Tag: Navy (Page 5 of 52)

I don’t recall much being said during my PD training several years ago about handling “emergencies.” I’m referring to power outages and/or the need to disconnect from the cycler quickly in case of a tornado or other such threat.

Sunday night, right on cue, we were awakened to a message on my wife’s phone that a thunderstorm warning had been issued. As per usual, she was concerned and turned our household into one of turmoil, which lasted until well after 5 AM. Along the way, we dropped power, my cycler automatically switched over to its UPS, and our bedroom TV continued to work because of the UPS on it and our T-Mobile internet connection.

Since tornado threats were also involved, my wife placed a set ot clothes and shoes in our pantry off the kitchen, which is enclosed entirely by interior walls and is large enough for the two of us and our Golden, Dickens, to take cover in.

The power came back on after about 45 minutes of being down, and in the interim, I instructed my wife on how to use her phone to obtain real-time weather radar info, and how to obtain local tv news stations on the bedroom TV. So all-in-all it was a good drill in emergency preparedness.

BTW, regarding the Cycler: My plan is to just turn it off if it hasn’t already been shut down due to lack of power, unhook, and worry about draining any remaining fluid out when the dust settles. This could be into a sink, on the ground, into provided drain bags, etc. Worry about this later if the brown stuff hits the fan.

While on active duty in the US Navy, I was privileged to be the Officer-In-Charge of a first-of-its-kind land-based test site in Ronkonkomo, NY, out on Long Island. One of my crew at that time was a First Class Petty Officer named Robert Shippe. He went on to accomplish great things in the Navy, the last of which was to give his all. Read on below. Today I remember Shippie and all the Shippies who gave their all.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Robert Lawrence Shippee was a highly regarded member of the United States Navy, serving as a Fire Control Senior Chief aboard the USS Stark (FFG-31). He was born on June 10, 1951, and hailed from Adams Center, New York. Shippee was killed in action on May 17, 1987, when the USS Stark was struck by two Iraqi Exocet missiles in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War

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At the time of the attack, Shippee was 35 years old and had served nearly 18 years in the Navy. He was the senior chief of fire control, responsible for overseeing the ship’s computer tracking systems for missiles. Shippee had recently lived in Ponte Vedra, Florida, near his home port of Mayport. He left behind his wife, Carol, and three children: Patricia (12), Timothy (10), and Brian (8)

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Shippee was remembered as a dedicated professional and a devoted family man. His funeral was held at the Seventh Day Baptist Church in Adams Center, with a large community turnout and full military honors, including a 21-gun salute and the presentation of the American flag and Purple Heart to his widow

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His legacy is honored in military tributes and memorials, recognizing his sacrifice and service in the line of duty.

We remember.

I made the video below and wrote this blog on Mother’s Day. I thought it appropriate to share a video of all the growing things in our yard, since flowers are often the center of giving on this occasion. I gave my wife Linda a tuberous begonia with a card from her sons and our golden Dickens to celebrate the day. Enjoy the video. With the heat projected for the coming week, things will look different shortly.

Again, for newbies, those of us who are on PD live and die by our monthly labs. They gauge how we’re doing and whether anything should be altered. At the Granbury Clinic, where I go, lab results are typically available online the day after my visit; such occurred this time around, also.

Since I pretty much toe the line in all aspects of my treatment, I didn’t expect anything to be either greatly changed or cause for concern, and no readings were. One reading worth mentioning that changed is A1c, the measurement of how well my diabetic control is. For diabetics such as myself, the goal is to be at/under 7.0; my current reading from last lab was 4.8, down from 5.9 collected 1/2/25.

An A1c in a person with diabetes indicates exceptionally well-controlled blood glucose levels – so well-controlled, in fact, that this value is considered to be in the normal, non-diabetic range. According to major guidelines, an A1c below 5.7 is classified as normal. Having stated the foregoing, as a diabetic, you can be on a banana peel at this point, as it’s easy to slip into hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood sugar). While on occasion, I experience this, I have found it easy to manage with orange juice, even upon waking up in a sweat from it. Lucky for me, my wife is very in tune to this and will have juice in my hand before I can even get up.

Also, keep in mind that I take 13 units of insulin every night. What this indicates is that I am at the “optimum” for my body – insulin, food, drink, exercise, etc.

During yesterday’s monthly meeting with my dialysis nurse, Chrystal, we discussed, inter alia, the current lack of information and/or a place for those in the throes of making dialysis decisions to get the straight scoop from those who have been there, done that. While that is not the complete intent of this site, hopefully, it fulfills at least some of these information requirements.

So today, I will discuss my experience with the time involved in Peritoneal Dialysis, aka PD. Bottom line: I have about six, yes, that’s six, hours per day outside of the PD requirement window. Let me expand on this:

1. Starting upon waking, while I may have been hooked up to the dialysis machine, aka, Cycler, for 10 1/2 to 11 hours, it takes over half an hour to complete the last drain cycle.
2. After completion of the last drain cycle, I have to take my biometrics and enter them into the Cycler, break out two 6-liter bags for the next use of the Cycler, and do the same for the static fill I accomplish in the evening. All of this takes time and energy..
3. After 2 above, all of the medical debris must be collected and placed in the trash.
4. Next is usually breakfast, which for me is cereal and juice, along with the myriad of pharmaceuticals I have to take, while reading the WSJ. By the time I complete the foregoing, it’s 10 AM and time to start my day, and I’m off and running.
5. It’s now six hours later, and I’m tired from all the outside work I’ve been doing. Come in, and turn on the heater in anticipation of my evening static fill.
6. At/around 5/30 PM, I head for the shower, do all the cleaning and prep requirements for a static fill, and start a static fill of 2000 mL. All of this takes about another hour, so now it’s after 6:30 PM. I rest for a little bit, have supper, and have at most 1 1/2 or 2 hours to watch news or other shows on TV. Between 9 and 9:30 PM, I set the Cycler up for the night’s treatment after again going through the cleaning requirements for hookup, and hooked up to the Cycler.
7. It’s now 10 PM or so, I might watch a little, and I mean little TV in bed, and I’m off to sleep to again, God willing, to wake up around 8 AM and start the cycle all over again.
8. This takes place seven days a week, regardless. If you follow the timelines, you will ascertain that I have from 10ish to 4:30- 5ish at best that I can call my own. The remainder is devoted to varying degrees and intensities of peritoneal dialysis.
9. When you are attempting to set a course in PD waters, it’s much like sailing in open waters. Many variables are at work, and a course for one type of sailboat won’t be optimum for another. Likewise, what seems to work for one person may or may not work for another. It’s been my experience that choices in this world are not so much optimization calculations, but minimizing losses.

Set your course and let your circumstances determine what’s best for you.

We were rained on in Texas big last week and again this past Friday. It reminded me of the song by today’s title, “Didn’t It Rain Children?” I like the song, especially the 1964 gospel version embedded below. Enjoy – and dialysis is going along just fine!

There is a video story posted on YouTube about Estobar, a Golden Retriever, and Pope Francis. It is embedded below in case you missed it. My wife and I watched most of it last night. While it had undertones of a good story and depicted Francis in a very favorable light, something to me was a little off. The dialogue reviewed the same points several times, just slightly differently.

I asked Perplexity if AI was involved and received the following response:

Is the YouTube video of Pope Francis and Exobar ai generated

There is no verified evidence in the search results of a widely circulated or official YouTube video showing Pope Francis with “exobar,” that is, AI-generated. However, the context around AI-generated content involving Pope Francis is clear:

• Multiple AI-generated images and videos of Pope Francis have gone viral, including the famous image of him in a white puffer jacket, which fooled many viewers before being confirmed as AI-generated using tools like Midjourney

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Experts and fact-checkers have repeatedly warned about the dangers of AI deepfakes and misinformation, especially involving public figures like Pope Francis

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Recent AI-generated images, such as one showing Pope Francis in an open casket, have also been debunked as fake by media forensics experts

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If you are referring to a specific YouTube video featuring “Pope Francis and exobar,” there is no mention of “exobar” in the provided search results, nor is there evidence that such a video exists or is AI-generated. If a video fitting this description is circulating, it is likely to be AI-generated or manipulated, given the prevalence of such content and expert warnings about deepfakes involving the Pope

. Always verify the source and check for credible fact-checking before trusting such videos.

Don’t get me wrong. We thought the video was very moving, and we’re certain it helped many people in different ways. As Golden owners, we are well aware of how they can act and react in turbulent times. We’ve been there.

My point of this blog is to share the video and its content, but provide context. Buyer beware.