Today right after 9 a.m. teh hospital called. I picked up the phone and someone told me mom's doctor wants to see a relative to provide information. When I asked what time, they said right away.
I almost had a heart attack and called uncle who immediately dressed up, put on his mask and gloves putting his sanitizer in his pocket before going to the hospital.
For about an hour and a half, sis, BIL and I waited for uncle to call but it felt like 100 years. Her doctor told uncle that she is in critical condition but, is hanging tight. She also said the PCR test result still did not come but looking at her condition, they started her coronavirus treatment. She said the Chinese drug arrived just the day before at that particular hospital for the first time and they started giving her this drug which healed people in China. When uncle told her that he was a pharmacist, she told him more about the protocol and the drugs. She also assured him that elderly patients are never being ignored and they are being taken care of very carefully. If an elderly patient recovers, this will be their success so, they are very keen on this.
Uncle said he saw tons of idiot relatives who did not use protective gear, who ignored social distancing and who arrived at the hospital as a whole clan even when they were instructed to send only one person. There was a guy in front of my uncle who lost his grandpa, whose grandma was in ICU and whose father just got sick without any protection. I do not think the virus kills people, it is the ignorant people who cause all the deaths.
Uncle also told that, she was very blunt with relatives and she said that there was no hope for some of the patients and she informed the relatives as such. She told my uncle mom is hanging tight, most patients go down real quickly and she may have a chance.
So, relatively good news. I so want her to recover and come home to us. What a fucked up situation it is to have your loved one in a quarantine.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Mom Day 5
First of all, thank you for all your well wishes. I could not post answers to your comments like I used to. I know, you will understand.
Mom is still at the ICU. No official word from the hospital. Thank God the alumni of our High School (my sister and I are graduates of the same school) go out of their way every day to get info on mom. Yesterday a Child Oncology Professor stepped up on seeing my FB posts. She told me she will be getting and sharing info on our mom as much as she can.
Many doctors, even a former representative of the parliament is involved extracting info. We can never thank these people enough. Feeling so blessed with having such a caring network.
Yesterday, she has been intubated, her condition is stable and is receiving a cocktail of meds. She has a viral pneumonia. We still do not know if it is the corona virus. Even if it is, I doubt they will tell us. They like to cover up a lot of things for stupid reasons. The chest tomography show a mid-level damage. So, they are helping her with all the resources and sedating her and helping with her breathing is a good thing.
Her being stable on day 5 makes us feel better. Hang in there Mom!
On another note, I have written about Lemon Cologne in a previous post. I came accross this news on Yahoo News today: Turks fight coronavirus with secret weapon.
Stay healthy, stay safe!
Mom is still at the ICU. No official word from the hospital. Thank God the alumni of our High School (my sister and I are graduates of the same school) go out of their way every day to get info on mom. Yesterday a Child Oncology Professor stepped up on seeing my FB posts. She told me she will be getting and sharing info on our mom as much as she can.
Many doctors, even a former representative of the parliament is involved extracting info. We can never thank these people enough. Feeling so blessed with having such a caring network.
Yesterday, she has been intubated, her condition is stable and is receiving a cocktail of meds. She has a viral pneumonia. We still do not know if it is the corona virus. Even if it is, I doubt they will tell us. They like to cover up a lot of things for stupid reasons. The chest tomography show a mid-level damage. So, they are helping her with all the resources and sedating her and helping with her breathing is a good thing.
Her being stable on day 5 makes us feel better. Hang in there Mom!
On another note, I have written about Lemon Cologne in a previous post. I came accross this news on Yahoo News today: Turks fight coronavirus with secret weapon.
Stay healthy, stay safe!
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Mom...
Very early Friday morning, my mom told my uncle she was not feeling well. She had a high fever, she was trembling, had a shortness of breath. The Ambulance took her immediately to a Government Hospital where she was quarantined right away.
I do not think it is Corona Virus but, they do not reason. They just quarantine the patient. My uncle took nightgowns, a cardigan and some underwear which they refused to take.
They are not admitting anyone without a serious condition.
We cannot hear from her. She probably has pneumonia due to her RA and she is being kept in ICU. They said she has been tested and the test result takes a few days. Then, no communication.
I can log into her health portal and can see only see the drugs they give her, the tests. Apparently they are not letting her get up even to go the bathroom. She is all alone in there.
Meanwhile, anybody and everybody in our social circles have been trying to get even the tiniest information. Thanks for all of them from the bottom of my heart. We are hoping to hear from her hopefully tomorrow or on Monday or else, I am going to be causing a lot of trouble such as contacting major newspapers and all related agencies. Do they expect us to put our patients in the hospitals and walk away, carry on as if everything is fine?
We had been hearing about this outbreak for months now and the people in teh Government apparently have not been thinking about it or planning any actions. Ridiculuous!
Also, some people are plain stupid because, they keep going out and socialize. Many think that this is an opportunity to go to beach areas. STUPID IGNORANTS! Those places lack health resources. They have very limited capacity. What idiots!
We know that mom is conscious so, I am sure she knows why we cannot be there. As a matter of fact everybody over 65, everybody with chronic conditions such as liver disease, high blood pressure, coronery and heart problems and a few other things are limited to go out as per a Government Mandate issued an hour ago. So, all of us need to stay put.
Stores, schools, restaurants (except for take out), barbers, hairdressers, mosques are now closed. people are working from home, those who cannot will be working in two week shifts. Half will stay home while the other half will work. Then, they will change.
Not being able to hear from her, talk to her and be with her are just plain killing me. What if...? I do not want to say it aloud but many whatifs are eating my brain and making my heart ache.
If no, when she pulls through, I will never let her out of my sight again. Yes, we need our spaces and what not, but we need each other more than anything. If this will mean major life changes, so be it.
I do not think it is Corona Virus but, they do not reason. They just quarantine the patient. My uncle took nightgowns, a cardigan and some underwear which they refused to take.
They are not admitting anyone without a serious condition.
We cannot hear from her. She probably has pneumonia due to her RA and she is being kept in ICU. They said she has been tested and the test result takes a few days. Then, no communication.
I can log into her health portal and can see only see the drugs they give her, the tests. Apparently they are not letting her get up even to go the bathroom. She is all alone in there.
Meanwhile, anybody and everybody in our social circles have been trying to get even the tiniest information. Thanks for all of them from the bottom of my heart. We are hoping to hear from her hopefully tomorrow or on Monday or else, I am going to be causing a lot of trouble such as contacting major newspapers and all related agencies. Do they expect us to put our patients in the hospitals and walk away, carry on as if everything is fine?
We had been hearing about this outbreak for months now and the people in teh Government apparently have not been thinking about it or planning any actions. Ridiculuous!
Also, some people are plain stupid because, they keep going out and socialize. Many think that this is an opportunity to go to beach areas. STUPID IGNORANTS! Those places lack health resources. They have very limited capacity. What idiots!
We know that mom is conscious so, I am sure she knows why we cannot be there. As a matter of fact everybody over 65, everybody with chronic conditions such as liver disease, high blood pressure, coronery and heart problems and a few other things are limited to go out as per a Government Mandate issued an hour ago. So, all of us need to stay put.
Stores, schools, restaurants (except for take out), barbers, hairdressers, mosques are now closed. people are working from home, those who cannot will be working in two week shifts. Half will stay home while the other half will work. Then, they will change.
Not being able to hear from her, talk to her and be with her are just plain killing me. What if...? I do not want to say it aloud but many whatifs are eating my brain and making my heart ache.
If no, when she pulls through, I will never let her out of my sight again. Yes, we need our spaces and what not, but we need each other more than anything. If this will mean major life changes, so be it.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Lemon Cologne
I do not know if any other country has this; so far I have not seen any that I have been to. In Turkey, we have lemon cologne which has 80 degrees alcohol in it. It is not like eau de cologne or perfume. It smells very nice and lemony for a short while but, the smell does not stay for very long.
When I was a child, whenever you visited someone, the homeowner would offer a few splashes of this in your hands just like they would offer tea and sweets or candy. Both my grandmothers were big fans and before they went out, they would splash some in their hands and when they came back from the outside they would first wash hands and apply this cologne later on. It was also a hygiene thing. I remember my grandmother rubbing the silverware at restaurants with some of this stuff and a napkin before using them. They would also wipe certain surfaces like public high chairs.
My grandparents also used it when they had headaches because the lemony smell was refreshing for them.
It is customary for people to take a bottle as a gift when they visit sick people. My sister told me her customers kept bringing her bottles of lemon cologne so they have plenty at home.
I always kept a small bottle at home but, I never used it as much as they did. I guess it is time to use it like that.
Due to the coronavirus panic, people have started hoarding lemon cologne as well. I asked mom if she had any and I ordered two 400 ml bottles for each of us.
There are a lot of Turkish people living in the US so, I checked if Amazon carried it and here is the link for it:
Lemon Cologne
I guess Amazon is out too because the companies cannot meet the demand over here and I doubt they will be exporting any before they meet the demand over here. The price in the link is outrageous. That 150 ml bottle should not be more than 10 bucks. It is much cheaper over here.
Anyway, I just thought it would be interesting to share. If you can buy some later on once the panic subsides, get a bottle or two. I have a feeling you may like it.
When I was a child, whenever you visited someone, the homeowner would offer a few splashes of this in your hands just like they would offer tea and sweets or candy. Both my grandmothers were big fans and before they went out, they would splash some in their hands and when they came back from the outside they would first wash hands and apply this cologne later on. It was also a hygiene thing. I remember my grandmother rubbing the silverware at restaurants with some of this stuff and a napkin before using them. They would also wipe certain surfaces like public high chairs.
My grandparents also used it when they had headaches because the lemony smell was refreshing for them.
It is customary for people to take a bottle as a gift when they visit sick people. My sister told me her customers kept bringing her bottles of lemon cologne so they have plenty at home.
I always kept a small bottle at home but, I never used it as much as they did. I guess it is time to use it like that.
Due to the coronavirus panic, people have started hoarding lemon cologne as well. I asked mom if she had any and I ordered two 400 ml bottles for each of us.
There are a lot of Turkish people living in the US so, I checked if Amazon carried it and here is the link for it:
Lemon Cologne
 |
| This is the most famous brand in Turkey |
I guess Amazon is out too because the companies cannot meet the demand over here and I doubt they will be exporting any before they meet the demand over here. The price in the link is outrageous. That 150 ml bottle should not be more than 10 bucks. It is much cheaper over here.
Anyway, I just thought it would be interesting to share. If you can buy some later on once the panic subsides, get a bottle or two. I have a feeling you may like it.
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Interesting times... Who cursed us?
2020 started with quite a few terrible things. For me, I found my mom very sick when I returned from my fab vacation, then there was the earthquake in the East and the talks about a big one hitting Istanbul soon . The refugee crisis, war with Syria, the Government meddling in Libya's business, sending troops over there upon the Libyan Government's request, alliance with the US going south, alliance with Russia ending up s..ing us, deaths of many young soldiers in Syria, the economy tanking, growing incompetence of the Government... And now the Corona Virus... Yikes!
Life goes on as usual but now, there are people panicking who make you second guess your own understanding of the matter. Is this virus real like the Bubonic Plague or is it just a part of a big game planned by nasty people to profit from this by causing terror and panic? I guess time will tell if we survive it.
I am trying to wash my hands more frequently, sanitize my belongings when I come home, eat and rest well and avoid crowds. Other than that, I just keep doing what I do normally. What else can we do anyway?
All this negativity and craziness in the world is probably due to ever diminishing resources, environmental pollution and booming population and poverty. I suspect there are many nasty people who are behind all the political bullshit that is happening. They are using and manipulating the rest of the people in their quest to success.
I wish there could be a virus to wipe out just the politicians and other people with secret dark intentions.
I was expecting a Star Trek Universe in 21st Century. It feels like we are going back to the Medieval Period in many ways.
So, who cursed us anyway?
Life goes on as usual but now, there are people panicking who make you second guess your own understanding of the matter. Is this virus real like the Bubonic Plague or is it just a part of a big game planned by nasty people to profit from this by causing terror and panic? I guess time will tell if we survive it.
I am trying to wash my hands more frequently, sanitize my belongings when I come home, eat and rest well and avoid crowds. Other than that, I just keep doing what I do normally. What else can we do anyway?
All this negativity and craziness in the world is probably due to ever diminishing resources, environmental pollution and booming population and poverty. I suspect there are many nasty people who are behind all the political bullshit that is happening. They are using and manipulating the rest of the people in their quest to success.
I wish there could be a virus to wipe out just the politicians and other people with secret dark intentions.
I was expecting a Star Trek Universe in 21st Century. It feels like we are going back to the Medieval Period in many ways.
So, who cursed us anyway?
Monday, March 9, 2020
The Spring has sprung!
Ankara is situated inland in the middle of Turkey and is generally colder than the coastal cities. It was still pretty cold when I came back home to Istanbul. However, this week all of a sudden, I feel the warmth in the weather. Yesterday, I realized that the trees were in full bloom and the tulip season is almost here.
I no longer need warmer jackets and can go out with a vest and a hoodie. Sometimes even the vest is too warm. Wow!
Today is a nice, bright and sunny day 19-21 degrees celsius (60s in Fahrenheit). Ankara is just a little colder today so, it should be a very nice day there as well.
I am working from home on my "new" part time gig. On Wednesday, I have an engagement at my other part time job. I purchased a couple of masks to use on the plane on Wednesday. We have no reported cases of the corona virus yet but, I have a feeling that, the information is not shared with the public. Yeah, I know, totally dumb. I am washing my hands more frequently and using wipes and sanitizers when I am out and about.
As I type this, I am sitting at my small computer desk with an open window right next to me.
I gotta go back to work. Wishing everybody a nice week in good health.
I no longer need warmer jackets and can go out with a vest and a hoodie. Sometimes even the vest is too warm. Wow!
Today is a nice, bright and sunny day 19-21 degrees celsius (60s in Fahrenheit). Ankara is just a little colder today so, it should be a very nice day there as well.
I am working from home on my "new" part time gig. On Wednesday, I have an engagement at my other part time job. I purchased a couple of masks to use on the plane on Wednesday. We have no reported cases of the corona virus yet but, I have a feeling that, the information is not shared with the public. Yeah, I know, totally dumb. I am washing my hands more frequently and using wipes and sanitizers when I am out and about.
As I type this, I am sitting at my small computer desk with an open window right next to me.
I gotta go back to work. Wishing everybody a nice week in good health.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Another untimely loss...
A childhood friend from our neighborhood passed away today due to a sudden heart attack. My parents were very close to his parents and our dads worked together. He was 5 years my senior.
The worst thing? His parents are alive, 81 and 88. I juts cannot imagine what they are going through.
His funeral is tomorrow in Ankara but I am in Istanbul so, I will not be able to go. Uncle will take mom to visit his folks in a few days.
I just do not feel like doing anything. Still in my nightgown.
May he rest in Peace...
The worst thing? His parents are alive, 81 and 88. I juts cannot imagine what they are going through.
His funeral is tomorrow in Ankara but I am in Istanbul so, I will not be able to go. Uncle will take mom to visit his folks in a few days.
I just do not feel like doing anything. Still in my nightgown.
May he rest in Peace...
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Relaxing Day
Today, I am both relaxing at home and taking care of small stuff. I did some laundry.
Yesterday, I had a grocery delivery since I had a coupon so, I ordered the immediate needs.
I checked cleaning supplies, pantry and fridge. Here is what else I need:
Walnuts (I eat two whole walnuts everyday to keep my cholesterol in check)
Milk
Meat
Parsley
Celery
Eggs (Will be delivered on Friday from a farm owned by an old colleague)
Meds (need to see the practitioner for this)
Fruit
Water
Tomorrow I am going to meet my friend to talk about the new business opportunity.
The next day, I will get together with some former colleagues from a job between 2000-2006. The people I will be seeing may have an impact on this upcoming business.
I am also making other plans to see more friends.
Yesterday, I had a grocery delivery since I had a coupon so, I ordered the immediate needs.
I checked cleaning supplies, pantry and fridge. Here is what else I need:
Walnuts (I eat two whole walnuts everyday to keep my cholesterol in check)
Milk
Meat
Parsley
Celery
Eggs (Will be delivered on Friday from a farm owned by an old colleague)
Meds (need to see the practitioner for this)
Fruit
Water
Tomorrow I am going to meet my friend to talk about the new business opportunity.
The next day, I will get together with some former colleagues from a job between 2000-2006. The people I will be seeing may have an impact on this upcoming business.
I am also making other plans to see more friends.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Home Sweet Home!
I am back in my apartment in Istanbul. Just arrived an hour ago.
For a few days, I will just enjoy my "me time". I need that so much.
Hope, this will be a nice week for all.
For a few days, I will just enjoy my "me time". I need that so much.
Hope, this will be a nice week for all.
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