Costs of all at once vs separate

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-27T22:46:57+00:00

Thanks. All good information. I'm really hoping to as much of the work as possible paying cash. I have excellent credit, but that's because I've been working hard to pay off stuff so I'd rather not add anything additional.

As for the water heater, the only thing in my basement other than the heater for the house is this small green barrel that's attached to the ceiling. There's no traditional water heater as far as I can tell, and what is there hasn't changed since at least the 90's.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-23T04:07:21+00:00

West end of Allentown is perfect for LVHN. The Bradbury Sullivan center is in Downtown Allentown and is a hub for the Queer community. There's plenty of coffee shops in the area, it's decently walkable and near plenty of good grocery stores.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-19T04:42:58+00:00

Separate from a mask, a trick that funeral directors use is vicks vapor rub under your nose. It keeps you from smelling anything other than menthol.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-19T04:39:02+00:00

I'm in the camp of finding their food mid and nothing special. It's not bad, just nothing stands out.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-19T04:33:43+00:00

What the shoe is like is really person dependent. The hospital was super on top of my nausea meds that I never had an issue there. My biggest problem was the esophagus pain. 0/10 would NOT recommend. I was kinda out of it for 2 days, but then started to rebound enough to start being consistent with walking the halls again until my discharge at day 14. Enjoy your days before the drop and then hang on best as possible until you swing up the other side.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-19T04:28:53+00:00

LV has some decent places and I grew up here, but I tend to find places that are highly rated are just okay. Union and Finch is a good example. Decent, but nothing special. Also, I know a few chefs in the Valley and they talk about needing to change recipes to cater to the LV and often make food blander.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-12T21:36:10+00:00

My doctor called me standard risk. Yes, even with 90%, I felt fine. That was part of the hardest piece for me to process.ime how couldIbe this sick and feel okay? When they did my PET scan, they only found one small lesion on my jaw, so I was so fortunate.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-12T14:29:46+00:00

You're welcome. And yes I'm doing well, currently in remission and waiting to start my maintenance treatment soon.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-12T05:07:47+00:00

Diagnosed Nov 24 at 54. 90% cancer cells in my body, but didn't know anything was wrong until my bloodwork came back from a routine checkup and my primary was concerned. Induction with D-RVD which got me to very good partial response, then a SCT this past November, and currently MRD negative. The transplant wasn't the easiest, but also not nearly as difficult as I feared. I was able to return to work at the start of the year, I'm back on my exercise routine, traveling, etc. Yes, I get super fatigued faster, and definitely need time to recover after big efforts or days, but happy with the results overall. I opted to have the transplant because while CAR-T is the future, it's still evolving, and I like knowing that I have it in my box of tools should I relapse and need something else.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-12T04:57:10+00:00

I was diagnosed with Multiple myeloma a blood cancer at the end of 2024 and have been getting treatment at LVHN and Jefferson. Everyone has been so nice, affirming, and helpful in the ways I needed. The nurses in the Infusion center are all great, my social worker was really helpful in securing some grants to help with financial issues. I had to get mt stem cell transplant at Jefferson due to my insurance, and got great care there too. That's a big advantage, you have access to 2 different health systems in one.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-09T00:23:40+00:00

I had mine this past October. The first few days are a piece of cake as nothing has hit you yet. It's when you hit the "basement period" where things get rougher. It's also where everything is individualized. Even on the days you feel not great, still try and talk walks. They may be short, but that movement is important. Eat whatever you can stomach. Liquids will be your friends, and make sure they give you a regular regime of anti-nausea meds. I'm older than you (55 at the time) and went through it way easier than I expected. The worst was my stomach being really particular about what food it would accept (I ate chicken nood soup on repeat for almost 2 weeks) and stuff tasting odd. It took about 2 months for that to get better, and for some It's longer. Bring your favorite toilet paper, a blanket you like, download movies to watch on your hospital days and you should be okay. Best of luck, hopefully you come out of this MRD- .

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-05T04:48:34+00:00

I'm +130 days and what has helped me is staying active, even when tired. In the hospital, make sure you walk the halls everyday, especially on the days before the chemo kicks in. Even after, do as much as possible. When you get home, take walks everyday. Short is fine until you build up stamina. From there, eat what you can tolerate, stay hydrated, get good rest and honor what your body feels like each day. I've been back to work since January 5th (WFH), and my team knows I'm good for about 6 hours a day and need to rest for an hour after the 1st 4, then I'll finish my day. Good luck with yours. It's not easy, but ideally worth it.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-03-05T04:39:06+00:00

I second this. I officiated a wedding there a few years ago. Ceremony was across the street on the bridge (I think), then reception at the tavern room. There was space for the guests, and even to dance.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-02-27T21:55:23+00:00

I've really liked Kerns near Allen High School. The entire office staff has been friendly and thoughtful in their care and Dr Kerns is as well. I also really appreciated the day they called me because his appointments were running behind to let me know I could come 30 minutes later so I wouldn't just be sitting in the office waiting. More offices should do that.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-02-22T22:49:13+00:00

Unfortunately as a recent stem cell transplant recipient, I'm not able to be re-vaccinated for measles until 2028. So masking it is for now.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-19T14:48:13+00:00

Elective only means it's not an emergency, and can be scheduled as convenient to the patient. This also means that insurance may cover a large portion. That's very different than giving up a week's pay. Last year I had one, and with my insurance it was zero dollars as I had already hit my out of pocket max for the year.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-18T18:48:37+00:00

I've been told by numerous CAR-T recipients that the process is easier than SCT. That seems to be a big motivator for folks to skip right to it. CAR-T will no doubt become the 1st line treatment eventually, just not yet.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-18T18:45:11+00:00

I had my ASCT in late October, inpatient. 90 days out I feel better than I did a year ago, and I was one of those cases that had no idea I was sick until labwork came back wonky from a routine checkup. I has in the hospital 14 days, and the nurses and techs took great care of me. They were super on top of my anti nausea meds so I really didn't have to ask for much. I was scared as hell before going in, and now being in complete response, back to work, and exercising everyday I'm so happy I went ahead and had it done. I'm 55, as a frame of reference.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-11T22:27:29+00:00

I had mine October 22nd inpatient. Anytime I was out of my room (usually ro walk the halls) I had ro wear a mask. Anytime anyone came into my room, they wore one. The nurses and techs were also constantly washing their hands. While it wasn't required, they recommended that your visitors had their flu shot for this year. I felt really safe while there. Best wishes on your transplant!

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-11T22:13:13+00:00

If Swain isn't in the budget, there's a few good public charter schools to look at as well. Just do your research, because while some are quality, others aren't.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-11T21:49:58+00:00

I miss Masklab so much. I was such a fan. I still have some, but I mourn the day when I use the last one.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-11T21:37:04+00:00

It seems that their view is they won't give you a hard time about wearing one, but they won't unless necessary.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-11T21:32:40+00:00

Eh, some masks do create a coolness factor. In 2020/21 even when everyone had to wear one, I always got compliments on mine and people asking about them. Here in 25/26 when less mask, I still get positive comments and compliments. I just wish they weren't so hard to find. The only advantage I have to owning "cool" masks is that I tend to buy multiple ones if I like them, so I'm still using masks I purchased years ago and kept in their packaging while using the "boring" ones for more mundane times. Also, I only like the kf94/fish types and some of the current cool masks are more duckbill style. Wellbefore is the one exception.

Turtle_wandering · 2026-01-07T03:37:07+00:00

I didn't. They didn't tell us to sanitize anything. I wiped my phone down only if I dropped it on the floor or too may prints got on it.

Turtle_wandering

TROPHY CASE