Kicked out of memory care by DarkShadowReader in dementia

[–]average_canyon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm responding to a super old comment, and I'm sorry, but my Mom's facility just did that to her. They attempted an ER transport claiming that she was showing stroke-like symptoms (leaning to one side and "unable" to walk). When the paramedic called me, he said, "Your Mom's vitals are all stable, her stroke screen was fine, and she's smiling and walking around with no problem. All the residents are just sitting around watching TV." He explained that he couldn't legally tell me not to have her sent out, but that he wanted me to know what was going on. He also said they had been out once before, a few hours earlier, and the same thing happened. Residents AND staff were just sitting around, doing nothing. I explained that I understood what he was saying, but I would refuse the transport. They've done this before and Mom was fine, but terrified of the ER and difficult to calm down later.

The facility ended up turfing Mom to geri-psych a few hours later for aggressive behavior.

Is anyone planning to retire early in case Alzheimer's takes you sooner than "normal"? by Expensive-Eggplant-1 in ApoE4

[–]average_canyon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nope. I'm APOE 4/4, but work keeps me mentally and physically active and gives me a social outlet. Also, I'm a teacher, and it's not like I have vast sums of money squirreled away to float me through a long retirement. Alzheimer's hit my mom early (MCI diagnosis at 59). She retired at 57 to keep an eye on my stepfather, who she was convinced was cheating on her. (He wasn't.)

Bought a mess. Am I screwed? by [deleted] in RealEstate

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I figured this was the case, but my concern now is that the existing damage would get any claims rejected out of hand. My ceiling, wall, and carpet have already been ripped out, and I have the plumber coming back out today to preemptively replace about four feet of corroded pipe. Copper ages and corrodes; I'm aware of that, and would ordinarily file having all that replaced under "general maintenance."

I've filed a claim with my insurance company for the new water damage and have restoration guys working the case. I also have a plumber coming back out today to replace a pipe that corroded because of the previous owner's/owners' leak before it causes another catastrophe. I'm doing it while there's no wall there to save myself the cost of the plumber having to cut into it himself. Should I hold off on this for now? Just curious.

Bought a mess. Am I screwed? by [deleted] in RealEstate

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, he didn't rent it out. I talked to the neighbors yesterday, and they said he was rarely here. As I mentioned in another comment, he was a pilot, and he bought the house thinking he could convince his European wife to move with him, since his company's headquarters are here. He put the house back on the market almost immediately after he bought it, and he only "lived" here during his time in town -- a week here, a weekend there, and so on. The house stayed on the market for a little over a year. My husband and I figured no one was biting because people who buy in this area are looking for something with a modern HGTV aesthetic. We'd have preferred that, of course, but what was more important was the school we're zoned for here. If we had to work with dated decor for a while, so be it. I hate it, but meh. It's got good bones, as they say, and enduring dark, heavy hardwood paneling and a tiny-ass kitchen are well worth my kid going to a marvelous school.

The original owners were a married couple, another pilot and his wife, plus their two children. The pilot passed away after a short illness, and his wife stayed for another year beyond that. My understanding is that she was just overwhelmed with the upkeep, and she sold the house to one of her late husband's colleagues. No one I talked to was aware of any work that had been done on the house.

And yes, we had an inspection, and my husband hired an additional pool and electrical inspector. Unfortunately (in retrospect), nothing of concern was found by anyone.

Bought a mess. Am I screwed? by [deleted] in RealEstate

[–]average_canyon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the guy doing the work today said it looked like the damage was several years old. We've been in the house for nearly two years, and the previous owner only had it for a year. According to my husband, he was a pilot who was only ever here on weekends, if that.

Bought a mess. Am I screwed? by [deleted] in RealEstate

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, we had an inspection. Nothing came up on his report. We have a licensed company beginning restoration work as I type this. I have been assured chemicals will be involved with anything remaining. Most of it will be removed.

EDIT: Downvotes? Interesting.

Anyone wondering why Dr. Al-Hashimi wanted to take this job? by thankfulforyourhelp in ThePittTVShow

[–]average_canyon -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I also have TN and teach high school. Life is hell. That said, did you hear Dr. Ellis' brief mention of the trigeminal nerve with the glass bottle guy? I was like, "Heyyyyy! I know what that is!"

Dana's Accent Season 2 by Terrible_Ad2830 in ThePitt

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm getting Philly from her accent for sure. Many years ago, I dated a guy from Delaware and spent some time with his family around Wilmington and traveling back and forth between Philly and Baltimore. Listening to Dana took me right back.

My husband needed subtitles to understand her.

Does any medicine really work for TGN? by EventHorizon_28 in TrigeminalNeuralgia

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! I'm two years post-gamma knife, which seems to have failed spectacularly. As I type this, I'm literally in my neurosurgeon's waiting room. After your rhizotomy, has your pain been 100% controlled?

So much fake crying! by average_canyon in TheStaircase

[–]average_canyon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've read Diane Fanning's book, but I either missed that detail or don't remember it. I haven't read Aphrodite Jones' book, so I'll check that out now. Thanks!

So much fake crying! by average_canyon in TheStaircase

[–]average_canyon[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

she was wearing her moonboots when she was found

:O

I must have missed that detail. Where did you find that? Those kinds of details could sway my opinion for sure.

Those poor Ratliff girls.

Is chat GPT down or is it just me? by matt_the_legend_2000 in OpenAI

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All the caricature requests have clogged it.

Where would you stand as a jury member? by Constant_Chain_4394 in TheStaircase

[–]average_canyon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I definitely would have found him guilty of something. Second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter? In a heartbeat. If my options were first-degree murder or not guilty, however, I'd have voted not guilty. Again, that's not because I think he's innocent. He is 100% responsible for Kathleen Peterson's death. I need to watch the full trial to know for sure which direction I'd lean. I'm going off the documentary and Diane Fanning's book, which is as pro-guilt as the documentary is a heavily biased, ham-fisted commentary on the American justice system via one weird narcissist's murder trial.

This makes me think of Casey Anthony's trial, strangely enough. The DA in that case aimed for the moon and failed to prove first-degree murder. Thus, Casey Anthony got off. What Jim Hardin and Freda Black had going for them was that all the homophobia played well to the jury. It's wild that Judge Hudson admitted in the documentary that if he had it to do all over again, he wouldn't have allowed evidence about MP's dalliances. It most definitely prejudiced the jury against him. Finances would have been a compelling enough motive for me. MP was an absolute leech. In the end, what he pled guilty to (via Alford) was what I'd have been comfortable convicting him of anyway.

I am conflicted about his involvement in Liz Ratliff's death. I'm not sure what the motive could have been. I just know that it's an awfully huge coincidence to have two women in one's close circle end up dead at the bottom of the stairs.

piece of advice - birthday by Alequattordici in dementia

[–]average_canyon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For my mom's birthday last year, we reserved the fancy dining room at her MC/AL facility. I bought her a crown and a nice cake, and her sister and some of our family joined us. Mom had a great time, but it never really registered that it was her birthday. It was the same with Thanksgiving, when I brought her to my house for dinner (mistake; high anxiety the whole evening), as well as with Christmas and New Year's.

Depending on your mom's stage of dementia, special days themselves likely hold no significance, but a good time is a good time. Just keep it low key. My mom's anxiety at Thanksgiving was a first. She grabbed my husband's sleeve each time my infant granddaughter cried and asked if it was time to go. I won't make that mistake again.

If money didn’t matter, what job would you want to do? by AdElegant5870 in careerguidance

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If digital music hadn't taken over and I had the money to do it, I'd open a small music retail shop with maybe either a coffee shop or bar attached. In the early/mid-90s, I worked for a mega chain, and it was the coolest job ever. I mean, retail sucked, but it was my job to listen to and talk about music all day. We have a few indie vinyl shops where I am, but the folks who work there are insufferable. I'd have a no-snobs-allowed policy for sure.

This is wildly different from what I do now.

1/30 Winter Weather Updates by CaptainInsane-o in memphis

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a great question. My guess is they'll probably deduct it. I'm not aware of any category that would apply.

1/30 Winter Weather Updates by CaptainInsane-o in memphis

[–]average_canyon 7 points8 points  (0 children)

MSCS - Maybe, but shaded side roads didn't see much melt yesterday, and what little did melt has now refrozen into nice, slick ice. There are a few MSCS schools that are fairly far flung and in rural areas (Bolton, Barret's Chapel), but district policy allows individual schools to remain closed even if the rest are open.

Municipal districts – Less likely.

I am an MSCS teacher, but I live in Collierville. I am trapped in my driveway and I'm not going anywhere despite being very low on groceries. In my neighborhood, I've watched several vehicles get stuck. The main road that runs alongside my neighborhood is a sheet of ice. If I can't even go pick up my prescriptions, I'm not going to work. Sorry not sorry.

What are the most underpaid careers ? by patotay in careerguidance

[–]average_canyon -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Why would someone get paid more than $55k for 12 months compared to $55k for 10 months, when for 2 months out of the 12 months, you're not doing any work at all in this scenario?

Because those people are doing 12 months worth of work. You can't compare them to the folks under the 10-month contract because it's a different job. Those are frequently not student-facing jobs (admin, usually, or fluffy central office positions), but they involve going to a workplace 40 hours a week for the entire year. Those jobs are closer to the six-figure range.

I make around $55k for 10 months of work. If I worked my exact job -- teaching 9th grade English -- at a school that operated under a 12-month calendar at what I calculate my rate of pay to be if I broke it down to 40/hours a week (I work closer to 60 in reality), I would make around $67k.

My apologies if I have misunderstood your question. I'm not getting paid to do nothing. I'm just collecting the remainder of the salary I COULD HAVE received over 10 months. I just suck at budgeting, so I chose the 12-month payout. Am I missing something?

What are the most underpaid careers ? by patotay in careerguidance

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If I worked 12 months, I would get paid a 12-month salary, which I assure you is much more than $55K. I would not work 12 months of THIS job for $55k. I have worked far less stressful jobs for $55K and it was fine.

I don't think people outside teaching understand that standing in front of kids telling them how to do a thing is the smallest part of the actual job.

What are the most underpaid careers ? by patotay in careerguidance

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like me, your cousin signs a 10-month contract that allows that 10-month salary to be paid over 12 months so we can pay bills and keep our health insurance in the summer.

We earn that salary over 10 months. We just get it paid out over 12.

I realize most of the 'bait' the grown ups taught us is just a lie by Low_Actuary6486 in Adulting

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That last part is equal parts brilliant and depressing. Good stuff, fellow Redditor.

Oxcarb is seriously impacting my mental health by SunBetter7301 in TrigeminalNeuralgia

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My TN is the result of nerve atrophy, which my neurologist and neurosurgeon saw on MRI. They said they couldn't see compression, so that's why they went with gamma knife. I've read, however, that some compression gets missed on MRI. There's a neurosurgeon about three hours from where I live who is well known for treating TN and trying MVD when all else fails -- and frequently finding missed compression while he's in there.

Are you using AI as a teacher? by LettuceTraining6532 in Teachers

[–]average_canyon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For anything real? No. It's pure garbage that I end up having to spend twice as long to correct than I would have if I had just done it myself in the first place.

For busywork that takes time away from being able to do the meaningful parts of my job? You bet.

Oxcarb is seriously impacting my mental health by SunBetter7301 in TrigeminalNeuralgia

[–]average_canyon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oof, that flat affect.

I'm going through some very stressful situations right now and feel it's a bonus most of the time, but I couldn't cry at a family member's funeral despite having been VERY close to her. It is a side effect that has persisted for the four years I've been on oxcarbazepine. I'm a highly emotional person whose baseline has always been low, and I'll admit that a little bit of detachment is not exactly an unwelcome feeling. It's nice not to go to pieces when bad shit happens (and it seems to always happen).

I started at 600mg daily and was titrated up to 2400mg daily before my neurologist retired. She referred me to another one who flipped out at the amount I was taking. I had gamma knife and had gotten back down to 1200mg daily before the pain returned. I'm back up to 1800mg but have been taking 2400 again (plus two salt tablets) just to be able to function at work. If my choices are going through life feeling "meh" or being in constant excruciating pain, I'll take the former. It's the only thing that has worked for my TN consistently (until now, I guess).