Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[h20skibum]

All this talk of broken bones and ER visits, and I feel like we were tempting fate going out for a trail hike today.  There are still a few trees, that came down in the storm 3 weeks ago, that were blocking parts of the trail. 
 

 

That one was the easiest to climb around.  A couple were challenging. 
 

Some other views were nice, like this waterfall. 
 

Somehow, Susan got ahead of me at the covered bridge. 
 

 

It was the last of our near 80° days for a while. 

 

 

 

[QueSeraSera]

11 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Some other views were nice, like this waterfall. 

Beautiful waterfall.

Certainly beats the inside of a mall, even it was nice to spend time with our granddaughter.  

If you ever see an old man standing outside a Hot Topic store, don't automatically think the worst.  Most likely you would find a granddaughter with grandma shopping inside.  Grampa's comments on some of the clothing were not appreciated, I think 🙂.

 

[dani negreanu]

5 minutes ago, QueSeraSera said:

Most likely you would find a granddaughter with grandma shopping inside.

 

A very happy b'day to your granddaughter, and pls. let us know the "score" 😉

[derorim]

56 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

All this talk of broken bones and ER visits, and I feel like we were tempting fate going out for a trail hike today.  There are still a few trees, that came down in the storm 3 weeks ago, that were blocking parts of the trail. 
 

 

That one was the easiest to climb around.  A couple were challenging. 
 

Some other views were nice, like this waterfall. 
 

Somehow, Susan got ahead of me at the covered bridge. 
 

 

It was the last of our near 80° days for a while. 

 

You have such beautiful places to take a walk!

[QueSeraSera]

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

let us know the "score"

About 60 to zero but let me explain.

Ground rules have been for her & other grandkids, $50 but if we go a little bit over that's ok.

She casually mentioned on the ride over to the mall that her other grandparents had sent a Visa gift card for $100 & she had it with her.

I said great, but you know the ground rules are $50 with a bit over being ok from us.

Between a necklace, a bracelet, and a book from Barnes & Noble, the score was approx 60 - nil.

Final stop was Target for some pimple patches (pls don't ask but its why I have no pics).  She stepped in front of me & paid for them with her Visa gift card.

I'm not worried about the kids of today.  They're beautiful.

 

[jmh2006]

I just finished reading this lovely thread from Tuesday thru now and boy I missed a lot.  I had a crazy 4 days last week down in North Carolina where DH and I are building our retirement home so that I could make all the selections, exterior colors, interior colors, cabinets, counter, flooring, electrical placements, closet configurations, lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, landscaping, appliances, sound system and security systems.  It was exhausting.  It was a tremendous help to have a good friend/decorator with me to keep me focused and on track.  DH stayed home 😄.

 

[brillohead]

13 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

How does someone who might have a broken ankle physically leave the ER to get home?  I sure couldn't when I broke my ankle.  It wasn't long after my xray in the ER that a surgeon was called and I was notified that I would need surgery.  There is no way I could have made it home and then back to the ER.  Pain was major even after they gave me pain meds since it was dislocated as well as broken.

 

As has been stated, not all breaks are the same.  If it can be stabilized properly, then the person would be able to go home on crutches.  

 

 

6 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Any competent ER doc should be able to read an ankle x-ray and not have to wait for a report. I read the studies that I order and tell the patient I'll let them know if the radiologist sees something different from me.

 

True, but the state of staffing right now in much of the country leaves a lot to be desired....

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, jmh2006 said:

I just finished reading this lovely thread from Tuesday thru now and boy I missed a lot.  I had a crazy 4 days last week down in North Carolina where DH and I are building our retirement home so that I could make all the selections, exterior colors, interior colors, cabinets, counter, flooring, electrical placements, closet configurations, lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, landscaping, appliances, sound system and security systems.  It was exhausting.  It was a tremendous help to have a good friend/decorator with me to keep me focused and on track.  DH stayed home 😄.

 

Curious where you are building in NC, shoreline or inland?

[brillohead]

8 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

I was surprised several years ago to learn that most broken bones are not considered an emergency, since they typically aren't life threatening.  A visit to the ER for a broken bone using insurance that I had at the time would have an extra charge because it was not a legitimate ER visit, i.e. not a true emergency.  Absolutely ridiculous.  

 

Yes and no.  Emergency in this case is loosely defined as "danger to life and limb".  

In the case of a broken (or suspected) broken bone, there is actually a potential to lose the limb if the break is such that circulation is compromised (blood flow gets pinched off).  This isn't the type of thing that the average person is able to assess, so it's a legitimate reason to seek emergent medical care.  In the event there is a choice between an Urgent Care or an Emergency Department, a (suspected) broken bone in an ambulatory patient can be treated at an urgent care.  But if the person can't be taken to an urgent care (can't get to the car, etc.) or if it's after hours, a broken bone in the ED will be treated as "needing emergent care".

A cut that just needs stitches can go to an urgent care, because it needs assistance before office hours the next day, but it's not going to kill you in the next hour.  But a cut that is SPURTING blood can go to the Emergency Department because if the arterial bleed isn't stopped, the person could bleed out in as little as a few minutes.

A sore eye or case of pinkeye can go to an urgent care, but an eye that is popped out of the socket or a foreign object piercing the eye can go to the Emergency Department because there is a potential to lose sight in the eye (which, while not technically a "limb" for the "danger to life or limb" description, is considered as such for these purposes!). 

 

I had actually called my doctor's after-hours number on a Sunday afternoon about 15 years ago for a really bad case of pinkeye (I wanted to see if I could get some drops called in for it because of how much goop was coming out of it, rather than waiting to see my doc the next day -- I basically had mucus streaming out of my eye like a snotty nose on a kid with a cold). Based on the speed of the progression of my symptoms, the phone-triage nurse told me to seek attention at the ED within the next four hours or risk loss of vision.  (I had a raging sinus infection that had spread to my ears and eyes, so I ended up with an antibiotic injection PLUS antibiotic pills PLUS antibiotic eye drops PLUS a follow-up appointment scheduled with my regular doctor the next day to make sure it wasn't progressing.)  

Back in the early 90s, I ended up with a urinary tract infection.  The symptoms started up on a Friday afternoon, and by the time I got out of work from my second job at 11pm, I was urinating blood.  I went to the local ED, peed in the cup, got the UTI confirmed, and walked out with antibiotics.  A couple months later, I got a notice that my insurance had denied my claim because I went to the ED for something I should have seen my regular doctor for. 

 

I called the insurance company and told them to look at the time of the visit -- 11pm on a Friday, with blood in the urine. At the time, there were no urgent care centers (and even now that we have them, they're all closed by 8pm), so if I hadn't gone to the ED I would have needed to wait until Monday morning to see my regular doctor.  An untreated UTI can develop into a kidney infection or even sepsis and death, so waiting 60 hours until I could see my doctor could have cost a lot more than just a quick ED visit.   They investigated the claim, discovered that I was right, and approved the payment for my visit to the ED.  (And yes, I seem to have a propensity for contracting infections on weekends when I can't see my regular doctor!)

 

People love to gripe about how long they had to wait in the Emergency Department before they were seen/treated by a "provider" (that term was thrown in especially for @Ocean Boy! LOL), but in reality, probably 90% of the things that I've seen come in to the ED didn't need to be seen in the ED at all if it was between the hours of 8am-8pm when the urgent cares in my area are open.  If you're waiting 12+ hours to be seen in the ED, it's either because your situation isn't really an emergency (most likely) or because there are more people having way worse emergencies than yours.  

Yes, it sucks to wait 12 hours to get stitches because you sliced your hand instead of your bagel, but you're way better off than the people in the back who are getting CPR and having strokes and have broken bones sticking through their skin.  

If all the people with sprained ankles and toe pain and toothaches would go see their primary care provider or go to an urgent care for treatment instead of the ED, then the wait times in the ED would be greatly reduced, and the financial strain on both the federal system (Medicare/Medicaid) and the private health insurance companies would be greatly reduced as well. (And don't get me started on how many of those toe pain patients arrived via ambulance after calling 911 and they don't have to pay a dime for it.)

 

But in order for that to happen, we need to have more urgent care centers with extended hours, and we need a LOT of education for the general public about the reasons to go to an Emergency Department and the reasons to go to an Urgent Care Center.  

 

PHEW, sorry about that.  I couldn't decide between GIFs, so you're getting both of these:

 

 

[brillohead]

15 hours ago, barbeyg said:

I work in a corporate setting of a physician-owned company, and I often say it would be nice if we had standing Valium prescriptions from our fearless leaders….joking of course….mostly. 😂

 

Maybe a wet bar would make the ER more tolerable. 😁  The beer flight/wine flight bar at our local  Kroger sure has more husbands willing to go “grocery shopping” with the wife. 

 

You have nooooooooooooo idea how many times we've wished for an Ativan nebulizer to be automatically released into the rooms of people who press their call light ten times an hour!  

[grapau27]

Good morning.

It is partly cloudy and 52°F here in North East England.

Today would have been Pauline's dear late mam's

101st birthday.

Her last cruise was with us on her 90th birthday on P&O Ventura.

She shared our cabin on 6 cruises 4 of which were on RCL in Suites and Junior suites.

I hope everyone is well and good wishes for everyone to have a fantastic day.

[Ocean Boy]

[bobmacliberty]

6 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

Yes and no.  Emergency in this case is loosely defined as "danger to life and limb".  

In the case of a broken (or suspected) broken bone, there is actually a potential to lose the limb if the break is such that circulation is compromised (blood flow gets pinched off).  This isn't the type of thing that the average person is able to assess, so it's a legitimate reason to seek emergent medical care.  In the event there is a choice between an Urgent Care or an Emergency Department, a (suspected) broken bone in an ambulatory patient can be treated at an urgent care.  But if the person can't be taken to an urgent care (can't get to the car, etc.) or if it's after hours, a broken bone in the ED will be treated as "needing emergent care".

A cut that just needs stitches can go to an urgent care, because it needs assistance before office hours the next day, but it's not going to kill you in the next hour.  But a cut that is SPURTING blood can go to the Emergency Department because if the arterial bleed isn't stopped, the person could bleed out in as little as a few minutes.

A sore eye or case of pinkeye can go to an urgent care, but an eye that is popped out of the socket or a foreign object piercing the eye can go to the Emergency Department because there is a potential to lose sight in the eye (which, while not technically a "limb" for the "danger to life or limb" description, is considered as such for these purposes!). 

 

I had actually called my doctor's after-hours number on a Sunday afternoon about 15 years ago for a really bad case of pinkeye (I wanted to see if I could get some drops called in for it because of how much goop was coming out of it, rather than waiting to see my doc the next day -- I basically had mucus streaming out of my eye like a snotty nose on a kid with a cold). Based on the speed of the progression of my symptoms, the phone-triage nurse told me to seek attention at the ED within the next four hours or risk loss of vision.  (I had a raging sinus infection that had spread to my ears and eyes, so I ended up with an antibiotic injection PLUS antibiotic pills PLUS antibiotic eye drops PLUS a follow-up appointment scheduled with my regular doctor the next day to make sure it wasn't progressing.)  

Back in the early 90s, I ended up with a urinary tract infection.  The symptoms started up on a Friday afternoon, and by the time I got out of work from my second job at 11pm, I was urinating blood.  I went to the local ED, peed in the cup, got the UTI confirmed, and walked out with antibiotics.  A couple months later, I got a notice that my insurance had denied my claim because I went to the ED for something I should have seen my regular doctor for. 

 

I called the insurance company and told them to look at the time of the visit -- 11pm on a Friday, with blood in the urine. At the time, there were no urgent care centers (and even now that we have them, they're all closed by 8pm), so if I hadn't gone to the ED I would have needed to wait until Monday morning to see my regular doctor.  An untreated UTI can develop into a kidney infection or even sepsis and death, so waiting 60 hours until I could see my doctor could have cost a lot more than just a quick ED visit.   They investigated the claim, discovered that I was right, and approved the payment for my visit to the ED.  (And yes, I seem to have a propensity for contracting infections on weekends when I can't see my regular doctor!)

 

People love to gripe about how long they had to wait in the Emergency Department before they were seen/treated by a "provider" (that term was thrown in especially for @Ocean Boy! LOL), but in reality, probably 90% of the things that I've seen come in to the ED didn't need to be seen in the ED at all if it was between the hours of 8am-8pm when the urgent cares in my area are open.  If you're waiting 12+ hours to be seen in the ED, it's either because your situation isn't really an emergency (most likely) or because there are more people having way worse emergencies than yours.  

Yes, it sucks to wait 12 hours to get stitches because you sliced your hand instead of your bagel, but you're way better off than the people in the back who are getting CPR and having strokes and have broken bones sticking through their skin.  

If all the people with sprained ankles and toe pain and toothaches would go see their primary care provider or go to an urgent care for treatment instead of the ED, then the wait times in the ED would be greatly reduced, and the financial strain on both the federal system (Medicare/Medicaid) and the private health insurance companies would be greatly reduced as well. (And don't get me started on how many of those toe pain patients arrived via ambulance after calling 911 and they don't have to pay a dime for it.)

 

But in order for that to happen, we need to have more urgent care centers with extended hours, and we need a LOT of education for the general public about the reasons to go to an Emergency Department and the reasons to go to an Urgent Care Center.  

 

PHEW, sorry about that.  I couldn't decide between GIFs, so you're getting both of these:

 

 

 

Since a lot of people like to complain about an ER visit, here's a positive story.  Micheline was drying a wine glass when it broke and cut her hand.  Our neighbor nurse looked at it and said she should probably visit the ER in case there's any glass in the cut.  This was a weekend evening.  There was a fairly new (within 2 years) hospital near us so off we went.  We'd never been there before.  We were checked in immediate, waited less than 60 seconds before being called back to an examination room, and then waited no more than a couple of minutes before a nurse was taking her vitals.  The doctor appeared before the nurse was done.  All very impressive. 

 

The doctor's white lab coat had his name and also his title...CEO West Chester Hospital.  I tactfully asked him why the hospital CEO was working in the ER on a weekend evening.  He said that he takes a shift in the ER every few weeks to make sure he stays in touch.  That also impressed me.  We had a few other experiences with that hospital, including ER visits and outpatient procedures, and the staff there was always excellent.   Like any business, good leadership makes a big difference.

[h20skibum]

Eight years ago today, we were at the hospital to welcome the birth of our granddaughter.  We will probably see her briefly today, but next Saturday will be the big birthday party.  

[grapau27]

26 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Eight years ago today, we were at the hospital to welcome the birth of our granddaughter.  We will probably see her briefly today, but next Saturday will be the big birthday party.  

Happy 8th birthday to your dear granddaughter.

[aussielozzie18]

36 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Eight years ago today, we were at the hospital to welcome the birth of our granddaughter.  We will probably see her briefly today, but next Saturday will be the big birthday party.  

Happy 8th Birthday to your granddaughter.  

[jmh2006]

9 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Curious where you are building in NC, shoreline or inland?

We are going to be in Leland, NC which is just across the Cape Fear river from downtown Wilmington.  We have been visiting since 2005 since my parents retired there.  My father is still with us and just moved to a beautiful brand new Independent Living complex closer to Carolina Beach.  

[brillohead]

In case anyone is wondering why Memorial Day (end of May) is the "safe to plant" day in Michigan, this picture of the back yard came up in my FB memories from this day three years ago:

 

 

 

And this is a picture of the back of my car as I got out of work at 7am today:


 

 

 

And yes, we had temps in the 80s and the air conditioning was on two days ago.  

Our tourism department uses the slogan, "Pure Michigan" to entice people to come visit the state.  I think a more accurate phrase would be, "Where else can you get sunburn and frostbite all in the same week?"

[brillohead]

I'm not super big on automation / technology (I don't have anything against it, I just don't have much of anything in my life that requires it / would benefit from it), but I do have a Google Home Mini (like an Alexa) that I got for free.  Pretty much the only thing I use it for is to stream a local radio station once in a while.

I just found a new use for it... I couldn't find my phone, and I don't have a landline so I can't just call my phone.  So I said, "Hey Google, make my phone ring" and my phone started ringing and I found it!  

I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of that.  Everyone else has probably already been doing that for years, but if not, feel free to use my "life hack"! 

[xpcdoojk]

On 4/14/2023 at 4:33 PM, BonTexasNY said:

Speaking of Dolphins, we usually see them as our ship departs Galveston.  Such a nice sight.

 

On another note, can anyone help with the comfort of those zero gravity loungers?  Are they comfy for reading with my legs up?  The following is just an example of the type of lounger I mean:

 

 

 I went to my favorite food store Central Market today.  They sell crisp NY Macintosh apples in season, in addition to real NYC pastrami.  The pastrami name is Carnegie even though the famous deli in the theater district closed.  The most authentic I've had in the Dallas area.  Tonight's dinner will be pastrami sandwiches on crusty sourdough rye, potato salad, cole slaw, all from Central Market.  NOT your usual store bought salads or bread.  Trust me on this.  I also bought something I had never seen before; dark chocolate covered pistachios.  Unbelievably delicious.

.  

 

 

My wife made me buy two for the lake house last summer.  THey are a bit bulky, but they are very comfy.  We ordered ours from Costco.  

 

JC

[Ozark_Kid]

24 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I'm not super big on automation / technology (I don't have anything against it, I just don't have much of anything in my life that requires it / would benefit from it), but I do have a Google Home Mini (like an Alexa) that I got for free.  Pretty much the only thing I use it for is to stream a local radio station once in a while.

I just found a new use for it... I couldn't find my phone, and I don't have a landline so I can't just call my phone.  So I said, "Hey Google, make my phone ring" and my phone started ringing and I found it!  

I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of that.  Everyone else has probably already been doing that for years, but if not, feel free to use my "life hack"! 

I misplace my phone often.   I usually say..... Hey Sharon, call my phone.  I think I will try Alexa next time!

[h20skibum]

24 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I'm not super big on automation / technology (I don't have anything against it, I just don't have much of anything in my life that requires it / would benefit from it), but I do have a Google Home Mini (like an Alexa) that I got for free.

Like Bob, I have many Alexa routines to control things.   Although yesterday, Alexa was being problematic, and I sometime loose patience with her.  Several times I have asked her to turn on lamp 1, and she will ask “which lamp 1 do you want turned on?”

 

Me: “There is only one lamp 1, turn it on!”

 

Then she will go thru the whole thing again, before she eventually turns it on.

 

In our house, when we have a party, it usually takes place in our living room.   So I may be the only one to channel Garth and Wayne to name my routine to turn on all the living room lights as “Party On”. Even the grandkids enjoy that one.

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, jmh2006 said:

We are going to be in Leland, NC which is just across the Cape Fear river from downtown Wilmington.  We have been visiting since 2005 since my parents retired there.  My father is still with us and just moved to a beautiful brand new Independent Living complex closer to Carolina Beach.  

Nice Area, whenever we leave Virginia and downsize we are looking at Southport, NC looks to be only about a half hour from where you are building.

 

You probably know that area well also since you have been going to that area for years.

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

I'm not super big on automation / technology (I don't have anything against it, I just don't have much of anything in my life that requires it / would benefit from it), but I do have a Google Home Mini (like an Alexa) that I got for free.  Pretty much the only thing I use it for is to stream a local radio station once in a while.

I just found a new use for it... I couldn't find my phone, and I don't have a landline so I can't just call my phone.  So I said, "Hey Google, make my phone ring" and my phone started ringing and I found it!  

I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of that.  Everyone else has probably already been doing that for years, but if not, feel free to use my "life hack"! 

 

Uh oh.  This is how they get you.  You find a second (after playing music), relatively small but occasionally important use for Google Home (make my phone ring).  Then maybe you're setting alarms/timers, asking it for a weather forecast, or possibly traffic conditions on the way to work.  Before you know it, you're creating a morning routine like I had before retiring.  I'd wake up on a work day and say "Alexa, good morning".  She'd turn the kitchen lights on at 50% brightness and say, "Good morning Bob.  The current weather is xx degrees with partly sunny skies.  Today's forecast is for sunny weather with a high of xx degrees and a low of xx degrees.  xx company stock (my company) closed yesterday at $xx.  Traffic to work is normal with an expected time of xx minutes.  You have xx days left before retirement.  Have a great day".  The weather forecast and traffic were useful, but the stock price, and especially the days left before retirement, were more for fun. 😁

 

39 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

In our house, when we have a party, it usually takes place in our living room.   So I may be the only one to channel Garth and Wayne to name my routine to turn on all the living room lights as “Party On”. Even the grandkids enjoy that one.

 

I'm definitely stealing that.  

[jmh2006]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Nice Area, whenever we leave Virginia and downsize we are looking at Southport, NC looks to be only about a half hour from where you are building.

 

You probably know that area well also since you have been going to that area for years.

Yes, I do know the Southport area very well.  It a great town and I love to eat at Fishy Fishy.  We toured models homes by our builder in St. James a couple of years ago.  We are building in Compass Pointe.  We purchased our lot in 2017.  We often go to the beach at Oak Isle but Wrightsville beach is a bit closer.