Posts by brisklynx51

Carl Kern66, I'm so sorry.

My dad passed away today. He's home now—peaceful, just like he wanted...

Amanda Anderson87 said:so, how's everyone doing? iiiii, kco, Zachary Howard2, little birdy, Lawrence Turner43, school stuff... how are all your favorites?
...

over here, the main issue right now is the pain. ....

inra, unlike you guys—we aren't dealing with much pain, at least :/
dad is getting calmer by the day... we got one of those anti-decubitus mattresses, so we just pet him and watch him 24/7, and that's basically it.
he's been on a nasogastric tube since last Friday—it was pretty scary at first, I guess, but you get used to anything eventually.
still, there are these "awake" moments. and then I'm his best 😬. I ask, "did they let you smoke?" he waves no, so we end up smoking together. well, he can't do anything on his own anymore, so I just hold the cigarette to his mouth, he takes a drag, makes this sweet little sound, and smiles. so there you go—at the end of the day, we're finding joy in cigarettes, which are probably the reason this whole mess started (though, who knows, even non-smokers get hit). I guess it's just our way of coping...

thanks for the tip 🙂
we checked Craigslist and everything, so we'll probably make a call on which way to go in the next few days—we'll figure it out. (we rented a bed without a mattress, since that wasn't an option. there was one house that had a mattress, but the springs were totally shot)

Angela Wright said:@brisklynx51/">@@brisklynx51
you should really try to get a hydraulic hospital bed and an air-pressure anti-decubitus cushion... you can rent them from local clinics—either private or public—for maybe $300--$133/month, or you might even snag one for free through a local charity or hospice support group. You’ll be broken without them, and once those pressure sores start spreading and getting infected, well, it's a nightmare. Just a suggestion.

Yeah, we picked up a hydraulic hospital bed and it makes things a bit easier, I guess.
We're looking into an air mattress now... but nothing about cushions. I had no idea you could even rent those—I figured they'd just tear and then you're stuck patching them up, plus cleaning them properly is its own whole ordeal. Anyway, we've been trying to corner our primary care doctor, but she went on maternity leave—didn't bother to tell us—and finding a replacement is basically impossible 🙄.
At least we got some diapers, adult briefs, and wipes from the main clinic. Of course, they won't tell us a single thing unless we practically beg for it.

Gary Thomas13 said:Sadly, Dad lost his battle today... he didn't suffer, though. He didn't die in pain... he just stopped breathing within five minutes...

Gary Thomas13, sincere condolences from me too—hang in there. It sounds cheesy, I know, but knowing he didn't suffer really does help...

My dad—his left side is completely paralyzed, and we're starting to deal with pressure sores. He’s like a demon, though; he somehow manages to use his right hand to toss aside every barrier we put up and roll onto that side 🙄 and that’s honestly one of our biggest struggles right now.
Then there's the swallowing issue. We aren't sure if it's a stroke affecting the center, so we'll have to see about the reflex. We're delaying the feeding tube as long as possible, since there are still times during the day when he can manage on his own. The real headache is the medication—we have to hit specific windows...
The worst part, I guess, is that he seems more conscious than before. That’s what kills me. And he barely speaks. He just nods when I ask him things, and he "says" nothing hurts, which is some small comfort. Like today, when I got home from work and gave him some soup, complaining about how hot it was and how much I didn't want to be there, he just reached out with that right hand, stroked my head, and went "ohhh"...🙂
It makes me think of those posts about Blasia and her mom. How it all felt toward the end. And man, I actually miss the days when he was "impossible"—when he’d be drinking through the apartment like a heat-seeking missile and doing stupid stuff (like saying "I need to brush my teeth," walking into the bathroom, grabbing the soap, and trying to eat it)...
Only thing is, Dad is still around 180 lbs. Which makes turning him or changing diapers a nightmare. We all have to jump in at once, because there is no way one person can handle it alone...

Anyway, just a little update on where things stand... (reminder—small cell lung cancer, with metastases in the adrenal glands & brain)

Carl Kern66, isn't it better this way? We're working in shifts—he’s "there" one minute and drifting off the next. Then he tries to walk—well, more like sudden lunges—and we all jump because his balance is shot and he's just so weak. He's mostly restless and would be smoking constantly if he could, which obviously would have set us all on fire—almost did once, actually.
He's still eating—if you nudge him—though I totally get what Gary Thomas13 meant about the teeth clenching 😬... and so on. It doesn't seem to hurt him—at least from what I can tell and what he tells us when he's actually lucid.
Oh, right—we got the follow-up CT results back, and they aren't actually terrible. There's some regression, but there's primary CA in the lungs and metastases in the adrenal gland. The takeaway is that chemo helped, but since it doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier—the metastases in the brain have gone rogue. So, yeah. It makes sense why I was asking the doctor about the brain and preventative radiation at the start—which is usually standard protocol—but it's NOT at Mayo Clinic (they don't touch anything involving the endocranium there unless neurological symptoms show up). But whatever, I guess it's pointless to stress over things you can't change...
I just hope the worst isn't tucked away somewhere in that messy brain of his. For now, judging purely by his expression, I don't think it is. That's the only thing making me feel even slightly okay.

Gary Thomas13 said:They basically hit him in the head, which solved some issues—like his vision, I guess—but he’s still mostly out of it. He’ll be sweet and affectionate one minute, then acting totally drugged up the next. When he really snaps, he just rolls out of bed wanting to use the bathroom, and we have to help him, but then he wants to go right back to bed—and he does this like ten times in a row. There are moments when he’s almost lucid, but he constantly calls us by the wrong names—calling me by my brother's name, or calling my brother someone else entirely. We try telling him it isn't us, asking him to focus, and sometimes he recognizes us, sometimes he doesn't. We were actually at Mayo Clinic about ten days ago because they wanted to scan his hip to see if there was any change in his head or pelvis, but he just couldn't settle down—they failed six attempts over three days. They give him something to calm him down and he falls asleep, but as soon as they get him down to the CT scanner, he starts acting restless again.

I feel for you, truly. Especially those sudden "ideas" about needing the bathroom or whatever. We're basically on call 24/7 ourselves. By morning, I already know he'll probably have sat up and laid back down 10 or 20 times. It’s like he has no concept of time or even who we are—everything is just a blur to him. It looks like the new target might be the frontal lobe too, since the seizures have started.
He's supposed to go in for a CT tomorrow, but honestly, I think that mission is pretty much impossible :/.
(By the way—small cell lung cancer, metastases in the adrenal glands, brain, and starting in the liver)

Hang in there.

I'll try to keep this short—maybe.

• My dad—he’s 69—was just diagnosed with microcellular lung cancer this October. I guess we're looking at what's next.
• Started the PE protocol pretty quickly—knocked out all six cycles already. No regression, unfortunately—though I guess that’s just my luck, since about 80% of patients see decent results on their first try with this thing. Typical.
• Follow-up X-ray—showing some progress (though it’s subtle—at least things haven't gone totally sideways in my lungs, I guess).

now - mine First off, there’s all this rage over how protocols vary from one hospital to the next—it's a mess. At the local community clinic, they stick strictly to the PE protocol, even though both the WHO guidelines and most major hospitals suggest scanning the endocranium at the same time. I guess consistency isn't exactly their priority.. 😠

Things are looking pretty grim right now—the brain metastases have progressed to the point where Dad’s become demented and delirious almost overnight. We had an MRI done privately back in March—since his oncology team at Mayo Clinic basically follows a policy of not even looking at the brain unless there's a neurological breakdown—and it showed multiple metastases, specifically in the left occipital region and some spots hitting the medulla. There’s one larger mass in that occipital area, which isn't the scariest part, though it is messing with his vision and causing light sensitivity. But those multiple spots on the medulla... yeah, those are tricky. 😢
It all passes eventually—even the stuff that feels like life or death to us right now, I guess.
Just so things don't get too "boring"—we had an episode last Monday. It started out as a partial—Jackson type—and then escalated into a full-blown grand mal. Honestly, it was pretty brutal to watch. Paramedics rushed him to the local hospital over in the suburbs, and I really don't even want to get into what his patient assessment looked like. My dad apparently has that paradoxical reaction to Diazepam—which isn't exactly unheard of—so he was super agitated after the seizure. He spotted me through the door, recognized me, and just kept screaming, "Angela Wright, untie me, get me out of here..." so I just sat there waiting. Eight hours. They watched him until they eventually had to restrain him—which, fine, sometimes that's necessary—and then once he calmed down a bit, they just sent him home?! No EEG, no consultation with a specialist neurologist, just handed him some anti-epileptics and said, "good luck." He finally fell asleep at home. 🙂 We ended up having to patch him up—legs and all—since he basically beat himself up while tied down... I guess.
Back at it again this Wednesday—though it was just Jackson having an episode. It was an emergency, so they didn't transport him further, but—surprise, surprise—they gave him Normabud once again. Even after we explained everything, their response was basically, "Well, it's possible, but it’s all we have and it's what we use for seizures." They left, and Dad ended up in this wide-awake, totally manic state for nearly 24 hours. He was doing these automatic movements—running around, brushing his teeth ten times in a row, grabbing a bar of soap like he actually wanted to eat it... you get the idea. So yeah, Dad is definitely "not all there." It doesn't help that he’s physically massive—he's 90kg and moves like a track star when he decides it's time to clean or lock the front door—so trying to hold him back is pretty much impossible.
Nah, I definitely went overboard—I guess. 😳 So, the gist is that since his last MRI, things have changed—there were no lesions in the upper half of the brain before, but now there's one in the frontal lobe. It’s probably on the right side, since the attacks seem to start with his left leg—or so a friend of mine who's a neurosurgeon tells me. And those frontal and temporal areas? Yeah, they're responsible for him losing things—to put it mildly. 😢 )
I know everything is going downhill—and I mean really bad. Honestly, the only thing getting me through this mess is how "wicked" he is. We’ve got a little one who just started walking and basically treats the whole house like a bathroom. He has these moments where he's actually coherent, though—like we'll be rambling about nothing, the news will be playing in the background, and he'll suddenly chime in to critique some Senator's statement by name. It’s a bit much to take in sometimes, but we're slowly settling back into a routine—working shifts, chatting with him—and I can see he actually thrives on it. Even if the topics are mostly nonsense. At the end of the day, I just want to see a happy face and bright eyes—as long as he isn't in pain, that's all that matters.
Yeah, we set things up with the nurses—he’s officially cleared for home health visits twice a week since he's mobile. We'll cover the rest out of pocket, though. Honestly, for the three of us to handle everything? It’s just too much—mentally, at least. And physically... well, it takes two people just to catch him when he decides to bolt.
..........
Anyway, sorry for rambling earlier—I just needed to vent somewhere. And hey, if anyone has tips on staying sane—mostly mentally, since all three of us barely got two or three hours of sleep this week—let me know. He can't stand being in the hospital, and I really don't want to deal with those screams like we did back at the ER 😢
One more thing. Normabell isn't putting him under, and they're telling us the alternative is a barbiturate. But considering how much that suppresses breathing, and he already has those DG lesions in his medulla, the doctors are pretty terrified to even try giving it to him...

I’m all for pulling the permission from FictionSmith.
Look, I used to be one of those permitted users—and while I haven't been following his posts religiously—his main "offense" was basically just creating burner accounts to bypass bans.
Honestly, if there isn't any harassment or constant swearing at everyone in sight, I don't see why he shouldn't be reinstated. I mean, I’d actually love to hear a specific explanation for this. 🤷

Aaron Harris2 said:You've received a partial ban on MK.
Given the recent activity on other subforums regarding the Wall, and considering your chat communication with the woman you mentioned—which happens on another subforum (if I'm not mistaken, Television)—plus the fact that she has a private messaging option, this specific interaction won't be necessary.
We don't need a user like that on MK.

As far as I'm concerned, this discussion is over for good, and we might as well lock it before an influx of similar types arrives. For appeals, contact admins hollowtrucker77 or Tyndall. Thanks.

Could you please explain the bolded part? What kind of "actions" are we talking about, and which PDF is involved? And what kind of user is Kimberly Garcia74? We're starting to split into "good" and "bad" users again, just like the old days. In this case, regarding your precious PDF 😕—is it just your fear of Kimberly Garcia74? Is she some kind of forum suicide bomber or something that scares you? You aren't letting her post on the forum (I don't believe it, I seriously don't believe it 😁), on your PDF, because she posts on TV and can address the woman there. 😕
So, I guess that makes Television garbage, or just a troll PDF, whatever. 🤷
It's funny how none of the admins seem to notice this, right? This little private drama and the gloating over everything involving the Wall. Which, by the way, doesn't exist—so why even bring up the Wall, man, if you weren't involved in all of it?

Recently, Lastan wrote to a moderator in the banned section saying, "you disgust me," and they lifted his ban. Now I'm telling you, Aaron Harris2, you disgust me. Maybe I'll survive. 🤷

p.s. Why is the thread still here if posts are being deleted?

You aren't really part of this story, so nobody owes you an explanation.
hollowtrucker77

Twilight zone. They’re vanishing on me too—and a few others. Tina. Nina.

Since when was it okay to start threads targeting specific users—especially the problematic ones? 🤔

Honestly, this whole thing with Missy and oblica is just a complete circus—a total mess, really (and I’m barely even swearing here 😠)

It's honestly just pathetic 😢

Exactly.

I’ve got two main threads going, and one used to be Zidić. Since when did they start wiping chat topics on the Off sub without any warning or public explanation? There were actually more people hanging out there.🤷

It's not even true, but seriously—just "delete me too," please, because this whole thing is just ridiculous.🙄

Maybe Xica or an Index account would work. The issue is I don't have a Xica login or even my Social Security number—whatever that number is called... which is basically the most important thing. But I guess you can get by without it (if you're one of those ancient students 😛)

...pure nostalgia 🤣 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXa9tXcMhXQ

Xica doesn't really need it 🙂—first she wouldn't even give me the info, so I ended up acting like a total nag and calling someone higher up... honestly, an index or just some proof from the registrar should be plenty enough

Frank Garcia85 said:They really care about your Social Security number—that’s what goes into the system when you buy a ticket—but undergrads just get it on their student ID, and older students have it on their university records, or even their alumni cards. I guess part-time students don't get the meal plan subsidies, but that's probably a whole different conversation...

...well, I'm basically an old-timer at this point. I finished my extra credits, but they didn't give me a formal student ID or any specific registration number. I still have my old transcript, though. 🤷

I mean, I'm doing things my own way, I guess, but I'd actually love to feel like a real student for once. 🤣

Students who show a valid Index card or a university certificate (containing their SSN) can grab one ticket at a special price of $83 — this deal lasts for a month once sales kick off. There's a limit on how many tickets are available.
The student pass covers both days of Lollapalooza. This discount is open to full-time and part-time students, and it applies to everyone—even students coming from outside the US.

They include part-timers too. But part-timers don't have any extra cash 🙂 so what are they supposed to do?

kraftwerk 👋 and maybe FF again..

😲
I get the same "thing" happening—no warning at all. It usually hits right when I'm drifting off. It feels like these little bubbles or spheres just growing inside my head. As soon as I snap my eyes open, it stops. And yeah, it can happen again 🤷. I eventually pass out... it doesn't really freak me out, but I guess I'm curious about the how and why 🙂

here's some Nikić quality http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBF9hKoaQxM
i guess I could never get tired of him 😍... though yesterday, Stagger Lee was probably my favorite 🙏: