Divemedic

Watching and Waiting

With regards to my grandson: I spent most of last night at the hospital. I got the opportunity to look over his labs, and they all looked as normal as any child’s. The doctors were performing every test imaginable. He now has a feeding tube, and has been having seizures off and on all day.

They believe that they have finally identified the culprit, and the news is not promising for full recovery. It looks like he has acute flaccid myelitis caused by his being infected with a strain of enterovirus called EV-D68. From what doctors can tell from examining him during the short periods of time that his eyes are open, it looks like his left arm is not working.

It appears like the virus has been hitting children in the US pretty hard for the past few weeks. There is no vaccine, and there is no real treatment. In my grandson’s case, permanent paralysis and even death are possible. If it is in fact determined that this is what he has, the best we can hope for is permanent paralysis of at least one of his limbs. What a tough thing for a six year old child. My heart breaks for my daughter.

For now, they are starting him on a course of corticosteroids, continuing the IV immunoglobulins, and they will be transferring him to UF Shands in Gainesville for more care. Transferring him to Shands is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a great hospital, but the fact that he needs to go there is not good news. It’s serious enough that the CEO of the hospital where he currently is has personally gotten involved with the case.

I can’t visit tonight, as the ICU only allows for three people to visit at a time, and one of them is of course my daughter, so the family is setting up visitation schedules.

For now, we await the results of the testing.

By Divemedic, ago

Little News

Blogging continues to be on the back burner. My grandson’s condition has changed little, or perhaps a bit worse. He began having seizures last night. I appreciate all of the thoughts, well wishes, and prayers you have sent my way.

By Divemedic, ago

My Grandson

I have hesitated to post this until now. My daughter has two children, a daughter aged 7, and a son aged 6. Her man has two children of his own from a previous marriage. So I have a total of four grandkids. This post is about my daughter’s six year old son.

Last Wednesday, he came home from school complaining that he was tired. It had been a long few days, as all of them play sports, and the weekend had been filled with tons of activity. He went to bed early. He wouldn’t wake up fully on Thursday morning. He was running a slight fever, and was refusing to eat or take any fluids. He will occasionally open his eyes, but he hasn’t spoken a word since he complained of being tired on Wednesday.

By Friday, my daughter called me in a panic because she couldn’t understand why he was getting sicker. I told her to try and get him to take fluids. She tried, but every time he would drink, he would vomit them back up. So Friday evening, she took him to the Pediatric ED. This next part is for the medical people: His ABG showed pH of 7.28, a CO2 of 47, and an HCO3 of 11. He is on contact and droplet precautions because he tested positive for Rhino and Enterovirus.

So he got fluids. I thought for sure that the fluids would bring him around. No go. When he is sleeping, he writhes in pain, but that is the only reaction. He is rousable, and could walk with assistance to the restroom, but if not woken up, and coerced into going, he will simply wet himself while unconscious. Light hurts his eyes, and he will wince in pain when the lights are turned on. His fever on Friday night spiked to 103. So as soon as I got back from Miami on Saturday, I went to see him and my daughter.

When I saw him, I attempted to check his Brudzinski, so I placed him supine, placed one hand on his chest, and raised his chin to his chest, which caused his hips and knees to flex. I reported this to his nurse. My daughter reports that they went in later and woke up my grandson. They had him put his own hand on his chest and use his other hand to raise his own head. There was no response. I have never heard of a Brudzinsky being done that way, but I may be wrong.

While I was there, he opened his eyes, and I got him to smile because I was being a big goofball. My daughter reports as soon as I left, he went back to sleep and is even more difficult to rouse.

Anyhow, he has had numerous blood draws, head CT, EEG, and Lumbar puncture, all normal. The only abnormal finding on any testing is a small cyst on his spinal cord, but the neurologist thinks it may have been there since birth and says it wouldn’t be the cause of all of this.

Then this morning, he deteriorated again. Now he can’t even walk with assistance. So now he has been moved to the Pediatric ICU. He is on pain meds, so he is sleeping better, but there are still no answers. If they can’t get him to take anything by mouth by tomorrow, they are going to insert an NG tube and begin feeding through it.

As you can imagine, my daughter is a wreck. She hasn’t left his side in a week. When they take him off for more testing, she spends her time crying. My little girl’s heart is breaking, and I don’t know what else I can do. As soon as I am done typing this, I will be headed off to the hospital to see them again. The hospital is over an hour from here, so I will be home late.

Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.

By Divemedic, ago

Just Give Them What They Want

That’s always been the mantra of the left. There is no need to use force to stop a criminal- this is a simple transaction whereby poor people attempt to feed their families, give them what they want, and there will be no problems. That has always been the left’s philosophy.

But what if what the criminal wants is to kill you? The left’s assumption is caused by projection- the left is assuming that a criminal’s motivation is a rational one, brought about by the desperation of poverty. It is a simple idea that ignores the complexities of actual life. Sometimes, people don’t share your values for whatever reason. They aren’t stealing to feed their families, they are just crazy, evil, or simply animals bereft of any shred of simple morality. The obvious and simple notion that some people are simply evil has so-called “experts” in NYC at a loss.

“It makes no sense,” said Chris Herrmann, an assistant professor at John Jay, who once served as a crime statistics expert at the NYPD. “The victim wasn’t threatening, the victim was leaving, it doesn’t make sense when it comes to the victim-offender relationship,” Herrmann said, referencing Moore’s Oct. 6 murder at the 176th Street station in The Bronx, which happened right after the Citi Field worker had exited the train.

So-called crime expert Chris Herrmann, Professor at CUNY/John Jay

That simple ignorance of human nature has resulted in a 42% increase in violent crime in NYC. That’s why you have homeless vagrants stabbing people and committing random murders on the subway. Then there is also the elephant in the room:

My favorite quote is when the reporter on the video found at this link asked the woman “Do you feel safe in New York?” and the woman replies: “Yes, I do. Of course, you have to be aware of your surroundings any place that you work or commute at all times.”

I am sitting in my living room with the windows open and enjoying the fall air. I don’t have to worry about getting stabbed on my way to work. I am hundreds of times safer in my community than the average NYC resident. Why? The citizens in my area are mostly armed and don’t put up with that shit, and neither do the police, nor does my governor.

The experts are claiming that the reduction in people taking the subway is responsible for the increase in violent crime. Dr. Dorothy Schulz, a professor of law and police studies from John Jay College, said the low ridership numbers could be why so much violence is happening underground. 

“Less subway activity by commuters or tourists has contributed to the fact that the percentage of people who are on the subway or streets with mental-health issues is higher,” Schulz told The Post. 

That is demonstrably false. The ridership in 2020 was 53 million per month, in 2021 was 63 million per month, and is now 81 million per month. If the theory that more riders=safety in numbers, the violent crime numbers would be decreasing from a high in 2020, but that isn’t what is happening. Instead, what is happening is 2020 saw a record high in violent crime, with that record being beaten in each of the following years.

My theory? The George Floyd riots has caused many cops to do what has lately been referred to as “quiet quitting.” Combine that with catch and release “no bail” laws and disarmed citizens, and what you get is criminals running the place.

New Yorkers keep voting for the same slick, lefty politicians in election after election. The last Republican Mayor of NYC was that lefty RINO Bloomberg. He was mayor of NYC as a republican 2002-2013, but in 2016, delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention and called Hillary Clinton “the right choice,” then donated $80 million to democratic candidates in 2018 with the stated goal of flipping control of the House to Democrats. Then he ran for President as a Democrat in 2020.

The same is true for the NY Governor. The only Republican Governor that NY has had since 1974 is George Pataki, and remains the last Republican to be elected to a statewide office in New York.

You have crime because you keep electing socialists. New York is getting the government that it has voted for. It turns out that the entire state is just giving the criminals what they want while hoping they will just take your stuff and leave you with your life. How’s that working for you, New York? Just remember not to vote for the same failed policies when you relocate.

Where are Snake Plissken or Bernard Goetz when you need them?

By Divemedic, ago

Force, Violence, and Coercion

A very long time ago, back in the stone ages of blogging, author Marko Kloos wrote a blog post entitled “Why the gun is civilization.” It was a great piece, and while there were others who later took credit for it, it was and is brilliant. The part of that post that is relevant to our discussion today is the beginning:

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that’s it.

Marko Kloos, Why the gun is civilization

The reason that it’s relevant today is this new trend being practiced by the left: denial. By that term, I mean the occupation by force of some venue, location, or service which by its nature deprives others of that item being occupied. The location could be gluing themselves to the floor of a basketball game, to a busy highway, to government office buildings, or even to a Picasso in Australia, a Van Gough and other pieces in the UK, and even to commuter trains. These protesters block highways, they even block ambulances and others from accessing emergency care at hospitals.

What these people are doing is using force, not persuasion, to deny others access to things like art, cultural events, travel, and even necessary medical care. They are stealing it and refusing to return it. The only response to someone taking something by force, is respond with the same level of force.

Stop letting the minority force their temper tantrums upon all of us by allowing them to steal things from us all because they cannot persuade others to do what they want us to do.

By Divemedic, ago

Say What?

The vice principal of a Cleveland high school let three ski mask wearing, armed gunmen into the locked school with students inside, because he saw that police were chasing them and was afraid the police would shoot them.

A school security officer called 911 while watching teens with masks and guns. They had pulled up in three stolen cars and walked up to the school. The school went into lockdown. The police pursued the three, and one of them was able to escape.

The vice principal made a statement to police: “I confirmed the interior doors were locked and instructed the four suspects to come to the vestibule because it was unsafe to be outside because I saw police officers.”

The school district defended them by saying that the principal made sure that the doors to classrooms were locked, so the gunmen were not able to threaten students. Here is the official statement from the school district:

As one of the witness statements indicates, the males entered a controlled, secured area that is specifically designed to prevent access to the rest of the building. Cleveland police had already arrived on the scene and were able to make arrests. The staff member made a split-second decision that the individual thought was the best way to keep students and staff safe.

At the very least, the two vice principals are guilty of aiding a fugitive, or perhaps accessory after the fact. After all, he made an official statement that his purpose was in helping three masked gunmen avoid the police.

The police union had the best quote:

administrators at Garrett Morgan HS allowed MASKED GUNMEN to enter the school in order to protect the gunmen from wait for it police officers outside. They risked the lives of CHILDREN to show how woke they are. Can’t make it up.

Parents need to be down there at the next school board meeting and demanding some answers.

By Divemedic, ago

CISG

Larry Correia introduced us to the common Internet Shit Gibbon. I will allow his description to speak for itself.

You ever post something on social media, and then have some random stranger blunder in screaming at you for wrongthink? You might have attracted a Common Internet Shit Gibbon. You can tell when you are dealing with a Common Internet Shit Gibbon by the following clues:

– They start out by being total dicks to everyone, attack, attack, attack, but when responded to in kind, demand civility and whine about “tone”.

– They just make shit up and throw it at the wall to see what sticks.– They are really pathetic, but oblivious to it. In fact, they think they’re brilliant, even while being super dumb.

– When you waste you time refuting any of their bullshit, they immediately create new bullshit. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Their bullshit is endless. Your time is not. So when you discover that you’ve got a CISG infestation, the best bet is to just mock them until you get bored, and then block them.

Last night, I had to drive to Miami. While there, the wife and I had date night. When I returned to the hotel, I found a list of comments, some taking me to task, demanding that I post his comments, and all of them calling me names.

Apparently, Cassandra missed the part where this blog is my property. It’s also apparent that I have a CISG infestation. I was looking forward to a discussion of the merits of my hypothesis on the issue that so offended him, but I just don’t think he is capable. He has become tiresome, I have wasted enough time with his nonsense, and frankly he has pissed me off. So I will drop the fifth ban in this blog’s history on his ass.

So Cassandra, just go away. My property, my rules. You apparently have no argument and are deliberately trying to appear picked on so you can claim the cachet of being the victim. So begone, asshole, and in case you were wondering, THAT is an insult NOT an ad hominem. An ad hominem is a personal insult used to discredit an idea. I don’t give a shit about your ideas, I just want to insult you.

That also isn’t hypocrisy, because the ‘no personal attacks’ rule is for comments, not for me. See, I own the place and can do as I please.

Now piss off.

By Divemedic, ago