Posts by Angela Wright

Linda Patel21 said:Zachary Howard2, I’m glad things are looking up. It’s honestly wild that you had to step in and basically tell the doctors how to do their jobs. When someone is sick, they’re completely at the mercy of the system. At this point, the only thing that matters is getting him back on his feet.🙂

That’s just your luck, Zachary Howard2—you’ve clearly spent enough time dealing with hospital staff and their nonsense to know how to navigate it... Ugh, just thinking about it gives me chills. I remember being patronized with that condescending "honey" and "sweetie" routine at the hospital when I called out the head nurse. She’d ignored the doctor's orders and tried to give my mom the wrong dose and concentration of Mannitol in her IV. She actually had the nerve to ask what my medical specialty was. You should have seen the look on her face when I told her I specialize in costume design over at TTF.😁

Mark Murphy79 said:Let me stir the pot a little here. Roughly speaking, what does an exam like this run you? And is this tech available at any local hospital, or is it strictly something you have to go to a private clinic for?

It’s available in hospitals. For instance, I know they have it in places like Indianapolis. I remember reading a post from someone else once about how they used this method to catch cancer right at the junction where the thin part of the bowel meets the thick part. It was a mess because the patient already had a massive amount of metastases, yet nobody could pinpoint exactly where the primary tumor was hiding. If my memory serves me right, doctors at an Institute in Chicago sent him home with nothing but an occult tumor diagnosis, but then they finally nailed it down using this method over in Indy.
I suspect they don't use this technique all the time simply because it’s likely much more expensive than a standard colonoscopy. It feels like they're just pinching pennies until they've exhausted every other possible option.

Thank God. Things are finally looking up. Is anyone actually eating?

For God's sake, someone give him something for the pain! They've honestly lost their minds.

cosmicsurfer17 said:Look, I didn't get mixed up. 😉
I’m not usually one to spiral, but right now? I'm genuinely spooked. Out of everything, my mind went straight to that one article—I even found myself scrolling through those AARP pages, and honestly, it sent a chill down my spine...

I have no idea what specifically they were talking about, but the whole thing is pure nonsense—it's basically claiming we're being pumped full of oxygen by bats on a daily schedule. 🙄
Personally, those AARP types really get under my skin. I'd categorize them as part of a fundamentalist motherhood cult that morphed from what used to be a fairly decent, normal advocacy group into something much more extreme.

She really ought to head over to her doctor to get scheduled for some joint imaging and a rheumatoid factor blood test. Unfortunately, rheumatoid arthritis isn't just some condition that sidelines the elderly; it hits young people hard too, so we need to rule that possibility out as quickly as possible.

Ultrasound is a completely safe, non-invasive way to get an assessment, and it’s hands down the gold standard for monitoring a pregnancy from day one. I think you might be confusing it with an X-ray. An ultrasound works by sending out high-frequency sound waves that bounce off objects to build an image. It’s basically the same principle bats use to navigate their surroundings.

redwolf57 said:My left fingers went numb about an hour ago. I've never had anything like this happen before. Is this something I should be worried about?

Which specific fingers?

It’s typically the thumb, index, middle, and half of the ring finger—those are the ones governed by the median nerve—and you're likely looking at Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It's a classic issue for anyone spending hours hunched over a computer, typing and clicking with their wrist at a weird angle, or just repeating the same repetitive motions all day long.

Paul Allen11 said:I found some Tylenol at home, but there's absolutely no expiration date printed on the packaging—no year, no month, nothing to show when it expires. I already took one dose; what's the deal with stuff that doesn't have a date listed?

Nothing, other than the possibility that it won't actually work.

Amanda Miller69 said:I wasn't originally, but now I am. I’m going wherever he can get faster, better treatment.
He’s in the ICU right now; tomorrow he might move to a regular ward where he’ll stay for at least a week or two, and then we’ll head straight to oncology.
I also need to talk to my contact over at the Research Institute.
The worst part is how the family expects miracles from me—they want me to guarantee everything will be fine, as if it all rests on my shoulders. My husband is holding up okay, but we have to "package" the news carefully for my mom, otherwise, it'll be nothing but tears and drama. I'm just terrified that once Dad gets home, she won't be able to stop herself, even though I told her strictly not to... I'm dreading the fallout.🙄

Look... listen, just tell them the truth, or at least a version of it. Tell them, "This is the situation, this is the plan, and we'll see what God decides." There are no guarantees in life, period. Always emphasize that you acted immediately and didn't wait, because waiting would have made things much worse. I read somewhere that aggressive tumors like this often respond well to radiation. In my opinion, there's still a real chance to get this under control and give him more quality time.
And hey, I know he's your father-in-law, but please, don't carry this weight like he's your own parent. You've already carried your fair share of crosses; be the support system for everyone else, especially your husband, but do not let yourself get swallowed up by this more than is fair to you. Don't let that happen out of habit. Just remind them that you've dealt with bad experiences before—like when you were dealing with that tenth diagnosis—so at least you know exactly who to call when things hit a wall. That's all there is to it.

I’m not sure if you really caught my drift here... basically, oncology treatment over at the Jordan facility is handled exclusively by pulmonologists for lung cases (which seems totally backwards to me), while everything else gets sent straight to the main oncology department at Rebro. Since I’ve been making frequent trips to that new green and white building lately, I can tell you firsthand that the outpatient clinic there is night and day compared to the old setup they had down in the basement of the main building. The vibe is actually pleasant—plenty of seating, music playing in the background... I don't know, Rebro has always felt more reliable to me. They have more doctors on staff, and at the end of the day, it is a Mayo Clinic level institution. But hey, that's just my take, and it really comes down to what you would do if you had a connection somewhere else. You might want to look into where treatment could start sooner, especially considering everyone's vacation schedules. If having a contact at the Institute means jumping the line to start oncology treatment immediately, then that’s definitely something worth weighing. There is absolutely zero time to waste.

Oakwood falls under the jurisdiction of Rebro... and honestly, you know my take on the Institute. Just use your head—how reliable is that connection really going to be when it comes to getting what they need, right when they need it, and in any decent shape? I'm not going to spoon-feed you the answer... stop listening to that nonsense.

I feel you... you really ought to see what the parties look like in your thirties 🙂
You’ve just got to tackle everything head-on; there’s no other way. I hope you’re holding up okay after that massive market crash

Michelle Young74 said:I really need some advice regarding my mom. She’s 53, went through menopause a few years ago, and suddenly started bleeding again out of nowhere.
She’s also dealing with some pelvic inflammation—that’s what the doctor told her after she went in complaining about pain. They ran an ultrasound, confirmed the infection is pretty severe, and put her on antibiotics.
I’m honestly spiraling because I know this kind of bleeding isn't supposed to happen after menopause; everything I read online says it's a major red flag.
She does stay on top of her Pap smears, but she also has uterine fibroids.
Should we be worried? What steps should we take? The problem is, she’s just brushing this whole thing off like it’s nothing.

She needs to get to a gynecological ER immediately. That bleeding isn't a period; it's likely coming from those fibroids. She needs to sit down with her specialist and seriously discuss having them removed, because as women get older, those things can grow rapidly and turn into a massive medical headache.

Amanda Miller69 said:Thanks.

I just found out the surgery went fine—no complications. It hasn't spread any further, though the lymph nodes are slightly enlarged. That could just be from inflammation, or it might mean there are metastases that haven't moved past the nodes yet. We’ll know more in a day or two once the pathology report is ready. Everything hinges on that for deciding if chemo is necessary.
For now, she's in the ICU for the next four or five days before moving back to a regular hospital room.

Look, seriously, ask around about that whole "maybe we don't need chemo" scenario... I've seen cases where people thought they were clear, only for things to flare up out of nowhere. If you're looking at that option, you absolutely have to get a second opinion, especially given how tricky this diagnosis is... damn it, I'd go through an extra round of adjuvant therapy in a heartbeat just to make sure every last cell is dead.

Amanda Miller69 said:We’re waiting on the surgery tomorrow... they already shaved him down, gave him some bitter solution to drink, and hooked him up to the IV. It absolutely broke my heart leaving him today; he was just sitting there in tears. I’m just praying that tomorrow’s results come back good and that things haven't spread too far...

He’s a fighter, he'll pull through this. Things are rough right now, but once he wakes up from the procedure tomorrow, everything is going to feel different. I really hope it’s still caught early enough—you guys definitely did the right thing by getting this handled immediately.

OrchidLover said:deleted content

Under the law, you’re required to turn medications like these over to the AMA or a local pharmacy. Advertising, selling, or donating them is strictly illegal.

boldnomad45 said:I’m thinking about getting some in-home help for my mom. Does anyone have recommendations? For example, I was reading that kind of service is offered by places like Kindred Nursing, $13 per hour, and I’d love to hear how you all handled home care for seniors. My mom is still mobile, but she’s finding it harder and harder to manage the cooking and housework. Also, what are the general prices for assisted living facilities in Chicago for seniors who are still relatively active? Thanks!

Around $1333 a month. Residential facilities are usually somewhere around $2333 depending on the specific location.
Your best bet is to hire a retired nurse. You can find those types of listings easily. There are plenty of people out there who just take the money and do absolutely nothing, but if you go this route, you'll actually get someone who knows what they're doing. The cost really depends on the level of care required, but you're going to have to sit down, call around through various ads, and vet them personally.
If it’s strictly about the cooking, I think it would be much cheaper to arrange for meal delivery services. It doesn't cost a fortune, and she'd have a hot, ready-to-eat meal waiting for her every single day.

driftingsurfer14 said:Thanks to you both.

Things got incredibly complicated with my dad. Those severe headaches were actually the fallout from melanoma metastasis (he had surgery with Paladino back in March), and everything has just spiraled downward since then. 😢
I'm slowly trying to wrap my head around the fact that he's gone, but honestly, I feel like it'll take the rest of my life to truly process it because I still find myself expecting him to just walk through the door at any moment. 😢

I am so incredibly sorry...😢 When melanoma hits like that, it’s such a damn brutal disease.

I see you've become a mother in the meantime. I really hope she brings you endless joy; while nothing can ever truly replace a loved one who's passed, I hope she provides some sense of comfort. Wishing you all the best, dear, and congratulations on taking on the most important role of your life.

Amanda Miller69 said:My father-in-law was admitted to the hospital yesterday. They had to run a bunch of tests they couldn't do back in Boise—EKGs, spirometry, getting an anesthesiologist involved, all that stuff. He’s spending today and tomorrow flushing his system out, and it looks like he’ll be headed into surgery by Thursday or Friday.
The absolute worst part right now is the waiting game, just wondering what they're going to find once they actually open him up... but we're praying for the best.

Zachary, things will play out how they play out. You've got a daughter anyone would be lucky to have, so hold your head high. You pulled off a miracle in such a short window, and that's purely because you've got that damn experience under your belt...
.
.. honestly, I have to admit, this just feeds into my paranoid suspicions that everything that happened with my mom was actually just a way to gather experience for what comes next... it's pretty terrifying to think about.🙂