Travels of THB: September 2021

THB Goes to Anaheim, Everyone Else Goes to Disneyland

(ed notes: Disney and Medical updates Feb 6, 2022)

This post is going out in two parts and only the blog followers will get it twice. The rest of you who click through from a THB e-mail should only get notified through the e-mail. HAH! It's a Covid world so who knows what haunted ghosts are out there messing with THB.

The original post was send out in September 2021. This post will included a trip to Disneyland and medical updates. All new stuff will be in this pretty blue color. Old stuff will be in basic black. If you just want to read about Disney trip, you can just stop when the Blue font drives up. Also included are medical updates (in brief) and as a Special Bonus: some book reviews, maybe some "In the Something Else category" a suggestions or two....

Disneyland

THB and DB accompany twins and parental units, driving down from Bay Area to Anaheim and renting a house just across street from the parking lot. Disneyland is immense, so THB shuttles people to and from the house in moring and pick-up in afternoon. Walking to the main entrance is about 20 minutes. The report back is that about half the people are masked and many of the attendees are wearing Disney or Star Wars paraphernalia.

Pics inside the park are by someone over 4 years old not named THB.

VRBO with not much curb appeal, around a mile from the main drop off point

Great sleeping space for many kids, theme of a pirates den; the twins slept on top, up the ladder they went

BEST BONUS EVER: super fast slide into the pool, the twins could've spent the entire day in the backyard

Mirabel from Encanto

Rice Krispie treats covered in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles

Mirabel shows up again

Twins ready for the day, getting in a swing before heading out

Spreading bubbles all over the place

Disney characters are social distancing so the "actors" wave and blow kisses instead of fondling the guests

A taste treat from DB's youth: chocolate covered bananas

Book Review: The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz (novel, hardback): THB was thinking enough of writers writing about what they know cuz that just means you get to read another book about writers writing. The play within the play (Hamlet), the death by carbon monoxide (Overstory and The Plot), stealing a story from another writer (The Plot). This one is a decent who-dun-it. Sorry, no spoiler alert because you should be able to figure this one out, the crumbs all lead to the same place. Recommended

(ed. note, the next two book reviews are sort of in blue)

Despite The Best Intentions, How Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools, Amanda Lewis and John Diamond (audiobook, pub’d 2015): Very academic and insightful as to systemic racism making it very difficult to overcome racial bias throughout the myriad school systems. And now out-of-date because something called Critical Race Theory has the political right challenging everything that possibly calls out discussing this bias, including banning books that might create “shame” or “guilt” in their white children. Sooooo depressing. Neutral

(ed. note: should also be in blue) On The Clock, What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane, Emily Guendelsberger (paperback, pub’d 2019, longest author’s last name ever): An out-of-work journalist goes undercover at an Amazon warehouse, a call-center supporting AT&T, and a San Francisco McDonalds. The stories are chilling and basically same-same but different: work non-stop for minimum wages while computer algorithms dictate your work flow and technology measures your every move. Make sure you read all three stories and skip the myriad footnotes. Show compassion for every person you interface with who is in one of the stress-inducing, mind-numbing jobs; they need the job and will put up with every possible stressor to keep it (immense turnover is built into the hiring practices and none of these companies does direct hiring, it is all outsourced). Recommended

(streaming) The Tragedy of Macbeth: on Apple TV+. Extraordinary staging and cinematography. THB and DB saw the impact of MC Escher on this production. The cast is excellent. Highly Recommended

Back to the original post

Break out those N95s (one of us is wearing his/her mask inside out)

THB has gone to 100% N95s

THB getting Rituximab infusion...Covid antibody killer

THB is off Rituximab while Omicron scours the countryside

Department of Medicine (cont'd)

THB got his booster back in August. NIH doc said to get another infusion. THB and DB talked to local rheumy and decided to go back on methotrexate since infusion might/would wipe out the booster. Local rheumy said no to 4th booster - no data. THB is now awaiting anti-virals coming into mainstream.

Don't you sometimes wish for off-setting conditions that keep you out of a sticky mess. Well, THB is here to tell you that the path to hell is paved with ill-thought-out prayers and good intentions.

A mask made to avoid being strapped around THB's ears

THB's new glasses - look very similar to the last pair

Hey, it is a Covid world!

Wearing a mask: hey, great idea. Removing the mask and knocking you glasses off, not so good. Last year THB replaced his stylish, trendy, fragile glasses with a pair of basic plastic frames that survive an un-masking.

Hey, it is a Covid world!

THB's retina doc explains to THB that THB technically has the "wet" form of macular degeneration though his eyes are still in "dry" form (thank goodness, cuz the wet form means you get shots in your eyes every month). Doc did this because otherwise, if he reported that THB has the wet form, Medicare would want to know why the doc wasn't treating it. Better for THB to be "dry" than "wet" as his eyes really haven't changed in 4 or 5 years.

R for right ear, B for blue ear

THB's hearing has definitely improved with the hearing aids

Hey, it is a Covid world!

Hearing aids had been on the schedule for early last year and when things got shut down it got awfully quiet around here, and then even quieter as we isolated at the beach. About a month ago THB got a pair of hearing aids. Only two real issues: THB can't even put his finger on his nose because his hands shake too badly, which makes putting that little broadcast device in each ear a double challenge; and, again, taking those Covid masks off can rip the aids right out of your ears. THB has been trying different versions of masks that don't go over those bizarre lobish things that are attached to either side of your head and DB found an N95 one that works (see pic above). Sort of: under certain conditions THB still manages to fumble the mask with glasses and hearing aids (or fumble the glasses and/or aids).

Hey, it is a Covid world!

THB's CK count droped even further and last two checks averaged around 425, a very good number

Things picked up after visiting Baltimore! No problema, THB strong like el toro. THB's CK count is in the high 3 digits (8-900), which is good since THB at one point was in the 6400s. Hell, Doc Mammen has patients in the low 5 digits (i.e., over 10 grand) and thinks they are doing well.

Hey, it is a Covid world!

We're socially isolating back at the beach. Not too many people around, the "courtyard" remodel is coming to a close at long last (see update below). THB goes for lab work blood donation and decides it is time to get that booster shot of Pfizer, it's been 6 months since his 2nd shot. CVS has appointments open, no problema. Pharmacist asks THB if he meets the criteria: yep, immuno-suppressant qualifies, what disease do you have? Ohhhhhhh, Necrotizing Myositis, that's not good (THB isn't sure if she even knows what it is other than necrotizing is a bad adjective).

The day after THB's blood test and booster shot, Doc Mammen sends an e-mail through the Johns Hopkins patient portal:

Your CK was elevated to the 900s, which is not unexpected.

Your Covid antibody test was negative, indicating you may not have mounted an effective immune response from the prior vaccinations (likely because you were on immunosuppressive drugs). I would wait until 5 months from last Rituximab infusion. Then check CD19 cell level to see if you now have B cells (the cells that make antibodies). If you do have circulating B cells present, I would then get the booster and not get rituximab for at least two weeks after that.

Uh-Oh! Covid antibody test shows no (as in none, nada, zero, zip) detectable antibodies. And, Doc Mammen is recommending THB not get the 3rd shot until October after an additional test. TOO LATE!!! Instead it looks like THB will get Covid antibody test at some point in near future.

Hey, it is a Covid world!

Two weeks after THB's third jab those perky little Covid antibodies are present. YOWZA!!!!!!!!!!!!! THB is back among the vaccinated.

Where THB should be sitting (and sleeping...and dining...) in the upper deck

The A's continue to drive every last fan away: they doubled prices this year over last year, their pretty good manager left for San Diego, and basically their fans suck (sorry, that was management speak for a minute there).

Hey, it is a Covid world!

Here is some TMI, copied from a web-site discussing immuno-suppressants:

Other drugs, like Rituximab {ed. note: THB's current drug fighting Necrotizing Myositis}, which are used to treat blood cancers and sometimes rheumatoid arthritis, actively reduce the number of cells in the body that produce antibodies in the blood.

Boosters aside ... {there is} the possibility of using monoclonal antibody therapy to help prevent severe cases of COVID in immunocompromised patients. The Food and Drug Administration in recent weeks has authorized more uses of these antibodies, which it describes as “laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful antigens such as viruses.”

Hey, it is a Covid world!

More TMI: on a podcast called "In The Bubble", a scientific guy from the UK who advises Boris, said that our biggest risk (other than having zippo Covid antibodies) is that to reach global herd immunity we need to have 70% of the world's population vaccinated in the next 270 days. Otherwise, we'll never defeat the variants. He also hinted at the fact Boris doesn't take his advice seriously.

Hey, it is a Covid world!

THB decides to give double masking a test:

THB on the right wearing an Oakland Coliseum t-shirt before the game starts. THB and LB are in the third row right behind the Giants dugout. A's lose a heart-breaker, again

Fraud Detection Department

Twins demonstrating new bench

THB and DB were making the final payment on the courtyard remodel at the beach house, completed two months after the agreed upon finishing date. DB had a series of e-mails handling the final reconciliation of the charges ending with: would it be okay to do a wire transfer rather than a check? Okay, everything looked like part of the normal exchange from the office person at the landscaping company. Next e-mail from them included their routing number and account number; THB has done a number of wire transfers and this was the standard practice.

THB set up the wire transfer on the BofA account and sent it off. The landscaping office person called a few hours later: there were a bunch of e-mails that DB responded to that were not sent by the office.

And the account supplied was at their bank (WFB) and the account number was not their account.

The landscaping company's e-mail had been hacked!

OMG! THB and DB spent over three hours on hold and talking to three different departments while BofA mostly told us it was not possible to cancel the transaction, it had to post and then be challenged. THB and DB had caught the fraud before the transfer cleared and believed the cancellation process was far superior to the posting/fraud process.

As we demanded escalation, someone at BofA (finally) contacted the electronic funds department and the transaction was cancelled. BofA advised us it might take up to 5 days before the $$ are back in our account. Turned out the funds were back in 2 days.

Now that the $$ were back in our checking account DB sent them a check. So far it hasn't been cashed!

Conclusion: if you are doing a wire transfer, double or triple check with the recipient (preferably via phone) to make sure they are really requesting a transfer and you have the correct info for the transfer.