Another week

Worldwide (Map) 
August 11, 2022 - 588,032,550 confirmed infections; 6,429,100 deaths
August 12, 2021 – 204,965,350 confirmed infections; 4,328,770 deaths
August 13, 2020 – 20,621,000 confirmed infections; 749,400 deaths

US (Map) 
August 11, 2022 - 92,608,650 confirmed infections; 1,035,780 deaths
August 12, 2021 – 36,198,200 confirmed infections; 618,520 deaths
August 13, 2020 - 5,198,000 confirmed infections; 166,050 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
August 11, 2022 - 4,004,555 confirmed infections; 101,985 deaths
August 12, 2021 – 2,554,300 confirmed infections; 75,775 deaths
August 13, 2020 – 569,000 confirmed infections 11,010 deaths

Posts from:
August 12, 2021, “Next phase” 
August 13, 2020, “Slogging” 

News blues

Caring for oneself and one’s loved ones during this pandemic is more challenging by the day. Accurate stats and data is harder to find – due to the lapse in collection efforts. We hear that Covid-19 cases are rising again, but not to worry as redesigned vaccines are on the horizon.
Both Mary and I are as vaccinated as possible yet, given her diagnosis, should we get another COVID-19 vaccine booster now or should we wait for the new shots? 

Read more >> 

CNN’s take on boosters:

…with colder months just around the corner in the northern hemisphere, public health authorities across the world are getting ready for a potential spike in coronavirus cases.
Getting people at risk of severe disease boosted is a big part of the plan. But guidance on who, when and how depends largely on who you ask.
Let’s start with the basics: All adults should have had their first booster by now. The data shows clearly that an extra shot of an mRNA vaccine increases protection, including against severe disease.

Read more >> 

And ABC’s take on booster and Covid:

After several weeks of steady increases in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, there are encouraging signs that the latest viral resurgence may be abating in the United States.
The rate of new infections appears to be dropping, with the U.S. now reporting 107,000 new cases each day — an average that has fallen by 12% in the last week, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Read more >> 

***

On war and culture war

The dark amid the light … or do I mean the light amid the dark?
Overall, it’s good news – at least for an obsessive like me. Yes, I’m an annoying stickler for saving energy when possible. “When possible” includes switching off lights in one’s home that don’t need to be on. Switching off lights is an anomaly in the US where it’s common to leave lights on when exiting a room, departing a living space, etc. Drives me nuts as it’s so unnecessary. Taking just one more second to switch off a light, done by thousands – millions? - of people across country could positively impact the power grids, bring down costs, and burn less coal (and other fossil fuels) to create electricity. Why not train oneself – and one’s kids – to do this small action? Given this obsession, imagine my optimism when I read “Pushed by a looming energy crisis, cities across Europe are switching off the lights.”

While Spain has made such measures mandatory, ordering shops to turn their lights off at night, in other places local authorities are voluntarily hitting the switch, arguing it's a good time to trial light-saving measures.
Berlin is switching off the spotlights illuminating 200 of its historic buildings and monuments, and a number of towns and cities in Austria, Germany and Italy have reduced street lighting or turned off commercial signs.
In France, 14 communes in the Val d'Oise department north of Paris are trialing measures to fully switch off public lighting at night. Local authorities estimate shutting off street lights for three-and-a-half hours every night will help curb energy consumption by about a quarter.

Altogether now: C’mon, people, switch off that darned light! If Europeans can do it, so can you!
Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Nowhere to hide  (0:44 mins)
Getting sh*t done  (0:55 mins)
Biden Kentucky  (1:07 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Photo essay: Europe’s worst drought ever >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Meso Mary is in the back-and-forth stage of post-surgery recovery. One day she feels as if she can cut down on her meds – specifically, oxycodone - she’s afraid of becoming addicted - next day she feels she’s already addicted as she’s unable to cut back. The docs tell her to relax, take the drugs, after all it’s only 3 weeks since her invasive surgery, no need to cut back so soon. She listens, takes their advice, still tries to cut back, and explains, “I’m cutting back just a little bit, an hour here and there, not much.” Except an hour is much when one is discomforted by pain.
Isn’t it?
It’s easy to have an opinion. Much harder to maintain that opinion after one has been through the wringer of diagnosis, surgery, pain, recovery, pain, slow healing, pain….
Mary’s anxiety about addiction indicates the power of the media playing up the unprecedented numbers of Americans addicted to oxy. Yes, opioids are addictive  No, Mary is not a candidate for addiction. For one thing, addiction is unlikely if the drug is taken to address “real” pain. Apparently, it is after pain abates and the patient continues taking the pain killer that addiction arises.
Other than that, Mary appears to be recovering well. She and I walk several times per day, eat well, take naps as needed.

Yesterday, we visited the beach again. A perfect day. 

  

She’s on a trajectory to heal.
Thank the gods.

***

My friend, Linda, an avid gardener has a problem with local residents stealing her succulents. Such theft has been an ongoing epidemec in our town for years. One plants a succulent one day, next day all that remains is a hole indicating the theft. As a fellow gardener, I cannot grasp the notion of stealing plants yet, like stealing catalytic converters, succulent theft happens.
Linda's response is to gently request residents desist.
I hope this works.

Supercharged

The Lincoln Project:
CPAC Day 3 in 2 minutes  (1:57 mins)
CPAC Day 2 in 83 seconds (1:25 mins)
Alike  (0:55 mins)
Wrong side  (0:27 mins)
Randy Rainbow: Thoughts and prayers (3:46 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Scientists have long known and warned that climate breakdown is supercharging infectious diseases, making them more frequent and dangerous. But the new paper quantifies the extent of that growing threat, concluding that a stunning 58% of all documented infectious diseases — 218 of the total 375 — have been aggravated in some way by one or more climate hazards associated with greenhouse gas emissions, including warming temperatures, drought, wildfires, sea-level rise and extreme precipitation.
[Camilo Mora, a climate scientist at UH Manoa and the paper’s lead author,] stressed that that estimate, as alarming as it is, is conservative. The findings exclusively draw on cases with evidence linking climate hazards to infectious disease, he said.
…
…researchers break down the ways one crisis has helped fuel another. Climate change has brought people and pathogens in closer proximity. Warming temperatures and precipitation changes have allowed for mosquitoes, ticks, birds and other disease vectors to expand their range, while human displacement and migration from sea-level rise and extreme weather has resulted in new contacts with dangerous pathogens…. Hotter land temperatures are driving a surge in mosquito-borne viruses like dengue fever, while warming oceans have been linked to major increases in vibriosis, bacterial infections caused by eating contaminated seafood or swimming in tainted water. Additionally, climate impacts have allowed for pathogens to more successfully reproduce and become more virulent, while simultaneously blunting our own ability to avoid and fight off disease.

Read “Climate Change Is Supercharging Most Infectious Diseases…”  >>

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Meso Mary is in the back-and-forth stage of post-surgery recovery. One day she feels as if she can cut down on her meds – specifically, oxycodone - she’s afraid of becoming addicted - next day she feels she’s already addicted as she’s unable to cut back. The docs tell her to relax, take the drugs, after all it’s only 3 weeks since her invasive surgery, no need to cut back so soon. She listens, takes their advice, and still tries to cut back, and explains, “I’m cutting back just a little bit, an hour here and there, not much.” Except an hour is much when one is discomforted by pain.
Isn’t it?
It’s easy to have an opinion. Much harder to maintain that opinion after one has been through the wringer of diagnosis, surgery, pain, recovery, pain, slow healing, pain….
Mary’s anxiety about addiction indicates the power of the media playing up the unprecedented numbers of Americans addicted to oxy. Yes, opioids are addictive. No, Mary is not a candidate for addiction. For one thing, addiction is unlikely if the drug is taken to address “real” pain. Apparently, it is after pain abates and the patient continues taking the pain killer that addiction arises.
Other than that, Mary appears to be - and insists that she's recovering well. She and I walk several times per day, talk, eat well, take naps as needed.
She’s on a trajectory to heal.

I'm on a trajectory to help her heal.  
Thank the gods.

Healing begins

Worldwide (Map)  

August 4, 2022 - 581,482,920 confirmed infections; 6,412,307 deaths
August 5, 2021 – 200,670,800 confirmed infections; 4,264,000 deaths
August 6, 2020 – 18,753,000 worldwide confirmed infections; 706,800 deaths

US (Map) 
August 4, 2022 - 91,961,550 confirmed infections; 1,032,820 deaths
August 5, 2021 – 35,392,700 confirmed infections; 615,150 deaths
August 6, 2020 – 4,824,000 confirmed infections; 158,250 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
August 4, 2022 - 4,004,555 confirmed infections; 101,982 deaths
August 5, 2021 – 2,497,655 confirmed infections; 73,875 deaths
August 6, 2020 – 529,900 confirmed infections; 9,298 deaths

Post from:
August 5, 2021: “Hyacinth as virus” 
August 6, 2020, “Reaching out” 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Wrong side  (0:27 mins)
Eric for Missouri (0:49 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - August 3, 2022  (2:10 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Meso Mary is in the back-and-forth stage of post-surgery recovery. One day she feels as if she can cut down on her meds – specifically, oxycodone (she’s afraid of addiction), next day she feels she’s already addicted and unable to cut back. 

The docs tell her to relax, take the drugs, after all it’s only 3 weeks since her invasive surgery, no need to cut back so soon. She listens, takes their advice, and still tries to cut back. She explains, “I’m cutting back just a little bit, an hour, not much.” 

Except an hour is much when one is discomforted by pain.
This is the power of the media playing up the unprecedented numbers of Americans addicted to oxy. Yes, opioids are addictive.  No, Mary is not a candidate for addiction. For one thing, addiction is unlikely if the drug is taken to address “real” pain. Apparently, it is after pain abates and the patient continues to take the pain killer that addiction arises.
Other than that, Mary appears to be recovering well. She and I walk several times per day, eat well, take naps as needed.
I’m so relieved she’s on a trajectory to heal.

Alas, after this batch of healing ends, chemo begins.     

Let it rain...

News blues

Despite wildfires making their “own weather”, today, San Francisco Bay Area has a light sprinkling of rain. Are the two related? Who knows? In the meantime, let’s enjoy the sprinkles. Read more >> 

***

Every person and every case of covid is unique with no hard-and-fast rule for how sick a person will get or how long a person remains infectious. These guidelines offer a general framework, but patients should consider their different circumstances, priorities and resources to assess risk. 

***

The mesothelioma community is large, tight, caring, and constantly toiling away in the background. Once a diagnosis of mesothelioma is confirmed, the “meso community” gets involved with free materials, free advocacy, legal advice and support, free online seminars – and a library full of free publications, from recipe books to more techno-medico information on types of meso, meso care facilities, the latest on chemo and/or immunotherapy, etc. This community, one quickly discovers, is large, diverse, helpful, and “on the ball.”
As Mary’s primary at-home care giver, I get involved wherever I can to ensure Mary – and I – access whatever information we can to address her long-term needs. (More below.)

On war and culture war

Ukrainian war-art exhibition arrives in Brussels >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Weekend (0:37 mins)
The Boss  (1:47 mins)
Meidas Touch: Texas Paul EXPOSES how Trump is Exploiting Ex-Wife Ivana’s Death for Profit  (3:37 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Mary has been doing well with the meds. She is concerned (so am I) about the oxycodone. The dosage was 10mg immediately after surgery and dropped down to 5mg before she returned home. We maintained the 5mg dose every 4 to 5 hours until last night when we implemented 5mg every 6 hours. This is proving exhausting. That extra hour or so between dosage is, Mary reports (and I see) very challenging. Today, instead of up-an-at-‘em Mary, I see slow moving, short-of-breath, and pain scrunched Mary. 

She’s not her usual self, ready to take on the day. Rather, she’s staying in bed Mary, not hungry Mary, unwilling to engage in protracted conversations Mary. 

She’s also determined Mary. “I’ve gone this far with cutting back the dosage – and I've extended the time between dosages. Why would I stop doing that now? Pain is to be expected. I’ve had my left lung scraped and bruised, banged and bashed. That hurts. Drugs help, but not enough. Let me alone for now. I can manage.”
What can I do but keep an eye on her and let her manage her health her way?

But, oh, it hurts to see her hurt.    

Oh, no, Joe!

News blues

US President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid – again! This is “likely a “rebound” Covid-19 positivity that the doctor noted is ‘observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid.’
Biden has experienced “no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well” and will, as a result, not resume treatment >> 

***

On war and culture war

Photos that define the war on Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Our President  (0:33 mins)
Texas power  (1:34 mins)
Midterm polls  (0:17 mins)
Working for America  (1:26 mins)
Editorial comment: Texas, about 1.8 times smaller than South Africa, shares one big thing in common: neither can supply reliable power to residents.
Trapped (0:57 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - July 29, 2022  (2:09 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Photo to enjoy our world: "Rush hour in The Wartrail, Eastern Cape” [South Africa]
© Lewis Lynch

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Caretaking Meso Mary is both terrifying – I’ve no training in what to do or how to do it – and challenging – I’ve no training in what to do or how to do it. We muddle along. All the tubes that once penetrated Mary’s left lung have been removed. Now, I simply ensure the wound from the tube removal is clean and healing. And it is. I’d add photos here, but they’re gruesome, and not to everyone’s taste. We’ve joked about explaining her scars when next we go swimming. Today’s story is to the inquisitive that Mary was attacked by a sevengill shark. Not quite as sexy as being attacked by a Great White but more plausable since sevengills offer a better shot at survival than Great Whites. Moeover, sevengills are found in SF Bay, aggressive when provoked, and potentially dangerous to humans. According to the International Shark Attack File, sevengills have been responsible for five documented unprovoked attacks on humans since the 16th century.
Other than that, Mary walks a couple of times each day, is cutting back on her drug regime, naps when needed, and all in all is making a remarkable recovery.

***

Visiting my local Walgreens store for, say, toothpaste or Band-Aids is increasingly frustrating. This because these inexpensive goods are locked into transparent cases. I can see what I want but I cannot reach in and get it. Rather, I must find and ring the bell associated with the aisle then wait for the store attendant to come and unlock the case. Same thing for the next item I want. After two or three such frustrating shopping expeditions, waiting for the attendant for minutes on end, I told the attendants I’d not be returning to shop there. I walked out of the store, and I’ve not returned.
My experience is now a “thing” shared by thousands of others. Here’s why >> 
What a world!

Altogether now

Worldwide (Map) 
July 28, 2022 - 573,772,850 confirmed infections; 6,393,400 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 196,414,175 confirmed infections; 4,194,100 deaths
July 30, 2020 – 17,096,000 worldwide: confirmed infections; 668,590 deaths

US (Map) 
July 28, 2022 - 90,973,500 confirmed infections; 1,028,850 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 34,724,000 confirmed infections; 612,050 deaths
July 29, 2020 - 4,451,000 confirmed infections; 151,270 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
July 28, 2022 - 3,998,000 confirmed infections; 101,880 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 2,422,155 confirmed infections; 71,431 deaths
July 30, 2020 - 471,125 confirmed infections; 7,498 deaths

Post from:
July 29, 2021, “Turning tables” 
July 30, 2020, “Another Thursday”  

News blues

Two new studies provide more evidence that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Wuhan, China market where live animals were sold – further bolstering the theory that the virus emerged in the wild rather than escaping from a Chinese lab.
The research… shows that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market was likely the early epicenter of the scourge that has now killed nearly 6.4 million people around the world. Scientists conclude that the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, likely spilled from animals into people two separate times.

Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Really, Lindsey?  (0:48 mins)
Danger zone  (0:36 mins)
Matt Gaetz’s Secret  (0:55 Mins)
This woman votes  (1:46 mins)
The many sounds of Don Jr  (1:10 mins)
Courage  (1:40 mins)
Josh Hawley is a bi*ch  (1:14 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - July 26, 2022  (2:09 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

A friend is driving from Anchorage, Alaska, to Portland, Oregon – a 45-hour journey of close to 2,500 miles/3,916 kms. He’s doing it alone. His last transit through Canada required a delay of more than a day as the results of his Covid test had not reached the Canadians. (A cursory review of Covid test/vaccination requirements for transit through Canada is confusing. Travelers must be vaccinated but it’s not clear if recent test results or lack thereof would or would not delay one'sjourney.)
Yesterday, this same friend was riding his bicycle along a narrow path outside Anchorage. As usual, when rounding a corner, he rang his bike bell to alert anyone on the path of his approach. Instead of another cyclist or hiker on the path, he alerted a female brown or black bear and her two cubs. 
My friend quickly halted, turned his bike around, and skedaddled back the way he’d come. Luckily, mama bear and cubs were as surprised seeing him as he was seeing them. She responded slower than he did and, by the time she was ready to charge, he’d disappeared.
Anchorage’s bears are, however, taking it on the nose – just for being bears.
Anchorage’s city officials decided recently to move their homeless population from shelters in town into tents outside of town and in local parks.

[Recently, Anchorage] … closed its pandemic mass shelter, which had housed hundreds of homeless people throughout the last two years.
When the shelter closed, some people who are homeless moved to Centennial Park, grabbing the 84 available spots after the campground stopped taking reservations from the public.
Alaska wildlife officials have killed four black bears in a campground recently reserved for people in Anchorage who are homeless.
Employees from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game killed a sow and her two cubs and another adult bear… reportedly stealing food from inside tents at Centennial Park.

Read more >> 
I’m speechless. Incomprehensible that not a single city council person remembered that bears live in and around local parks.
The lack of foresight. The lack of care – for animals and people. The lack of humanity…. 

Frightful.

***

Meso Mary is back home and, as she says, “Glad to have some semblance of control over my life again. Now, with my hand on the bottle of oxycondone, I can figure out the pain relief dosage that works for me. I’d prefer not to use too much oxy – or too little. Being able to put aside the pharmacist’s directive (“1 every 6 hours as needed for pain”) for a dosage based upon my actual felt need is liberating. Turns out I’m taking less than prescribed yet managing my pain levels with aplomb.”
That Mary. Always a step ahead of the game.
Gotta love her….

***

Today, during our foray outside to ensure Mary both exercises and exposes her skin to sunshine, we discovered a local resident feeding the ground squirrels. Yes, indeed, many posted notices around the park request no one feed the wildlife. Yes, indeed, this local resident ignored the request and fed the wildlife.
Squirrels, crows, and pigeons enjoyed the handouts. 

Not a week, a lifetime!

News blues

I suspended posting for over a week to learn what I needed to learn to act as caregiver to my bestie, Mary.
A week ago, I accompanied a nervous Mary to the hospital, checked her in, hugged her “tot siens”, and left her in the very capable hands of the thoracic surgery team that would relieve her of an unknown quantity of pleural mesothelioma nodules accumulated in her chest and upon the lining of her left lung.
It's been a rough week, rougher for Mary, but she’s home now.

Before describing Mary’s surgical and post-surgical encounters – and my lesser encounters as care giver, let’s revert to the familiar: the pandemic. 

Or should I say, pandemics? 

Pandemic 1: Covid
An abbreviated set of Covid numbers
Worldwide (Map) 
July 23, 2022 – 569,461,510 confirmed infections; 6,383,200 deaths
July 14, 2022 - 558,366, 400 confirmed infections; 6,357,300 deaths

US (Map) 
July 23, 2022 – 90,390,200 confirmed infections; 1,026,950 deaths
July 14, 2022 – 88,967,000 confirmed infections; 1,022,000 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
July 23, 2022 – 3,998,000 confirmed infections; 101,980 deaths
July 14, 2022 - 3,998,000 confirmed infections; 101,880 deaths

Pandemic 2: Emergent monkey pox
Outbreaks of monkey pox in more than 70 countries is, the WHO declares, an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency.

Declaring a global emergency means the monkeypox outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that could spill over into more countries and requires a coordinated global response. WHO previously declared emergencies for public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016 and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.
The emergency declaration mostly serves as a plea to draw more global resources and attention to an outbreak. Past announcements had mixed impact, given that the U.N. health agency is largely powerless in getting countries to act.
Last month, WHO’s expert committee said the worldwide monkeypox outbreak did not yet amount to an international emergency, but the panel convened this week to reevaluate the situation.

Read more >> 

***

On war and culture war

"You couldn't make this up. Last night Russian state TV ran a report on the unexpected 'benefits' of having your son killed in Ukraine. You can buy a [cheap vehicle] Lada with the compensation given to you by the state!
Watch the report >> 

Moreover, Russia, after coming to an agreement with Ukraine on shipping grain from the port of Odesa, bombed the port – and thereby the agreement.

Russian missile strikes have hit the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, just one day after Ukraine and Russia agreed on a deal that would allow the resumption of vital grain exports from the region.
Serhii Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odessa military administration, said two missiles hit the infrastructure of the port and two were shot down by Ukraine’s air defense.
At least six explosions were heard in Odesa, according to Ukrainian member of parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko.
It comes one day after ministers from both Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement – brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in Istanbul – to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports aimed at easing the global food crisis sparked by war.

Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Tucker Carlson’s Unofficial Presidential Speech  (1:12 mins)
Part of the plan  (1:10 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - July 19 , 2022  (2:10 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Believe it or not! A four-year assessment by 82 leading scientists has found,

A market-based focus on short-term profits and economic growth means the wider benefits of nature have been ignored, which has led to bad decisions that have reduced people’s wellbeing and contributed to climate and nature crises, according to a UN report. To achieve sustainable development, qualitative approaches need to be incorporated into decision making.

Read “Humans need to value nature as well as profits to survive…” Focus on market has led to climate crises, with spiritual, cultural and emotional benefits of nature ignored >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Mary’s harrowing journey with surgery becomes clearer each day as she adjusts to her new reality: pain, confinement, pain, physical limitation, pain, and pain killers. 

The journey will unfold as she becomes more comfortable and I’ll share her own words as we go forward. For now, the summarized version:
Surgery took about six hours. During that time, the surgical team removed an astonishingly large and well-formed series of malignant masses from her chest, lining of her left lung, her heart, her aorta.
Mary had asked the surgeon, previous to surgery, to take an informal photo of what he removes. This, as she, none of her friends and family, had a clue a to what pleural mesothelioma nodules look like.

Now we do.
It ain’t pretty. Indeed, it is astonishing.
“How on earth,” Mary asks, “Did I walk around with that much gunk around my lung and not know?
That’s the question.

Malignant epithelial mesothelioma nodules, exised.
July 15, 2022.

A close look at the photo shows well-formed, well-developed, well-entrenched malignancies. That “stuff” has been around for some decades.
How did it escape detection for so long?
More to the point, how much longer could it have gone undetected ifMary hadn’t heeded the advice of a doctor during a casual conversation?
Back then, Mary admitted experiencing pain in her hip. The doctor suggested x-rays. 

Mary poo-poohed that. “X-rays? For a sore hip? Seems too trivial.”
Thank the gods she took the doc’s advice.
Thank the gods she asked her primary doc’s advice on why she had a short, dry cough while doing certain yoga exercises.
Thank the gods, her primary doc ordered x-rays on her chest.
Here we are, six weeks later, with the gunk displayed here, displayed here. That is, it’s no longer squatting in her chest.

Thank the gods!