Originally Posted by Velvet (Post 2007361)

Boomer, my daughter considers the vaccine a “medical procedure”. She would rather leave the country if mandatory vaccinations, than get vaccinated. Both of her parents taught at university and she also attended. Both of her parents are even ready for the booster so it is not our example. I have learned to respect her choice … with a broken heart. I pray and hope I never have to face the day when she will say to me, “Mom, I’ve tested positive”. If you have any words of wisdom for me, I am really listening.

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 2007486)

My understanding is the booster shot is the same exact vaccine formula and the same exact dose of the original vaccine. I really wish the manufacturers would develop a vaccine that specifically targets all the variants that the virus has mutated so far, including Delta. Having said that, I will take what is being offered now.

Originally Posted by John Mayes (Post 2007364)

Only my opinion…..you should respect her choice, (as I’m sure you would), the same as in other decisions she may make regarding her body.

Originally Posted by manaboutown (Post 2007376)

One of my long time close friends has a daughter who is a physician at UCLA treating Covid cases. Her daughter is furious at the unvaccinated who are overwhelming the hospital. Today I got my Pfizer booster shot!

Originally Posted by thevillages2013 (Post 2007421)

Most unvaccinated people who get Covid do not go to the hospital and recover just fine. No one wants to hear that though

Originally Posted by Blueblaze (Post 2007503)

I you think death by Covid is gruesome, you should see death by Cancer!

Odds of dying from Covid 19: 1 in 914

Odds of dying from cancer: 1 in 533

How come we don't post cancer panic-porn on this site for old folks, where nearly https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo.../list/everyone is already vaccinated and immune to Covid, but at high risk for cancer, for which there is no vaccine?

I see people smoking in the Villages all the time. Shouldn't we be hounding them relentlessly to quit smoking? Think of all the black lung pictures we could post and endlessly comment on! We could have a "7 stages of dying from lung cancer" thread that would make Covid look like a bout of hay fever!

Originally Posted by Boomer (Post 2007348)

I have never done a cut-and-paste from a published article, but that's the only way I could do this. Unlike other cut-and-pastes I have seen that often do not cite the source, I will do so. . .

This is what is known to research as a primary source. Primary sources are defined as first-hand accounts of a topic by people who had a connection with it.

The following article was published in the Op-Ed section of the LA Times, August 26, 2021. The writer is Karen Gallardo, a respiratory therapist at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

(In spite of the disagreements we Villagers can have sometimes on TOTV, I think most of us have sense enough to have been vaccinated. We duly vaccinated, older and (sometimes) wiser, people do not seem to be the age-group that welcomed Covid back to another rampant run.

I have boomer friends who cannot get their adult children to be vaccinated -- not to protect their own children, not to protect themselves, and not to protect their "old" parents. Family dynamics for some are getting downright weird. . .but. . .I digress.)

Here's the article. Read it and weep.

Boomer



Op-Ed: On the front lines, here’s what the seven stages of severe COVID-19 look like


I’m a respiratory therapist. With the fourth wave of the pandemic in full swing, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, the trajectory of the patients I see, from admission to critical care, is all too familiar. When they’re vaccinated, their COVID-19 infections most likely end after Stage 1. If only that were the case for everyone.

Get vaccinated. If you choose not to, here’s what to expect if you are hospitalized for a serious case of COVID-19.


Stage 1. You’ve had debilitating symptoms for a few days, but now it is so hard to breathe that you come to the emergency room. Your oxygen saturation level tells us you need help, a supplemental flow of 1 to 4 liters of oxygen per minute. We admit you and start you on antivirals, steroids, anticoagulants or monoclonal antibodies. You’ll spend several days in the hospital feeling run-down, but if we can wean you off the oxygen, you’ll get discharged. You survive.

Stage 2. It becomes harder and harder for you to breathe. “Like drowning,” many patients describe the feeling. The bronchodilator treatments we give you provide little relief. Your oxygen requirements increase significantly, from 4 liters to 15 liters to 40 liters per minute. Little things, like relieving yourself or sitting up in bed, become too difficult for you to do on your own. Your oxygen saturation rapidly declines when you move about. We transfer you to the intensive care unit.

Stage 3. You’re exhausted from hyperventilating to satisfy your body’s demand for air. We put you on noninvasive, “positive pressure” ventilation — a big, bulky face mask that must be Velcro’d tightly around your face so the machine can efficiently push pressure into your lungs to pop them open so you get enough of the oxygen it delivers.

Stage 4. Your breathing becomes even more labored. We can tell you’re severely fatigued. An arterial blood draw confirms that the oxygen content in your blood is critically low. We prepare to intubate you. If you’re able to and if there’s time, we will suggest that you call your loved ones. This might be the last time they’ll hear your voice.
We connect you to a ventilator. You are sedated and paralyzed, fed through a feeding tube, hooked to a Foley catheter and a rectal tube. We turn your limp body regularly, so you don’t develop pressure ulcers — bed sores. We bathe you and keep you clean. We flip you onto your stomach to allow for better oxygenation. We will try experimental therapeutics.

Stage 5. Some patients survive Stage 4. Unfortunately, your oxygen levels and overall condition have not improved after several days on the ventilator. Your COVID-infested lungs need assistance and time to heal, something that an ECMO machine, which bypasses your lungs and oxygenates your blood, can provide. But alas, our community hospital doesn’t have that capability.

If you’re stable enough, you will get transferred to another hospital for that therapy. Otherwise, we’ll continue treating you as best we can. We’re understaffed and overwhelmed, but we’ll always give you the best care we can.

Stage 6. The pressure required to open your lungs is so high that air can leak into your chest cavity, so we insert tubes to clear it out. Your kidneys fail to filter the byproducts from the drugs we continuously give you. Despite diuretics, your entire body swells from fluid retention, and you require dialysis to help with your renal function.

The long hospital stay and your depressed immune system make you susceptible to infections. A chest X-ray shows fluid accumulating in your lung sacs. A blood clot may show up, too. We can’t prevent these complications at this point; we treat them as they present.

If your blood pressure drops critically, we will administer vasopressors to bring it up, but your heart may stop anyway. After several rounds of CPR, we’ll get your pulse and circulation back. But soon, your family will need to make a difficult decision.

Stage 7: After several meetings with the palliative care team, your family decides to withdraw care. We extubate you, turning off the breathing machinery. We set up a final FaceTime call with your loved ones. As we work in your room, we hear crying and loving goodbyes. We cry, too, and we hold your hand until your last natural breath.

I’ve been at this for 17 months now. It doesn’t get easier. My pandemic stories rarely end well.

Karen Gallardo is a respiratory therapist at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.
________________________________________

Originally Posted by merrymini (Post 2007445)

I have known several people who got the virus and were unvaccinated. All recovered with no long term effects. The shots do help with symptoms but you can get it anyway. A very small percentage die, mostly people with physical issues, obesity, aged related issues. Over 98 percent recover! These stories always being to mind the people who sell their house in two hours. Yes, it can happen but usually doesn’t.

Originally Posted by Boomer (Post 2007348)

I have never done a cut-and-paste from a published article, but that's the only way I could do this. Unlike other cut-and-pastes I have seen that often do not cite the source, I will do so. . .

This is what is known to research as a primary source. Primary sources are defined as first-hand accounts of a topic by people who had a connection with it.

The following article was published in the Op-Ed section of the LA Times, August 26, 2021. The writer is Karen Gallardo, a respiratory therapist at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

(In spite of the disagreements we Villagers can have sometimes on TOTV, I think most of us have sense enough to have been vaccinated. We duly vaccinated, older and (sometimes) wiser, people do not seem to be the age-group that welcomed Covid back to another rampant run.

I have boomer friends who cannot get their adult children to be vaccinated -- not to protect their own children, not to protect themselves, and not to protect their "old" parents. Family dynamics for some are getting downright weird. . .but. . .I digress.)

Here's the article. Read it and weep.

Boomer



Op-Ed: On the front lines, here’s what the seven stages of severe COVID-19 look like


I’m a respiratory therapist. With the fourth wave of the pandemic in full swing, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, the trajectory of the patients I see, from admission to critical care, is all too familiar. When they’re vaccinated, their COVID-19 infections most likely end after Stage 1. If only that were the case for everyone.

Get vaccinated. If you choose not to, here’s what to expect if you are hospitalized for a serious case of COVID-19.


Stage 1. You’ve had debilitating symptoms for a few days, but now it is so hard to breathe that you come to the emergency room. Your oxygen saturation level tells us you need help, a supplemental flow of 1 to 4 liters of oxygen per minute. We admit you and start you on antivirals, steroids, anticoagulants or monoclonal antibodies. You’ll spend several days in the hospital feeling run-down, but if we can wean you off the oxygen, you’ll get discharged. You survive.

Stage 2. It becomes harder and harder for you to breathe. “Like drowning,” many patients describe the feeling. The bronchodilator treatments we give you provide little relief. Your oxygen requirements increase significantly, from 4 liters to 15 liters to 40 liters per minute. Little things, like relieving yourself or sitting up in bed, become too difficult for you to do on your own. Your oxygen saturation rapidly declines when you move about. We transfer you to the intensive care unit.

Stage 3. You’re exhausted from hyperventilating to satisfy your body’s demand for air. We put you on noninvasive, “positive pressure” ventilation — a big, bulky face mask that must be Velcro’d tightly around your face so the machine can efficiently push pressure into your lungs to pop them open so you get enough of the oxygen it delivers.

Stage 4. Your breathing becomes even more labored. We can tell you’re severely fatigued. An arterial blood draw confirms that the oxygen content in your blood is critically low. We prepare to intubate you. If you’re able to and if there’s time, we will suggest that you call your loved ones. This might be the last time they’ll hear your voice.
We connect you to a ventilator. You are sedated and paralyzed, fed through a feeding tube, hooked to a Foley catheter and a rectal tube. We turn your limp body regularly, so you don’t develop pressure ulcers — bed sores. We bathe you and keep you clean. We flip you onto your stomach to allow for better oxygenation. We will try experimental therapeutics.

Stage 5. Some patients survive Stage 4. Unfortunately, your oxygen levels and overall condition have not improved after several days on the ventilator. Your COVID-infested lungs need assistance and time to heal, something that an ECMO machine, which bypasses your lungs and oxygenates your blood, can provide. But alas, our community hospital doesn’t have that capability.

If you’re stable enough, you will get transferred to another hospital for that therapy. Otherwise, we’ll continue treating you as best we can. We’re understaffed and overwhelmed, but we’ll always give you the best care we can.

Stage 6. The pressure required to open your lungs is so high that air can leak into your chest cavity, so we insert tubes to clear it out. Your kidneys fail to filter the byproducts from the drugs we continuously give you. Despite diuretics, your entire body swells from fluid retention, and you require dialysis to help with your renal function.

The long hospital stay and your depressed immune system make you susceptible to infections. A chest X-ray shows fluid accumulating in your lung sacs. A blood clot may show up, too. We can’t prevent these complications at this point; we treat them as they present.

If your blood pressure drops critically, we will administer vasopressors to bring it up, but your heart may stop anyway. After several rounds of CPR, we’ll get your pulse and circulation back. But soon, your family will need to make a difficult decision.

Stage 7: After several meetings with the palliative care team, your family decides to withdraw care. We extubate you, turning off the breathing machinery. We set up a final FaceTime call with your loved ones. As we work in your room, we hear crying and loving goodbyes. We cry, too, and we hold your hand until your last natural breath.

I’ve been at this for 17 months now. It doesn’t get easier. My pandemic stories rarely end well.

Karen Gallardo is a respiratory therapist at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.
________________________________________

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 2007486)

My understanding is the booster shot is the same exact vaccine formula and the same exact dose of the original vaccine. I really wish the manufacturers would develop a vaccine that specifically targets all the variants that the virus has mutated so far, including Delta. Having said that, I will take what is being offered now.

Originally Posted by Bob.Betty (Post 2007491)

A person can go to a number of articles, opinions, doctors, etc. etc. and find the information to support their own opinions. My wife and I (both boomers) do not (and will not) get flu shots, shingles shots, covid shot, or any other shot offered to us. We have both had covid and amazingly enough survived to tell about it. In fact I personally know many people including family members and friends who have had it....NONE of them died. A person must do what is right for them, you are exposed to many harmful things everyday.
Stay clear of the golf cart paths if you don't want to get run over.

Originally Posted by thevillages2013 (Post 2007421)

Most unvaccinated people who get Covid do not go to the hospital and recover just fine. No one wants to hear that though

Originally Posted by Velvet (Post 2007361)

Boomer, my daughter considers the vaccine a “medical procedure”. She would rather leave the country if mandatory vaccinations, than get vaccinated. Both of her parents taught at university and she also attended. Both of her parents are even ready for the booster so it is not our example. I have learned to respect her choice … with a broken heart. I pray and hope I never have to face the day when she will say to me, “Mom, I’ve tested positive”. If you have any words of wisdom for me, I am really listening.

Originally Posted by paulajr (Post 2007453)

And…there are those…like every single person I know personally, who get cold like symptoms, plus some loss of taste and smell, and get better and move on. I hate posts like this that try to instill fear. You are probably the ones I see driving in your carts wearing a mask. 🙄

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 2007497)

Most of us have people that we love, and then people that we really like. At our age that group is easily one hundred people if you count friends in your neighborhood, golf friends, and people married to people we see a lot.

Out of those hundred people, three will die from Covid. Three real people.

We have lived in our small Village of 52 houses for eleven years. It is separate from the others with swamp land and a busy road. Most of the homes have two people living in them and some have one. We gathered frequently at the mail drop to socialize or at Laurel Manor before the pandemic. We stop and chat when we see people out walking. In eleven years you really get to know your neighbors pretty well especially when everyone is retired. Our Village numbers less than a hundred people. One of our neighbors died of Covid.

Overall three percent of Americans have died from Covid, that is including all ages, but when you group older people alone, the number doubles.

It is a horrible death that can be prevented. Please get both shots. People love you.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2007549)

It's great that most unvaccinated people who get COVID don't go to the hospital and recover just fine.

I'm glad to hear it.

Sadly, there are people who will hear that and say "you see? It's no big deal, I don't have to get vaccinated, or wear a mask, or social distance. This cough? It's just allergies, no big deal. My wheezing? Just a spring cold. Test? Nah, why bother? Even if I have COVID-19, it's likely I'll just stay in bed a day and feel fine tomorrow. No need to take ANY precautions, because I heard that "most unvaccinated people who get COVID don't go to the hospital and recover just fine."

There are MILLIONS of people who have that attitude. Those are the people who are dying in the hospitals now.

That's why some people should NOT be hearing that cheerful news, and why they need to see what actually goes on when someone IS sick with COVID, in the hospital.

Originally Posted by Wyseguy (Post 2007546)

Didn't they report that the vaccine was not effective against the delta variant?

Originally Posted by thevillages2013 (Post 2007421)

Most unvaccinated people who get Covid do not go to the hospital and recover just fine. No one wants to hear that though

Originally Posted by Boomer (Post 2007348)

I have never done a cut-and-paste from a published article, but that's the only way I could do this. Unlike other cut-and-pastes I have seen that often do not cite the source, I will do so. . .

This is what is known to research as a primary source. Primary sources are defined as first-hand accounts of a topic by people who had a connection with it.

The following article was published in the Op-Ed section of the LA Times, August 26, 2021. The writer is Karen Gallardo, a respiratory therapist at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

(In spite of the disagreements we Villagers can have sometimes on TOTV, I think most of us have sense enough to have been vaccinated. We duly vaccinated, older and (sometimes) wiser, people do not seem to be the age-group that welcomed Covid back to another rampant run.

I have boomer friends who cannot get their adult children to be vaccinated -- not to protect their own children, not to protect themselves, and not to protect their "old" parents. Family dynamics for some are getting downright weird. . .but. . .I digress.)

Here's the article. Read it and weep.

Boomer



Op-Ed: On the front lines, here’s what the seven stages of severe COVID-19 look like


I’m a respiratory therapist. With the fourth wave of the pandemic in full swing, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, the trajectory of the patients I see, from admission to critical care, is all too familiar. When they’re vaccinated, their COVID-19 infections most likely end after Stage 1. If only that were the case for everyone.

Get vaccinated. If you choose not to, here’s what to expect if you are hospitalized for a serious case of COVID-19.


Stage 1. You’ve had debilitating symptoms for a few days, but now it is so hard to breathe that you come to the emergency room. Your oxygen saturation level tells us you need help, a supplemental flow of 1 to 4 liters of oxygen per minute. We admit you and start you on antivirals, steroids, anticoagulants or monoclonal antibodies. You’ll spend several days in the hospital feeling run-down, but if we can wean you off the oxygen, you’ll get discharged. You survive.

Stage 2. It becomes harder and harder for you to breathe. “Like drowning,” many patients describe the feeling. The bronchodilator treatments we give you provide little relief. Your oxygen requirements increase significantly, from 4 liters to 15 liters to 40 liters per minute. Little things, like relieving yourself or sitting up in bed, become too difficult for you to do on your own. Your oxygen saturation rapidly declines when you move about. We transfer you to the intensive care unit.

Stage 3. You’re exhausted from hyperventilating to satisfy your body’s demand for air. We put you on noninvasive, “positive pressure” ventilation — a big, bulky face mask that must be Velcro’d tightly around your face so the machine can efficiently push pressure into your lungs to pop them open so you get enough of the oxygen it delivers.

Stage 4. Your breathing becomes even more labored. We can tell you’re severely fatigued. An arterial blood draw confirms that the oxygen content in your blood is critically low. We prepare to intubate you. If you’re able to and if there’s time, we will suggest that you call your loved ones. This might be the last time they’ll hear your voice.
We connect you to a ventilator. You are sedated and paralyzed, fed through a feeding tube, hooked to a Foley catheter and a rectal tube. We turn your limp body regularly, so you don’t develop pressure ulcers — bed sores. We bathe you and keep you clean. We flip you onto your stomach to allow for better oxygenation. We will try experimental therapeutics.

Stage 5. Some patients survive Stage 4. Unfortunately, your oxygen levels and overall condition have not improved after several days on the ventilator. Your COVID-infested lungs need assistance and time to heal, something that an ECMO machine, which bypasses your lungs and oxygenates your blood, can provide. But alas, our community hospital doesn’t have that capability.

If you’re stable enough, you will get transferred to another hospital for that therapy. Otherwise, we’ll continue treating you as best we can. We’re understaffed and overwhelmed, but we’ll always give you the best care we can.

Stage 6. The pressure required to open your lungs is so high that air can leak into your chest cavity, so we insert tubes to clear it out. Your kidneys fail to filter the byproducts from the drugs we continuously give you. Despite diuretics, your entire body swells from fluid retention, and you require dialysis to help with your renal function.

The long hospital stay and your depressed immune system make you susceptible to infections. A chest X-ray shows fluid accumulating in your lung sacs. A blood clot may show up, too. We can’t prevent these complications at this point; we treat them as they present.

If your blood pressure drops critically, we will administer vasopressors to bring it up, but your heart may stop anyway. After several rounds of CPR, we’ll get your pulse and circulation back. But soon, your family will need to make a difficult decision.

Stage 7: After several meetings with the palliative care team, your family decides to withdraw care. We extubate you, turning off the breathing machinery. We set up a final FaceTime call with your loved ones. As we work in your room, we hear crying and loving goodbyes. We cry, too, and we hold your hand until your last natural breath.

I’ve been at this for 17 months now. It doesn’t get easier. My pandemic stories rarely end well.

Karen Gallardo is a respiratory therapist at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.
________________________________________

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2007557)

Respect her choice, and require that she respect yours. She, her spouse, your grandchildren - are not welcome on your property until and unless she and her spouse are fully vaccinated and your grandchildren masked from the moment they enter the house until the moment they leave, and maintain a 6-foot distance from you at all times.

Originally Posted by Byte1 (Post 2007554)

I think I answered my own question:
"Only 6% of deaths have only COVID-19 listed in the death report, according to the CDC." - ABC news (if they can be trusted).
Not sure if this indicates that there was nothing else wrong with the subject such as those illnesses listed; ie. obese, diabetic, etc. or whether the death reports were just being used to pad the stats (say it isn't so!).

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 2007574)

Not very many of us get to be older without having some other "normal" health issues associated with aging such as higher cholesterol, eating too much sugar, elevated blood pressure, but we play pickleball and golf and look healthy as can be.

If the person dying from Covid is someone you absolutely cherish, numbers don't matter. The wonderful thing to think about is that it can be prevented.

Originally Posted by Byte1 (Post 2007554)

I think I answered my own question:
"Only 6% of deaths have only COVID-19 listed in the death report, according to the CDC." - ABC news (if they can be trusted).
Not sure if this indicates that there was nothing else wrong with the subject such as those illnesses listed; ie. obese, diabetic, etc. or whether the death reports were just being used to pad the stats (say it isn't so!).

Originally Posted by Byte1 (Post 2007579)

You cannot make these choices for others. All you can do is do what is right for you and hope that they will learn by example. Sorry, but other folks must make their own choices, whether their choice works out or whether it turns out to be a disaster.
Personally, I think that I would rather live my life regardless of obstacles and possibly short than a long, boring, protected, regulated and controlled life. If I had to stay home cowering in fear of becoming infected, I think I would opt for an early demise. But, that is just my opinion and how I feel right now. I can not predict what I might feel tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Cheiro (Post 2007509)

This is not a circumstance to respect a choice where such a choice is a-clear-and-present-danger to everyone else.
The unvaccinated are responsible for the recent outbreak of the disease, it is their fault that the deaths have now exceeded the US deaths of the 1918 flu (675,000) and now stands at 680,000 (48,000 in Florida). The vaccine is not a choice it is the responsible thing to do.

Originally Posted by Boomer (Post 2007348)

I have never done a cut-and-paste from a published article, but that's the only way I could do this. Unlike other cut-and-pastes I have seen that often do not cite the source, I will do so. . .

This is what is known to research as a primary source. Primary sources are defined as first-hand accounts of a topic by people who had a connection with it.

The following article was published in the Op-Ed section of the LA Times, August 26, 2021. The writer is Karen Gallardo, a respiratory therapist at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

(In spite of the disagreements we Villagers can have sometimes on TOTV, I think most of us have sense enough to have been vaccinated. We duly vaccinated, older and (sometimes) wiser, people do not seem to be the age-group that welcomed Covid back to another rampant run.

I have boomer friends who cannot get their adult children to be vaccinated -- not to protect their own children, not to protect themselves, and not to protect their "old" parents. Family dynamics for some are getting downright weird. . .but. . .I digress.)

Here's the article. Read it and weep.

Boomer



Op-Ed: On the front lines, here’s what the seven stages of severe COVID-19 look like


I’m a respiratory therapist. With the fourth wave of the pandemic in full swing, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, the trajectory of the patients I see, from admission to critical care, is all too familiar. When they’re vaccinated, their COVID-19 infections most likely end after Stage 1. If only that were the case for everyone.

Get vaccinated. If you choose not to, here’s what to expect if you are hospitalized for a serious case of COVID-19.


Stage 1. You’ve had debilitating symptoms for a few days, but now it is so hard to breathe that you come to the emergency room. Your oxygen saturation level tells us you need help, a supplemental flow of 1 to 4 liters of oxygen per minute. We admit you and start you on antivirals, steroids, anticoagulants or monoclonal antibodies. You’ll spend several days in the hospital feeling run-down, but if we can wean you off the oxygen, you’ll get discharged. You survive.

Stage 2. It becomes harder and harder for you to breathe. “Like drowning,” many patients describe the feeling. The bronchodilator treatments we give you provide little relief. Your oxygen requirements increase significantly, from 4 liters to 15 liters to 40 liters per minute. Little things, like relieving yourself or sitting up in bed, become too difficult for you to do on your own. Your oxygen saturation rapidly declines when you move about. We transfer you to the intensive care unit.

Stage 3. You’re exhausted from hyperventilating to satisfy your body’s demand for air. We put you on noninvasive, “positive pressure” ventilation — a big, bulky face mask that must be Velcro’d tightly around your face so the machine can efficiently push pressure into your lungs to pop them open so you get enough of the oxygen it delivers.

Stage 4. Your breathing becomes even more labored. We can tell you’re severely fatigued. An arterial blood draw confirms that the oxygen content in your blood is critically low. We prepare to intubate you. If you’re able to and if there’s time, we will suggest that you call your loved ones. This might be the last time they’ll hear your voice.
We connect you to a ventilator. You are sedated and paralyzed, fed through a feeding tube, hooked to a Foley catheter and a rectal tube. We turn your limp body regularly, so you don’t develop pressure ulcers — bed sores. We bathe you and keep you clean. We flip you onto your stomach to allow for better oxygenation. We will try experimental therapeutics.

Stage 5. Some patients survive Stage 4. Unfortunately, your oxygen levels and overall condition have not improved after several days on the ventilator. Your COVID-infested lungs need assistance and time to heal, something that an ECMO machine, which bypasses your lungs and oxygenates your blood, can provide. But alas, our community hospital doesn’t have that capability.

If you’re stable enough, you will get transferred to another hospital for that therapy. Otherwise, we’ll continue treating you as best we can. We’re understaffed and overwhelmed, but we’ll always give you the best care we can.

Stage 6. The pressure required to open your lungs is so high that air can leak into your chest cavity, so we insert tubes to clear it out. Your kidneys fail to filter the byproducts from the drugs we continuously give you. Despite diuretics, your entire body swells from fluid retention, and you require dialysis to help with your renal function.

The long hospital stay and your depressed immune system make you susceptible to infections. A chest X-ray shows fluid accumulating in your lung sacs. A blood clot may show up, too. We can’t prevent these complications at this point; we treat them as they present.

If your blood pressure drops critically, we will administer vasopressors to bring it up, but your heart may stop anyway. After several rounds of CPR, we’ll get your pulse and circulation back. But soon, your family will need to make a difficult decision.

Stage 7: After several meetings with the palliative care team, your family decides to withdraw care. We extubate you, turning off the breathing machinery. We set up a final FaceTime call with your loved ones. As we work in your room, we hear crying and loving goodbyes. We cry, too, and we hold your hand until your last natural breath.

I’ve been at this for 17 months now. It doesn’t get easier. My pandemic stories rarely end well.

Karen Gallardo is a respiratory therapist at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.
________________________________________

Originally Posted by La lamy (Post 2007505)

On the show 60 Minutes a couple weeks ago there was a great interview about the Pentagon project which aims to save soldiers from all types of foreign viruses. Here's a quote from the interview which can be found on line in its w=entirety:

"Dr. Modjarrad says in five years a single vaccine could defeat all coronaviruses: that means many common colds, the deadly strain causing this pandemic and thousands of others.

Bill Whitaker: Is that at this point-- a dream?

Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad: This is not science fiction, this is science fact. We have the tools, we have the technology, to do this all right now.

Bill Whitaker: And you think we can, at some point, inoculate the world against these killer viruses.

Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad: Killer viruses that we haven't seen or even imagined, we'll be protected against."

Pretty incredible stuff!!! :bigbow:

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 2007492)

I’m all for the Regeneron treatment for anyone who qualifies for it. It is a wonderful thing that there is a treatment that works for Covid.

Does this Regeneron treatment have FULL FDA APPROVAL like the Pfizer vaccine does? Just wondering.

Originally Posted by rrb48310 (Post 2007530)

Ok, BUT have you heard of anyone who had Covid say I’m glad I didn’t get the shot?

I personally know of friends and acquaintances that were “non-vaccers “ that got Covid were hospitalized and recovered that now are posting on social media to get vaccinated.

Why take the chance

I agree with a fellow poster, it’s about protecting one another (not political) and our economy. Matthew 25 looking out for your fellow man (woman and CHILDREN).

Originally Posted by Swoop (Post 2007602)

Let me be the first to tell you that I had Covid and I’m still glad that I didn’t get the shot.

My stages were:
1: Dry cough for a couple of days
2: Then a little lethargic for a three days. Two of those days I had muscle/joint aches
3: Temporary loss of smell

My doctor offered a Steroids, I opted not to.
Since my cough lasted three weeks. That classified me as a Covid long hauler. (Any symptoms lasting more than two weeks is classified as long haul)
It’s been seven weeks since my initial symptoms. I have antibodies, I feel normal and I haven’t received a vaccine that has no long term studies regarding side it’s effects.

Originally Posted by oneclickplus (Post 2007595)

The fallacy of this list is that "Stage 1" is in the hospital. This is because Fauci and friends (NIH, CDC, FDA, fakebook, google, twitter, youtube) suppress and censor any and all treatment options. I had COVID. I beat it back in 48 hours with a treatment classified as "misinformation" by the pundits. The real list should begin something like:

Stage 1: you don't feel well and you think might have COVID. Go get tested.

Stage 2: Ignore Fauci and begin early treatment options that are working. America's Frontline Doctors have much to offer including early treatment options. This is from many doctors who are actually treating COVID patients. Fauci has not treated anyone for COVID.

Stage 3: End of COVID infection whether vaccinated or not.

Failure to do the above and just waiting at home with no treatment to see what your body will do on its own (other than a coerced vax, this is the only recommended action by Fauci, and all the 3-letter agencies) and then you have a good chance of a hospital visit.

Not getting vaccinated is not the problem. Suppression of valid, effective treatment options in order to coerce vaccination is the problem. Think for yourselves. Don't let anyone do it for you.

I (not vaccinated and staying that way) was infected along with my friend Rich (Pfizer vax) on Aug 18 at a local pub. We both got mildly sick (fever, headache, etc) at the same time and we both tested positive for the Delta variant. I took immediate action (already had "prohibited" meds on hand and ready to go from Frontline Doctors). I had enough for Rich and offered them to him. He refused preferring to rely on his Pfizer promise. A week later he was not improving and went in for the monoclonal crap. It will be 5 weeks tomorrow and he is still too weak to go out for a beer. My recovery was so fast (48 hours) that I didn't even infect my wife who shares a bed with me. No, Rich is not dead. Pfizer may have kept him from getting deathly ill. But, he is still a mess 5 weeks later.

I went and got the anti-body test and I now have robust natural immunity.

I know many of you will just file this under "misinformation". Do so at your own peril or that of your relatives who like me will never bow to Saint Anthony (fauci).

P. S. I am 64 and Rich is 67

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 2007598)

Sign me up!

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 2007497)

Overall three percent of Americans have died from Covid, that is including all ages, but when you group older people alone, the number doubles.