PALS ROLL CALL NEW THREAD (PALS ONLY) [Wednesday or whenever]

[KevinM]

Steve, if you have time we would love to see some photos of the snow that slammed Colorado and Wyoming the past couple of days. It is hard for me to imagine as I sit on our porch with 80 degree weather and everything in full bloom. Plus, I’d just like to hear from you and your travel plans. Best, Kevin

 

[KimT]

I've been in the pool three days in a row. Tomorrow I get my J & J vaccine. If any of you guys pray, please pray for me.

 

[Clearwater AL]

Ann and I got our 2nd Moderna shot last Thursday afternoon.
through Wake Forest.

I’d like to say “no problems”. But being honest… after the second
shot it was somewhat tougher than after the first.

Fatigue (more than progression), ache, very sore arm and headache…
just for a few days. Ann had no problems.

Would I do it again? Yes. Sure beats getting COVID. Still going
to wear a mask until this is rendered to a safe level.

I hope others (PALS & CALS) can get their shots ASAP.

 

[lisa g]

Al - I feel your pain. Second dose.... sucked. Like Ann my husband had no issues after the second shot. And yes, feeling crappy for a day or two is definitely better than having covid.

Kim- Happy day. I'm sure you'll do fine.

Happy to hear more and more people are getting there appointments.

 

[KevinM]

Kim, my thoughts are with you. I know you have some apprehension, but all will be okay.

I had my wife scheduled for her first dose of Pfizer today, but we had to cancel. She was working in the garden yesterday and got stung by a large red wasp on her right index finger. She had no severe allergic reaction, but her hand and up her arm have really swelled.

Apparently this is called a large local reaction that is not that uncommon, and the swelling should start subsiding over the next couple of days (with lots of ice and Benadryl). However, her bodies anti-inflammatory and immune response made us nervous about getting the vaccine this week. We will try again next week. K

 

[KimT]

Kevin, I’ve had similar reactions to fire ants. My allergist suspects my immune response will be strong to the vaccine. I’ve only had two or three colds in 30 years and never had the flu even though I’ve taken care of others with it. The last cold I had happened when my housemate brought it back from Denver. He was sick for three weeks and I was sick for a couple of days.

When I got the shot today, I had a metallic taste and it continues three hours later. I was hungry so I had a huge meal. The vaccine setup was not so good. We had to stand in line for 45 minutes.

 

[KevinM]

Sorry about the long wait. The CVS I had my dose at was so well organized and efficient. About a 10-15 minute wait in a socially distanced line.

Hopefully the metallic taste will subside and will be the only side effect. Keep us posted.

She has been stung before, but never in the “thin meat” part of her body like her finger. This has contributed to the swelling. Seems to have gone down a little today and we understand that with this type of reaction the swelling typically peaks after a couple of days and then slowly gets better over the next four or five days.

Damn thing got her good, though. Of course it wasn’t the wasp’s fault...it was just looking for a good nest area and she intruded into the plant it had picked. K

 

[wmilo]

Sorry to hear that your wife was stung, Kevin. But glad the swelling is going down.

Disappointing to have to reschedule the vaccine, but I would have the same concerns.

Regards,

 

[swalker]

Kevin, you asked for pictures of our monster snow storm. Well, I will post pictures tomorrow. Maybe will will get more snow by then.

As of today, we have about 3 inches of snow on the deck. When Denver (the front range) gets a lot of snow, our part of the mountains typically don't get much at all. That has been the case with this storm. The center tracked along the southern edge of our state into New Mexico. It was a large low pressure system, so it had a counter clockwise circulation. That caused the big mass of moisture to rotate from the south east up into the front range of Colorado. We sometimes call this an Albuquerque low. The front range did receive a lot of snow (up to 40 inches, according to reports I have read, but typically between 15 and 25 inches).

This has been reported as the 4th highest snow total for a storm in Denver. That is a bit misleading. The official measurement is taken at the airport. The airport used to be at Stapleton, which is just east of downtown Denver. In 1995, it moved to its current location, which is about 25 miles northwest of downtown denver. Weather is extremely variable across the front range, and the new airport location has very different precipitation than the old.

Over the weekend, the new airport (DIA) received 27.1 inches of snow. The old airport location (Stapleton) received about 17.5 inches. That is almost a 10 inch difference. So, it is hard to tell where this storm really ranks among large storms.

Steve

 

[KevinM]

That’s very counterintuitive for me, Steve, that when the front range gets hit the higher altitude areas typically get less. Fascinating story of a mini microclimate in your area when those type of systems come through.

The company I worked for for 30 years was headquartered in the SF Bay Area, which is the king of microclimates. I recall one of my colleagues who lived there talking about there being five microclimates within about 20 miles, but it is true. Freeze along the water, comfortable in the City, short sleeves in Oakland. It was always tough to pack a small suitcase on my trips!

 

[Nikki J]

I moved Cathy’s request for travel advice and the excellent replies to a separate thread in general both for more visibility now and for future searches.

 

[blitzc]

Thanks Nikki! I thought about this but you saved me time and effort!

 

[nona]

It's been a couple of weeks since I checked in and I thought I'd get a jump on the Wednesday update. I had a great visit from my sister from Arizona, who flew out two weeks after getting her second vaccine. It was really nice to have her here. I hadn't seen her in 16 months. I did end up finding a new home for Mac, my kitten. He has more room and more stimulation with kids and other pets and he's doing well. My older cat, Rocky, doesn't miss him one bit! He has come out of hiding and even spent a rare few minutes on my lap this morning!

One of my night time caregivers stepped in to replace my caregiver who left and she's awesome. She works her other job remotely so it's nice that she has something to do during the downtimes. And she's wicked smaht and fun and an EMT so I feel very fortunate. I t's amazing how a change that had me panicked resulted in an even better situation.

My stepfather replaced the carpet in my bedroom with laminate to make the hoyer move easier. That was quite a project but it looks great and will really help. That said, it is slippery and last weekend my pivot slipped while I was transferring to bed and I ended up on the floor until EMS could come help me up. It wasn't horrible except that the floor was cold and my legs and lower back went rigid. I had never experienced that before and it took heating pads, baclofen, and massage before I could even bend my legs and get comfortable. Light as a feather, stiff as a board.

Also , we discovered a latex sensitivity and that may have contributed to the catheter discomfort for the past two months. So on Thursday the hospice nurse swapped it out for a silicone catheter and within 24 hours I developed a UTI, which I'm still fighting. The antibiotics make me sick so we are trying a different one now. I can't seem to hydrate enough. We are pouring water into my feeding tube and stopped the laxative for the duration but my mouth is so dry that I'm afraid the thrush will come back.

Still no vaccines for pALS in NH. But that's the least of my worries. Almost everyone who comes here has been vaccinated.

The Celtics are doing better since the all star break.

That's all I got. Oh, it's March in NH. Mother Nature is moody.

 

[Nikki J]

Jessie I am glad your kitten got a new home and that Rocky adapted. Sorry it had to happen though. Sorry for your fall

it seems like you should qualify for vaccination now as a homebound person ( defined as someone who needs equipment and or assistance to leave home) It says here homebound qualify because of an equity program?
Homebound populations, if not already eligible for vaccination based on the NH COVID- 19 Allocation Plan, are eligible via the Vaccine Equity Allocation Guidance.
https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/covid19/documents/covid19-vaccination-homebound.pdf

 

[nona]

@Nikki J , yes, but no one seems to carry that ball. We called the State hotline on Saturday and were told we'd get a call back.