What are you doing today?

[Renzatic]

Hope it all goes well with the results.

Results are in from the MRI. No clots, and no damage to the brain (which I gave a surprised “huh” to).

The major concern is that he has over 50% blockages in both his carotid arteries. They’re going to do a couple of ultrasounds to see how that should be dealt with, but they’re otherwise expecting him to be discharged later today.

 

[Roller]

Results are in from the MRI. No clots, and no damage to the brain (which I gave a surprised “huh” to).

The major concern is that he has over 50% blockages in both his carotid arteries. They’re going to do a couple of ultrasounds to see how that should be dealt with, but they’re otherwise expecting him to be discharged later today.

Sounds like all the right things are being done. Ultrasound will show the degree of carotid stenosis (blockage) and, to some extent, demonstrate the type of atherosclerotic plaque causing the narrowing, which will be helpful to determine next steps. Interestingly, ultrasound usually doesn't measure narrowing directly, bur rather infers it from the velocity of blood flowing through the affected area.

 

[lizkat]

Results are in from the MRI. No clots, and no damage to the brain (which I gave a surprised “huh” to).

The major concern is that he has over 50% blockages in both his carotid arteries. They’re going to do a couple of ultrasounds to see how that should be dealt with, but they’re otherwise expecting him to be discharged later today.

Hope things go well for your dad in future. In a way it's a good thing "something" brought attention to the state of his carotids before something worse might have happened. Holding a good thought for him.

Spent two days away from the relentless efforts of media to remind us about whatever they thought was the best or worst of 2022. Not having a clue was very enjoyable!

My family usually celebrates winter holidays in April, thanks to weather in NYS this time of year and zero interest in battling blizzards to go somewhere cozy when it's cozy at home. So the weekend for me was peaceful, just a welcome time for reflection and counting blessings, including the fact that we didn't lose electrical power here at all during all that wind and snow.

Pretty darn cold here though, with a few nights well below zero and wind chill -25ºF. My heart goes out to all those in Buffalo still struggling to get through an historic blizzard in an area well used to blizzards, with more snow still in their forecast.

Heatwave here overnight, it only got down to 7ºF. Supposed to be 50ºF by New Year's Day. Weird!

 

[Cmaier]

Yeah, i just took a look in the garage and found i can easily roll the car. So it looks like it’s stuck half open. Probably the servo. Tesla phone guy thought it was a software issue after looking at the car diagnostics, but his suggested resets and power offs did nothing. So I’ll call AAA on monday. I sweet-talked him into giving me the direct phone number for Santa Clara, so I can call ahead and not have to ride with the car. (Going to tow just in case it really does sometimes stick closed. It seems its really stuck open, but the car’s diagnostic lights are confused.)

Well, calling the “local” number connects me to the national number, which then begrudgingly lets me transfer back to the local number if you figure out how to navigate the phone tree and listen to two messages telling you that you have to use the app and aren’t allowed to speak to anyone.

Once transferred back, I get the voice mail for Santa Clara. I don’t even know if they are open today. So I left a message and I guess I may not be able to tow my car in until tomorrow. (If tomorrow, I will bum a ride off my wife and just go talk to these people in person).

I can’t emphasize enough how terrible Tesla service has become. If you don’t fall into a pre-defined list of problems that you can choose in the app, and if you thus need to speak to a human being, it’s essentially impossible.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Reading about the astonishing storms and historic blizzards in the US and sending best wishes to Our Transatlantic Cousins.

Spent much of today pottering and puttering preparing a dish (pork belly) - nice, relaxed, warming cooking - loosely based on a Gordon Ramsay recipe.

And spent yesterday and today re-reading The Pillars of the Earth, which I really like, and which I think is by far the best thing ever written by Ken Follett.

 

[Roller]

Hope things go well for your dad in future. In a way it's a good thing "something" brought attention to the state of his carotids before something worse might have happened. Holding a good thought for him.

Spent two days away from the relentless efforts of media to remind us about whatever they thought was the best or worst of 2022. Not having a clue was very enjoyable!

My family usually celebrates winter holidays in April, thanks to weather in NYS this time of year and zero interest in battling blizzards to go somewhere cozy when it's cozy at home. So the weekend for me was peaceful, just a welcome time for reflection and counting blessings, including the fact that we didn't lose electrical power here at all during all that wind and snow.

Pretty darn cold here though, with a few nights well below zero and wind chill -25ºF. My heart goes out to all those in Buffalo still struggling to get through an historic blizzard in an area well used to blizzards, with more snow still in their forecast.

Heatwave here overnight, it only got down to 7ºF. Supposed to be 50ºF by New Year's Day. Weird!

I usually don't like the best and worst end-of-the-year lists, either. But I thought this piece on positive news over the past 12 months was a refreshing change, as I was unaware of many of the items covered.

 

[Nycturne]

Avoiding the larger stores today. Planning on visiting a local car vinyl wrap place to see if I can find something I like for the new EV and find out how much that will cost. Also want to visit the local retro game store to see if I can get lucky for a couple games I’ve been trying to track down.

 

[ronntaylor]

Enjoyed a short speed walk and stopped by my fav joint to play some lottery games. It's been empty most of the last couple weeks. Probably my last stop in this year.

Will enjoy a 2-3 mile hike on the local path shortly. Then a bit of laundry and some curry from my MIL tonight.

 

[Renzatic]

Hope things go well for your dad in future. In a way it's a good thing "something" brought attention to the state of his carotids before something worse might have happened. Holding a good thought for him

They've now run all the tests, though they waited until the last minute to do the ultrasound, and so he's stuck at the hospital for an extra night because the doctors decided to leave for the day before checking the results. Even worse, it's snowing out, so we may not even be able to make it back up there until well in the afternoon tomorrow.

...there's almost a 10th of an inch of snow on the ground. Going out in that would be nigh suicidal.

Though another plus is that the doctors did find something wrong on the perphiery, and were able to correct it. He has a fairly severe magnesium deficiency, which they were able to correct fairly quickly with various drinks and fluids. Mom immediately attributed it to his poor diet, saying he only eats bacon and cookies. I vouched for her, immediately remembering the meals dad would prepare for me during my childhood when mom either couldn't or wouldn't cook. It was always bacon, bacon sandwiches, and on those rare occasions when things were extra crazy, bacon and sausages.

This opened a lot of old wounds, making me realize how culinarily deprived I was as a child.

 

[lizkat]

This opened a lot of old wounds, making me realize how culinarily deprived I was as a child.

You had to say bacon, right.

Here I am trying to focus on your dad's health, but I'm having a problem concentrating now.

As for the tenth of an inch of snow, I can believe it's suicidal to drive in your state on roads like that. I've seen pictures of pileups down there in less snow than we'd even bother counting as "snowfall"...

But about the bacon...

 

[fooferdoggie]

I didn't to much work to do and it was 52 with a little rain so decided to take the wife on a ride on the tandem. we dressed for the temp and the rain. but it got down to 38 only 10 miles from home Adrain. even maybe 1 miles from home and a 50 foot elevation drop it got to about 45 and just kept going down. so we got a bit cold but not horrible. I guess we just need to bring full winter gear no matter what.

 

[Alli]

How's the vision?

Quite amazing, actually. Took a shower at the hotel this morning and I could tell which bottle was shampoo and which was conditioner. Haven’t been able to do that in over 20 years!

Meanwhile we are chugging up the Mississippi with 300 some other geriatrics and a few kids. Have already met some fabulous people. Dinner tonight was great, but we were too tired to have dessert. I can’t believe we’re still awake. Walked over 4 miles today. Looking forward to relaxing tomorrow and just paddling up the river.

 

[Renzatic]

You had to say bacon, right.

B-A-C-O-N!

Okay, so the results are in. Dad has suffered a transient ischemic attack, has likely had more beyond the one mom noticed, and the major reason for which is due to his heavily caked and constricted carotid arteries. He's scheduled to have his neck veins scraped tomorrow at 11.

For dad, the worst news was that he's going to have to spend at least 2 more nights sleeping in what he considers to be the most uncomfortable bed ever made.

 

[lizkat]

For dad, the worst news was that he's going to have to spend at least 2 more nights sleeping in what he considers to be the most uncomfortable bed ever made.

Sounds like a man with a complete grasp of facts! My condolences in advance to the night nurse...

In all seriousness: holding a good thought for him (and you and your mom as well).

I'm sure your dad will be glad to get the heck outta there, but he's in the right place at the right time for now. Pretty sure he realizes that too despite whatever are his voiced complaints...

 

[Apple fanboy]

B-A-C-O-N!

Okay, so the results are in. Dad has suffered a transient ischemic attack, has likely had more beyond the one mom noticed, and the major reason for which is due to his heavily caked and constricted carotid arteries. He's scheduled to have his neck veins scraped tomorrow at 11.

For dad, the worst news was that he's going to have to spend at least 2 more nights sleeping in what he considers to be the most uncomfortable bed ever made.

At least he's in the right place. Hope the procedure goes well. Sounds quite unpleasant.

Here I'm just procrastinating before bed. Work tomorrow. But WFH so not too early a start.

 

[Renzatic]

I'm sure your dad will be glad to get the heck outta there, but he's in the right place at the right time for now. Pretty sure he realizes that too despite whatever are his voiced complaints...

At least they finally got around to officially admitting him. They've been keeping him in an outpatient observation room without any windows for the last 3 days. No matter what time of the day it is, he always assume it's sometime after sunset.

...but the parking is the best!

He's understandably concerned about the whole ordeal, but considering he's lived through a 6 hour long quadruple bypass open heart surgery, an hour of them stabbing at his neck doesn't seem so bad to him in comparison.

 

[Roller]

B-A-C-O-N!

Okay, so the results are in. Dad has suffered a transient ischemic attack, has likely had more beyond the one mom noticed, and the major reason for which is due to his heavily caked and constricted carotid arteries. He's scheduled to have his neck veins scraped tomorrow at 11.

For dad, the worst news was that he's going to have to spend at least 2 more nights sleeping in what he considers to be the most uncomfortable bed ever made.

He's probably going to have a carotid endarterectomy, in which the affected artery is clamped to stop blood flow, opened, and the plaque removed. It's a common procedure these days, and your dad should do well.

 

[Renzatic]

He's probably going to have a carotid endarterectomy, in which the affected artery is clamped to stop blood flow, opened, and the plaque removed. It's a common procedure these days, and your dad should do well.

Yeah, the only concern was that both carotid arteries are blocked, so cutting off one could greatly limit the blood flow to his brain. Still, the doctors didn’t seem to think that it’d be much of an issue, just a potentiality they’d have to consider. They seemed to think he’d be out of the hospital by Thursday no problem.

 

[Renzatic]

UPDATE: Of course the scheduled appointment wasn't met. What was originally meant to occur at 11 is now scheduled for around 3ish, give or take. I expect it to happen more around 5, though I wouldn't be too surprised if it ends up being pushed to tomorrow.

So I came home to get something to eat.

 

[Eric]

UPDATE: Of course the scheduled appointment wasn't met. What was originally meant to occur at 11 is now scheduled for around 3ish, give or take. I expect it to happen more around 5, though I wouldn't be too surprised if it ends up being pushed to tomorrow.

So I came home to get something to eat.

What a bummer during the holidays like this, hang in there. You have to wonder why they're running behind, a lot of hospitals are full of sick people right now depending on where you are.