Category: sickly

covid · Europe · just do it already · planet · save our world · scary · sickly · tragic

Hey, EU, How About Those Vaccines?

GOING NINETY MILES1 Comment

I have been quite patient. I really have. But as the days tick by with this complete vaccine fiasco here in the EU, I am getting angry. And I’m not the only one. What the hell is going on? We aren’t getting any answers just more restrictions, another lockdown, more negative news. Hey I have an idea. How about instead of spending all your time on new restrictions, why don’t you figure out how to speed up the vaccinations? Smart, right?

WHERE ARE THE VACCINES?

The U.S. is vaccinating people left and right! My parents who are 75 and over are vaccinated. Hallelujah! My brother, my sister-in-law, my friends in TX, NY, OR, CA, OK, KS are vaccinated! Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy for them. Some were very emotional to be vaccinated and even more so with their parents being vaccinated.

And the EU? I live in Mallorca. Armengol is our Balearic President and she just makes me laugh more and more ever day. But not happy laughter, more like maniacal laughter. Everything she says and does just gets worse and worse. The vaccines? Only 4% of our population in Mallorca has been vaccinated. This started in December! And here we are in April with only 4% vaccinated. Lord help us. They started with people in elderly homes and hospital staff. I read a report yesterday that “a record number of people” were vaccinated last week. Who knows what this “record number” is, but I’m sure it’s not much. I know a few people who have received theirs, they are doctors and some teachers. But the grandparents are still waiting. We are still waiting.

In Germany, it’s the same. My parents-in-law are over 75 and have no news when a vaccine will be available to them. It’s so frustrating for them, for us, for the family members who so desperately want to get together.

It’s not like the vaccines are “new” anymore. These have been available since the end of 2020. And here we are, starting the fourth month of 2021 with nobody doing anything to help the situation. Get your act together EU! What are you doing? Here is the latest as of March 13, 2021.

And every day there is a new regulation. Last week it was face masks at the beach. Even if you have enough distance to be safe. And then two days later it was overturned. They open the restaurants, the next week they close the restaurants. We were able to have an Easter paella at 3pm (because all restaurants close at 5pm) outside (because all indoor seating is closed) with about 75 other people all in close contact. While if the restaurants were open longer, for actual dinner, it most likely wouldn’t be as crowded because there are more times for people to go. And let’s not forget that our lovely Balearic President, Armengol, was caught a few months ago for drinking at a bar after closing hours. breaking her own laws that she is enforcing.

Don’t even get me started on the fact that Germans could fly here for Easter holidays but Spaniards from the mainland CANNOT. WHAT?!? People are getting tired of this rigmarole and Mallorca is going to lose all those tourists they are so badly wanting, needing. Greece is ready for you, tourists!

Even the WHO has said this is a serious problem. “The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alarm on Europe’s “unacceptably slow” rollout of COVID-19 vaccines as it warned of a “worrying” surge in coronavirus infections.”

EU what can you do? I don’t know but maybe ask the U.S. for money or how they are doing it so quickly. To the so called leaders of the EU, do the job you were hired to do. Because at the moment all we are seeing is failure.

I know that Covid is real. I believe in science and I am very thankful for all of the frontline people who have been working so hard and putting their lives on the line to fight this. I have been following protocol since day one, I think masks are important, social distancing is important but VACCINATING your people is extremely important as well. EU we are waiting. And not patiently anymore.

Do your job.

sickly

Shoulda Woulda Coulda

GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

I guess I should have got that flu shot while I was in the U.S.A. Ahhhhh, I always think about it but never do it. It actually could be much worse. I just feel a little bit blah. A little bit achy, a sore throat, tired, sniffly, a little headache and possibly a little fever. See, it is only a little of everything.

Next time I will get only a little bit of the flu shot. Will be back on the blog soon. Stay healthy out there! cough.

familia · sickly

Hospital Daze

GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

  I apologize for not posting lately. I flew back to the States late September to be with my mom while she had a difficult surgery. I thought I would be able to send some posts out but it is amazing the amount of time spent when taking care of someone you love – plus watching my adorable two nephews! Ayden has learned how to climb up the stairs at an amazing rate but going back down, um, not so good. So I had to watch that cutie so he wouldn’t take a tumble and smash his cute noggin onto the floor.

The time in the hospital had its good moments with the doctors and nurse staff, and then it had some extremely frustrating moments. I was going to complain in a post about some of the healthcare my mom received but I have changed my mind. What I will say is, don’t be afraid to ask questions, to double check they are giving the right medication, the correct dose, if the doctor said he wants this done and they refuse or change his orders, request to see the manager and demand the doctors orders are followed. If you don’t feel you are getting good care, things answered, speak up!

But I still wanted to explain to y’all about the time spent – Mom had surgery on her kidney and ureter, she was in the hospital for five days and then was able to go home. All was going well! Every day she made improvements and soon she was requesting her five o’clock glass of wine. But then she began having back pain and then two days later started throwing up. Back to the hospital we went. She was upset, nervous and sad to be sick again. And one of the worst thing is we couldn’t get any answers as to what was going on.

For two days she was in the hospital, groaning from the sharp pain in her side and shaking from always being nauseous and vomiting. Was this from the surgery? Was this a new problem? A second CT Scan was ordered and she had to drink this awful mixture for them to see contrast with the scan. She came back from that exhausted and more nauseous. Poor mama!

The nurse gave her some new medicine to control the nausea and she drifted off to sleep for several hours. And when she awoke she was a new woman! The pain and nausea had subsided and she practically jumped out of the hospital bed and was ready to go for a walk around the nurses station. When only a few hours before that PT was sent away immediately because there was no way she could get out of bed without crying in pain and throwing up what little was in her stomach.

I cannot even begin to tell you what a  relief it was to see her without pain. Without getting sick from sitting up in bed. I almost did a jig with her on my arm.

Later that night I came back to the hospital as I always did, every night, to stay til 12, 1 or sometimes 2 am. And she was up in bed watching Wheel of Fortune. We talked about things; the next steps (she had to swallow a camera tomorrow morning to look at the esophagus, stomach) but she also told me about this dream she had the first night she was readmitted to the hospital.

She was sitting in this large oak tree by a stream, and this tree and stream were so familiar. It was where she would go as a young girl living in Wisconsin to get away from her farm chores and her four brothers and sisters. She would hide away in the tree and read and watch and dream. And then the dream changed – it was me and her sitting under the tree with fruit and cheese and wine. We were smiling, happy and comfortable. But as dreams always do it morphed into me as a snowflake and she was a leaf on the tree. But she was connected tightly to the tree and I would cover her with snow to keep her warm.

Granted mom was on morphine and other medications but I had been by her side until about two in the morning that first night. She said she felt safe and warm and happy. I had tears in my eyes by the end of her telling the dream and I had to pretend to get something out of my bag to wipe them away.

I loved the thought of me wrapping her in my cloak of a snowy blanket to comfort her. I hope all of us have someone to take care of them and love them when they are scared and in pain. Someone that allows their mind to take them back to their dreams of childhood. The time when there was no fear. No sadness. No sickness. Only joy and clouds and giggles and most of all, dreams of living forever. I am and will always be, your snowflake.