by Elaine Rassel I have not had a very good week! Bethany had the misfortune of having her cell phone fall and become no good. Monday night Zachary and she went to get “an upgrade”. I get so tired of hearing “upgrade” whenever anything goes wrong with the phone. These people know exactly how to get you a new one no matter. Whenever I look at some of those Judge programs, I would think that the person asking the person who broke or did something to their cell phone, was asking too much for replacement. Not anymore will I think that! Replacement is not cheap and those asking for a replacement deserve to get it.
Tuesday the phone had to go to a place in S. City to get the screen fixed. It was supposed to be picked up at 4:15 that same day only it was another hour later and the news was that it couldn’t be fixed. We went back home but then the two of them returned to S. City to get an “upgrade”. Maybe she will be more careful in the future.
I picked up a pizza and some potato wedges at the Pizza Ranch and went down to Steve’s to watch the basketball game where MMCRU played River Valley at Remsen on Tuesday night. The MMCRU girls won 74 to 34 while the boys lost by 6 points. The boys just weren’t “clicking” and the River Valley boys weren’t much better. If the last few minutes hadn’t had so many fouls against River Valley and River Valley put most of the free throws in, MMCRU would probably have won. Steve took me home only to find the door was locked. Just at that moment, the two that went to get cell phone replacement, came home.
It was sad news for our community when we found out that Jim Hoefling had passed away. There have been too many of our community that have gone Home leaving us with memories to cherish. We went to his wake at the church on Friday and stood in line for just a few minutes short of an hour. Jim will be missed as it showed with all who had come to pay their respects. May he rest in peace until we meet again.
Wednesday night I went to make banana bread only to find that the “Magic Bullet” I used to smash the bananas with said “amen” and wasn’t going to work anymore. It took me over a half hour to smash four bananas so that no little bit of banana was present.
The next day I went to Wal Mart to get a blender so I didn’t have to take time to get the bananas ready. Once home I couldn’t get the blender together. The instruction book said not to “force” to get it together. Anything self-inflicted would mean the warranty wouldn’t be good. As Zachary was trying to get it together, I reminded him three times of “force”. He finally got the top on but let me know he had broken off a little piece of the rim. (I don’t think there is a piece on this blender that isn’t PLASTIC.)
When I had the bananas in it, it wouldn’t start. The instruction book said it would not start if it wasn’t assembled right. I had said rather than put the lid on it I was going to put something across the top so nothing came out but now this wasn’t going to happen as the lid had to be on or else it wouldn’t start. Bethany came out and finally got it to go. Then I found out I needed one more banana so this time I put the one and four more and did an extra batch.
It was 10:30 p.m. when I finally got the bread in the oven. Twenty minutes later Zachary asked what that noise was coming from the oven. I went to check and found the oven was doing it’s usual thing of shutting off but this time it was at 350 degrees instead of 400 degrees. It said the door was locked. At 12:30 a.m., I was able to get into the oven. So, at 5 o’clock that same morning, I made another batch of banana bread (thankful that I had the extra bananas already to go). This time the oven worked fine. There is a problem, but it will mean a new one to replace a 25 year old one and that could take some time.
Someone did respond to the article on Hammer Toe. At first it was thought poor fitting shoes and lack of finances were the reason for this problem. (I’m not sure if there really was anything that could be done back then.) This person said when she was examined for an ankle problem, the doctor noticed she had a hammer toe. The doctor asked her if she had had bunions removed yes! So, this could be another reason for hammer toe. The person never was told that the removal of bunions could cause this. And, thanks for calling my attention to this.
After I had my hip surgery, the outside of that leg was numb from below the knee to the scar. No other part of the leg is numb, just this area. I was told by the doctor that it is nerves that were cut and it would take a year or so to be normal. So, things can happen after surgery! It really is a weird feeling!
Have you noticed a small shed down by the barn in the pasture? The shed is too small for a normal sized dog but it is meant as a “cat shed”! When it gets too cold, the barn is shut up but there are always one or two cats that don’t make it in time to get in out of the cold so Zachary built this small cat shed so they could have some protection from the cold. I don’t know if there should be a building permit for this shed or not. It is not a permanent structure on a concrete pad so don’t know for sure! It wouldn’t surprise me if an ordinance comes up for these small sheds!
Did you see the article about Welder Tanner King from Auburn, Iowa who welds metal life-like creations? He has welded a pair of metal 24 foot tall oak trees that look so real, people actually go up to them to check out if they really are real or not. Realism is important to this welder and is a big reason why you won’t find him making abstract art. He says that he will not make anything that doesn’t look like it should. Some of his creations are in the Grant Park Trail trailhead. The majority of his business remains commercial welding for area farmers but on the side, he does ornamental welding and likes what he does. (This is kind of like the person that comes to the Marcus Fair and carves animals, etc. out of pieces of trees. They both have a talent for what they do.)
In another article in the News, I have written on Diseases from the Past. It tells how these diseases were listed when they were over with or probably never gone for good. It tells the difference in Pandemic, Epidemic, Outbreaks, and Endemic. Some countries are making tentative plans for when they might start treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease.
In a recent newspaper article, there is a story on how an unvaccinated patient has been denied a heart transplant. He is a 31-year-old father of two and was told by a Boston hospital that he was denied because he hasn’t been vaccinated against the coronavirus. He says he is not against vaccines and has had other immunizations in the past but is now concerned about the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines. His family has raised tens of thousands of dollars for this heart transplant. They feel this is not just a political issue but that people need to have a choice.
The hospital responded by the fact that COVID-19 vaccine is one of several immunizations required by most U.S. transplant programs, including a flu shot and hepatitis B vaccines. They also said that research has shown that transplant recipients area at higher risk than non-transplant patients of dying from COVID-19, and that its policies are in line with the recommendations of the American Society of Transplantation and other health organizations. Because of shortage of available organs, the hospital does everything they can to ensure that a patient who receives a transplanted organ has the greatest chance of survival. No patient is placed on an organ wait list without meeting those criteria. There are more than 100,000 candidates on wait lists for organ transplantation and half of those will not receive an organ within five years.
His family related that he has a hereditary heart issue that caused his lungs to be filled with blood and fluid and required immediate surgery. Following this, he was transferred to Brigham and Women’s (Boston) where doctors inserted an emergency heart pump after another medical setback. The pump is only temporary and that he is still weighing its options, including transferring him to another hospital for a transplant. The patient says that doctors and nurses have been nothing but compassionate and amazing to him.
So, what would you do if you were this man? Would you go for the vaccination and hope for no side-effects or would you hope someplace would take you for a transplant without this COVID-19 vaccination?
Remember to keep in your thoughts and prayers those who have lost family and friends recently to death, those who will have a change in their life due to this, are experiencing health problems, those who are struggling to make ends meet even though they are working, encourage those who are not working to find a job so others don’t have to work doubly hard because of workers’ shortage, and to those who are still trying to find a way to build a bridge rather than a wall to be a family once again or to be a friend.
I will leave you with this quote from Barbara Bush (1925-2018) American first lady: “Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people—your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way.”