Posts by frozenangler9

Thomas Mendoza5 said:Maybe so, but honestly—we’re all crazy, especially me since I’m talking so much trash here. 😁

Alright, look, we all know there's a fine line between genius and insanity, but I don't think you've crossed it just yet. 😁

The main thing is, when you take a peek into another world, don't slam the door behind you—don't forget it's just one way to interpret reality.

In that sense, people like you are actually the least crazy ones; anyone who can't wrap their head around someone else's reality is just as socially stunted.

Being totally "normal"... hmm... I don't know, that might actually need treating too. 😉

Anyway, in a society full of schizophrenics all watching the same movie, any "normal" person is gonna look nuts. It works both ways.

A little more tolerance for different perspectives and life would be easy.

User123 said:frozenangler9, look, it's obvious there are all kinds of harmful radiation affecting people—I actually have this book, "radiesthesia application" by Boris Farkaš, which covers this stuff pretty well. But nowhere in that book does it say you can stop this radiation by just shoving some plastic sheets under your rug. I think it’s fine if some radiesthesia expert checks an apartment for underground water signals and suggests moving your bed away from the path of those signals—that's reasonable. But dropping $100 on some random plate that’s supposed to block radiation? That's just selling snake oil.

What kind of radiation are we even talking about here? Electromagnetic?

The reality is we’re constantly surrounded by electromagnetic radiation from all sorts of sources, but that’s just life now. Maybe it is bad for your health, sure—just like junk food full of chemicals, smog, loud noise, whatever.

Honestly, obsessing over radiation seems more dangerous than the radiation itself, at least when you're looking at health and schizophrenia.

User123 said:Besides magnetic blankets, I don't get why people would buy those plastic plates with copper yin-yang symbols printed on them just to "block radiation." Like, paying $150 for one of those? Makes no sense.

My neighbor. Radiation is her whole thing. So is her sister—who happens to be a geologist—and their brother. All three living under one roof, basically totally isolated from everyone else and without any medical help... they've pretty much gotten lost.

It started years ago with talk about groundwater and using some radiesthesia application guy to position their beds—this has been going on for 15 years now. Their stories sounded "scientific" enough to pass for someone who doesn't know better.

Eventually, the radiation paranoia spread to cable TV, building phone lines, water pipes... even claiming lasers were being aimed at them from nowhere. They started tearing up installations, cut off their own power and phone, and even tried to rip the radiators out of the walls, which obviously wasn't happening. They blamed the other tenants for all their health issues, becoming super hostile and dark.

Then things escalated. Bottles, trash, random stuff like an ironing board started flying off their balcony. They smashed car windows too—luckily, nobody walking by got hit.

So, yeah, they ended up in the hospital with a police escort.

Despite how bad it looks from the outside, I don't think they were completely "crazy." It’s hard to put into words—just a gut feeling—but maybe if things were different, their symptoms wouldn't have been so destructive.

Anyway, I doubt they'll ever move back here, at least according to our building rep. He's working on it. 👎

I have no idea who's looking out for them, but I assume the state will appoint a guardian... leaving their apartment sitting empty.
🙄

Alex Thompson5 said:Why is it so hard for people to actually show some compassion or empathy when others are hurting? Why the hell are people so incredibly selfish?

I don't know—it just feels to me like being truly compassionate and empathetic is what makes someone a spiritual person. It’s the foundation of any actual spiritual practice, not just sitting in isolation or meditating or all that theoretical stuff 🙄 ...

As a civilization, we're collectively selfish. Individually? Even worse. And honestly, it’s simple: love your neighbor as yourself.
Is that even possible? Like, for real, in practice?

It isn't hard to be compassionate if you have the right gear—sort of like having "empathy antennas." 😁

But you know what? I think you can be both compassionate and selfish at the same time. Who says feeling for someone or putting yourself in their shoes is supposed to drive you to act humanely? There are people out there who actually enjoy suffering—their own, other people's... you know? 😉

Still, it seems tough to empathize with anything inhuman—basically anything that's too far removed from your own lived experience.

So maybe the safer route to selflessness is just trying to understand someone else's situation, regardless of how you actually feel about it. 🙂

To me, loving your neighbor seems doable only as a mindset, something born from understanding that everyone is equal. But actively loving humanity—all billions of us? That doesn't seem realistic to me.

Regarding spirituality, whatever you go through becomes your experience. The more empathy you have, the richer those experiences get. Maybe that speeds up the journey toward the ultimate goal (whatever that actually is 😉), by letting you "live" parts of other people's lives.

frozenangler9 said:What’s the deal with conscience, really? How does it actually kick in—is it just self-preservation... or some gut feeling about right and wrong? Where does all that stuff even come from in our programming?

So, what's your take on why we even have a conscience?

And how would you actually define it?🙄

Is conscience more like a spiritual component of being alive—part of the human program?

Conscience is basically that inner voice telling you how to act morally.
If we mess up and don't stick to our own moral code, our conscience calls us out on it. 😉

Morality doesn't need religion to work—it's pretty much built on a logic of balance that applies to everyone... men and women alike. 😁

Looks like we’ve got all sorts of people here, which isn't surprising.

I reckon physical and mental burnout plays a huge role in tanking your immune system—basically, anything that "recharges your batteries" (even if that's different for everyone) helps out.

Being in good shape definitely helps, but personally, I find that just acting like I’m healthy helps more than you'd think.
It's rare that anything actually knocks me flat; usually, I’ll run a high fever for one day and then I'm totally fine the next.

One time, when it hit me, I felt this sudden muscle weakness right along with a scratchy throat—it was a pretty abrupt onset. I wanted to just crash in bed because I felt wiped out out of nowhere, but I stubbornly decided I had to finish the dishes first.😁

The scalding hot water on my hands made me sweat like crazy, and after that, I suddenly snapped out of it and didn't feel weak anymore. I had a little scratchy throat left the next day, but that was about it.

BTW, I heard that taking hot baths right at the start of the flu works the exact same way. Maybe it's worth trying every time?

Christian Sanchez44 said:So what's the deal with this immunity thing... I take vitamins, eat healthy, ride my bike, swim two kilometers every single day in the summer, don't even touch meat... what else am I supposed to do?😲 😁

I don't know, I just have this weird gut feeling that people who cut out meat entirely end up with super fragile health. 🙄

I eat meat—always have loved it—and my immune system seems to be doing just fine.

Between my two sons, the one who eats meat is way more resilient, while the other one gets sick twice as often. 😕

I'm just not convinced that ditching meat completely is actually healthy.

So, I was hunting for some Tylenol at the pharmacy the other day, and they told me the same thing—it’s totally out of stock.
Ended up grabbing some kind of cold ointment with basically the same ingredients.

My husband definitely caught the worst of it, though—he actually ran a fever, which is super rare for him. Probably a sinus infection, too.

As for me, I barely felt it—just a weak sore throat for a couple of days and that was it. The kids had something minor too, but no fever.

It's weird how we all react so similarly to certain bugs (like the flu), but then with others, the symptoms can be all over the place.

Huge thanks to everyone who reached out—whether you posted publicly or sent me a DM. 🙂

Just trying to pull myself together and process everything right now—if that’s even possible.

The more I sit here and think about what happened, the more horrified I get.
This wasn't just some random, one-off mistake that someone could actually wrap their head around—look, anyone can mess up, even badly.

But that attitude? That blatant disregard for the elderly—treating people like they don't matter and intentionally looking the other way because it's easy to hide behind certain statistics... that's just monstrous.

I feel sick. Seriously.

I really hope—actually, I *believe*—that this story will actually make waves and be understood by at least a few doctors who actually give a damn about the responsibility they carry.

I'm not going to dump all my thoughts and plans here just yet, but if you have any info that might be useful, I'd appreciate it.

Finally worked up the nerve yesterday to head down to Mayo Clinic and demand some actual answers about everything that went down there.

It wasn't until today that my sister and I actually managed to sit down with the department head.

Honestly, that whole meeting—it's hard to even put into words.

Even though he knew exactly why we were there, he showed up acting like some host on a late-night talk show—all cheery, smiling, overly optimistic, and just way too polite.
Like he’d rehearsed a routine but picked the wrong stage.👎

He ushered us into his office with this whole "fun social gathering" vibe... he didn't even bother offering condolences then, or at any point during that bizarre encounter.

Despite us asking, he refused to show us any paperwork; instead, he just started rambling about statistics.

In some misguided attempt to explain things, he actually used a joke to make his point:

"An old man breaks his hip and complains to the doctor—'Doc, I broke my hip, now I'm gonna die.'
The doctor replies—'You aren't dying because you broke your hip; you broke your hip because you're dying.'"

That was the peak of tastelessness—just pure heartlessness and nerve. When we gave him those blank stares (which, frankly, was all we could manage), he tried to pivot his act a little.

But he still acted totally condescending, like he was living in some untouchable heaven.

When we asked how they could discharge a patient with symptoms pointing toward an embolism, he just brushed it off saying an EKG was done (which he conveniently forgot to mention earlier) and that everything looked fine.

Since when does an EKG rule out an embolism?
The doctor, being a total dodger, admitted it doesn't, but then said:
- You know how elderly people are, they're always complaining about something. 👎
- Where would we be if we ran tests for every single complaint?👎

And why wasn't a follow-up chest X-ray done?
- It wasn't necessary since she was feeling better and her fever was gone.👎

So why didn't you check her lungs once she started feeling worse again?
- How someone feels is subjective.

We spent about an hour spinning our wheels without getting anywhere.

He even had the nerve to mention he's a court-appointed expert, basically trying to intimidate us in case we were thinking about suing. He told us—with the best intentions, supposedly—that we should think about what we could actually prove. Which, I guess, isn't much, especially since they won't give us the hospital records and the discharge papers claim everything went perfectly smoothly.

I don't know what happens next, but I don't think I can just stay quiet and do nothing.

I started a thread here recently I'm worried about my mom - she broke her hip.😢

Sadly—even though it looked like she was recovering well after surgery and everything was going to be fine—she didn't make it through this injury.

She died from an embolism, the same day she was discharged from the Mayo Clinic.😢

I wouldn't even be posting this on the forum if I actually believed her death was unavoidable or that the doctors couldn't have done anything.
Instead, as the days go by, I'm more and more convinced that the doctors at the Trauma center made some seriously inexplicable mistakes.😢

The night before she was supposed to be discharged, she took a turn for the worse, despite feeling great for days. She called me at 7 PM—it was hard for her to even talk—saying she felt terrible, was struggling to breathe, and had chest pains.
I called the hospital and spoke with the head nurse (the doctor was busy), and I got a promise that they’d check her out and do whatever was necessary if something was wrong.

During rounds, they basically ignored her, even though she personally told the doctor she couldn't breathe. He just told her she had to be sent home because everything looked fine from a surgical standpoint, and she should see her primary doctor for anything else. He either didn't know or didn't want to suspect an embolism. 👎
To top it off, when I called back, they told me—straight up lies, probably—that they’d examined her carefully, checked her bloodwork, and that everything was fine.

They dropped her off at home around 11:30 AM. She was incredibly pale, short of breath at the slightest movement, and dehydrated since she couldn't drink anything due to nausea...

Despite everything, she tried to believe what they told her—that everything was okay and she was just excited to go home. I tried to believe it too for a bit, but after an hour and a half, I ran out of patience and called 911. They took her blood pressure, which was 90/40, and rushed her to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

At Johns Hopkins, they started IVs and began running tests everywhere... chest X-rays, lung scans... they found the embolism.

They put her in ICU, gave her oxygen, and started clot-busting meds, but her heart just couldn't take the strain... she passed away before the medication could even kick in...

An internist at Johns Hopkins told me they could have helped her if the people at the Trauma center had recognized what was happening. He also mentioned that what looked like post-op pneumonia was likely her first embolic event.

The Trauma center didn't even do a follow-up chest X-ray, even though the first (and only) scan showed shadows on her lungs—the results weren't even clear.
I keep blaming myself for being naive and trusting the doctors; I didn't ask if they'd ruled out an embolism because I just assumed that's something you always look for first. I didn't want to act like a "know-it-all" since I'm not a medical professional.

It would be easier if I could just believe this tragic outcome was unavoidable.

But when I think about how they sent her home while she was in a state requiring intensive care—after being warned—I just can't stomach that.

I really thought she was gonna pull through.
It looked like things were finally heading in the right direction...

But yeah, sadly, she didn't make it.😢

granitebadger25, my mom has osteoporosis, though she’s been managing it with some meds—not sure which ones exactly.
She’s pretty on top of her health, follows doctor orders, and hits all her checkups.

She still looks good and feels okay, mostly, but I haven't been able to take her for a walk because the nurses say she can only do that with a physical therapist. Apparently, they aren't allowed—or maybe just shouldn't—do it without clearance.

Plus, the room gets pretty crowded during visiting hours, so there isn't much space to move around anyway.😢

I'm hoping everything turns out fine. She’s just hanging out in bed—she’s got an adjustable remote for the head of the bed, and she actually made a new friend in the next bed over, someone about her age with a similar vibe. Both of them seem cheerful and don't even look sick.😁

Casey Palmer5, thanks for the link, it'll be helpful. 🙂
Based on what’s written there, it sounds like you can get back to a semi-normal life after a few months. I guess I'll see what the doctors have to say.
I'll give an update once mom is out of the hospital—she'll probably be home for about ten days before we head to the spa resort.

Casey Palmer5 said:At Shalat, they actually have a physical therapist on duty even on Saturdays—just one guy covering the entire orthopedic department, but hey, he gets some work done. I don't know how things run at other hospitals, but honestly, this should be standard everywhere. It cuts down on potential complications and speeds up recovery after surgery, which ultimately saves the US healthcare system money. They’re just cutting corners in all the wrong places.

She had her knee surgery at Shalat Saturday—and honestly, she was pretty stoked with how everything turned out.🙂

The nurses should be helping her to the bathroom—I don't see why walking a patient around would be such a massive ordeal. Honestly, this whole thing about carrying coffee, juice, and chocolate? I'm not a fan, but whatever... if you think bringing those things helps, then go for it. At the end of the day, your mom comes first—not some outdated debate about hospital etiquette. This part is actually fine; it's the stealing money that I find absolutely disgusting.

I'll check with the nurses today about that walking thing. Since it's a holiday, I'm guessing the hospital is running on a skeleton crew—probably just the bare minimum staff on duty. It really comes down to how many emergencies pop up and take priority, I guess.

Regarding the coffee thing—I did that under my mom's name, not my own.
I honestly don't buy that this stuff actually impacts the quality of care or treatment—pretty sure it's just a myth, I guess.
I was being a little sarcastic when I asked what I should bring if I wanted my mom to get special treatment. I already know that isn't happening—no matter what. Honestly, I’m worried the American healthcare system is in such a mess right now that nobody is getting flawless care anyway. That's just the sad reality of it. Besides, asking for more than everyone else? Not really my style.
I mean, I think giving a little gift like that at the very end is fine—just not at the start or while they’re actually in the middle of treatment. Once someone finally feels that sense of relief and gratitude, it makes sense they'd want to do something symbolic to show it. Maybe.🙂 )

Look, it’s a vicious cycle—the more she stays stuck in bed, the weaker she gets. As for that walker—we usually reserve those for patients dealing with neurological issues, like balance problems or general weakness, or if their grip is shot for some reason. It basically just offers extra stability. For pretty much everyone else, standard forearm crutches are the way to go. Maybe your mom should just chat with her physical therapist about switching to crutches, assuming there aren't any medical reasons not to. And don't sweat the idea of her walking "wrong"—she's gotta learn at some point.

Her arms probably gave out—she’s not exactly tiny, so she needs some serious strength just to prop herself up. Maybe she’s still dealing with some anemia after the surgery or whatever—I don't know what the actual underlying issue is—but I'm guessing she's just not feeling steady enough right now.

If you actually get the green light to walk her around, you gotta grab her by one upper arm—kind of like walking arm-in-arm—and just be ready to catch her if she starts feeling dizzy. If that happens, you need to wrap both arms around her from behind, right under the armpits, and whatever you do, don't let go. Make sure she leans on the walker. And listen, she can't be squatting or bending down. Just keep an eye out for her breaking a sweat or turning pale, but maybe don't bug her every five seconds asking if she's okay. That's annoying. 🙂

I’m not doing any of these experiments without a nurse standing right there. I’ll check with them to see if they even have a second to deal with this.
(Seems to me like the nurses are slammed—which is a real problem when you're trying to handle stuff that isn't exactly life-or-death. Not much anyone can do about it, I guess. Sadly.)

I honestly don't get why she's not allowed to turn. Maybe it's just hospital policy or whatever, I really don't get that part. Just ask the physical therapist why she can't turn—that's their area. If you catch them at the right time, obviously 😢

I'll ask, for sure, because it sounds weird to me too. I feel like they just don't trust patients and are terrified of accidents, even though they're the ones responsible for them.

I’d recommend finding a solid private physical therapist to work with her before the spa trip.

Already on it. She knows a good one, just gotta figure out if he's in Chicago right now. I'll find someone, won't let that slide.

The leg can NEVER cross the midline again, and she can't ever cross the operated leg over or rotate it inward. Same goes for sitting in low chairs—the max allowed is a right angle between the thigh and torso. Don't worry, they'll explain all this when she's discharged /hopefully, let me know if they don't. She’ll have to learn to live with these limits, otherwise there's a risk of dislocation in the new hip.

Ugh, that part doesn't sound great. 😢
I just hope those restrictions don't mess with her quality of life as much as they seem to be messing with mine. 😉
I'm sure she'll adjust, but I don't get if she'll always have to sleep with a pillow between her legs?😕

stormywolf2 said:if she had pneumonia, then physical therapy stays at a bare minimum—just enough to prevent bedsores. Otherwise, you scale it back because it might actually do more harm than good.

So, yeah, they have to stabilize the internal stuff first—the pneumonia—before moving on to actual physical therapy.

That’s exactly what happened, which doesn't seem weird to me.
I mean, you shouldn't be pushing yourself when you've got a fever over 102°F, right? 😉

I wouldn't recommend taking matters into your own hands. That wouldn't be smart. Anything you want to know about the treatment or your mom's general condition, you have to ask the doctor. For anything regarding her care or physical therapy, you should talk to the Head Nurse on the floor. Don't do anything "on your own" without the nurses or doctors knowing. Everything needs to be coordinated with them.

It's not like I'm planning on doing anything on my own. I'm not one of those people who thinks doctors "don't know anything" and that I know better. 😁
I always ask, and if something specifically worries me—I don't just drop it. (That was the case until we sorted out my mom's bad mood.) Still, I can't exactly squeeze every single question popping into my head all day into one conversation with the doctor.😉

However, you didn't tell us what caused the fall during the fracture. Was it some kind of fainting spell or maybe even TIA—transient ischemic attacks in the brain?

I don't think there was any loss of consciousness before the fall.
She knows exactly how and why she went down. She says she tripped over an electrical cord while trying to adjust the TV antenna. (She was watching some soap opera, and I guess she was too caught up in the drama to watch where she was walking. 😉 )
Most likely, the fall was just a lapse in attention, not some circulation issue in the brain.
Turns out soap operas aren't exactly harmless entertainment. 😎

Casey Palmer5 said:Four days without getting out of bed? Honestly, if that’s true, I’m losing my mind. Don't they have an on-call physical therapist or something?

Where are you even staying, Casey Palmer5? 😉
It's definitely true.
Weekends—Saturday and Sunday—and holidays don't have PT services.
That's how it was at the rehab center in Sedona after her knee surgery too.

Is she steady on her feet and walking with crutches yet? If so—just ask the nurses if you can walk with her for a bit—ten minutes is plenty, though she should sit on the edge of the bed first so she doesn't get dizzy. Seriously, staying down for four days isn't good, I mean it. Besides, if there's no PT, the nurses should be helping her move around.

The nurses? Yeah, I highly doubt that.
What am I supposed to bring them? I brought one nurse some coffee and pastries once... feels a bit thin if I'm looking for that much attention for mom.😉

I don't think she's steady because she's been lying down so long and her muscles have weakened a bit. She’s convinced she’d walk better with standard crutches instead of that walker. She used them after her knee surgery, so she knows how to use them—though I worry since it was the other leg, and I don't know if she's gone on autopilot with the movement, which might cause her to trip or step out with the bad leg.
But the PT thinks (don't know why) she needs to stick to the walker first.

I'll ask the nurses if she can walk with me or them.

I don't get why you couldn't turn her, or why she can't turn herself onto her good hip. The main thing is just putting a pillow between her legs and maybe holding her bad leg while she turns, then immediately sliding a pillow under her knee so you don't get hyperadduction (where the leg crosses the midline toward the healthy side).

Yeah, I can't wrap my head around that either. She says she's not allowed to turn herself, but I'm guessing that's just a blanket rule for those patients who don't follow instructions.
Maybe she actually can.

Anyway, what happens when she comes home (she won't be back at the rehab center until August 29th)?
How long does she need to watch that leg so it doesn't cross the midline?

stormywolf2 said:frozenangler9,
pressure sores aren't some imaginary thing you just can't see on your mom's body—specifically the spots that take the most pressure when she's immobile. So, if there was bad care involved, you’d actually see those pressure ulcers, skin necrosis, and tissue damage on the exposed areas where bone presses right against the skin and the surface.

If they aren't there, then they aren't there. And since your mom is already moving around, let's hope she stays clear of any pressure sores. They can develop super fast in immobile patients, which means since it hasn't happened to her, the nursing and physical therapy must be doing their job.

Well, I'm not even allowed to turn her—at least that's what she tells me. No way for me to check if there's anything going on her back or whatever.
Anyway, I think she's fine and there's nothing to worry about on that front. 🙂

Embolisms happen really dramatically and suddenly, unless we're talking about small microemboli. Those show up as sharp, stabbing pain and can lead to micro-necrosis, basically manifesting as pneumonia—small lung infections that sometimes come with really high fevers.

Is it possible she had a microembolism instead of pneumonia? Can a microembolism go unnoticed, and what kind of fallout does that cause?

She had a massive fever from day 2 to day 6 after surgery, but then it dropped off suddenly to almost normal levels. (That was after switching to Augmentin because the first antibiotic they gave her didn't hit the mark.)
She doesn't have a fever now, looks good, and seems to be in a decent mood.🙂

I told her people from the forum were sending their best and wishing her a smooth recovery, which seemed to cheer her up. 😉
She actually told me to thank everyone for the well wishes and send her regards back. 🙂

By the way, they took her stitches out today, so she missed physical therapy (😕). Between tomorrow being a holiday and then the weekend, she’s looking at 4 days without getting out of bed.
I don't really get how something so important just gets put on hold because of holidays. 😕

P.S. frozenangler9, anything that worries you or concerns you regarding your mom, you need to talk exclusively to the doctors treating her at the hospital, not some Head Nurse or Chief Physician.

If I could even get to the doctor. 😉
Still, it seems like that nurse actually did something useful by bringing in an internist to re-examine my mom. It gave us more info on her condition and cleared up some uncomfortable suspicions.
It strikes me as weird that doctors don't even bother updating their adult, capable patients on their own health.😕

luca said:(give her my best—you know, the one who called like a million times last year before she finally made it to the pain center 😁)

I'll say hi, but I don't think we really need to go through such a long-winded intro about you. 😁

Casey Palmer5 said:Can you tell me what day post-op she's on right now? And has mom been up walking or even just sitting up in bed? Because if she’s already started moving—even just getting out of bed—you don't need to worry about pressure sores. If she hasn't yet, they won't have time to develop since she'll have to start walking soon anyway, and once that starts, you're good.

Then everything's fine. I honestly don't know how long it actually takes for a pressure sore to form, but she was lying down for three days before the surgery and another week after (I guess they didn't move her much after a couple of days because of the fever).
It's been 10 days since the surgery, and for the last 3 days, she's been walking a bit with a walker and some help from a physical therapist.

As for an embolism, I'm hoping we dodge that. Do you know if there's a specific window of time after which you can basically say the risk of complications has passed?

Casey Palmer5 said:I don't think you need to sweat it. Why even ask? You actually think they aren't keeping enough eyes on it?

Look, if prevention just means flipping someone onto their side—and I guess that's all there is to it, who knows—and the nurses are "too busy" to bother, then maybe they don't have as much time as they claim.