Recovery From Coronavirus — Or Not

From the early days of getting stats about the Ripley, which I have dubbed COVID-19, I have been more concerned with the rate of recovery more than the mortality rate.  After all, at my age (68), awareness of one's own mortality is, or should be, a given.

I am particularly concerned about the definition of the word recovery.

Those of you who know my personal situation as caregiver of my husband, considered "recovered" by the doctors.  Mr. AOW is far from recovered by any normal definition of the word: we have had, since his major stroke of 2009 at the age of 59, a hospital bed and a bedside potty here in our living room.

This story, dated April 24, 2020, serves only to make my anxiety level rise....

Nick Cordero’s Wife Shares Health Update: ‘He Should’ve Woken Up By Now’

Nick Cordero, the Tony-Award winning actor who starred on Broadway’s Waitress and Rock of Ages, as well as the TV series Blue Bloods, has been suffering from complications related to coronavirus for nearly a month. While being in a medically induced coma, Cordero’s wife, Amanda Kloots, a former Radio City Rockette, has kept friends, family, and fans updated on his health throughout his extended battle with COVID-19.

Kloots, 38, has truly been a vision of strength and hope amid her husband’s dire medical situation. After he was admitted to the hospital on March 31, his condition quickly went from stable to worse. On April 11, Cordero needed to be resuscitated in the middle of the night, and doctors needed to put Cordero on an ECMO machine, which helps “support his heart and his lungs,” she explained.

After it seemed like Cordero, 41, was making progress, Cordero needed his right leg amputated. The surgery went well which revived Kloots spirit. On April 21, she said, “I’m actually, for the first time in a couple of days, feeling like things are slowly progressing. So I have a lot of hope and a lot of — I’m feeling like things are going in a good way.”

On April 23, Kloots shared another update on Cordero’s health. “We’re in a bit of a waiting game,” she said. “There’s nothing on the MRI that says he won’t wake up, which is great news. We are so happy about that. However, he hasn’t woken up and it’s been 12 days of sedation and the doctors do say he should’ve woken up by now.”...

Read the rest HERE.  And please note the photos, which include Cordero's beautiful wife and Cordero's cute son, who will turn one year old in June.

Nick Cordero is 41 years old.

Nick Cordero was a celebrity trainer specializing in jump rope.

What will Nick Cordero's recovery, if he does indeed live, look like?

Voices From The Past

Please take a few minutes to watch the two short videos below:





Below is the most-watched YouTube documentary on the topic of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic — if you have time to watch (over 4 million views):


Now for my family's own stories.......


My father's younger sister, about age 7, died of "the aftereffects of the flu." Something like the 1990 film Awakenings? Full movie HERE at YouTube, albeit poor quality.  I highly recommend the film! It is available via Amazon Prime Video.

Dad occasionally spoke of what happened when his sister died: "The undertaker embalmed Chrissie at the house — and dumped the blood behind the barn."  The funeral service and burial were private.  The influenza didn't stop until everything was shut down: schools, funerals, churches, etc.  And the government refused to believe that something terrible was happening with Americans' health.  Until, that is, bodies began piling up on the sidewalks and in the streets of Washington, D.C.

My maternal grandmother (1898-1981) had a robust immune system. It fell to her to take care of her brother Walter, who brought influenza to their remote location in the mountains of East Tennessee when he was discharged from the US Army, fell ill himself, and gave the flu to his brother-in-law Fred, my grandmother's husband.  My grandmother sent her two children, one born in 1916 and the other in 1918 to her parents' farm and took care of Walter and Fred.

My grandmother related the story of those days in this way: "I got almost no sleep.  I went back and forth between the river for cold water and the menfolks' foreheads.  They were out of their heads with fever.  My sister brought food, called to me, and set the food down about 25 feet from the house; I fetched the food from there.  I don't remember how long all this went on.  Seemed like forever.  But Walter and Fred got well, and life went back to normal."  I asked Wawa how she stood those weeks of hard work as a nurse.  Her response: "Life isn't about what you want to do.  Life is about what you have to do."

A view of the front lines of this grim war against Coronavirus (dated March 23, 2020): The Growing Chaos Inside New York’s Hospitals.

And one more thing...in the immortal words of Gilda Radner:

Why I Despise Collective Guilt

True story....

Back when I was teaching elementary school, a biracial 4th grader who was actually 5th grade age (I'll call him C) responded to my query as to why he failed the weekly spelling test with the following cop out:

"I failed my spelling test because your ancestors held my ancestors as slaves."

AOW: "Wrong!  My father's family objected to slavery on principle and never held slaves. My mother's family lived on land that wouldn't sprout black-eyed peas, so never even considered acquiring a slave. You failed your spelling test because you didn't study.  Man up!"

I'm proud to say that, some three decades later, C and I are in touch via Facebook. He decries his stupidity of all those years ago.  Yes, we have discussed this specific incident.

And, C has thanked me for holding him personally accountable five hours a week, 180 days a year for three years.  His father had walked out, and his mother was undergoing treatment for breast cancer; nobody else was around to hold C responsibility for his own actions.  What a round of tough love we went through! 

Today, C is a wonderful, albeit strict, father and extremely successful in his field (computer systems, one of which is used by one of the big hospitals here).  Oh, and he's politically conservative.

"Bathroom Wars" Not Limited To The Bathrooms — Or To Locker Rooms

Fitting rooms —  now hunting grounds for sexual predators

Fitting rooms, too, including those in retail clothing stores, are now a dangerous environment.

From ABC News in 2011:

Texas Macy’s Employee Fired for Allegedly Violating Store’s LGBT Policy

A Texas woman claims she was fired from her job at Macy's for telling a transgender customer that she could not change in the women's dressing room, according to ABC News' San Antonio affiliate KSAT.

The woman, Natalie Johnson, has filed a complaint with the Federal Employment Commission, saying that her religious beliefs prevent her from recognizing transgender people, according to KSAT.

Johnson, 27, was employed at the River Center Macy's in San Antonio until last week. She said a teenager caught her attention because the teen was shopping for women's clothing, but Johnson was convinced the shopper was male.

When Johnson spotted the teenager in the women's dressing area, Johnson told her she could not change there.

"I had to just be straightforward and tell him, 'You're a man,' and of course that … really got him steamed," Johnson told KSAT.

The teenager's friends argued with Johnson, reportedly telling her that Macy's allows transgender people to change in the dressing room of the gender they identify with.

"I made my choice the other day," Johnson said. "I refuse to comply with this policy."

Macy's did not answer ABCNews.com's request for clarification on its policy regarding transgender customers and where they can try on clothes, but Macy's senior vice president of corporate communications and external affairs Jim Sluzewski issued the following statement:

"Macy's is very proud of our philosophy of diversity and inclusion, and we welcome all customers into our stores. This includes customers of all races, ethnicities, ages, genders, faith traditions, countries of origins and lifestyle preferences. We strive to ensure that each customer is able to shop in a discrimination-free environment."

Asked if she would handle the situation the same way if given another chance, Johnson said she would.

"There are no transgenders in the world. A guy can dress up as a woman all he wants. That's still not going to make you a woman," Johnson said. "If you're a man going into the women's fitting room, I will kindly escort you to the men's fitting room."

I will no longer be using the fitting rooms in retail clothing stores. Too easy for sexual predators to stroll right into those fitting rooms, which typically no longer have a store employee stationed at the door of the bank of fitting rooms.

Shopping for bras — a shopping trip I was planning on in a few weeks — has now become problematic.

Does my level of comfort not matter? 

 Does my personal safety not matter? 

Do MY RIGHTS not matter?

I spit on all those who twice voted for Barack Hussein Obama!

Islam: The Left's Double Standard

With a hat tip to GeeeZ:

Now for a little personal anecdote...

A few years ago, at the swimming pool, I said to another lounge lizard, a retired public school teacher: "Wearing a hijab is like wearing a swastika."

Other lounge lizard (horrified): "Oh, don't say that! It's so hateful!"

AOW (suppressing a smile): "I'm not the one who said that. A Muslim said that."

Other lounge lizard (relieved): "Oh, well. That's different."

Blizzard Of 2016

Here's what it's like as we wake up today, the day after the storm:

Wheelchair ramp at our house.  It has snowed more since the ramp was partially cleared, so now it looks as if nobody did anything to dig out yesterday (Jan. 23)

We'll be days digging out.

No signs of a snow plow here, and we're on a priority-plow schedule.

Gutters are ice dammed, too.

Momentary losses of electrical power.

This does not apply:

An Awakening

For years, I’ve been trying to wake up a particular homeschool parent to the threat of Islam.

I've persuaded via the presentation of historical facts.

I've presented current events illustrative of the Islamic threat.

I've shown films such as Islam: What the West Needs to Know, Fitna, and Obsession.

I've harangued the woman.  At one point, I even followed her out into the parking lot and screamed, "What are you going to do about it? Are you going to wait until one of your own children is beheaded?"

She and her children heard what I said.  And to her credit, the woman did not withdraw from the homeschool group as numerous others have done.

Finally, last week, after some eight years of being confronted by evidence offered by me and others who have personally fled the horrors of Islam in Africa, this parent, the mother of four children, ages 15-22, woke up.

The threat came close to home and hearth.

The awakening required a threat directed at one of her children to bring this woman to her senses about Islam and about the threat that it poses right here in America.

The timing was also important  right.  The confrontation occurred around the time of the breaking news stories related to rapefugees' rampage in Europe on New Year's Eve.

Here's what happened....

The woman's daughter was accosted by a Muslim man right here in Northern Virginia while gassing up the car at a local megamarket.

The young woman, a university junior, was dressed in a sweatsuit.  Apparently, however, she wasn’t wearing “full coverage” socks.

 A Muslim man came up to the young woman and started screaming at her.  "Your ankle is showing!  Your ankle is showing!"

The confrontation got more intense, but I haven't been told any other details.

Fortunately, three burly American men came over to stand beside the young woman.  "Is he bothering you, miss?"

Outnumbered and realizing that he had met his match, the Islamomaniac slithered away.

The young lady — shaken, of course, but also mad as hell — went home and berated her mother: “You lied to me! You told me I am safe here in America. I’m not!”

I'm certain that the mother, a soothing, nurturing type and not a firebrand like me, had over the years been assuring her children that nothing like the things I've mentioned over the years could happen here in America.  And certainly not to her children, to whom she is devoted.  She is a good mother.

She has finally come to realize that the Islamic threat is real and that her own children are in danger.

Both the young lady and her mother understand that what happened at the gas station could well have been a close call. The young lady could have had her throat slit or her head lopped off right there in the gas station.  The mother and I discussed those very matters.  During our discussion last week, the woman's facial expression ran the gamut: horror, sadness, and rage.

As Tammy Swofford stated back in 2009: "The Ummah is beginning to rise as one man." On small scale at the moment. But, as we at IBA know, the Ummah's rising as one man is intensifying and won't be staying small scale for much longer.

There will be more confrontations and more awakenings.  Mostly unreported in the news.

BREAKING: Marie Harf Undergoes Extreme Makeover ... Oh Yeah, and She Attempts To Walk Back Claim There Was No Classified Info in Hilary Emails

How do you like Marie Harf's new hairstyle and wardrobe?

She looks smarter already.



By the way, did you know the word, "Harf" is French for "Scraggy bitch who makes you want to vomit"?

Yep. She's a real Harf, alright.

Happy New Year To Me!

Nerves on fire

Relief at last!

After weeks of agony, I got relief on Thursday from a spine specialist, who administered several lumbar-spine adjustments and several epidural blocks.  These were not pleasant procedures, but they have tamped down all the leg pain and most of the weird sensations (tingling, burning, etc.).  I finally got a full night's sleep on New Year's Eve!

So, fellow infidels, it's back to blogging for me.

The spine specialist doesn't know exactly what is going on with my back and leg, but he'll figure out the problem. He's the most respected spine specialist on the East Coast.

Photographic Proof...

...of Insurance Notice I Received Today (NOT Health Insurance):

We are receiving a $58 rebate on the 2014-2015 premium we paid about 10 days ago.

Has anybody else reading this blog post received any similar information about changes in policy coverage?

Insurance Notice I Received Today (NOT Health Insurance)

Rather, I'm referring to the insurance policy covering our automobiles and our home.

The change in policy coverages reads as follows:

Coverage is provided for direct physical loss except for losses caused by any of the following:

[...]

3.  War, including the following and an consequence of any of the following:

a. Undeclared war, civil war, insurrection, rebellion or revolution:

b. Warlike act by a military force or military personnel; or

c. Destruction, seizure or use for a military purpose.

Discharge of a nuclear weapon will be deemed a warlike act even if accidental.

Never before have I seen anything like the above from my insurance company!

We now get a $58 refund.

Oh, Goodie! The Ebola Summit Is In Town!

Mr. AOW and I had planned a trip tomorrow to the National Museum of Natural History.

FORGET GOING INTO D.C. RIGHT NOW!

With all those visitors from Africa taking in the local tourist attractions, who wants to take the chance on contracting Ebola, this outbreak very possibly being a mutated form of the deadly virus?   Frankly, I, for one, do not trust any assurances from this administration.

Furthermore, this week's traffic in D.C. will be one gigantic snarl.  Even the foot traffic will be unbearable.

Always The Last Place!

Was I ever in a state of agitation this morning! For at least thirty minutes, I was in an absolute frenzy.

I couldn't find the vouchers needed to pay the April 2014 federal estimated tax payment! I knew that our accountant had provided the papers, but they were nowhere to be found.

Until I looked in the last possible place, of course.

From Murphy Laws Site (an excellent site):

Fitna In My Classroom

Yesterday, I showed a DVD copy of Fitna to my American Government homeschool class as part of our study of the First Amendment. Jaws dropped, and, although I had intended that the showing of Fitna should consume less than half the class period, the discussion continued for the remainder of the class time we had.  I made a point of explaining that the word "Islam" means submission  — not peace (an incorrect definition which we hear time and time again).

Both parents and students participated in the discussion that ensued after a few moments of stunned silence upon the conclusion of the film.  One parent, who grew up in Lebanon, provided valuable information about shari'a.  After all, she knows a lot of that information firsthand.

Overall, however, I was amazed that so few parents, quite informed about most current events of all types, were unaware of the beheading of Drummer Lee Rigby on the streets of London on May 22, 2013!

I typically show Fitna to particular classes, which I teach on a rotating basis according to a four-year culce: World History and American Government. To preface the film, I always tell the class a bit about Geert Wilders and some of the events portrayed in the film; I also share with the class some recent current events related to the worldwide jihad. After the film, I sent the students a followup link — this year, Hiding in Plain Sight: Jihadi Activism on Twitter (dated March 24, 2014).

Fitna:

Ethnicity And Race Designations Required?

I admit that I had my doubts about this October 20, 2013 story, "Obamacare seeks to segregate patients, doctors by race" — until I visited my neurologist on December 9. Before that date, I last saw my neurologist on June 17, 2013.

As usual, the girl behind the front desk handed me a sheet with insurance information to verify. I did so by comparing all the numbers on the sheet with the health insurance card that I carry in my wallet, then handed the sheet back to her. She said: "You haven't completed the form. See the top right."

There were two more lines to fill in. One said "ethnicity," the other "race."

Never before has any insurance form in any doctor's office I have visited required such designations!

Having to provide the information on any insurance form makes me uneasy. What's the point?

I noticed two other changes while visiting my neurologist on December 9:

(1) Sheet after sheet to fill out so as to provide a detailed medical history of my immediate and extended family.

(2) Having to be weighed in during my visit.  Never before have I been required to step on the scale at the neurologist's office.  Not that I worry about my weigh-in; I'm well under even the remote possibility of obesity.

All in all, this December 9 visit to my neurologist took up 1.5 hours of my time; of that time, I spent about one hour face-to-face with my neurologist — although I must say that at least 30 minutes of that face-to-face time was consumed by the neurologist having to sit in front of his computer in my presence so as to complete the electronic medical records.  Previous visits to my neurologist have consumed barely 20 minutes of my time.

Ice Crystals Wonderland Here

From WTOP:

We get out of the freezing temps this afternoon.

Tomorrow we expect more snow — probably conversational.

It's too early in the season for this!

Global warming — my ass.

Troubles here

I'm not posting this information at Always On Watch because I'll be out of the loop for at least week and unable to respond beginning Wednesday @ 9:00 A.M., EDT.

I will be having surgery for retinal detachment.

Left eye.

My dominant eye. But no more.

It's too late to preserve 20/20 vision: the macula is already affected.

Following surgery, I am required to remain face down for 45 minutes of every hour, 24/7, for at least a week.  Eye surgery recovery chair:

If the doctor gives the okay, I may set up something like this:

If you can stand to watch it, here's a video of the surgery I'll be having:


I will have very limited web presence until the doctor releases me to use the computer.

9/11 In My Classroom

On September 10 in my American Government/Current Events class, I presented a very effective lesson on 9/11. I made the day “come alive” for my students and the parents who were sitting in on the class. Not a dry eye in the room by the time I was done.

I personalized the lesson with details that my students will never read in history books: the days-long chirping of those cell phones at Ground Zero, the very small body parts, the pink mist in the air, the several hours I spent as I awaited word of the fate of one of my friends in the Pentagon (He, a wonderful man with several kids and a disabled wife, was called out of the building, out of the very room that was destroyed, a few minutes before the plane struck), the children who perished in the day care center at the Pentagon, tales of recovery personnel and what they went through in those weeks following 9/11, the anthrax attacks (the devil in the mail box), the many lost freedoms and the many resulting inconveniences, how this generation will never be as free as my generation, the travesty of the Flight 93 Memorial, and more — including the whitewash of Islam and my anger at today’s dhimmitude and political correctness.

I spoke without notes.

I spoke from the heart.

The last segment of my lesson plan consisted of playing Bruce Springsteen’s “You’re Missing” on the classroom's excellent sound system:

Question About Deer Behavior

A bit of a break from what we usually post here at IBA...

Last night, I went out into my backyard at dusk. There stood a young buck almost identical to the one pictured at the left.

No matter how much I waved my arms, clapped my hands, and shouted, he did not flee or turn away.  On the contrary, he stood his ground and became aggressive in his stance.  The closer I got, the more he stamped his front legs and stared me down.

What was going on?  I've never seen a deer behave in that manner when it isn't rutting season.

41st Wedding Anniversary

Mr. AOW and I are going out to one of our favorite restaurants.

No big splurge on this day, the actual date of our anniversary, because in August we'll be going on a week's vacation at a classy resort — our first vacation since 2007. Best end-of-year teacher present ever!