[NoMoSno]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

These are not hospitals, but two local Walmart stores—the one on CR 466 in The Villages and the one on US 441 in Summerfield—are either scheduled or have already closed for “sanitizing and cleaning”. These are apparently short term closures, a couple of days or so. Walmart has not announced the reason for their decision to close for sanitizing and cleaning of the stores.

Walmart is doing this country-wide.

[Love2Swim]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

I can tell from reading the responses above that most who have taken time to post are naysayers regarding the gravity of the COVID problem in Florida and nearby. I guess I don’t know why, but that’s not worth discussing.

Yes, there are lots of statistics published by various sources, but not all are easily interpreted or current. But there are reliable anecdotal reports which are also available to each of us

I was personally told by two of my doctors last Thursday that as of the day before, no hospital within 75 miles of The Villages was accepting new patients for ANY reason unless they had a room vacated. They rattled off the names of all the hospitals that I was familiar with from Ocala south to north of Orlando.

They told me that the hospitals in Ocala were sending COVID patients home with a tank of oxygen and a mask, which has now resulted in a shortage of oxygen in the area.

I live nearby The Villages Regional Hospital and I can count the number of sirens I’ve heard going into the ER in the last couple of weeks on one hand. I drove by yesterday and the ER parking lot was more than half empty.

The hospitals have cancelled all but necessary surgeries or procedures of any kind, as have many doctor’s offices. The Villages Health offices were reported to have 26 COVID cases among their staff. My primary care doctor is only doing “tele-health” appointments for the time being.

The 250 doctor statewide Florida Cancer Specialists have cancelled all but required chemo and radiation treatments and mandated that all employees be vaccinated by next Monday as a requirement to work. One of my doctors told me that 4 of his patients died last week from COVID, all male, less than 40 years old, and all unvaccinated.

Is the reported COVID spike in Florida hitting close to home here in The Villages? Use the statistics, but also consider what you’re seeing among your own friends and neighbors.

Call your doctor and ask. That would be a better source of information than any opinion you read here. Then draw your own conclusions.

Thank you. I can add that a vaccinated friend was diagnosed recently, started feeling really bad, went to the Leesburg hospital and spent the night on a gurney, finally was able to get into a room the next day and spent 4 or 5 days there with pneumonia . Even if all the beds aren’t full, the staff are overworked. It’s not a good situation.

[JoelJohnson]

I spent 12 hours in the Villages Regional Hospital ER waiting room the other night, it wasn't until 6:30 the next morning that they found me room. Waited another 6 hours waiting to be discharged.

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by JoelJohnson

I spent 12 hours in the Villages Regional Hospital ER waiting room the other night, it wasn't until 6:30 the next morning that they found me room. Waited another 6 hours waiting to be discharged.

That's just another normal day at the Villages Hospital.

[Love2Swim]

Originally Posted by Byte1

That's just another normal day at the Villages Hospital.

It didn’t used to be.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Byte1

That's just another normal day at the Villages Hospital.

Same at Ocala, it's not just TVH.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

I can tell from reading the responses above that most who have taken time to post are naysayers regarding the gravity of the COVID problem in Florida and nearby. I guess I don’t know why, but that’s not worth discussing.

Yes, there are lots of statistics published by various sources, but not all are easily interpreted or current. But there are reliable anecdotal reports which are also available to each of us

I was personally told by two of my doctors last Thursday that as of the day before, no hospital within 75 miles of The Villages was accepting new patients for ANY reason unless they had a room vacated. They rattled off the names of all the hospitals that I was familiar with from Ocala south to north of Orlando.

They told me that the hospitals in Ocala were sending COVID patients home with a tank of oxygen and a mask, which has now resulted in a shortage of oxygen in the area.

I live nearby The Villages Regional Hospital and I can count the number of sirens I’ve heard going into the ER in the last couple of weeks on one hand. I drove by yesterday and the ER parking lot was more than half empty.

The hospitals have cancelled all but necessary surgeries or procedures of any kind, as have many doctor’s offices. The Villages Health offices were reported to have 26 COVID cases among their staff. My primary care doctor is only doing “tele-health” appointments for the time being.

The 250 doctor statewide Florida Cancer Specialists have cancelled all but required chemo and radiation treatments and mandated that all employees be vaccinated by next Monday as a requirement to work. One of my doctors told me that 4 of his patients died last week from COVID, all male, less than 40 years old, and all unvaccinated.

Is the reported COVID spike in Florida hitting close to home here in The Villages? Use the statistics, but also consider what you’re seeing among your own friends and neighbors.

Call your doctor and ask. That would be a better source of information than any opinion you read here. Then draw your own conclusions.

Originally Posted by Byte1

That's just another normal day at the Villages Hospital.

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Same at Ocala, it's not just TVH.

This is no joke, it is a very real and serious situation. It’s an easy situation to ignore or label as fear mongering, UNTIL YOU ARE THE ONE THAT BECOMES SICK AND NEEDS A ROOM.

I recently became acutely ill and had a close brush with the grim reaper. I spent 12 hours in the Villages ER only to be mis-diagnosed and sent home because they had no beds/rooms. As I continued to get sicker at home, I refused to call 911, knowing I would get picked up and dumped off at the same incompetent and over stressed hospital with no open rooms. I quickly became too sick to drive and was convinced I was going to die at home (a week earlier I was an extremely healthy and active man for my age, who worked out daily). Fortunately, my wife (and guardian angel) canceled everything and rushed down to our home in the Villages to rescue me. She first brought me to the Ocala Regional Hospital, which also had no rooms and was a wast of the little valuable remaining time I had. She then decided we needed to get further away from the Villages in the hope of finding a hospital with an open ICU room. She took me to Gainesville and brought me to a stand alone ER affiliated with the North Florida Regional Medical Center. At that point I was so sick I don’t remember much, but my wife told me they quickly ran a bunch of tests, accessed me, and determined I needed an ICU bed ASAP. An ambulance brought me to the main NRFMC building where I checked into one of the three remaining ICU beds. After keeping me barley alive and running every imaginable test for four days, they finally figured out what was wrong with me. As it turned out, I was bitten by a tick up north before going to our Villages home. Lyme disease from the tick was the least of my problems, the tick also injected a nasty parasite into my bloodstream called Babesiosis. The closest thing in this world to Babesiosis is Malaria, which is a parasite that attacks and kills the hosts red blood cells. Once properly diagnose and treated, the very long and slow recovery began. If it wasn’t for my wonderful wife, and the NFRMC, I would have died.

The moral of the story is, don’t underestimate the severity of not having open hospital beds, it could easily kill you.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

This is no joke, it is a very real and serious situation. It’s an easy situation to ignore or label as fear mongering, UNTIL YOU ARE THE ONE THAT BECOMES SICK AND NEEDS A ROOM.

I recently became acutely ill and had a close brush with the grim reaper. I spent 12 hours in the Villages ER only to be mis-diagnosed and sent home because they had no beds/rooms. As I continued to get sicker at home, I refused to call 911, knowing I would get picked up and dumped off at the same incompetent and over stressed hospital with no open rooms. I quickly became too sick to drive and was convinced I was going to die at home (a week earlier I was an extremely healthy and active man for my age, who worked out daily). Fortunately, my wife (and guardian angel) canceled everything and rushed down to our home in the Villages to rescue me. She first brought me to the Ocala Regional Hospital, which also had no rooms and was a wast of the little valuable remaining time I had. She then decided we needed to get further away from the Villages in the hope of finding a hospital with an open ICU room. She took me to Gainesville and brought me to a stand alone ER affiliated with the North Florida Regional Medical Center. At that point I was so sick I don’t remember much, but my wife told me they quickly ran a bunch of tests, accessed me, and determined I needed an ICU bed ASAP. An ambulance brought me to the main NRFMC building where I checked into one of the three remaining ICU beds. After keeping me barley alive and running every imaginable test for four days, they finally figured out what was wrong with me. As it turned out, I was bitten by a tick up north before going to our Villages home. Lyme disease from the tick was the least of my problems, the tick also injected a nasty parasite into my bloodstream called Babesiosis. The closest thing in this world to Babesiosis is Malaria, which is a parasite that attacks and kills the hosts red blood cells. Once properly diagnose and treated, the very long and slow recovery began. If it wasn’t for my wonderful wife, and the NFRMC, I would have died.

The moral of the story is, don’t underestimate the severity of not having open hospital beds, it could easily kill you.

Wow---this is an amazing story---a case of babesiosis in Central Florida. Almost all cases are found in the Northeast or Upper Midwest, no wonder any doctor here would have trouble making the diagnosis. Plus it requires specific laboratory confirmation.

Another problem diagnosing in this particular case was the severity---apparently you were critically ill----most cases of babesiosis have no symptoms whatsoever. But. for a few people this can be VERY serious. From the CDC:

Many people who are infected with Babesia microti feel fine and do not have any symptoms. Some people develop nonspecific flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, sweats, headache, body aches, loss of appetite, nausea, or fatigue.

Because Babesia parasites infect and destroy red blood cells, babesiosis can cause a special type of anemia called hemolytic anemia. This type of anemia can lead to jaundice (yellowing of the skin) and dark urine.

Babesiosis can be a severe, life-threatening disease, particularly in people who

Do not have a spleen;
Have a weak immune system for other reasons (such as cancer, lymphoma, or AIDS);
Have other serious health conditions (such as liver or kidney disease); or
Are elderly.
Complications of babesiosis can include

A low and unstable blood pressure;
Severe hemolytic anemia (hemolysis);
A very low platelet count (thrombocytopenia);
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (also known as “DIC” or consumptive coagulopathy), which can lead to blood clots and bleeding;
Malfunction of vital organs (such as the kidneys, lungs, and liver); or
Death.

Stay well.

[Lindsyburnsy]

I’ve never known a hoax that has left over 600,000 dead. Of course there sre those who believe the Holocaust was a hoax too. Facebook is not your friend nor is Fox News.

Originally Posted by coralway

Stop looking at the headlines, and you won’t have to worry. Anyway, the whole thing is a hoax. Remember? Or, you can refer to it as “alternative facts “.

[Lindsyburnsy]

If it’s a trauma CENTER, then it’s bad news., unless you want to believe there are no car accidents, gunshot victims, heart attacks, drug overdoses, drownings, etc. going on.

Originally Posted by Billy1

Is an emergency parking lot being half empty good or bad news?

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Good post, with one exception. "Reliable anecdotal reports"---now that's an oxymoron if ever I heard one

IF (?) the hospitals themselves are not being transparent and forthright about public information - then the public is FORCED to grasp for less reliable sources of information. My wife heard on the news several times that 75% of Florida hospitals are CRITICALLY UNDERSTAFFED! Texas had to bring in 5 refrigerator trucks for bodies and a Federal SURGE team of medical staff. That may (?) be next for Florida?

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

This is no joke, it is a very real and serious situation. It’s an easy situation to ignore or label as fear mongering, UNTIL YOU ARE THE ONE THAT BECOMES SICK AND NEEDS A ROOM.

The moral of the story is, don’t underestimate the severity of not having open hospital beds, it could easily kill you.

So glad you had a good outcome, and yes, the secondary and tertiary effect of the pandemic is that the current local hospital systems are not built for these 100 year events and so unfortunate events can, will and have happened. .

ticks and brown recluse spiders scare me more than snakes!

another finance guy

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Gizemo33

3 Unvaccinated Teachers in Florida County Die of COVID Within 24 Hours
The three elementary school teachers, who worked in Broward County, Florida, were under 50 years old

The Delta variant affects younger people than the original US variant. 18% of those hospitalized in Texas are CHILDREN.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

IF (?) the hospitals themselves are not being transparent and forthright about public information - then the public is FORCED to grasp for less reliable sources of information. My wife heard on the news several times that 75% of Florida hospitals are CRITICALLY UNDERSTAFFED! Texas had to bring in 5 refrigerator trucks for bodies and a Federal SURGE team of medical staff. That may (?) be next for Florida?

Maybe. IF that news report was true. And then again, maybe not.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Lindsyburnsy

I’ve never known a hoax that has left over 600,000 dead. Of course there sre those who believe the Holocaust was a hoax too. Facebook is not your friend nor is Fox News.

I agree with the contents of this post.