was waiting, then me. It appears everyone who came in was getting the two tests that day. I know their office called up people with "wellness" appointments and told them they were canceling all of those type of appointments until March so they could attend to sick people.

The only ill effects now are still feelings of being way too hot although my temperature is at it's usual 97.4 or thereabouts. Taste is back fine, headache and muscle aches gone. I'd rather be hot than freezing like I was a few days ago!

[kbois]

43 minutes ago, Ryan Jones said:

The only ill effects now are still feelings of being way too hot although my temperature is at it's usual 97.4 or thereabouts. 

Sound like one of my hot flashes. 

[Kitt]

Well that was not how I planned to spend New Years Eve. Got a call about out 2:30, come get my horse and take him to the clinic. Half hour to my farm to get the trailer, an hour to the pick up, hour and a half to the clinic, now  an hour back to drop the trailer then 30 min home. No idea what we will have for supper, the bird was only 30 min in the oven when I turned him off. 

[Fae Briona]

7 hours ago, mollyhousemouse said:

my sister's friend had 3 minutes. the family & pets are OK. the kids have no shoes, but otherwise they're good. lost the house a vehicle & an RV along with their home. her son was on evacuation standby.

it's devastating

I lost absolutely everything to a house fire about 15 years ago. Still don't have anything that produces an open flame in the house (even though the source of the fire was probably a squirrel in the attic gnawing on electrical wires).  If anyone says to you, "they'll get to buy new things" slap them -- HARD.  You don't want new things. You want your old things back.

I'll try to send good energy their way.

[Fae Briona]

3 hours ago, kbois said:

I just saw that Betty White passed away. What an amazing life she had!

The last of the Golden Girls.

R.I.P. Rose!

And just weeks before her 100th birthday, and the tv special she was planning for it.  She'll be missed.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Fae Briona

[Fae Briona]

This has been an extremely hot December.  We've routinely been 15F+ above normal. That's going to end tonight.  We're 62F right now, and once temps start to drop they'll continue dropping until Sunday morning when it could drop as low as 9F -- not counting the wind chill.

[Solus Magus]

Happy New Year everybodyyyy!

[rickproehl]

35 minutes ago, Fae Briona said:

This has been an extremely hot December.  We've routinely been 15F+ above normal. That's going to end tonight.  We're 62F right now, and once temps start to drop they'll continue dropping until Sunday morning when it could drop as low as 9F -- not counting the wind chill.

Fae take care with that much temperature change you could get a few storms. So Take care

[Mikiesboy]

1 hour ago, Solus Magus said:

Happy New Year everybodyyyy!

Happy New Year, my friend.

[Fae Briona]

39 minutes ago, rickproehl said:

Fae take care with that much temperature change you could get a few storms. So Take care

Bad weather -- including a risk of small (for here) hail and a very low tornado chance -- is South East of here.  We'll just have light rain; followed by light freezing rain / sleet / snow mix; followed by snow. Shouldn't have more than a 1/10 inch or so of ice buildup though, so no issues like last February [crossing fingers].

The hips are REALLY not liking it though.

[Mikiesboy]

I wish all of you the best for 2022. Don't think of how bad '21 was, think about how you handled it, braved it. We will remember all those who died, the miracle of vaccines and the goodness that so many of us showed.

 

[Reader1810]

1 hour ago, Solus Magus said:

Happy New Year everybodyyyy!

Happy New Year, Solus! 

[Reader1810]

Just now, Mikiesboy said:

I wish all of you the best for 2022. Don't think of how bad '21 was, think about how you handled it, braved it. We will remember all those who died, the miracle of vaccines and the goodness that so many of us showed.

 

Same to you, tim xoxo

[Reader1810]

Happy New Year Dicers!!