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Doug E. Fresh

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Posts posted by Doug E. Fresh

  1. On 9/19/2020 at 5:29 PM, After irth said:

    Sounds like you may be struggling mightily there. 

    Where is your temp flat along the Thames?

    Not struggling mightily, just settling in on the end of day 4. The flat is on Wapping High Street, a bit east of Tower Bridge. The place has a huge balcony on each level overlooking the Thames. It’s been sunny and around 75 everyday and will be for a few more days. Then, the fall weather will set in around midweek. My wife was checked up on Friday afternoon to make sure we we’re quarantining. This week we will start the process of getting things setup such as phones, utilities, cable, internet, etc. 

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  2. Thanks for all the positive comments. Of course we have our two week quarantine upon arrival, which is somewhat enforced by the local authorities. Even jail breaking to the pub poses some risk because you have to provide your contact tracing details upon entry. Should the police cross reference that it could be a problem. But honestly, after the shit we’ve been through the past year and especially recent months, just unwinding in a kick ass flat on the Thames (until our place in Marylebone is ready) with no obligations is sounding pretty good. I may sleep for a week.

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  3. 1 hour ago, Horny04 said:

    Well the time has come for hard decisions.

    My almost 14 year old Maltese Coco has been acting older over the last couple of years. The vet had said she had signs of heart disease in the past year or two, and attributed her cough and wheezing to it.

    This past weekend she fell down about 15 stairs, stairs that she usually never climbs because they're not carpeted and she slips on them. She had been extra clingy lately which is why she followed me up thy stairs. She got up and walked away like nothing was wrong. But yesterday morning she had a seizure, which she has never had before. Wife took her to the vet and they did xrays, which showed her heart being very enlarged with fluid around it, compressing her trachea, which probably accounts for the chronic coughing. We started her on meds for the heart (ACE inhibitor and diuretic), but today she had 2 more seizures. After the seizure she's a little out of it but otherwise looks normal.

    I can't help but think the fall is causing the seizures, possibly from some head trauma. But vet attributes it to heart as well (?? wife was there so I couldn't ask questions). No anti seizure meds were offered. Vet basically said consider putting her down soon, as it's a matter of time given how the heart looks.

    The hard thing is that when she isn't having a seizure she looks like her normal old lady dog self. Isn't acting particularly uncomfortable or as if she's in pain. She has lost a lot of weight and isn't eating well or drinking much, which concerns me since she's now on a diuretic. It's just hard for me to come to grips with putting her down. If she keeps having frequent seizures though it will be hard to just let it go.

    Luckily only my 5 yo daughter likes her, for whatever reason the older 2 boys never cared for her. I think because she's small and not a really playful dog, and she didn't ever care much for them. She's my adopted dog daughter, my wife had her for about a year and a half before I met her. So before we had kids she was our only child and got way more attention than she has since we had our 3 kids. We've started prepping the 5 yo for what may come, and she doesn't seem too upset when we say Coco is sick and may be going to doggy heaven soon. But I'm not sure she gets that it means she'll be gone forever.

    Just venting and looking for advice. Pic attached. c595a2733f6f765c4265b5dceb9ffbd2.jpg


    Will give you the best advice I can as I just went through something similar. My English Bulldog, Lulu, had a tumor on her heart for at least 18 months and it was generally slow developing. In July, it began to grow and was pushing more fluid into her abdomen and chest. We put her on a heart med and diuretics, like you, and got an initial improvement for about 3 weeks - lots of energy, eating better and very alert. But then she slowed down, we had to hand feed her (and she always loved food more than life itself), and she drank so much water and peed all the time. We had to get her up at least twice during the night to take her out. And my wife and I were more than happy to do it if she still had a quality life.

    But as the days wore on, she just continued to get worse and showed some signs of pain. It was hard to tell how bad it was because she still wanted attention, love, playtime and was alert. In the end, we found she was just masking the pain until she couldn’t anymore. Her abdomen filled with fluid and an ultrasound also showed a new growth on her liver. So we put her down that day and put an end to her suffering.

    I can’t give you a magic answer here except to watch it all very closely. The seizures would really worry me and I’d hate to see that keep happening, both for Coco and the impact that has on you and your family. In the end, only you will know when the time is right. And just don’t let Coco suffer trying to hang on. I’m sure you know that and I’m sure you won’t.

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  4. 6 hours ago, HenryJames said:

    Not seeing the problem.

    Two things - 1) not going to be easy if I have to do a two week quarantine every time I return to London.  2) not going to risk flying back and forth multiple times a year until this stuff settles down.

    The UK quarantine is legit.  You have to submit your address before you depart, and then there is a high likelihood the police will check on you once or twice, especially coming from the US.  The fine is about $4k if you are not home when they come by.  It's not like the "encouraged" quarantines that have been done in the US as it is taken much more seriously over there.

  5. 8 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

    Sigh.  Heading to San Antonio this evening to put the daughter on an early morning flight tomorrow to Montreal to go back to school (COVID has so jacked with flight schedules, the only flights that get her to Canada during the daytime depart from SAT).

    Montreal is her home now -- she has an apartment, a lease, the whole deal.  And most of her similarly situated peers have been allowed back in as they've returned, but there are some vagaries to the process and the randomness of your customs agent.  People on a student visa CAN meet the "essential purpose" requirement to enter Canada, and showing that it is your residence helps close the deal, but there's always some risk of bureaucratic nightmare.  And of course, once she clears customs, she has to get in a car, head straight to her place, and quarantine for 14 days.

    And we don't know when we'll see her again.  Who knows what the travel restrictions will be in the coming months/year.   So, I'm an anxious as hell dad, being supportive and helping her make sure she has all her paperwork, but on this one....she's on her own, into some real uncertain shit.  Welcome to adulthood in the time of COVID, kiddo.

    I get the stress of it all, Brisket.  My wife and I are moving back to London in one month, and I don't know when I will get to come back to Houston again.  My Dad is 80, in decent health, but I might not see him again. We spent this week together in Galveston, and it was awesome. But it's been hard as shit these last few months to get the move done.  While going back to London is what we always wanted to do, it's so much more difficult in a Covid environment.  We aren't getting the normal closure we would expect by seeing friends and family before we go and getting to hit all our favorite bars and restaurants.  

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  6. I've got one signed by some of the guys in the 500 HR club, including an authenticity certificate.  Mantle, Mays, Matthews, Jackson, Robinson, Killebrew, Schmidt, Aaron, Banks, McCovey.

    I am getting ready to move in a few weeks so may be unloading some stuff.

  7. I went through a phase back in 2017-2018 where I started buying baseball cards and memorabilia off of eBay.  Mostly older cards like Mantles, Mays, Banks, Clemente, etc.  One thing I picked up that I had always wanted was a Jordan rookie with a PSA 9 grade.  Think I paid around $3500 for it.  I pulled the cards out a few months ago just to see what they were going for and pricing.  I was shocked that the Jordan had shot up to around $9k-$10k, coming off the broadcast of the Last Dance.  I flipped that thing immediately.

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  8. On 4/22/2019 at 5:09 PM, Doug E. Fresh said:

    64f396175d7f5271cb7219a3aa32e087.jpgcbb9cdd546c01193632d44226d300cf0.jpgd6f3961cf02a5d393adc975984fc6a35.jpg

    Here’s a few pics of her. The first one was about 4 hours before she began to crater.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    I originally posted these back in April 2019 when Lulu had an emergency surgery to remove a cantaloupe size growth on her spleen that ended up being benign. She recovered like a champ and has been awesome. Fast forward to February this year and we found a small growth on her liver that we thought was cancer.  We hesitantly decided to cut her open again and all went perfect.  Also a benign growth.  

    She has had a slow developing mass on her heart that we have been monitoring for a few years, and in her last surgery in February they opened a tiny pericardial window to help drain fluid.  We took her in for her normal check up last week and bloodwork showed some mild anemia.  She got worse over the course of a week with labored breathing, lack of energy, etc.  We took her to Gulf Coast vet yesterday and they confirmed this evening that the heart mass is getting bigger, forcing fluid near her lungs and abdomen.  Not much we can do anymore except just wait it out, keep her comfortable and spoil the shit out of her.  Could be a matter of days a few months, but we will put her down if she shows any signs of suffering. I am absolutely gutted tonight.  We got her in London back in 2010, and are literally less than 2 months from moving back.  But I don't see her making the trip.  

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  9. I'm moving to London in mid-September.  House in Houston closes late August, movers pack up a few days later, then driving to Terlingua for one final hurrah before flying out.  The move isn't Covid related as it's been in the plans with me and the wife for around 5 years. We have passports from our previous 6 years over there so getting in is easy. It's just taken that long with career, money, etc. to get it done.  Wish I wasn't moving in the middle of a global pandemic but it's now or never for my work opportunities in London and E. Europe. And if it doesn't work out or we find it's not what we want (or remember), there is always a path back. 

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  10. On 7/4/2020 at 10:44 PM, Neonmoon said:

    England opening up pubs and restaurants. By the lines shown on the news, I don’t think they learned our lesson. 

    Most of what made the news was Soho, which I heard was an absolute shitshow.  Other parts of Central London were pretty reasonable from comments I had from friends over there.  Many pubs are also requiring bookings for up to 2.5 hours of drinking at spaced out tables.  The bars tend to have shields to avoid contact with customers and bartenders.

    It certainly didn't look ideal over there but not as loose as we have been in the US.

  11. On 7/4/2020 at 3:47 PM, Your Mom said:

    I thought it was based on the country you are traveling from, not which passport you have.   

    You are right, the 14-day quarantine is based on where you are coming from, but that's not a big deal to me.  My point is that I don't think I will run into a situation where a country like the UK prohibits its citizens from returning under any circumstance.  I guess it's possible if they shut down all flights from the U.S. but I don't think is likely and could find other means to get over.

     

     

  12. 10 hours ago, Chewbacca said:
    On 6/30/2020 at 11:58 PM, Doug E. Fresh said:
    Just booked United to London in mid-September with miles.  I have always found it difficult to use miles for international business class travel on relatively short notice.  Award travel has historically not been available or around 300k miles for a round trip flight.  Picked this one up for 60k miles and the business cabin looks empty right now except for 2 other seats.

    You think the UK is letting you in by September? That sounds wildly optimistic to me.

    I am certain they will.  I have a UK passport in addition to a US passport.

    And they are letting US citizens in now, but you have to quarantine for 14 days.  But it is different than a quarantine here.  You have to provide your address upon arrival at LHR and are likely to get a visit or two from the police to ensure you are following the quarantine guidelines.

  13. Just booked United to London in mid-September with miles.  I have always found it difficult to use miles for international business class travel on relatively short notice.  Award travel has historically not been available or around 300k miles for a round trip flight.  Picked this one up for 60k miles and the business cabin looks empty right now except for 2 other seats.

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  14. Going to get my antibody test today.  I was pretty sick in January and just assumed it was the flu.  But I found out yesterday that one of my co-workers in London (I was spending around 2 weeks a month working there since August last year)  just received a positive antibody test from when he was sick in mid-March.  I was around him 10 hours a day for about a week during that timeframe, sitting and working side by side, and did not get sick despite his almost constant coughing.  I flew home as soon as the Europe travel ban was put in place and was fine after as well.  

    I guess it is possible that I didn't catch it or was asymptomatic but seems more likely that I may have already had it in January.  Will know in a few days.

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