#But unless you can survive a few hours in no oxygen conditions then you probably should skip the date lol

[donuts4evry1]

If Rankou had an online dating profile

[sylverstorms]

Donna x Elena ----From Winter to Spring

This is a commission written for the lovely @saltwatereulogies and I cannot thank you enough for all your support! I hope you enjoy the story :)

She doesn’t know how she escaped that nightmarish inferno. How she still draws breath. Why her body keeps running despite its condition and despite the fact that she has lost everything.

The village is gone. Everyone she knew is either dead or a monster. She watched her own father growl like a beast and cleave a woman in half, then soon after wail out her name and succumb to the flames swallowing up the building. There is nothing left. There is nothing left for her.

Why? Elena wonders. A trail of blood marks her path through the snow, towards the unknown. Why still fight?

It will be easier to surrender to the agonizing burns, to the open gashes and wood splinters stuck in her skin. It will be far, far simpler to stop pressuring her rattling lungs to provide oxygen and fall into the snow, instead. It looks… peaceful. Soft. Pure.

It will welcome her to a quiet death, she thinks, so she may join her friends and her father.

Her father. The man who had never reached his hand out to help her when she fell –either on the fields or when she tripped over hardships— yet had always been there in his own stubborn, strict way, telling her to pick herself up.

“I didn’t raise no quitter.”

Ah, is that why.

Perhaps part of her feels it owes it to him to try. She did miraculously survive the fiery wreckage she’d initially thought would be her grave. But… the odds just aren’t with her.

Elena is only human. She’s lost too much blood, been through too much punishment. Her vision is growing blurrier by the second, her legs more sluggish. When she steps on grass instead of snow, she believes her mind is now playing tricks on her, too.

Something smells sweet, like wildflowers.

That is the last thing Elena is aware of, before she drops to her knees and blacks out.

-

-

When she blinks her eyes open, she is… confused.

She never thought heaven nor hell would have a wooden ceiling. She wouldn’t have guessed pain follows one into the afterlife, either, yet there she is, prone and throbbing with every weak breath on a bed too comfortable to be her own.

Unless…

Unless she’s not dead. Unless, against all odds, she survived a second time only to suffer some more. Elena wants to cry. What cruel game is the universe playing with her? The luck she never had in life is suddenly gracing her in extreme bursts now that she doesn’twant it.

“She’s awakeeee!” an overly excited voice exclaims somewhere around the room. Elena is too dizzy to tell.

“Shh.” A second presence makes itself known, calming the first.

“Who…” Who are you, Elena tries to say, but the words never make it past her dry throat.

Heels tap against the floor, until a black-clad figure comes to peer down at her. Elena expected to see the face of her savior, yet all she sees is a ghost, its visage hidden behind a mourning veil. The image is jarring; it sends her heartbeat skyrocketing, which doesn’t help her condition.

Oh, Lord, Oh, Lord what… Elena wants to tell herself she’s dreaming. It isn’t real, none of this is real—

Until a doll jumps into the edge of her bed and says something she doesn’t hear over the sound of her hoarse scream.

The ghost flinches backwards as the world turns dark once more.

-

-

The second time she opens her eyes, hours or days later, the pain has subsided somewhat.

Elena can feel her body, at least. All the wounded parts are carefully wrapped in gauzes and all her burns are covered by a soothing salve. Her lungs no longer hiss when she inhales, so long as she does so slowly, evenly.

That, of course, is not so easy to do when she turns to her left and sees the ghost sitting there, an open book in her lap. The veil is still on, obscuring her features, but Elena takes note of her fingers as they cradle the spine of the tome, long and pale, manicured black.

Appearances aside, there is a certain calm about her that doesn’t feel threatening.

“I… I’m not hallucinating, am I?” she whispers, not trusting her voice to go any higher.

The mystery woman tenses as though her voice has startled her. “…No.” she eventually replies. Her voice is quiet, like the rest of her.

“Did… you save me…?” A single nod is all she gets in return. Her company doesn’t seem very comfortable speaking, but Elena has questions that she needs answered. “Where am I?”

“The Beneviento estate.”

Elena would gasp if she could. I made it that far? And this woman… is she really Donna Beneviento? Her father told her all she needed to know about the four Lords residing at the outskirts of the village. He had also told her to avoid them at all costs.

“Um. I’m Elena—” A cough cuts her off. The sudden motion causes every injury across her body to burn.

“…I know.”

She is too much pain, in that moment, to ask how Donna knows.

-

-

In the following days, Elena comes to accept a few things that would have normally made her question her sanity;

The doll is alive. Her name is Angie and she is Donna’s friend. Donna is the adopted daughter of Mother Miranda, who, upon the former’s request, has given her permission for Elena to remain in the mansion. When she asked what would have happened had she denied, the doll only sing-songed that she doesn’t really want to know.

It still plagues her mind, probably because she has far too much time to think and this is the only thing she can focus on, lest she starts crying over and over again.

When Donna comes to change her bandages, it is a relief.

The woman sits at the edge of her bed, at the absolute maximum distance. Elena slowly brings her body to a semi-reclining position to assist. Angie hops on the bed and pulls the covers to the side… and that is when they arrive to a standstill. Donna doesn’t move, Elena doesn’t know what to do.

“Um. May I?” the veiled woman motions with her –admittedly very elegant— hands. It’s… endearing, how she approaches the subject of touching her.

Elena nods and tries to be a good patient for her. Tries being the key word. When she’s not fighting for her life, she is not nearly as brave in the face of pain. Her teeth are gritted as Donna’s cool hands unwrap the gauzes at her right arm, her eyes closed, breath held.

“…Am I hurting you?” Donna asks, quiet as ever.

“No.” Elena forces herself to exhale. “No, you’re… very gentle.”

Donna nods and continues with the same measured movements. Elena doesn’t want to look at her wounds, afraid of what she’ll find there, so she turns to the veiled visage of her companion. She wishes she could see her face. Wonders what she may look like, what flaw she’s trying to hide.

Until a bandage catches on a particularly bad burn and Elena cries out.

Her whole body jumps—

Donna’s hands fly to her shoulders, keeping her steady with surprising strength, yet she steps away the very next second as though she’s been scorched.

Elena bites her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. There you go, making her uncomfortable…

Angie takes over for a while, also quite precise. Elena peeks down to realize she isn’t in as terrible a condition as she may have imagined. Scars will be left, no doubt, but she will probably heal well enough.

Then the last difficult spot comes up. She knows it when Angie warns: “You need to stay still here.”

“No, no wait!” Elena pleads. “I—I can’t.” I can’t, I can’t deal with this again, not again—

But Donna sits back next to her and her mere presence calms her down. “You are very strong, Elena. This is the last one.” she says.

“Hold me down.” Elena requests.

Donna doesn’t seem to like the idea. Still, she slowly brings her hand back over the uninjured part of Elena’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright.” she whispers.

“On three.” Angie says. “One… Two…”

She pulls the bandage on two and Elena would jump high enough to burst through the ceiling if it wasn’t for Donna. When the agony subsidies she realizes she’s sobbing helplessly, clutching at the dollmaker’s sleeves for dear life.

“Shh, I’m sorry, it’s over now. It’s over.” Donna’s slender fingers comb through her unruly hair.

The brunette closes her eyes and lets her head drop back down into her pillow, but she doesn’t let go of the dollmaker right away. She smells like the flowers outside her house,she thinks.

She feels like a safe space, steady, in a world that’s broken and tilted for Elena.

-

-

Gradually, Donna talks to her more. Gradually, Elena tests her body’s limits until she is strong enough to walk around the house on her own.

Angie is with her, most of the time, but she knows it’s less a security measure and more one for her safety. Her mental connection to Donna is something Elena cannot grasp nor understand, but she tries to.

The first time she manages to get to the living room, Elena stops and stares at the painting of Donna adorning the wall opposite her.

“…is that her?” she asks Angie.

“Of course!” the doll replies excitedly. “I am so proud of that one, the artist did a great job! Mistress Donna looks splendid, but it is me who steals the show!”

Elena can’t look away from the canvas. Why is she so familiar…? “Is that what she looks like?”

“Well, excluding a scar she wishes to hide. Kind of like my face. We match.” Angie answers, giving her version of a grin.

For the rest of the day, Elena sneaks glances at Donna, then the painting. It isn’t proper, she knows, but she’s curious. And… surely, no scar is enough to justify hiding that cute face from the world?

-

-

Weeks pass. Elena has healed well and she owes it all to Donna.

The two of them have grown closer in the time the former’s injuries have forced them together, close enough to have tea in the mornings and brief chats over common interests throughout the day.

When the weather grows a tad warmer, Elena asks the dollmaker to take a stroll with her outside. She sees the decorated graves, of course, but she knows better than to ask. She doesn’t want their time to be poisoned by grief. The scars of losing loved ones run deep, she knows this too well and they never really heal.

The two of them are basking in comfortable silence for a while, until a thought that feels impossible not to be voiced strikes Elena.

“Donna.” she speaks.

“Hm?”

“When I first woke up and I told you my name… you said ‘I know’.”

“…yes.”

“I’m sure we’ve never met before…?” Elena stops and turns to face her companion. Donna mirrors her.

“How certain are you?” she asks. Upon Elena’s obvious confusion, she elaborates; “As a child, I used to visit the village with my father. In one of those visits, some of the kids made fun of my scar. A boy, especially, was saying some very mean things.”

Elena starts to recall one such incident in the blurry images of her childhood.

“You stopped him.” Donna says. Pauses. “…with a punch to the face.”

Elena raises a hand to her mouth, but a quick laugh escapes her anyway. “I did?” A nod. “No way.”

“You did.”

“It couldn’t have been a strong one, though.” Elena giggles.

“I don’t know. Rumor has it he still hasn’t gotten up, to this day…” The little exhale of a chuckle that escapes Donna makes something in Elena bloom and flutter.

She wants nothing more in that moment than to lift the damned veil and see the face of the gentlest, kindest woman she’s ever met.

-

-

The winter eventually gives way to spring. The earth heals from the wounds of the cold like Elena has, under Donna’s care.

She no longer has doubts about what she feels, what she wants. It is only a matter of overcoming her fears and nervousness. Only a matter of finding the right timing and the appropriate setting.

Elena has rehearsed the words she needs to say many times in her dreams and thoughts, yet she finds herself tongue-tied and completely lost on what to do in reality. She has asked Donna to walk with her, taken her to where the waterfall calms into a river… and now struggles to summon her voice.

“What is it, Elena?” Donna, ever the sweetheart, asks. “You know you can tell me anything… right?”

“What if…” she hesitantly begins. “What if I can’t tell you? …can I show you, instead?”

“Of course.”

Elena takes a deep breath and chastises herself to woman up. One little step brings her into Donna’s personal space. Her hand raises to the edge of the veil, blue eyes searching for a sign she should stop. The dollmaker is tense, but she hasn’t made a move to back away, nor lower Elena’s hand.

She trusts her.

And that’s all Elena needs to finally, finally remove the barrier separating them for months. The cute girl she defended as a child is a beautiful woman now, looking back at her with gentle, dark eyes. The jagged scar running down the right side of her face does nothing to retract from that beauty.

“You don’t need that.” she breathes. “You never did.”

Donna glances to the side, a hint of color spreading over her pale cheeks. Elena chases her chin with her fingers, then slowly inches closer, making sure the dollmaker has ample time to decide if she wants this, too.

When their lips meet, color blooms behind her shut eyelids, within her chest. Donna’s mouth is as soft and sweet as her personality, Elena discovers. It is a short, chaste kiss but it is also a promise for many more to come.

It is the gratitude Elena will eternally hold for Donna, who found her at the ending of her life and nursed her back to this,

A new beginning.

[ljandersen]

Do you think Kaidan also went through N training at some point? I've seen fics where he's apparently gone through it, but couldn't find anything in canon about it.

Hi, anon! Ooh, a question. Fun! Thank you for thinking of me.

Do I think Kaidan is N-trained?  In short, no.

There isn't evidence disproving that he's N trained, but there isn’t evidence suggesting he's N trained either. If anything, the lack of any indication he has N training is proof in itself.

For one, none of the characters associated with N training ever include Kaidan as if he’s a member. James goes to Shepard with his N questions. He never mentions or refers to Kaidan's experience. Neither Anderson nor Shepard mention Kaidan being N trained.

It's not mentioned in his background anywhere. It's said he has over a dozen special commendations. He does get involved in special operations, even leading the first Special Operation Biotic Company, but this doesn't require an N designation.  Unless he failed out before qualifying as a N1, it seems like something that would be included in his history.  

In ME1, he specifically says he’s been holding back up to this point in using his biotics offensively.  Jenkins is the first soldier he’s lost to hostile action.  None of these suggest to me someone who’s undergone rigorous N spec ops training, where holding back would probably limit being accepted.  Some N operatives may not have seen someone die due to hostile action, but it’s at least more likely with a N trained operative than a general marine.  It seems like Kaidan is still coming into his own in biotic combat in ME1.

If anything, I wonder if health concerns over his L2 implant may not disqualify him.  N operatives frequently lead high-risk, high-priority missions either independently or in charge of a small groups. The whole mission hinges on that one person. Having a serious pre-existing health condition, especially one triggerable on the field (light, sound, stress, etc.), would be a serious concern. 

 While he may function well on a team or even in a leadership position commanding a unit, I think special forces may rely heavier on single-person performance under high-strain situations.  Conditions on those high risk N missions maybe be more likely to trigger an attack than typical combat.   Alone, disabled, and with the whole mission riding on him achieve a specific task, it could be disastrous.

Even if was accepted to apply, I don't know if he could pass N training with his health condition. If Wiki is correct, it says this about N1 training:

"If this is their first time at the school, trainees participate in scenarios experienced by the elite units of most land-based armies; a typical candidate may be in training more than 20 hours a day, leading small units into combat over hostile terrain with little sleep or food. Trainees who do well are awarded an internal designation of N1 and are invited to return."

While Kaidan is obviously a tough person, who's gone through basic and performs well as a marine on the field, I don't know if he could push himself to operate with 4 hours of sleep a day and hardly any food. My sister has terrible migraines, and she has to careful judge her sleep cycle and the timing of her meals. If she doesn't get enough sleep or oversleeps, she gets a migraine. If she misses a meal, she gets a migraine. 

Obviously, Kaidan would face those issues while on the field as a general marine, but I don't think it would be to the same extent as here.  If on the field in these conditions, a migraine could be dealt with, either supported by his team and medication.  Or, if extreme, by evacuation.  As a N candidate under these conditions, a bad migraine affecting his performance would simply disqualify him.

It also says about higher level N training:

"The highest grade of training, N6, provides actual combat experience in conflict zones throughout the galaxy. From day one, invitees are given basic gear, then separated and stranded on an asteroid with no nav data. The test ends when the last person runs out of oxygen. The first few are out of the program. If the trainee survives these scenarios in "admirable and effective fashion," they finally receive the coveted N7 designation."

I imagine every N operative enters training with the intention of becoming a N7. No one thinks, "Yeah, I'll join, but I only want to be a N4." Everyone is shooting for the top. In that case, if Kaidan wanted to become a N7, that means he'd be stranded alone on an asteroid and rationing oxygen. I think the hypoxia alone could be a huge trigger for a bad migraine.

Overall, I don't think there's any evidence to suggest Kaidan entered N training. Moreover, I suspect he may not qualify due to health concerns. If he did qualify, I don't know if he'd get pass the extreme conditions to get even a N1 designation.

Now that sounds like I'm looking down on Kaidan and what he can do having a migraine condition, but I'm really not. He obviously has found a way to function effectively as a marine. He assures Shepard he won't be a burden on the crew, if Shepard was worried.   He received all those commendations and jumps up the ranks fast.  He obviously functions well and deserves his position as a marine.  But the military is strict with health limitations, and I think N training may be the point where the line is drawn.  It’s just too risky for him and the mission.

I think what opportunities Kaidan lacks due to his L2 implant, he makes up for with his outstanding leadership skills, level-headed resourcefulness, and intuitiveness for politics and tact.  Through ME1, he is frequently dissecting Council and Alliance motivation and power-plays.  He’s open minded, fair, and progressive in the larger picture, long-term goals of the Alliance.  He takes time considering all of the political players involved and giving the benefit of a doubt to aliens in their actions toward humanity.  

To me, he makes an excellent candidate for Spectre for his political saavy in addition to his leadership skills, lack of racial bias, self-accountability, determination, and independent decision making.  He thinks for himself beyond blindly accepting orders.  He is willing to take those convictions to the level of breaking rules and confronting superiors.  Those are important for a Spectre, and his moral self-accountability will ensure he has proper discernment in how he uses his powers.  He obviously has good fighting skills and ability to lead on the field despite his health condition, because he jumps so many Alliance ranks.  He learns to Reave and is teaching other spec op biotics.  He’s very capable both on a political intellectual level and physically with skills and ability.

While he may not, in my opinion, match well with the rigors and high-intensity of N training, he’s an exceptional option for a high leadership positions within the Alliance and for promoting galactic interests as a Spectre.  

Thank you for the ask!!!

[skvaderarts]

Hiraeth Chapter 12: Respiration

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter Twelve: Respiration 

Note: I’m going to go ahead and dedicate this arc to Owen Hamze, V’s likeness actor. He’s been going through a lot lately, and it parallels what happened in this fic in an eerie kind of way, as far as violence goes. Fiction aside, I hope he’s alright. Domestic violence is awful, and I’m sorry he’s been having to go through what he’s been going through.

(-~-)

Breath.

The ability for the human body -and many times much less human bodies- to intake the oxygen that they desperately needed to survive. The vital yet invisible literal lifeblood of the body that most beings couldn’t survive without, at least not for long. Without a simple but complex combination of molecules and atoms, nothing living was sustainable, and it was something that most everyone went through every day of their lives without giving a thought to unless they possessed a condition that made it difficult to them to do so. And up until that day, it had been something that he had never really thought much of, aside from the various times that he’d felt his lungs burning and his oxygen-starved body swaying and aching from a lack of it.

V missed the moments when he didn’t have to think about something so precious as though it were a privilege; the times when all he had to do was inhale and he was greeted by something so basic yet so essential to his very existence. Only the dead didn’t require it, as far as sapient beings went, and they would all be dead without it if they were deprived of it for very long. Their limbs would become limp and their essence would leave them, the useless sacks of flesh, adipose tissue, and muscle they had once depended on becoming nothing more than a negative impact on the carbon footprint. A heavy weight that meant nothing without blood circulation to carry vital components to their bodies that were needed to do literally anything. And what was one of those components?

Oxygen.

How he missed it now, given the state that he was in. How had it come to this? The darkness had pulled him under, his jump amounting to nothing in the very end other than to condemned him to the murky depths. Was it enough that the nefarious individuals who had sought to take his life from him for whatever purpose they served would now be deprived of their satisfaction? He hoped so vainly for the brief second that he was able to think before the air was stolen from his lungs and the light was stolen from his eyes. Never in his short life had he experienced such staggeringly cold water, not even in the moments that he had been forced into the river as a child. How distant that those days behind the menacing walls and buildings that he had once called home felt now. He imagined that the proprietors would feel a great sense of accomplishment and relief if they could see him now. How sure they would be if they could see him falter and fail that they had succeeded in crippling him so that his supposed evil nature could never be acted upon. They had thought that he was cursed then, and at this rate, he was almost ready to believe it now. But no. He would rather die than give them the satisfaction, even if they were right or they had no way of knowing. That was the only victory that he could see himself achieving over them in life. 

Living virtuously and prosperously was simply out of the question.

As he faded into blackness, he remembered seeing the night sky. How purple it had been, so beautiful and full of stars. If this was how it had to be, then he was thankful that it was the last sight he’d been granted the privilege of seeing. It was a small source of comfort to know that he could at least be at peace in this environment, none of the pain, sorrow, or. He wasn’t ready or willing to accept it, but he was willing to accept that some choices weren’t choices, and that the crushing existential horror that he felt in that moment would pass as quickly as it came regardless of what he had to say about the matter. Or at least that was what he thought. Who was to say what would actually happen at that moment. He wasn’t even sure what he believed, or if he believed in anything at all. 

But before he could ponder this, everything went completely black, and the world became still.

(-~-)

Morgan had been sitting there for hours, watching as the gurneys brought in person after person, doctors and nurses writing up and filing reports with grim efficiency and even grimmer expressions on their faces. This was all such a terrible mess, wasn’t it? Such a preposterous waste of life. And all for what? The temporary amusement of a few random madmen? Was that all this was? All that she’d lost her grandparents for?

People wandered about, filling the space around them with the sounds of footsteps, heavy breathing, and. Paper folded out of her line of view as relatives and well-wishers as well as horrified onlookers and shocked spectators filed down the corridors in a horrified rush to find out what had become of the people who had once resided in the small town of Lympha. She had never been so hyper-alert and yet completely distant before in her entire life, and there wasn’t a single thing that she could do to lessen the terror that she felt growing inside of her. A simple but all-consuming question eating away at her like an infection deep in her bones.

Where on earth was he?

Despite the fact that she had sat quietly and diligently in precisely the spot that she would have expected to have seen or heard something by now, there had been nothing. She eyed one of the nearby guards who had been stationed near her, the man glancing over at her as though he simply knew what she was thinking at that moment. Sympathy and annoyance were both present in his face in equal measure as he turned to face the young woman who had helped to make his eventful day even more eventful for the last two hours or so since she’d arrived in a crowded van along with a bunch of other disheveled strangers.

“Look, little lass. Before you ask me again, no. No, I’ve yet to hear anything back from my superiors about the matter at hand, other than the fact that they are combing the woods for any signs of them.” He paused, noting her dismay and hopelessness, her small shoulders falling as the gravity of the hopelessness that she found herself in weighed heavily on her. Perhaps crushing the last remaining remnants of a young and probably traumatized girl’s hopes to find her missing friend was not the best use of his time. “Look… Extra patrols have been despatched, and they are doing everything they can. That’s all I can say. I’m sorry. Really.”

Morgan nodded and sighed heavily, her elbows sliding forward as she used her open palms to cup her moist face, shivering as she finally allowed herself to begin to lose hope. “I know, sir. I know. I’ve just got to tell him that I’m sorry and that I’m grateful for everything. I’ve just gotta say something. I can’t live with it. With what he did for me. No, not like this. Not like this.”

But just as quickly as she’d begun to lose what little hope she had left, something caught her eye.

(-~-)

As if possessed by some otherworldly force, V felt his body lift up out of the frozen grass, his from soaking wet from the water that the ice had thinly concealed below its glossy, reflective surface. Every part of him down to the very marrow in his bones ached, and yet he felt no pain. He was freezing cold, but his body felt strangely warm. Although he was soaking wet, he didn’t feel the weight of his body as he dragged himself forward, his lungs emptying themselves of an impossible amount of water. It was as if the late had attempted to convert him into a part of itself, and there was nothing that he could to do escape the agony that he felt every time he inhaled and found his lungs practically frozen.

It was as if his body were compensating for his lack of mobility, a subconscious part of his brain noting that he was practically floating along despite the fact that he was heavier than he’d probably ever been. His skin prickled from the cold only to immediately become warm again even as the icy wind blew against him. His eyes watered only for the water to freeze and then become strangely warm given the circumstances. By all accounts, he should be dead. But it was as if he simply refused to lay down and die, some part of him too cold to freeze; his entire being fighting his condition in a way that seemed otherworldly and foreign to him.

Despite the fact that he couldn’t feel his right leg, he carried on. It was a numbness that he was familiar with, akin to the way that a limb felt when it went to sleep only much worse. There was a part of him that was sure that he would never be warm again, his body far past the reasonable threshold for hypothermia. While he wasn’t a medical expert, he could tell that much, and he remembered reading somewhere that once you started to feel warm because you were so cold, that that was the correct time to let panic set in since you were more than likely doomed. Medical science was incredible, but it could only do so much against odds like that. And despite everything, he still wanted to live. Maybe if he dug deep enough, he could continue forward just a little while longer?

One of the key issues with this plan was that he was simply walking aimlessly with no particular destination in mind. His feet carried onward like they knew where he was supposed to go despite the fact that he had literally no idea where he was going or how he was going to get there. It was surreal, but he didn’t have the strength or the willpower to act against whatever force drove him towards whatever his destination would turn out to be. That coupled with the fact that he seemed to be flashing in and out of consciousness meant that he couldn’t keep going much longer despite his seemingly inhuman drive to do so. 

His skin begged and pleaded with him to be covered with something, anything to stave off the elements, but he couldn’t oblige it. And as he carried on at a questionably rapid pace give his condition and the elements that battled against him, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the reality of the situation that he found himself in. something was genuinely unnerving about the amount of ground that he’d managed to cover in such a short amount of time. If he looked down at the ground, he wasn’t even sure he’d find evidence that he’d walked there. It was almost as though he’d simply moved his body to that location without his permission or direct input, and he didn’t know how to explain why or how it had happened, or the energy to object to it. He was simply there now, and that was all he could do about it.

Before long, against all odds, he saw the lights that lined the main highway, his mind trying and failing in his strangely energetic state to comprehend how he’d managed to walk here. It didn’t seem possible, yet here he was. Was it possible that he’d simply died and was now stuck in some strange idealistic limbo? Most certainly so, but he somehow knew that wasn’t the case in this situation despite the fact that stringing together any kind of coherent thought seemed nearly impossible. He exhaled heavily and stumbled forward, relieved and yet totally unsure as to why as he approached the road, eyeing it in a way that implied that he drew some measure of relief upon seeing it like it would offer him salvation of something. But perhaps that wasn’t too off base considering what happened only a short moment later.

The very instant that his legs finally became weak and he felt himself swaying unsteadily, V heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. By that point, he was too weak to even feel the fear that he knew he should have felt at the prospect of encountering what could be his enemies again. All his mind could focus on was the searing pain in his right leg and the full-body throbbing that threatened to sap every ounce of strength he had left. And as the patrol car came barreling into sight, V felt an ounce of relief was over him like a tidal wave as he hit the pavement and everything went black for the second time that day.

(-~-)

For a moment, all he could hear was the roaring of an engine, a vehicle that was too light to be the truck that had held him against his will spiriting him away to some unknown location. He vaguely remembered seeing lights along the street in the misty night sky, the fog that encompassed the area making everything brighter than it should have been. It was like he was caught in a fog machine, and all he could do was close his eyes again, despite the fact that he wasn’t really sure he’d actually opened them. All around him were the sounds of machinery and engines, and he wasn’t sure when the two became separate entities.

Then came the second set of lights, this time directly over his head as he felt himself moving forwards towards something. Warmth encompassed him as he registered the low hum of something unfamiliar near him once he stopped, his brain attempting to pull its self from the fog that he now metaphorically found himself stuck in. There was some part of him that knew that he was indoors, but he didn’t have the slightest idea how he knew that. Maybe it was the inviting warmth that he imagined he’d feel if every nerve ensign that had the misfortune of being attached to his skin wasn’t screaming like he’d been lit on fire. He wanted to muster the energy to speak up and say something about his condition to the other human beings who he could only imagine were around him, but he couldn’t, so instead, he focused on the rhythmic spinning of the wheels below him as they passed over a skip in whatever surface they found themselves on every few seconds or so.

Much to his surprise, he found himself stationary shortly thereafter, an obvious change in texture drawing him from his semiconscious state back into a more dreamlike level of consciousness. It was as though he’d just gone from laying on pavement or something equally as rigid and unyielding to being swaddled by the clouds themselves, his body not used to being in such an ergonomic state. It was strange, but not at all unwelcome. And finally, he registered the voices that he was willing to guess had always been there. At least two figures were standing somewhere nearby, and from what he could tell, they were discussing something pertaining to him.

“I’m sorry, you said his internal temperature was what now? That can’t be!”

“You know, that’s what I said! So I went and check again, and sure enough, it was right.”

“Everything I’ve ever been taught says it’s impossible to come back from an internal temperature that low! And you’re telling me that he’s, what, just on basic support? No Hypothermia, Renal System failure, or Frostbite or anything?!”

“Look, I didn’t say it made medical sense. I said that’s what happened. He just got incredibly lucky. I don’t know how else to even put it. It’s literally a miracle that he isn’t frozen solid right now. Aside from some kind of undefined injury to his leg that we’re currently investigating, he’s going to be totally fine somehow!”

“Well, geez. I’m happy for him, then. It’s about time we got some kind of positive news today. It’s good to see that at least one of these poor people is going to pull through and come back from the brink. Everything is such a mess. It’s a tragedy. I’m gonna see if that poor kid needs anything.”

They were doctors, and he was in some kind of emergency room. Suddenly everything became so clear to him as he peered over at them quietly, some part of him curious to hear what they had to say and equally unwilling to ask out of fear of being delivered a bad outcome. He was still alive, and he’d made it out of that place, even if he didn’t know who had found him and brought him the rest of the way. He would have to thank them in the future if he was able to. But as the reality of where he was and what he’d just experienced set in, so did an undeniable wave of relief and undefinable grief.

Somehow against all odds, he was still alive. He’d managed to escape with his life after everything had stacked the odds against him, and he was somewhere safe and warm and dry where those psychopaths couldn’t reach him. And he had no idea how to process that. But as soon as he could, he would. And then he would go and find Morgan. To see her safe; to know that she was in good hands would bring him closure. But for now, he would allow himself to rest and recover. Something told him that whatever was going on with his leg was going to prevent him from going anywhere anytime soon, and so it was best to let his body take its natural course and for him to relax and recover as best as he could.

With the day they’d both had, it was the least he could do. And he hoped that wherever Morgan was, she was doing the same. Something told him she wasn’t far off.

(-~-)

This chapter hits different now. Yikes.

Phew! It’s been a while since I’ve written a chapter this early in the morning. Well, time to go to bed! It’s Monday morning now, and I have things to get down tomorrow so that I can go to bed on time and get up Tuesday morning to write again lol! Literally, my entire life schedule revolves around the release schedule of this fic now. It’s crazy, but it’s the only thing giving my life structure during this quarantine. And yet, in spite of it all, I’m just glad that I have time to write again. Gosh, it’s been forever.

If you haven’t already, check out the link I posted at the end of the last chapter of the fic. I’ll be taking submissions from now until the end of time, so that might be fun for you. And to the FF.N readers: do you actually exist? My statistics and stuff don’t work, but I haven’t heard from you all in about 30 chapters. Everything alright?

Anyway, see you all on Friday, and remember: I adore you all! Take care and stay safe!

[healersworld]

Labourers in White Coat

It's 3 in the morning. And I'm tired. My legs hurt. My back hurts. I have a severe headache. My heels… oh… they are so tender that I can't touch them on the ground anymore. So basically I'm toe walking now. I'm a doctor and have been working as a general surgery resident for the last one year. And today I'm serving in emergency room which is usually a twenty four to thirty hours shift starting from 8 a.m. to the noon next day. Around 2 to 3 a.m., we (the doctors working in ER) take turns to sleep for two to three hours to gain strength to work for leftover cases in the next morning. I've been dealing with patients of various surgical issues all day but the ER is quiet now. There are no more patients and we are sitting on our chairs, tired, at the brink of falling apart, praying that PLEASE GOD, DON'T SEND ANYMORE PATIENTS. I look at the clock at the wall in front of me. It's my turn to sleep and I just want to lie on bed and never get up. Just to think about sleeping at this hour of night makes me relax a little bit. But for the last few hours, I'm feeling stomach ache, probably because of something I ate earlier. So I decide to take a little walk outside the ER before I sleep. I go out, pace a little, listen to the silence of the night, see the guards sitting on the chairs with their heads hanging down their necks in sleep, find the attendants of the patients snoring in their self-made beds over the muddy ground. I walk to the cafeteria a few yards away and sit on a chair spreading my legs on another chair. I close my eyes, lean backwards against the backrest of the chair with my head resting on it and feel lightened and vulnerable, and I'm afraid that if I sit here like this for an another few minutes, I would fall asleep and nobody could wake me up, not even the angels-of-waking-people-from-sleep (if such things exist). So I forcefully open my sleepladen eyes, pull my head up and contain my legs. But I'm still not ready to go back in ER because of the stomach ache which is kind of getting harsh now. I look at my cell phone. It's 3:15 a.m. Fifteen minutes of my sleeping hour have already been gone. If I sleep, probably my pain will go away. I shouldn't waste anymore of my precious time because I have to be back at 6:00 (after two hours and forty five minutes). Each single minute of sleeping hour is like a diamond and losing more minutes will be like losing more of my fortune. And while I'm thinking of saving diamonds, an ambulance pulls up in front of ER. The back door of the ambulance opens. The paramedics pull one stretcher out and then another one. These are two patients in one ambulance. So something isn't right. Then again whenever an ambulance pulls up in front of an ER, it's never right. And there's always an element of doubt that the patient might not be in severe condition. But two patients in a single ambulance at 3:15 a.m., it's definitely not right. I'm still sitting in the cafeteria watching this entire picture with the knowledge that my colleagues will handle. Those two patients are still on their way in through the door that another ambulance pulls up. Paramedics pull the stretcher out. By looking at the attendants of the previous two patients following this patient, I assume that these three patients are related to each other which means something disastrous has happened.

Okay. Enough! I can't sit anymore. I run to the ER.

The whole view of the trauma station has changed. Before I left, it was all quiet and peaceful, and now it's all uproarious and swarming with people. And that's the thing about working in ER, the situation is unpredictable. Nothing is for sure. One minute it's peace; another minute it's hell. I come to know that they are firearm cases. I see my colleagues tending to the patients. But their hands are full. They need help! I look at the clock, it's 3:20 a.m. already. I'm losing more diamonds and I'm tired and having stomach ache and my whole body is crying for rest. But I can't go to sleep now. Can I? Losing all my fortune is worth saving their lives. I buckle up. I put on gloves, cover my face with the mask and tend to those patients. Among the patients is one male in his thirties having multiple firearms in his left leg and a firearm shot in his chest. Damn! It is going to take whole night now just to manage this one patient. Firearms in different body parts are a sign of how much time it’s going to take. If they are in the limbs, there isn't much time it would take to manage unless an artery has been breached which is going to take a whole lot of your time. And if there's a fracture, it's out of my domain (because I’m a general surgeon). It's going to go to orthopedic, and that's a relief. If the firearm is in the chest, the time it would take depends where in the chest the bullet has made its entry. In some cases, the bullet is just beneath the skin over the ribs and that wouldn't take much. And in some cases, passing a chest tube will do the trick. And in others, you may have to cut open the chest, and that can give you the idea about the time it would take. If the firearm is in the abdomen, that's a red flare. It means we are going to cut open the patient and depending upon the damage inside, it takes about three to six hours of your time. If the firearm is in the neck, it's another red flare. And if it's in the head, it's again out of my domain and it's going to go to neurosurgery. And that's a relief too!

This man in his thirties is in my care now. He's conscious. Breathing. Responding to my commands. By looking at his chest wound, it seems like the bullet is just under the skin. That's a good thing and it has saved me from going through a whole lot of trouble. I count six holes in his leg. Probably three bullets have pierced their way in. And by looking at the contour of his leg, there's definitely a fracture. I check his distal pulses and feel the vibrations of his vessels over my fingertips. They are intact. Thank goodness! So this case is going to orthopedic, but his vitals are gradually dropping. His BP is falling. He's tachycardiac and sweating. He has lost a lot of blood through the holes in his leg. Before sending him to ortho, I have to resuscitate him first and make him vitally stable. And I need blood for that. I run to his attendants and ask them to arrange it as soon as possible. As I wait for the blood, I ask nurse to pass IV line and start fluids. That will give the patient enough time to survive until the blood is arranged. A few minutes later, I come to know that this patient has a blood group AB negative and nobody in his family is a match. And they are a long way from home. About a hundred kilometers away.

I'll be damned!

This blood group is so rare that people who have this type of blood group are just 0.36% of the world population. Of all the types of blood groups, this patient had to be AB negative. And I live in a country, where there are blood banks but still it is the family of the patient who has to arrange the blood. I go into a state of temporary paralysis. I'm standing still, deprived of sensations, not knowing what to do next and this is the worst kind of feeling when you are losing control. When everything is going out of your hands. And then suddenly, I break. I holler! I holler

at the attendants that do whatever the hell you can to arrange the blood because I'm not losing this patient tonight. I have seen so many people losing their lives in this same ER because they couldn't get the blood in time. I'm angry. I'm helpless. And now I'm sweating and can feel my heart jumping in my chest. I check his vitals every 5 minutes. My eyes are fixed at the monitor, beeping at his head side, showing his pulse and his oxygen saturation. His systolic blood pressure is in 80s now. Pulse is revolving around 120. He's shivering. Hypothermic. Confused. Slowly closing his eyes. I shake him every two minutes to make him stay awake. All this is

happening in front of me and I can't do anything about it. I'm losing him and I can't do anything about it! And in that moment, when I have done everything I could, I close my eyes and pray which I haven't done in a long time.

OH DEAR GOD, SAVE THIS MAN. DON'T MAKE HIS CHILDREN SPEND THEIR LIVES WITHOUT A FATHER. DON'T MAKE HIS WIFE SPEND HER WHOLE LIFE WITHOUT A HUSBAND. OH DEAR GOD, SAVE THIS MAN BECAUSE HE'S TOO YOUNG TO DIE NOW. BECAUSE HE STILL HAS SO MUCH LEFT TO SEE OF THIS WORLD. OH DEAR GOD, SAVE THIS MAN FOR IF HE IS SAVED, I'LL BE SAVED.

While I'm holding this man's hand, praying to the Almighty, my heart still pounding, my body still sweating, I hear a voice.

THE BLOOD IS HERE!

WHAT?!

AB negative?

How is that even possible? I don't know how the family arranged it, but they did it and I'm grateful. The blood is transfused. I monitor the patient's vitals every five minutes. An hour later, he's getting better. He's no more confused. No more shivering. His BP is coming up. His heart is going back to normal. He’s slowly opening his eyes. I'm relieved. I'm thankful. I'm happy! I see his family and tell them that he'll be okay, that they need not to worry anymore. Their melancholic faces have a new look now. They are blooming. And to see them like this makes me feel proud. When he's fully stable, I patch his wounds up and shift him to orthopedic bay for the orthopedic surgeons to deal with his fracture. My work with him is finished. I look at the clock, it's 07:00 a.m. I've lost all my diamonds. My pockets are empty but my heart is alive and filled with solace. I'm tired but kind of feel rested. I'm having body aches, but they are not killing me. My stomach ache has gone. I'm no more sleepy.

I'm a doctor and this is my life. I chose to live this life because when I was ten years old, I fell down the stairs and had a laceration on my knee which hurt like hell. I was taken to a hospital and the doctor stitched my wound and gave me medicine to relieve my pain. I was new again in a few days. I had no more gap in my knee. There was no more pain. All of it made me wonder about the life I was going to live. I was going to save lives as my profession! And here I am now seventeen years later in a hospital stitching people wounds, relieving their pain, saving their lives. It's just one incident I have mentioned here which occurred during a few hours of this night and I deal with these kinds of situations every day. I try to save people. Some I do, others I lose. And it's not just me. I have my colleagues here who work day and night, sacrifice their sleep, their comfort to save lives. We are just like the labourers. The difference is that they are in ragged clothes building houses brick by brick for the people to live and we are the labourers in white coats saving lives of those people.

[beingprotector-blog]

shade ideas

Racing, a good leaky roof, and a good run hard pipe - all of these in-home disasters happen to be a good reason for quick matter. While abating any trend of uncontrolled normal water at home is normally problematic plenty of, your troubles may well not end after the normal water is certainly removed apart. Indeed, if normal water soaks into your ceilings, flooring surfaces, and walls, you may be at a increased risk for mold expansion than ever before. In various cases, actually a damp environment brought on by ambient water vapor can promote mold growth in areas without substantially air flow. Irrespective of its triggers, mold in your home is normally bad news in need of immediate focus. Screwing up to address an emergent mold problem can put your family’s overall health at risk, with the CDC noting that various common outside molds can reason fevers, shortness of breath, and serious disease for folks with affected immune systems and chronic breath challenges (such as asthma). Just put, you want to understand the risks related to indoor mold, starting with the amount of period it calls for to grow and continuing through the areas where it grows most proficiently. From there, you’ll become well prepared to address mold risk factors in your personal residence or call a professional who is normally prepared at identifying the same. Either way, this guide will help you appreciate indoor molds like never before. Disclosure: Due to a great Amazon Associate I just earn from qualifying acquisitions. However, this will not impact our critiques and comparisons. All views happen to be our individual we take great pride in ourselves on keeping our content articles good and rounded. For extra facts discover our disclosure statement. Click For Document Contents: How Long Does It Take Mold To Grow? close finished of mold growth Depending in the environment, mold may start to germinate within 24 to 48 hours. From there, stable temperatures and a proper amount of dampness can allow the mold to grow and become noticeable in as few as 3 times or as many as 21 days. Even so, you can prevent this sort of propagation simply by cautiously tending to most of the virtually all at-risk areas of your house. A good Mold Progress Timeline In the wake of a sudden in-home water get, virtually all folks are really preoccupied with the process of containing and diverting the problematic water. Once that job is certainly performed, most people experience satisfied that their job is normally full, especially after right improvements include been produced. But if any walls, flooring, or ceilings started to be saturated during the leak, there is normally a decent probability that mold may try to have up shop there in the approaching days. Soon after 24 hours: Specifically, virtually all types of common in-home molds (cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, and aspergillus, according to the CDC) can land on a suitable surface and germinate with mainly because few simply because 24 hours. At that level, there will not become any apparent symptoms that mold spores are present in the spot. Because mold spores are rather enclosed at this level, it is normally the ideal period to get rid of them through washing with diluted lighten. Immediately after 12 days: On the other hand, if the mold spores are not detected during the germination level, they are prone to colonize in as couple of as 3 days, with virtually all types of mold gaining secure footing by 12 days post-germination. Possibly at this level, mold might not get noticeable to the eye on the impacted area. On the other hand, mold spores at this level can commence to get spread around considerably more efficiently if the oxygen in the spot is normally certainly not properly dehumidified. After 18 days: Once you pass the 18 day threshold, you will practically certainly see the obvious signs of mold get started to crop up on the afflicted surface. While the correct overall look may range, virtually all mold types will be famous anticipated to their dark color and spotty overall look. At this point, any cleaning of the affected surface will want to be considerably extra complete and accompanied by appropriate airway protection. All of these period frames are estimations, even so, with specifics for mold expansion quickness based mainly over the surface’s temps, the surrounding weather temperature, the level of dampness found in the surrounding oxygen, and the amount of airflow in the afflicted space. Handling each of these elements after a significant water trickle out is normally the best approach to prevent mold from spending keep in your home. How Will Mold Pass on? just how to take away mold from drywall Though it can be a little comfort to homeowners, mold of one kind or another is nearly definitely present indoors (unless it is being taken away through an air filter). As such, there is constantly a prospect for mold to territory on a provided area within your house. Even so, mold spores usually don’t have cause because they lack the two materials they want to survive: meals and normal water. What Will Mold Supply On? Earliest, let’s consider mold’s food. In possibility, virtually all any type of organic subject can provide the desires of prevalent interior molds. That staying explained, surfaces that will be porous (such as lumber) tend to street to redemption victim to mold growth credited to the method in which they rest down very easily. As for normal water, mold just requirements as very much normal water as is normally in humid surroundings to subsist and succeed when temperature are simply just right. If these two factors are present, mold is able to germinate, colonize, and spread as described above. This spreading method can be certainly not unlike the techniques in which timber divide their seeds, though mold spores happen to be hidden to the naked attention. While an first mold colony may orbit around a solo stage, sustained mold subjection can reason an complete target or an whole space to turn into a haven for mold expansion. The Spreading Process Is Rapid! Mold may start its dispersion method within time, and even while you can’t find the procedure happening visually (yet)  getting leaks and ambient wetness under control found in short purchase is exceptionally important. If you happen to be unable to clean up an at-risk spot quickly, help to make a method to extensively tidy that place with whiten or remove of the moistened thing if it is not really worthy of conserving. For extra insights into proper mold cleaning techniques, check out these articles: How to tidy mold on drywall How to clean mold in a good bathroom Employing a mold fogger Areas Most At-Risk For Mold Growth When it comes to determining and abating mold in your home, one of the most crucial measures is to isolate areas that are at the greatest risk for mold expansion. Generally speaking, these areas happen to be virtually all sometimes those that contain a whole lot of organic water or possess been open to an abnormal amount of dampness necessary to a roof trickle or pipe run hard. Even so, different types of surroundings happen to be extra likely to foster mold growth than those in nice, dry, well-lit areas. Matching to the Collage of Illinois Extendable, mold spores are more likely to arrive to rest about and colonize floors built right from natural fibers, adding cotton, made of woll, newspaper, wash rag, and hardwood. Unfortunately, inorganic surfaces covered in organic materials, many of these as foodstuff, grease, or earth, will be likely to encourage mold development as very well. Also, mold doesn’t want easy to thrive. In reality, darker areas with significantly less air flow stream seem to come to be best housing for mold spores. Also if increased circumstances happen to be temporarily introduced, spores can become dormant until most suitable conditions for expansion return. Though it’s not an exhaustive list, these are most of the common in-home areas where mold tends to accumulate due to their natural conditions: Basements Crawlspaces (particularly those built more than uncovered soil) Laundry Rooms Attics Under Cabinets Drywall Behind baseboards Tile Grout and caulking Conclusion At the end of the day, in-home mold is zero laughing matter. Mold can expand in a humid environment in as little as 24 hours, leading to harm on the afflicted area and decreased breathability of the room’s oxygen. If you possess lately experienced a significant normal water flow in your residence, you should have some time and check all of your at-risk areas to be sure this harmful contaminant is nowhere fast to come to be discovered. Should you get mold, commence maintenance it up immediately after you’ve received the proper protective equipment and carpet cleaning products. After that, be sure to keep an eyeball on the location and expose external control components to cut down the chance of a repeat. If you have any more questions about mold or the best techniques to clean it up, make certain to leave a statement for our network members to answer!

[deeepseametro-blog]

home improvement ideas

Inundating, a leaky roof, and a good run hard line - all of these in-home emergencies happen to be a good trigger for quick matter. While abating any trend of uncontrolled normal water at home is usually tricky more than enough, your troubles might not exactly end after the normal water can be cleared apart. In fact, if normal water soaks into your ceilings, floor surfaces, and walls, you might be at a better risk for mold progress than ever before before. In various cases, possibly a damp environment brought on by ambient water vapor can promote mold growth in areas without very much air flow. No matter of its triggers, mold in your home is certainly awful media in want of quick focus. Declining to address an emergent mold trouble can set your family’s well being at risk, with the CDC observing that various prevalent outside molds can reason fevers, shortness of breath, and severe disorder for people with affected immune systems and chronic breathing complications (many of these as asthma). Simply put, you want to understand the risks related to indoor mold, beginning with the amount of time it might take to grow and continuing through the areas where it grows virtually all proficiently. From there, you’ll come to be ready to address mold risk elements in your own residence or get in touch with a expert who is normally trained at identifying the same. Either method, this information will help you understand outside molds like hardly ever before. Disclosure: While a great Amazon Friend I just earn from qualifying acquisitions. Nevertheless, this will certainly not affect our assessments and evaluations. All ideas are our unique we delight ourselves on keeping our articles fair and fair. For extra facts find our disclosure affirmation. Mouse click For Document Belongings: How Long Does It Take Mold To Grow? close approach of mold growth Depending on the environment, mold may start to germinate inside 24 to 48 time. From there, firm temperatures and a proper amount of water can allow the mold to grow and become visible in as few as 3 times or as many as 21 times. However, you may prevent this kind of propagation simply by cautiously tending to plenty of of the most at-risk areas of your house. A good Mold Expansion Timeline In the wake of a sudden in-home water trickle out, virtually all folks are rather preoccupied with the course of action of containing and diverting the problematic water. Once that task is usually done, many people experience pleased that their do the job is normally complete, specifically after correct maintenance have been made. But if any walls, surfaces, or ceilings started to be saturated during the leak, there is usually a respectable probability that mold may try to have up store there in the arriving days and nights. Immediately after 24 hours: Specifically, virtually all types of common in-home molds (cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, and aspergillus, in line with the CDC) can land about a suitable surface and germinate with simply because few just as 24 hours. At that point, there will not really end up being any clear signals that mold spores are present in the place. Because mold spores happen to be fairly enclosed at this level, it is normally the ideal time to eliminate them through washing with diluted bleach. After 12 days: Nevertheless, if the mold spores are not detected during the germination stage, they are prone to colonize in as handful of as 3 days, with most types of mold gaining firm footing by 12 days post-germination. Possibly at this stage, mold might not exactly become obvious to the attention on the upset area. Even so, mold spores at this level can start to spread extra properly if the oxygen in the spot can be not really properly dehumidified. After 18 days: Once you pass the 18 day threshold, you will practically absolutely see the obvious signs of mold start to crop up on the afflicted surface. While the correct overall look may fluctuate, virtually all mold types will be familiar credited to their dark color and spotty appearance. At this level, any washing of the impacted surface area will want to become much extra thorough and supported by proper neck muscles security. All of these period frames are quotes, nevertheless, with facts for mold growth speed based mostly on the subject of the surface’s temperature, the surrounding oxygen temps, the level of water found in the surrounding weather, and the sum of airflow in the afflicted space. Handling each of these factors after a main water outflow is normally the very best method to prevent mold from taking carry in your house. How Will Mold Get spread around? just how to take out mold from drywall Though it may be a little comfort to homeowners, mold of one kind or another is nearly usually present indoors (unless it is being taken away through an air filter). As many of these, there is generally a prospect for mold to land on a provided area within your home. However, mold spores generally don’t consider cause because they lack the two materials they want to survive: meals and normal water. What Will Mold Feed On? First of all, let’s consider mold’s food. In basic principle, virtually all any type of organic and natural matter can serve the needs of prevalent inside molds. That staying stated, floors that happen to be porous (many of these as wood) tend to street to redemption victim to mold growth necessary to the fashion in which they break down conveniently. As for drinking water, mold simply necessities as very much water as is normally in humid oxygen to subsist and survive when temperature happen to be simply just correct. If these two factors are present, mold is able to germinate, colonize, and get spread around as described above. This dispersing process is normally certainly not unlike the techniques in which bushes put their seeds, though mold spores happen to be covered to the naked eyeball. While an first mold colony may orbit around a one level, extended mold publicity can reason an whole concept or an entire bedroom to turn into a haven for mold expansion. The Growing Process Is Instant! Mold may begin its growing method within time, and while you can’t find the process taking place visually (yet)  finding leaks and ambient wetness under control found in brief buy is exceptionally important. If you are unable to clean up an at-risk spot right away, generate a program to carefully tidy that spot with lighten or get rid of the moistened thing if it can be not worth conserving. For even more insights into proper mold cleaning strategies, check out these posts: How to tidy mold in drywall How to tidy mold found in a good bathroom Employing a mold fogger Areas Most At-Risk For Mold Growth When it comes to determine and abating mold in your home, one of the main techniques is to isolate areas that are at the greatest risk for mold expansion. Generally speaking, these areas will be virtually all sometimes those that contain a whole lot of pure moisture or have been shown to an extreme sum of water credited to a roof trickle out or line rush. Even so, different types of surroundings are extra most likely to foster mold development than those in warm, dry, well-lit areas. Matching to the School of Illinois Extendable, mold spores are even more likely to come to relax upon and colonize floors manufactured from natural material, adding cotton, constructed from wool, newspaper, house, and hardwood. Subsequently, inorganic areas protected in organic materials, many of these as food, grease, or ground, will be very likely to inspire mold growth as well. Also, mold does not need light to thrive. In simple fact, darker areas with less weather movement are inclined to get ideal home owners for mold spores. Possibly if improved circumstances happen to be temporarily launched, spores can turn into dormant until most suitable circumstances for expansion go back. Though it’s certainly not an exhaustive list, these are most of the common in-home areas where mold tends to accumulate due to their natural conditions: Basements Crawlspaces (particularly those built above uncovered soil) Laundry Rooms Attics Under Cabinets Drywall Behind baseboards Tile Grout and caulking Conclusion At the end of the day, in-home mold is little laughing subject. Mold can expand in a humid environment in as little as 24 time, top rated to destruction on the upset area and lowered breathability of the room’s atmosphere. If you have recently experienced a major water flow in your house, you should consider some period and check all of your at-risk areas to ensure this unsafe contaminant is normally nowhere fast to come to be determined. Should you find mold, begin washing it up instantly after you’ve received the proper protective items and washing components. Therefore, make certain to continue to keep an eyesight on the location and add environmental control factors to decrease the chances of a recurrence. If you have any more concerns about mold or the best methods to clean it up, be sure to keep a statement for our network members to answer!

[sandwichbully]

Sammy’s Avenue Eatery, 23 November 2018

   “When people are hungry, you feed ‘em.”

   OK, so about three years ago, I was working at UCare - “UCare, health care that starts with denying you your oxygen!” - and it was a slow afternoon one afternoon. Most afternoons were slow and the mail room was overstaffed for what we needed, so I logged a lot of time on Facebook and I saw this joint, Sammy’s Avenue Eatery, and I thought their sandwiches looked pretty good, so I made it a point to go there.    ... aaannnddd I never did.    I was broke as shit at the time, working fourteen hours a day six days a week between two jobs (and still being broke all the time) and feeling like shit because I was a terrible letdown to my then-girlfriend (the one from this episode) because I was always tired and just wanted a goddamned beer and two cigarettes. Eventually things improved but not by much and yadda yadda yadda, a whole bunch of shit happens, and going up to Sammy’s Avenue Eatery has been low priority.    But I never forgot it. It kind of even nagged at me. And today, with it being almost fifty degrees for what is surely the last time this year if it isn’t the next to last time this year, I made it a point to go to what is likely going to be the final Sandwich Bully episode for 2018 - unless y’all want to come pick me up in your petite bourgeoisie automobile with “the heat” on in December and January.    So I rolled up on the corner of Emerson and Broadway and walked in and looked over the menu and waited for the nice lady to finish making a chai latte for this other lady and I asked her which she preferred, the Hot Roasted Chicken or the Turkey Bacon Club.    She said honestly that she preferred the chicken but they were out of that so turkey and bacon (I had to specify because I’ve had exactly one experience with turkey bacon and that shit is fucking gross and it’s so gross that I’m compelled to put up a picture of my first ex with a caption mocking her voice in which she chides me for having high blood pressure but that is seriously some SD&A shit and - Hm? Oh, Sound Design and Assembly. That was my old record review blog but I didn’t review records so much as I bitched about pop culture and waxed poetic on having picked up nookie the night before.)

   Wait. Where are we?

   OK, let’s start that over.    She said honestly that she preferred the chicken but they were out of that so turkey and bacon (I had to specify because I’ve had exactly one experience with turkey bacon and that shit is fucking gross) it was and I grabbed a cranberry ginger ale and I found myself engaged in a conversation with her. Lot of personal stuff that isn’t my business to put up here but I guess maybe I can talk about the political side of it and that part was refreshing because nobody was bringing out words with “-ism”s on the end, we were just on the same wavelength, talking about how Minneapolis government is mishandling or outright ignoring a bunch of problems and how there are easy - very easy solutions to them. The homeless encampment whom the city couldn’t decide to house in either a warehouse or a vacant fucking lot? Well, hell, how many boarded up houses are there in north Minneapolis? I figured put the homeless at least in the warehouse out of the elements. The woman I was talking to told me they had plenty of empty houses in this neighborhood. A solution I never thought of. And even thinking about it now, I realize that there’s a lot of red tape and the banks own those empty houses but why does the bank own an empty house? Why is it held by a private entity and not by the state? What are the escheat and adverse possession laws in Minnesota? (And that’s over thinking it but that’s because capitalism doesn’t provide for simple solutions without the transfer of liquid assets.)

   And enough of that.    Anyway, at one point, this dude comes in and says he doesn’t have time to stop in and eat at the moment but he was just wondering what the soup of the day was for when he came back later and the woman said it was alright if he didn’t have time to eat, she’d fix him a “little” to-go cup (it was more like an eight ounce cup and I don’t know how metric people measure soup; by volume - 237mL - or by mass - 227g) and she handed it to him and told him to have a good day and he said thank you and he walked out the door and she stared out the window and she said, “When people are hungry, you feed ‘em.”    No conditions, no clauses, just simple straight to the point action and solution.    And she told me about how she wanted to start a homeless shelter, not like the ones downtown where you have to "tell ‘em everything about your life just to get in the door”, she wanted to start one where if you were tired, you could sleep, and if you got caught fucking up, you got kicked out. Simple as that.    And my brain goes to how dangerous that would be because what about all the rapists and murderers and then my privilege checks itself and I got to remember that homeless folks aren’t homeless because they’re murderers and they do just want a warm place to sleep and a little something to eat.    She told me she wanted to open a soup kitchen, too, and told me that one place downtown was in such a great location because it was centralized and somebody could even walk for forty blocks to get there, and they would, too, because, as she put it, “hunger travels”. I know that. I remember the time, it was like ten years ago or so, that I was with Georgie and we were starving and I walked two miles in a snowstorm to the food shelf and I lied on the paperwork and told them our twenty eight year old roommate was our four year old son because I thought I could get us more food that way (and, hey, there were three people in the house). I remember being dismayed at what we got and dutifully trundled it back home. I remember all that.    Maybe it was meant to be that I didn’t get to Sammy’s until today to have this conversation. Maybe as a (timely) reminder to be thankful for what I do have, maybe as a reaffirmation of my beliefs, maybe to just talk to somebody over lunch, which I never get to do because I live alone and work alone.

ANYWAY!    How was the sandwich!? How was the fucking sandwich, Charlie!? Remember how this blog is called Sandwich Bully? And it’s about sandwiches? And how it’s not a place for you to peddle your bleeding heart commie* beliefs or pontificate on how we need to be good and charitable toward our brothers and sisters!? HOW THIS PLACE IS MEANT FOR SANDWICHES!?!?!? TALK ABOUT THE FUCKING SANDWICH, CHARLIE!!!    It was good. As I was grabbing a pop, the woman (I know her name I just don’t know how she spells it) told me that if I wanted to bundle the sandwich and drink into a combo, that she had chips and I told her nah, I had to watch my salt and she said she knew that was right. I watched her slice my tomato right out of a whole fresh tomato which I’ve seen maybe only Trieste do - slice fresh to order. And she asked if I liked onions and I said I did and she asked if I liked pickles and I said I did and then she held the pickle slices over the container and gave them a little wiggle and told me, “Getting the salt off them for you,” which was cool. Aint ever had anybody do that for me before. And then we set to talking while I ate at the counter and you read about all that.    Well, let’s start with the size issue. I ordered a half sandwich (around seven dollars) and it was big enough that I feared what I might have gotten if I had gotten a whole one (around eleven dollars). Trust me, I beg of you, please trust me, I am on my knees begging you to trust me: Order the half sandwich. That is the reasonable human serving size.    The tomato was crisp (natch) and the pickles and onions added necessary sour and bite. The cheese, I don’t know what it was but it was white and it was creamy and, tag-teamed with the bacon, it kind of overpowered the turkey but the bacon-cheese combo overpowers most things. The mayo on the sandwich was applied to the bread pre-grilling which, a few years ago, I would have said “ew” to but recently I had the revelation that mayo is just eggs and oil (no, not that part) which are both things that are perfectly alright to be applied to direct heat (that part) and I’ve been waiting to try frying my grilled cheese with mayo on the outside but I never buy bread and I never buy mayonnaise - Why buy mayo when you can make aioli? - so I finally got to try this technique at Sammy’s and I have to admit I didn’t notice anything inherently distinguishable about it but, again, bacon-cheese combo. Overpowers everything but...    OK, probably the last time we get to do this this year unless somebody wants to drive me somewhere during December and January so we have to make this one good.    Let’s see, let’s see, let’s see...    [clears throat] But the real blackout drunk correspondent of Armenia Decides, 2018... No no no.    [clears throat again] But the real evil twin unplugging the good twin’s life support so she can assume her identity and run off with her husband... No. Come on, man, you got this. You have literally nothing else.    OK, I think I got it.    But the real guest star in the dangers-of-huffing-gas-as-a-pregnant-teen episode of this highly rated Saturday morning teen show never to be seen again as, metafictionally, her character had been shipped off to an island of misfit one-off characters, each themselves never to be seen again, turned cannibal after the last hunt didn’t yield the boar’s head required to appease the god behind the sun, he who in-turn took his great veil from the white ball in the sky and scorched their crops in anger and now, teen pot dealer and teen wheelchair basketball player and teen army brat and teen with an eating disorder and all the rest, none of whom were ever seen again, are forced to turn on each other for survival, their malevolence a dance for the god behind the sun’s enjoyment, for when enough blood is spilled he veils his white ball and grants them rest from the heat, but now, a new arrival - The Pregnant Teen Gas Huffer... is the house sauce, which I suspect is a honey dijon vinaigrette. It was sweet, a little complex but not so complex that I couldn’t guess what it was while I was eating it. It stood out and balanced the savory fattiness of the bacon-cheese combo.    The lettuce?    We don’t have to do the lettuce thing, do we?

   I mean, it’s probably the last time this year.

   Overall, not a bad bike ride, it was a pretty decent sandwich - it was good but I’m not falling over stupid for it. I mean, hey, it filled me up and I ordered the half sandwich. If there was a quarter sandwich option, I’d go for that. It tasted good, too. She asked me how it was and I told her it was wonderful and she said she was glad I liked it and I told her I was glad she made it.    I guess that there was a sense of openness, of community to the place, which we’ve been over before: I prefer to go to places that feel worn in and homey. Places like Band Box and Ideal where the proprietors and the patrons are literally neighbors, where people have been going for years, people who are eating there now worked there in high school because their parents knew the manager. Sammy’s has that vibe.    It’s kind of like Nye’s.    I liked Nye’s (yes, past tense) when you could walk in and say hi to Phil, sit down, and have an ice cold Żywiec and there was a college football game on you could ignore and it was red Corinthian leather booths and tacky martini murals on the walls and mirrors behind the bar to make the liquor selection look more impressive (or whatever the mirrors are back there for) and it was locals in there.    Last time I was in Nye’s, there was no Phil, the new guy didn’t know what Żywiec was, the interior designer clearly got all their ideas from IKEA (still love you, IKEA, but you are not meant for a bar), and the only patronage in there were literally tourists asking about the history of the Mississippi River.    I can’t fuck with that scene because it doesn’t feel like it’s a part of the community that supported it through the years. Ownership changed and nobody gave a fuck about preserving the community aspect of the place, it’s clearly a cash grab more cynical and distasteful than when they made Game of Death with B-roll of Bruce Lee and two actors who looked nothing like him.    Sammy’s, on the other hand, feels like it’s part of its community. Established in Near North, playing a role in Near North, employing Near North, feeding Near North.    GO.    GIVE.    THEM.    YOUR.    MONEY.

* I was once briefly involved with a Randian Libertarian who called me literally a “bleeding heart commie” because I told her Atlas Shrugged was “right-wing oriented”. Ah, to be young again.

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: A guest submission from David Woods to The Prepper Journal. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly receive a $25 cash award as well as being entered into the Prepper Writing Contest AND have a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards  with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, then enter today!

It’s happening now. This is a real SHTF event. Major disaster has hit, power is out, everyone is panicking, grocery stores are being raided and emptied within hours, and cars are grid-locked trying to make their way to safety, anywhere. No-one knows where that is.

As Preppers, we have already prepared for this eventuality. We already have our emergency supplies packed, it’s likely we have a plan in place as to where we are heading. And we’re long gone before the panic has set in. However, it’s all very well having your bug out bag ready, learning survival skills such as how to catch your own food, how to filter water, and how to start a fire, but if you don’t have a shelter; you’re missing the most important survival item you need.

If you spend any reasonable amount of time in the outdoors, you’ve probably heard of the ‘Survival Rule of 3’. You can survive:

3 minutes without oxygen or in icy water

3 hours without shelter in extreme environments

3 days without water

3 weeks without food

These four rules rely on the previous one being satisfied. So for example, you can only survive 3 hours without shelter if you’re not in icy water, you can only survive 3 days without water if you have shelter from a harsh environment and so on. Therefore, next to being able to breathe oxygen, shelter is the next most important element of survival if you find yourself in extreme weather conditions.

It’s likely that most Preppers will know how to make temporary shelter using materials you can find on the forest floor, but what about if the disaster or crisis descends into total chaos and it’s TEOTWAWKI? (The end of the world as we know it). Would you know how to make a more permanent structure for you and your family to live in? If you’re lucky, you might come across an old underground bunker, but you’ve not left anything else to chance in your methodical planning, so why leave this to chance?

You need to know how to build your own survival cabin. Let’s face it, when SHTF most of us are bugging out to the forest. There is good reason for that. In the forest you’ll find one of the most valuable resources that you need to build a long term shelter: wood. This type of survival shelter is going to require time and effort, so it’s important that you learn the basics right now rather than learn through trial and error and the time and waste resources.

First, let’s look at what you will need to make your survival shelter. Ideally, you don’t want to be carrying a ton of tools around with you, so we’ll focus of building a shelter that only requires you to have minimal basic tools that you’ll probably already have packed: an axe, a fixed blade knife and a multi-tool. Let’s not beat around the bush, if you were going to build the same shelter at your own leisure, you could make the process a lot quicker using a whole host of other tools, but this isn’t about speed, this is about building a shelter to keep you safe.

First things first, you’ll want to choose a log cabin plan. You’ll most likely want to build a square or rectangular cabin, around 14×14 foot. We’re going to use that as our example throughout this set of instructions. There are five main steps to building a survival shelter; choosing your site, selecting your logs, laying the logs, openings for windows and doors, and finally, raising the roof. Step one, and to some extent, step two are something you should go and research now. Step three through five, you’ll need to have written down so you don’t make any mistakes when it comes to the build.

Step One: Choose your Site

Get to know the site you intend to escape to now. How far away is it, how long will it take to get there, how will you get there? Choose somewhere you can get to either by foot, or with one tank of gas. Once you’ve found a few places that you can reach without too much difficulty, you’ll also need to make sure it is far away enough from main roads and cities. You don’t want to set up a shelter in plain sight for anyone to come and make their own.

Where are the nearest places for natural materials? You’ll need somewhere close-by to a water supply, plenty of trees to use both for your shelter and for firewood, somewhere that has an abundance of animals that you can trap. Ideally, you’ll also need some softer materials to create somewhere to sleep, initially grass will do.

You’ll also want to consider the temperature year round. If the area you’re settling is made up of hills and valleys, you’ll find both the top and the bottom gets cold quickly. It’s windy at the top, and the valleys trap the cold air. Settle around 3/4 up a hill if you do find yourself in this position.

Scout the area for poisonous plants; don’t set up a permanent shelter if there are any in the immediate vicinity. What are the trees like surrounding your proposed site? You’ll need some for protection, but you should make sure they’re not dead or they might fall down onto your shelter.

One last thing to think about is the natural elements. How will the rain fall and collect, is the land flat? Where does the sun rise and set, make the most of this to heat your shelter if you’re in a cold climate, or ensure you have shade if you’re in a hot climate.

Step Two: Selecting your Logs & Preparing the Site

  The majority of trees are suitable for building a survival shelter. Even though hardwoods such as walnut, poplar or oak will give you a more durable build, they are harder to work with. Instead, choose Pine, Cedar or Spruce. If you don’t have an option – just build with whatever trees are growing in your area.

The trees you choose should be long enough to create the length of your shelter, or double if they’re large enough to get two lengths out of each tree. They will need to be around 10 inches in diameter, to provide you with sufficient insulation. The trees also need to be as straight as possible.

For a survival shelter of 14×14 feet, you’ll need logs that are 16 feet in length. The extra one foot either side of the log allows them to be notched together and provide an overhang to give a sturdy and solid join.

Note: If your logs are 10 inches in diameter, to create a 9 feet high shelter, you will need 11 x 16 ft logs for each side, and a further 10-15 logs to create two gable walls. You should put aside the best 7 logs, to use as the sill logs and the purlin and rafter logs.

Sill Logs: Four logs that will form the base of your shelter

Purlin Logs: Two logs that will join the gable walls and provide a surface to attach your roof

Ridge Log: One log which sits at the top, and joints the two gable walls.

To fell the trees, use your axe to cut them in the direction that they are naturally leaning. Briefly, the best way to fell trees is to make a horizontal cut 1/3 of the way into the tree just above knee height. Next, make a 45 degree cut upwards to meet the end of the first cut. Then, make a cut on the opposite side, around 2 inches above the first cut. The tree should then start falling. Once you have all your logs, cut off all the branches, and debark them using your axe or knife at a 30 degree angle.

Usually when building a log cabin shelter, you’ll want to lay foundations however it’s unlikely you’ll have access to all the heavy machinery and concrete in TEOTWAWKI scenario. Therefore, to prepare your site will be simple. You should clear any debris and leaves away, and level the ground as much as you can. You will need some form of foundation, so without access to concrete, you should do this: bury four upright logs into the ground, leaving around 3-4 inches sticking out of the ground. You will use these as posts to put your sill logs on.

Step Three: Raising the Walls

The first step in raising you walls is to put your four sill logs into place. These logs should be the four that are largest in diameter, straightest and longest. First, you need to take two of them. Use your axe to create a notch (hole) at either end of two sill logs.

To create this type of ‘reverse-saddle-notch’, put your log into the place it will eventually sit (on top of two of the horizontal posts that are buried into the group). Take your knife and mark where the log is going to sit. Using your axe, make a V shape in the underneath side of the log until the notch is large enough to create a snug fit around the horizontal post. Do this at both ends of two sill logs.

Take your other two sill logs, and notch the underside of them to fit onto the top of the two sill logs you’ve already laid. You will now have the perimeter of your log cabin. The rest of the process is simple, but time consuming. This could take you a couple of weeks depending on how much help you have. You are going to continue notching the underside of each log and stacking the walls until you have the height that you want before you start creating the pitched roof.

Step Four: Windows and Doors

To create the openings for your doors and windows, you can use your axe to create a hole. When you reach the height that you want your window or door at, start cutting and removing the logs one by one to make space for a door.

There are lots of tutorials about how to make doors and windows available. Just make sure that you have thought this through, so you’re not left with large open gaps which can get very drafty and will defeat the point of having shelter unless you’re able to cover them effectively.

One such way to make doors is to keep hold of some of the thicker branches when you fell your logs, and use rope or other natural resources such as fibrous plants to tie them together. You might also want to do this for the windows so that you can replace them during the night/when the weather is cooler.

Keep openings to an absolute minimum.

Step Five: Raising the Roof

The shelter is now almost finished, but this is definitely the heaviest and hardest stages of the entire build. You’ll need some good brute strength here. You’re now going to create to triangles on two opposite walls; these will form your gable walls. Continue building the logs up, gradually getting short in length using the same notching method. When you are half way up, you need to take the two purlin logs and notch them so that they connect the two gable walls, one either side of the triangular shape you’re creating.

Carry on building the two gable walls until you reach the tip of the triangle, and then use the large ridge log to connect the gable walls. This can be extremely heavy work depending on the size of the logs, and how much help you have.

Once your ridge log is in place, use some smaller diameter logs to lay over the ridge logs, purlin logs, and the top of the walls, onto which you can attach roof rafters. You might want to use branches, leaves and mulch to create your roof’s finish.

You Survival Shelter

And there you have it – a long lasting survival shelter than will keep you safe, warm and dry. The instances in which you might need to build a structure of this quality and stability are rare, but as mentioned earlier, rather plan for all eventualities, than end up in a situation of needing a permanent structure and not knowing how to create one.

The beauty of this structure is that trees are available in almost every area of the world, they are one of the most reliable building resources and so if you learn this simple technique, you’ll be able to build yourself a shelter wherever you are.

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[bigyack-com]

Fears of Ventilator Shortage During Coronavirus Pandemic Unleash a Wave of Innovations

As the coronavirus rages across the globe, ventilators that pump oxygen into the lungs of critically ill patients have been embraced as the best hope for saving lives.But fears of a ventilator shortage have unleashed a wave of experimentation at hospitals around the country that is leading to some promising alternatives to help sustain patients.Doctors at North Shore University Hospital on Long Island have been using machines designed for people with sleep apnea to keep scores of coronavirus patients breathing, and engineers at New York University have transformed hooded hair salon dryers into personal negative pressure chambers that deliver oxygen and limit the spread of aerosolized virus, lowering the infection risks for health care workers and other patients.Pulmonologists across the country have been turning to a remarkably simple intervention: flipping patients onto their stomach, which markedly improves oxygen levels for those in respiratory distress.Doctors say these and other ad hoc interventions have allowed many hospitals to weather the surge of desperately ill patients in recent weeks, and may have helped stave off the dire ventilator shortages and rationing that some had feared but have not come to pass.“Some of these are battlefield interventions that we would not normally use in hospitals, but this crisis has been an incredible spur for creativity and collaboration,” said Dr. Greg Martin, a pulmonologist in Atlanta and the president-elect of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. “The beauty of this is that we’re learning a lot and hopefully some of this will translate to things we can use in the future.”The innovations have also been fueled in part by the dismal survival rates for patients on ventilators; in New York City, 80 percent of ventilated coronavirus patients did not survive.Doctors have always seen ventilators as a last resort for patients in respiratory distress, but many physicians on the coronavirus front lines are finding that noninvasive interventions can keep patients off the machines and improve outcomes.The pandemic is also scrambling previously accepted wisdom about acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, a condition marked by perilously low oxygen levels. The condition, an alarming hallmark of severe Covid-19, occurs when fluid that floods tiny air sacs deep within the lung interferes with the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to vital organs.But over the past month, many doctors say they have been mystified by Covid-19 patients with low oxygen levels who are still breathing on their own. Some health workers have reported caring for patients with oxygen saturation rates in the 70s and 80s — anything below 93 percent is cause for concern — yet their heart rates and brain function were relatively normal.“It’s been a very humbling experience dealing with a new illness, where we’re not sure whether the treatments we’re using are beneficial,” said Dr. Anthony S. Lubinsky, medical director of respiratory care at NYU Langone Health. “The data just isn’t there yet, but what we’re realizing is that a ventilator alone is often not enough to save ARDS patients.”Intubation, which involves inserting a breathing tube into the lungs, carries myriad risks. Patients must be heavily sedated, and many remain tethered to the machine for weeks. They also need to be closely monitored 24 hours a day, a challenge for hospitals grappling with a flood of patients and a shortage of respiratory specialists.Weaning patients off a ventilator presents its own difficulties because prolonged ventilation can cause severe lung injury, but removing breathing support too early can prove deadly.“You never want to intubate a patient unless it’s absolutely necessary,” said Dr. Susan R. Wilcox, the chief of critical care in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.Still, many doctors believe that intubation offers the best hope for saving the most seriously ill patients. In recent weeks, as Covid-19 patients inundated hospitals in New York, Dr. Hugh Cassiere, a pulmonologist at Northwell Health, realized that the hundreds of less sophisticated breathing machines known as CPAP and BiPAP devices gathering dust in hospital storage rooms might help doctors weather a ventilator shortfall. The lunchbox-size devices are familiar to the millions of Americans with sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other breathing disorders.Over several days, Dr. Cassiere and his colleagues figured out how to convert the machines into makeshift ventilators, in part by using 3-D-printed adapters to hook the machines up to endotracheal tubes and to add HEPA filters that capture virus emitted during exhalation.Roughly 100 patients at North Shore University Hospital have been successfully sustained on the machines, and Dr. Cassiere said he has also used them on patients with other illnesses in order to free up critical care ventilators for Covid-19 patients. “I’d rather have more regular ol’ ventilators, but this could be a viable option if a hospital is running low,” he said.Enthusiasm for the machines has been spreading. Rhode Island health officials on Tuesday announced a campaign asking residents to drop off their unused devices at fire stations across the state.Many hospitals are using them to increase oxygen levels without resorting to intubation. The devices, doctors say, have been especially helpful for coronavirus patients with moderately impaired lung function. The positive air pressure they pump out dislodges fluid in damaged lungs, allowing the alveoli to better absorb oxygen, respiratory specialists say.The Mount Sinai Health System in New York is retrofitting 200 breathing machines donated by Tesla. Those devices, manufactured by ResMed and known as VPAP, or variable positive airway pressure, have been reconfigured to trap exhaled contagions. In a pinch, the revamped machines can also serve as air pumps for intubation.Dr. Charles A. Powell, director of the Mount Sinai-National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute, said the machines were not quite powerful enough to help patients in severe respiratory distress, though they do appear to provide relief for coronavirus patients with moderate breathing problems. He said the hospital has begun a randomized study to see whether the machines that use a simple face mask could be used at home by people not sick enough to be hospitalized.The downside, he said, is the risk of infecting others in the household because the masks do not filter out exhaled virus. “If possible, a person who is not sick should stay out of the room while the CPAP machine is working,” he said.Some doctors remain wary of the alternative devices. Dr. Wilcox of Mass General cited a 2017 study that found that up to 80 percent of patients with moderate respiratory distress who were attached to CPAP machines damaged their lungs by taking huge breaths over an extended period of time. The risk was especially pronounced in younger patients. Dr. Wilcox said she prefers to give coronavirus patients oxygen through a tube fitted beneath the nostrils.“There is probably a subset of patients who could benefit from CPAP machines, but the challenge is how to quickly determine who they are,” she said.Dr. Wilcox has also been encouraged by prone positioning, an intervention that involves turning patients in respiratory distress onto their stomachs. The practice, long used to increase oxygenation for mechanically ventilated patients, has been surprisingly beneficial for Covid-19 patients who are not intubated. The maneuver works by opening parts of the lungs that are compressed while lying on the back.“It’s all anecdotal at this point, but patients tell us they feel better,” Dr. Wilcox said. “It’s just fascinating.”Another intriguing alternative is a positive pressure hood that fits over a patient’s head to prevent the spread of pathogens while pushing air into the lungs. The hoods, which resemble something out of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” have been widely used by doctors in Italy and China in their battle against Covid-19.Over the past month, engineers and doctors in the United States have been rushing ahead with designs for similar devices, though they have not yet been approved by the F.D.A. The hoods can be hooked up to a CPAP machine or the central oxygen lines common in most American hospitals.As she tended to coronavirus patients last Tuesday at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. Bhakti Patel noticed a man in his 50s struggling to breathe. His oxygen level had fallen to 85 percent and he was taking 30 breaths a minute; eight to 10 breaths a minute is considered normal. “You just can’t sustain that,” said Dr. Patel, a pulmonologist.Not long after placing a hood over his head, the patient’s oxygen level hit 100 percent, she said.For the past few weeks, a dozen patients who were on the verge of needing intubation have been using the ventilated helmets, and the early results have been promising. One patient has been discharged, another has left the I.C.U. and another two are expected to leave the I.C.U. this week. Only one patient who tried the helmet had to be intubated.“I am cautiously optimistic,” said Dr. Patel, a co-author of a 2016 study that found the helmets helped avoid intubation in 80 percent of ARDS patients and significantly reduced mortality.Over the past week, hospitals across the country have also begun experimenting with the helmets. At one, in Oakland, Calif., nurses have been assembling the helmets from parts they ordered on the internet.Dr. Giacomo Bellani, a critical care doctor at San Gerardo Hospital and University of Milan Bicocca in Italy who has studied the use of the helmets in ARDS patients, is also a longtime booster. He said they were widely adapted in the 1980s by Italian doctors grappling with the country’s chronic shortage in I.C.U. beds.The hoods have been a crucial stopgap measure for hospitals in northern Italy swamped by coronavirus patients struggling to breathe. Still, Dr. Bellani said they were not a panacea for the most desperately ill.“The hoods can buy you time when you’re short on I.C.U. beds,” he said. “But there is a drawback because in some patients you are just postponing intubation and the longer the delay, the greater the risk that some patients won’t make it.”Rukmini Callimachi, Tara Parker-Pope and Rachel Abrams contributed reporting. Read the full article

[valkyrie-echo]

Project Echo, Part 1: Chapter 9 (Repairing the Damage)

Part 1 Summary: A long-buried Hydra disaster, a monster in the shadows, a missing child. Eight months after the events of “The Winter Soldier”, Bucky turns himself in to the Avengers on one condition: They must help him find a girl snatched off the streets by Hydra seven years ago. In their quest, the Avengers accidentally unleash a horrifying creature of darkness and shadow, intent on making their quarry its prey.

Chapter 9: Repairing the Damage

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Tony asked anxiously, "You're not going to kick my ass the second I start strapping you down? We're going to have to pin your arms and legs for this."

Bucky was in the operating room standing next to the procedure table. His hand was shaking and he was trying hard not to hyperventilate. It was clean, yes, but still looked a hell of a lot like his nightmare. He kept telling himself it was going to be different, they were helping. He wouldn't be awake, he wouldn't hear the bone saws or feel the screws taking hold. He wouldn't smell his flesh cooking...

Even as he tried to get control, he was psyching himself out. It was becoming more difficult to distinguish this operating room from Hydra's.

Tony saw his eye twitch and, with a subtle signal to Thor he moved to the far side of the table to stand by his remote suits. Thor had come in with Bucky to help in case he triggered- exactly like he was doing now.

"James, this is to help you, not harm you," he stepped up behind him. Bucky tensed, became hyper-aware. They'd lured him here and he was stupid enough to follow. They were going to make him the Winter Soldier again- he had to get out!

Bucky swung at Thor suddenly, but the Asgardian moved to his left and before Bucky could pivot he felt an arm around his shoulders, pinning his one good arm down. At the same time something stung his neck and-

"Told you so!" Tony called out to Steve in the observation room. Thor caught Bucky as he sagged and pulled the needle from his neck. Steve was too hopeful- Bucky wouldn't have made it. He would have gone berserk at best as he was being strapped down. Thor and three of Tony's remote suits were armed with powerful tranquilizers, ready to step in.

Once Bucky was secured to the table and his metal arm was extended fully away from his body, Stark knocked on the main door to the O.R. and the surgeon entered. Thor nodded to the nervous man and left to watch with Steve.

"Ready Doctor Johansson?" this was the same surgeon who led the team in removing the shrapnel from Tony's heart, he was more than competent and worked wonders, even with such unusual procedures as this.

The doctor nodded and began hooking wires to Bucky to monitor various things- heart rate, blood oxygen level, blood pressure, brain activity and more. He had been promised assistants, but the Suits were hardly what he had in mind, even though Tony had modified them for medical work. Still, one stood between the doc and the trays of surgical equipment while another began hooking IVs into Bucky's human arm with all the delicacy of a nurse.

Tony came forward with the third suit, his assistant, "JARVIS, project an x-ray of the arm, highlighting human tissue in yellow and mechanics in blue. Nix the plating, unless it hooks into him directly." A framework appeared over the arm and Doctor Johansson whistled.

"How much for one of these for the hospital?" he examined the projection closely, "the bone was cleaned up, at least. I was worried it would have been a hack job. It's not pretty, but it's a lot better than I was expecting." he turned his attention to the shoulder joint, "We will need to remove these screws in the upper joint as quickly as possible."

Tony looked at it from a technical standpoint, "To get at them you'll need the base plate off. It hooks into the upper metal plates here," he pointed something out, "so I can't get to those while that's still on."

"We'll have to remove most of the flesh on the arm," the doctor nodded and pointed at the base plate. It flashed and the framework became more detailed and slightly enlarged over the area, "His skin has fused to the metal, you sure he can handle the schedule you've set?"

"I told you," Tony sighed, they'd been having this conversation all morning, "he's got the same mojo Captain America has, it will take more than these surgeries to do any permanent damage. Plus, it was all put on while he was conscious, and there wasn't even topical anesthesia. If he survived that, he can handle the removal. Besides," he added, "I'm paying you extra to not worry."

"I always worry about my patients," Doctor Johansson looked at the monitors, "I'll be keeping an eye on those, if it looks like it's putting too much strain on his system, I'll stop immediately."

"Deal," Tony went back to examining the mechanics and highlighted a rather terrifying array of wires that snaked out of the stump to wind into the metal arm. This was why he had to be in the room during the procedure- the mechanics were too complex for a surgeon to figure out alone, "These are the neural interfaces. From the scan I ran on him yesterday, I'm confident they will release from the outer arm fairly easily. If I have time, I'll make a replacement, but for now we just leave them be, got it?" the doctor nodded.

"Anything mechanical I will defer to you before touching. Now, first things first, we need to clean the area before we begin to remove the plate. It looks like we will have to make a cut here-" he marked a spot near Bucky's shoulder, "and disconnect the skin from the muscle directly. Can this table lift?"

Tony hit a button on the side and the straps tightened. Slowly, the table tipped vertical and turned. A section of the table folded in, fully exposing the back of Bucky's metal shoulder. "This will give us 360 degree access, no worries there."

"Okay, I want one of these for the hospital too."

"The suits aren't available, but I'll have JARVIS fabricate a half-dozen of these as your tip."

Steve's cell phone rang and he left the observation room to answer it. The number came up as blocked. Half the people he knew were SHIELD agents, spies, or simply non-existent as far as the government was concerned, unknown numbers were more common than calls from people on his contacts list. "Hello?"

"Hey, Cap."

Steve breathed a sigh of relief, "Coulson, I'm glad you called. Have your Agents made it back yet? How is Tripp? Did you lose anyone?"

"Everyone's alright," Coulson sounded cheerful, "a few took shots, like Tripp, but Agent Simmons got everyone patched up beautifully. Agent Tripp is still in recovery, but he'll be just fine. I've got a beta team on-site cleaning out Astana, then we'll take care of wiping it off the map."

"That's great, I was really worried. Tell them all I owe them, big. Anything you guys need."

"I appreciate that. Did you get him, or does the hunt continue?"

Steve smiled, "We got him. His only condition was that we keep working this 'Project: Echo' angle- he says the girl is alive, but he can't remember which base he sent her to. He'll be out of commission for a while, but we'll get to the bottom of this."

"I'll put a few agents to work scanning all the files to one of Maria Hill's satellite servers. She can grant JARVIS access to run keyword searches. If we find anything, I'll call again."

"Alright, thank you- for the team and for all the help."

"So long as it ends in tears for Hydra, I'm happy to help out. I've got to get going, we've had something come up in the Caribbean that requires my attention."

"You guys good?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Unless the world ends. If that looks like it'll happen, I'll give you a shout."

"OK," Steve laughed, "talk to you later."

"With me." Natasha intercepted him as soon as he got the phone into his pocket and turned back to the operating room. She looped an arm through his and dragged him backwards towards the elevator.

"What the hell, Nat?"

"You need to get out of here while they do their thing, or you'll drive yourself nuts. They'll call with updates, we're going to run errands."

"Natasha, no," he tried to pull out of her iron grip with no luck. Steve was suddenly very unsure- he and Bucky were the only super-soldiers, right? "I've got to get started on Project Echo."

"Oh yeah," she rolled her eyes and hit the elevator call button, "Hydra top secret project, your ability to finally use google will really help JARVIS out. Now stop wining, you're not getting out of this one."

Natasha kept him out all day. When they returned Steve was weighed down with bags upon bags of new clothes to fill Bucky and Sam's closets, as well as take-out they'd brought back for everyone. Steve had pretty much just been her pack mule all day.

He set the bags and food down in the lounge area and ducked into the observation room while she went upstairs to find Clint, Thor and Sam.

"I wouldn't-" Banner tried to warn him, but he wasn't quick enough.

Steve's stomach twisted and he came very close to throwing up. Bucky's shoulder was exposed- in every way. The metal plate was gone and the area was covered in a thick, clear ointment, but he could see very clearly they'd taken all the skin off. Muscle was exposed and drying blood dripped down his side. His back was to Steve at the moment and the table was vertical, but that was somehow worse.

Tony was under Bucky's metal arm, making a face and using a power drill to remove a bloody screw from his armpit as long as Steve's smallest finger, and nearly as thick. Two others sat in a small glass dish. A fluid-stained towel covered the metal plate sitting on a tray near the window. A corner of it poked out and Steve could see the fused, warped flesh.

"That's the last screw," Banner explained, "then they will get to removing the rest of the arm. It'll probably take a few more hours, then they're basically doing a shoulder replacement surgery and calling it a night. Of course, by then it'll be more like tomorrow morning..." Tony got the rest of the screw out, shivered, then looked up and waved at Banner to say something. Banner leaned forward and turned the intercom back on, "I couldn't stand the sound," he explained.

"Rogers, you OK if we just keep him under until the new base is installed? It might be safer for us and more comfortable for him."

Steve nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, "Good call. Should I get the healing stone from the apartment? It could help."

Doctor Johansson looked confused, but Tony shook his head, "Not yet, wait until we're done for the night. I don't want to risk it waking him up while we're still working. One good wrench in this state and he might lose the shoulder entirely."

Steve ran a hand through his hair, then turned to Banner, "Food is in the lounge, if you have an appetite. Let me drop some stuff of upstairs and I'll take a shift. Thanks for keeping an eye out."

"It's not my field, but I still think it's pretty cool." Banner was amicable, "Take your time, I'll be sticking around until the metal comes off. I might go grab a plate though," he sniffed, "Chinese? Excellent."

Steve walked out to the lounge with him and took Sam and Bucky's clothing upstairs. Sam looked like he'd won the lottery when he saw everything Natasha had picked out. He'd spent way too long living on jeans and old t-shirts as they hunted down Bucky. Now he had a real wardrobe fit for someone living in the most exclusive apartments in New York City.

Steve tossed the rest of the bags in his laundry room and showered, then headed back down to take up his watch for the rest of the night. Banner ate as he studied Tony and Doctor Johansson's handling of Bucky's surgery. Steve couldn't even begin to fathom how Banner could still have an appetite, he anticipated the picture of Tony pulling a screw out of Bucky's armpit being etched into his brain for the rest of his life...

Chapter 10: What the Shadows Hide

[zorilleerrant]

okay, so. the scene in WandaVision where people are coming back from the snap got me thinking again. about exactly how bad of an idea bringing everyone back like that would be. because.

most of the rest of the universe is spacefaring, as far as we know from MCU canon and comics generally. everyone who was in a spaceship at the time has now reappeared in space and explosively decompressed unless they were wearing a spacesuit, in which case they begin the quick process of freezing to death. this is going to be a lot of people! (no idea how this works for, say, space stations etc. like we can assume geosynchronous satellites are fine given the way people reappeared on the planet, but orbiting ones? who knows. moon colonies and stuff might be really fucked up because no one was thinking about them.)

any other planet is going to have the same fate as Earth. so like. everything bad on this list, imagine it multiplied over and over again, just everywhere throughout the universe.

let’s start with the hospitals. because whether the medical system is running is going to have an extremely high impact on how much damage everything else does. (spoiler: it is not.)

so, first, a lot of doctors, nurses, and techs will be coming back. and, seeing the emergency, they will likely try to get to work immediately. only procedures have likely changed at many hospitals, which will mean their actions could either be dangerous given the new standards of treatment or miss things that have been standardized. certainly, there will have been changes in staff and supplies, and it will be difficult for them to do what needs to be done regardless, meaning they will be taking up a lot of people’s time and energy just to relearn the ropes. even setting someone in charge of corralling them is going to waste manpower that could otherwise go to helping patients.

supplies are going to be halved, because the hospitals would only reorder what they were using by several years later. while many hospitals would have extra supplies stockpiled for emergencies, no one would have predicted an emergency on this scale.

the emergency room has now doubled the number of patients, because it’s everyone who needed care before the return, plus everyone who was snapped returning, with less than half of medical staff functional

anyone who was on supportive care before being snapped has now returned with no supportive care and needs emergency help. we can assume portable equipment like oxygen tanks traveled with them, given the band instruments, but many people in a hospital would be hooked up to all kinds of machines which would not have traveled. also, they will appear on top of other people who need intensive care, thus putting those people in danger as well.

half of surgical suites are now compromised, with a person halfway through surgery bleeding to death into a person in the middle of surgery, and all surgical staff horribly stressed out. unlikely either patient survives, and likely some injuries to staff from things like falling equipment.

someone who was in isolation is going to reappear in an isolation room, at least some of which will be occupied. at best, two immunocompromised people will be endangering each other. otherwise, you could have a highly infectious person infecting someone with immunocompromise, or else two of them infecting each other.

any hospitals who were dealing with a quarantine situation now have a brand new outbreak to worry about from the returning patients, and now in the middle of a panic where many people will be trying to leave the hospital and there are no measures in place to deal with the outbreak. returning infected will probably be taking advantage of the confusion to slip out, because some people always are. now there are all new meningitis outbreaks everywhere and the CDC and stuff can’t help because they’re trying to coordinate worldwide disaster.

the number of family/friends looking for a patient has suddenly doubled, they will be even more confrontational about it because they’re stressed, and no one can just give them information to get rid of them because the information is from five years ago. this additionally means patients from before people got snapped back aren’t getting updates to their loved ones, because there’s an emergency going on.

all the commotion is going to cause other emergent problems, like premature labor, panic attacks, heart attacks, asthma attacks, seizures, rupturing aneurysms, torn stitches, stress vomiting, etc. which are all going to need to be dealt with. medical staff, also dealing with stress, will have difficulty with all medical procedures, leading to complications from all of them, from administering the wrong medication to paralyzing someone with a needle. not to mention everyone who’s getting missed because they’re trying to wait their turn or because someone said they’d be back and forgot.

needless to say, every hospital in the world is going to be shut down for at least the first few hours after people start returning, and ambulance services are going to be shut down almost immediately and for at least as long, because every ambulance is going to be stuck waiting outside a hospital (or at a disaster site) within the first few minutes. probably this will go on for months.

now for the instant goners: everyone who was on an airplane. everyone who was in a building that has since been demolished (more than a few floors up). everyone who was in a submarine. everyone in extreme climates that no longer has transportation or supplies.

a lot of people doing extreme sports and outdoor activities might be stranded and not have any help, or injure themselves due to disorientation from being snapped. they will probably sit tight and wait for rescue, which is what you’re supposed to do, only no one knows they’re out there, and it’s likely their transponders and such aren’t in the system anymore. this is even worse if they’re suddenly in different weather conditions, triggering a rockslide or avalanche.

people who were on boats are now having to swim to shore. this is especially an issue for anyone who finds themselves suddenly in a storm or any kind of dangerous water condition. swimmers may find themselves without help or safety regulations.

divers probably still have their suits on, but they don’t have anyone helping them up to the surface, so they can make themselves sick rising too fast. even once they get to the surface, they still have to swim for shore, which is hard with diving gear on.

a lot of places, people live or work in different areas at different times of the year because of floodwaters. either a lot of people are suddenly drowning because of this, or people are being dropped from a height onto solid ground, severely injuring or killing them.

a ton of people were driving at the time of the snap. now they’re returning without cars. half of the population on the roads is now confused pedestrians, on every single road in the world. many of them will be hit by cars. other cars will hit each other or other objects trying to avoid hitting the sudden onslaught of pedestrians. worldwide pileups will occur. at least some of the destroyed motor vehicles will be carrying volatile cargo, so that will cause even greater problems.

anything where people are expected to clear the area before something occurs. now people are reappearing and being exposed to chemicals, radiation, electric shock, live fire, wild animals, etc.

any high security areas (mostly military) are going to shoot first and ask questions later. any returning high security personnel are going to be shot and probably killed. many on less high security sections of military bases and government compounds are going to be shot too, because it tends to be a high stress area already, and it’s supposed to be secure. maybe the government has protocols developed in case the snapped people return, but probably not, and even if some of them do it probably won’t be very fast to deploy them. it will probably be as least hours before any large number of people in charge realize what’s going on anywhere, let alone every government in the world. and I don’t remember the Avengers warning anyone they were going to do this, so it’s not something likely to be on people’s minds.

anyone in the middle of a violent conflict when they got snapped will begin violence again as soon as they come back, even if there are different people around. this includes individual attackers like an abuser or someone starting a fight with a stranger, groups like people robbing a house or attacking a business, organized crime, people in war zones, rioters, police and militias, and anyone in charge of weapons that can do large scale damage.

people are going to be reappearing in other people’s homes. both parties will think the other is an intruder, especially if one party comes home later instead of both being there at the time. they will both be on the defensive, and either party might attack to protect themselves. if one party attacks, the fight will almost certainly escalate, because both will now see the other as a violent home invader. 

babies and young children will reappear without any adults nearby. given that babies are usually being held or resting on top of an object, it’s likely the baby will plummet to the ground. young children may be sitting or standing on their own, but if they need help they probably won’t know how to see, or be physically unable to seek it. if they have no access to water, they’ll dehydrate, and if they have no access to food, they’ll starve. older children will be more able to fend for themselves, but may still not know where to go or who to turn to for help, especially if they’re isolated, and with how tied up everyone else is, no one will remember to check on children that aren’t specifically being sought out, like foster kids, homeless kids, and any kids who were traveling at the time of the snap.

anyone who was on a temporary structure will fall and be hurt. this includes many stages, sports equipment, and entertainment like fairs and circuses. for many of these people, that’s their job and livelihood being injured, and as they can’t seek medical care, probably taken away from them forever.

the returning snapped will have five years of missed immunities. they’ll pick up all kinds of diseases from everyone who was left, and have no way to fight them off. because the of the population density of those outbreaks, everything they get will mutate an enormous amount, reinfecting the other half of the population.

we are signalled that animals reappear by the increase in birdsong. if so, a lot of problems are going to be caused by that, especially with any animal populations that have rebounded since the snap. they will now, at 1.5x population, have greater competition for resources, and may become aggressive and violent. city species may attack humans. many species will eat food crops.

depending on the difference in time of year of the snap and return, the difference in life stage of many species could have catastrophic impacts on many biomes. too many of some species could be eaten or starve to death, preventing the next generation from being as large as it should be, or there could be a population boom. either could destabilize the environment, especially for a keystone species. some species might go extinct in response.

wild animals are going to reappear right next to humans, or humans reappear right next to wild animals. they will both be startled, and many wild animals attack when startled. this will be especially true of any herd animals, who will likely stampede whether or not humans are near them, because their herd suddenly hugely increased in number. humans will be trampled, or their homes/crops/supplies will be destroyed.

zoo animals reappearing will definitely cause stress among the animals, and may lead to fights. alternately, an animal may not be enclosed properly, or a zookeeper may not be properly prepared to deal with the animal at that moment.

there’s no indication whether the plants are back, but if there aren’t plants back, then they probably also didn’t bring back any of the trillions of space aliens out there, which could go either way. anyway, if plants are back, then invasive plant species are going to destroy a lot of things, being hard enough to keep at bay already. also, since food crops have already been replanted, they will be displaced, uprooting everything, and destroying all food crops across the planet.

massive increases in algae will destabilize ocean populations. massive increases in mold will destroy buildings. all the tiny little things are going to change both manmade and natural environments in negative ways.

massive increases in bacteria will create new superbugs and infect lots of people, especially those now dealing with other medical issues from all this stuff. half the population (the ones that didn’t get snapped) will have gastrointestinal issues from their sudden increase in gut flora. and they will smell 1.5 times as bad.

[gordonwilliamsweb]

‘No Intubation’: Seniors Fearful Of COVID-19 Are Changing Their Living Wills

Navigating Aging

Navigating Aging focuses on medical issues and advice associated with aging and end-of-life care, helping America’s 45 million seniors and their families navigate the health care system.

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DENVER ― Last month, Minna Buck revised a document specifying her wishes should she become critically ill.

“No intubation,” she wrote in large letters on the form, making sure to include the date and her initials.

Buck, 91, had been following the news about COVID-19. She knew her chances of surviving a serious bout of the illness were slim. And she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be put on a ventilator under any circumstances.

“I don’t want to put everybody through the anguish,” said Buck, who lives in a continuing care retirement community in Denver.

For older adults contemplating what might happen to them during this pandemic, ventilators are a fraught symbol, representing a terrifying lack of personal control as well as the fearsome power of technology.

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Used for people with respiratory failure, a signature consequence of severe COVID-19, these machines pump oxygen into a patient’s body while he or she lies in bed, typically sedated, with a breathing tube snaked down the windpipe (known as “intubation”).

For some seniors, this is their greatest fear: being hooked to a machine, helpless, with the end of life looming. For others, there is hope that the machine might pull them back from the brink, giving them another shot at life.

“I’m a very vital person: I’m very active and busy,” said Cecile Cohan, 85, who has no diagnosed medical conditions and lives independently in a house in Denver. If she became critically ill with COVID-19 but had the chance of recovering and being active again, she said, “yes, I would try a ventilator.”

What’s known about people’s chances?

Although several reports have come out of China, Italy and, most recently, the area around New York City, “the data is really scanty,” said Dr. Carolyn Calfee, a professor of anesthesia at the University of California-San Francisco.

Initial reports suggested that the survival rate for patients on respirators ranged from 14% (Wuhan, China) to 34% (early data from the United Kingdom). A report from the New York City area appeared more discouraging, with survival listed at only 11.9%.

But the New York data incorporated only patients who died or were discharged from hospitals — a minority of a larger sample. Most ventilator patients were still in the hospital, receiving treatment, making it impossible for researchers to draw reliable conclusions.

Calfee worries that data from these early studies may not apply to U.S. patients treated in hospitals with considerable resources.

“The information we have is largely from settings with tremendous resource gaps and from hospitals that are overwhelmed, where patients may not be treated with optimal ventilator support,” she said. “I would be very worried if people used that data to make decisions about whether they wanted mechanical ventilation.”

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Still, a sobering reality emerges from studies published to date: Older adults, especially those with underlying medical conditions such as heart, kidney or lung disease, are least likely to survive critical illness caused by the coronavirus or treatment with a ventilator.

“Their prognosis is not great,” said Dr. Douglas White, a professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He cautioned, however, that frail older adults shouldn’t be lumped together with healthy, robust older adults, whose prospects may be somewhat better.

Like other clinicians, White has observed that older COVID patients are spending considerably longer on ventilators ― two weeks or more — than is the case with other critical illnesses. If they survive, they’re likely to be extremely weak, deconditioned, suffering from delirium and in need of months of ongoing care and physical rehabilitation.

“It’s a very long, uphill battle to recovery,” and many older patients may never regain full functioning, said Dr. Negin Hajizadeh, an associate professor of critical care medicine at the School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell on New York’s Long Island. “My concern is, who’s going to take care of these patients after a prolonged ventilator course ― and where?”

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Joyce Edwards, 61, who is unmarried and lives on her own, has been wondering the same thing.

In late April, Edwards revised her advance directive to specify that “for COVID-19, I do not want to be placed on a ventilator.” Previously, she had indicated that she was willing to try a ventilator for a few days but wanted it withdrawn if the treatment was needed for a longer period.

“I have to think about what the quality of my life is going to be,” Edwards said. “Could I live independently and take care of myself — the things I value the most? There’s no spouse to take care of me or adult children. Who would step into the breach and look after me while I’m in recovery?”

People who’ve said “give a ventilator a try, but discontinue it if improvement isn’t occurring” need to realize that they almost surely won’t have time to interact with loved ones if treatment is withdrawn, said Dr. Christopher Cox, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University.

“You may not be able to live for more than a few minutes,” he noted.

But the choice isn’t as black-and-white as go on a ventilator or die.

“We can give you high-flow oxygen and antibiotics,” Cox said. “You can use BiPAP or CPAP machines [which also deliver oxygen] and see how those work. And if things go poorly, we’re excellent at keeping you comfortable and trying to make it possible for you to interact with family and friends instead of being knocked out in a coma.”

Heather McCrone of Bellevue, Washington, realized she’d had an “all-or-nothing” view of ventilation when her 70-year-old husband developed sepsis — a systemic infection ― last year after problems related to foot surgery.

Over nine hours, McCrone sat in the intensive care unit as her husband was stabilized on a ventilator by nurses and respiratory therapists. “They were absolutely fantastic,” McCrone said. After a four-day stay in the hospital, her husband returned home.

“Before that experience, my feeling about ventilators was ‘You’re a goner and there’s no coming back,’” McCrone said. “Now, I know that’s not necessarily the case.”

She and her husband both have advance directives stating that they want “lifesaving measures taken unless we’re in a vegetative state with no possibility of recovery.” McCrone said they still need to discuss their wishes with their daughters, including their preference for getting treatment with a ventilator.

These discussions are more important than ever ― and perhaps easier than in the past, experts said.

“People are thinking about what could happen to them and they want to talk about it,” said Dr. Rebecca Sudore, a professor of medicine at the UCSF. “It’s opened up a lot of conversations.”

Rather than focusing on whether to be treated with a ventilator, she advises older adults to discuss what’s most important to them — independence? time with family? walking? living as long as possible? ― and what they consider a good quality of life. This will provide essential context for decisions about ventilation.

“Some people may say my life is always worth living no matter what type of serious illness or disability I have,” she said. “On the other end of the spectrum, some people may feel there are health situations or experiences that would be so hard that life would not be worth living.”

Sudore helped create Prepare for Your Care, a website and a set of tools to guide people through these kinds of conversations. Recently it was updated to include a section on COVID-19, as have sites sponsored by Compassion & Choices and The Conversation Project. And the Colorado Program for Patient Centered Decisions has published a decision aid for COVID patients considering life support, also available in Spanish.

Some older adults have another worry: What if there aren’t enough ventilators for all the COVID patients who need them?

In that situation, “I would like to say ‘no’ because other people need that intervention more than I do and would benefit, in all probability, more than I would,” said Larry Churchill, 74, an emeritus professor of medical ethics at Vanderbilt.

“In a non-scarcity situation, I’m not sure what I’d do. I’m in pretty good health, but people my age don’t survive as well from any major problem,” Churchill said. “Most of us don’t want a long, lingering death in a custodial facility where the chances of recovery are small and the quality of life may be one we’re not willing to tolerate.”

‘No Intubation’: Seniors Fearful Of COVID-19 Are Changing Their Living Wills published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

‘No Intubation’: Seniors Fearful Of COVID-19 Are Changing Their Living Wills

Navigating Aging

Navigating Aging focuses on medical issues and advice associated with aging and end-of-life care, helping America’s 45 million seniors and their families navigate the health care system.

To contact Judith Graham with a question or comment, click here.

Join the Navigating Aging Facebook Group.

See All Columns

DENVER ― Last month, Minna Buck revised a document specifying her wishes should she become critically ill.

“No intubation,” she wrote in large letters on the form, making sure to include the date and her initials.

Buck, 91, had been following the news about COVID-19. She knew her chances of surviving a serious bout of the illness were slim. And she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be put on a ventilator under any circumstances.

“I don’t want to put everybody through the anguish,” said Buck, who lives in a continuing care retirement community in Denver.

For older adults contemplating what might happen to them during this pandemic, ventilators are a fraught symbol, representing a terrifying lack of personal control as well as the fearsome power of technology.

We Want To Hear From You

Are you a senior who is affected by COVID-19? Tell us what you’re seeing, and help us report on important, untold stories. Contact us at covidtips@kff.org.

Email Us

Used for people with respiratory failure, a signature consequence of severe COVID-19, these machines pump oxygen into a patient’s body while he or she lies in bed, typically sedated, with a breathing tube snaked down the windpipe (known as “intubation”).

For some seniors, this is their greatest fear: being hooked to a machine, helpless, with the end of life looming. For others, there is hope that the machine might pull them back from the brink, giving them another shot at life.

“I’m a very vital person: I’m very active and busy,” said Cecile Cohan, 85, who has no diagnosed medical conditions and lives independently in a house in Denver. If she became critically ill with COVID-19 but had the chance of recovering and being active again, she said, “yes, I would try a ventilator.”

What’s known about people’s chances?

Although several reports have come out of China, Italy and, most recently, the area around New York City, “the data is really scanty,” said Dr. Carolyn Calfee, a professor of anesthesia at the University of California-San Francisco.

Initial reports suggested that the survival rate for patients on respirators ranged from 14% (Wuhan, China) to 34% (early data from the United Kingdom). A report from the New York City area appeared more discouraging, with survival listed at only 11.9%.

But the New York data incorporated only patients who died or were discharged from hospitals — a minority of a larger sample. Most ventilator patients were still in the hospital, receiving treatment, making it impossible for researchers to draw reliable conclusions.

Calfee worries that data from these early studies may not apply to U.S. patients treated in hospitals with considerable resources.

“The information we have is largely from settings with tremendous resource gaps and from hospitals that are overwhelmed, where patients may not be treated with optimal ventilator support,” she said. “I would be very worried if people used that data to make decisions about whether they wanted mechanical ventilation.”

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Still, a sobering reality emerges from studies published to date: Older adults, especially those with underlying medical conditions such as heart, kidney or lung disease, are least likely to survive critical illness caused by the coronavirus or treatment with a ventilator.

“Their prognosis is not great,” said Dr. Douglas White, a professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He cautioned, however, that frail older adults shouldn’t be lumped together with healthy, robust older adults, whose prospects may be somewhat better.

Like other clinicians, White has observed that older COVID patients are spending considerably longer on ventilators ― two weeks or more — than is the case with other critical illnesses. If they survive, they’re likely to be extremely weak, deconditioned, suffering from delirium and in need of months of ongoing care and physical rehabilitation.

“It’s a very long, uphill battle to recovery,” and many older patients may never regain full functioning, said Dr. Negin Hajizadeh, an associate professor of critical care medicine at the School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell on New York’s Long Island. “My concern is, who’s going to take care of these patients after a prolonged ventilator course ― and where?”

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Joyce Edwards, 61, who is unmarried and lives on her own, has been wondering the same thing.

In late April, Edwards revised her advance directive to specify that “for COVID-19, I do not want to be placed on a ventilator.” Previously, she had indicated that she was willing to try a ventilator for a few days but wanted it withdrawn if the treatment was needed for a longer period.

“I have to think about what the quality of my life is going to be,” Edwards said. “Could I live independently and take care of myself — the things I value the most? There’s no spouse to take care of me or adult children. Who would step into the breach and look after me while I’m in recovery?”

People who’ve said “give a ventilator a try, but discontinue it if improvement isn’t occurring” need to realize that they almost surely won’t have time to interact with loved ones if treatment is withdrawn, said Dr. Christopher Cox, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University.

“You may not be able to live for more than a few minutes,” he noted.

But the choice isn’t as black-and-white as go on a ventilator or die.

“We can give you high-flow oxygen and antibiotics,” Cox said. “You can use BiPAP or CPAP machines [which also deliver oxygen] and see how those work. And if things go poorly, we’re excellent at keeping you comfortable and trying to make it possible for you to interact with family and friends instead of being knocked out in a coma.”

Heather McCrone of Bellevue, Washington, realized she’d had an “all-or-nothing” view of ventilation when her 70-year-old husband developed sepsis — a systemic infection ― last year after problems related to foot surgery.

Over nine hours, McCrone sat in the intensive care unit as her husband was stabilized on a ventilator by nurses and respiratory therapists. “They were absolutely fantastic,” McCrone said. After a four-day stay in the hospital, her husband returned home.

“Before that experience, my feeling about ventilators was ‘You’re a goner and there’s no coming back,’” McCrone said. “Now, I know that’s not necessarily the case.”

She and her husband both have advance directives stating that they want “lifesaving measures taken unless we’re in a vegetative state with no possibility of recovery.” McCrone said they still need to discuss their wishes with their daughters, including their preference for getting treatment with a ventilator.

These discussions are more important than ever ― and perhaps easier than in the past, experts said.

“People are thinking about what could happen to them and they want to talk about it,” said Dr. Rebecca Sudore, a professor of medicine at the UCSF. “It’s opened up a lot of conversations.”

Rather than focusing on whether to be treated with a ventilator, she advises older adults to discuss what’s most important to them — independence? time with family? walking? living as long as possible? ― and what they consider a good quality of life. This will provide essential context for decisions about ventilation.

“Some people may say my life is always worth living no matter what type of serious illness or disability I have,” she said. “On the other end of the spectrum, some people may feel there are health situations or experiences that would be so hard that life would not be worth living.”

Sudore helped create Prepare for Your Care, a website and a set of tools to guide people through these kinds of conversations. Recently it was updated to include a section on COVID-19, as have sites sponsored by Compassion & Choices and The Conversation Project. And the Colorado Program for Patient Centered Decisions has published a decision aid for COVID patients considering life support, also available in Spanish.

Some older adults have another worry: What if there aren’t enough ventilators for all the COVID patients who need them?

In that situation, “I would like to say ‘no’ because other people need that intervention more than I do and would benefit, in all probability, more than I would,” said Larry Churchill, 74, an emeritus professor of medical ethics at Vanderbilt.

“In a non-scarcity situation, I’m not sure what I’d do. I’m in pretty good health, but people my age don’t survive as well from any major problem,” Churchill said. “Most of us don’t want a long, lingering death in a custodial facility where the chances of recovery are small and the quality of life may be one we’re not willing to tolerate.”

‘No Intubation’: Seniors Fearful Of COVID-19 Are Changing Their Living Wills published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[dinafbrownil]

‘No Intubation’: Seniors Fearful Of COVID-19 Are Changing Their Living Wills

Navigating Aging

Navigating Aging focuses on medical issues and advice associated with aging and end-of-life care, helping America’s 45 million seniors and their families navigate the health care system.

To contact Judith Graham with a question or comment, click here.

Join the Navigating Aging Facebook Group.

See All Columns

DENVER ― Last month, Minna Buck revised a document specifying her wishes should she become critically ill.

“No intubation,” she wrote in large letters on the form, making sure to include the date and her initials.

Buck, 91, had been following the news about COVID-19. She knew her chances of surviving a serious bout of the illness were slim. And she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be put on a ventilator under any circumstances.

“I don’t want to put everybody through the anguish,” said Buck, who lives in a continuing care retirement community in Denver.

For older adults contemplating what might happen to them during this pandemic, ventilators are a fraught symbol, representing a terrifying lack of personal control as well as the fearsome power of technology.

We Want To Hear From You

Are you a senior who is affected by COVID-19? Tell us what you’re seeing, and help us report on important, untold stories. Contact us at covidtips@kff.org.

Email Us

Used for people with respiratory failure, a signature consequence of severe COVID-19, these machines pump oxygen into a patient’s body while he or she lies in bed, typically sedated, with a breathing tube snaked down the windpipe (known as “intubation”).

For some seniors, this is their greatest fear: being hooked to a machine, helpless, with the end of life looming. For others, there is hope that the machine might pull them back from the brink, giving them another shot at life.

“I’m a very vital person: I’m very active and busy,” said Cecile Cohan, 85, who has no diagnosed medical conditions and lives independently in a house in Denver. If she became critically ill with COVID-19 but had the chance of recovering and being active again, she said, “yes, I would try a ventilator.”

What’s known about people’s chances?

Although several reports have come out of China, Italy and, most recently, the area around New York City, “the data is really scanty,” said Dr. Carolyn Calfee, a professor of anesthesia at the University of California-San Francisco.

Initial reports suggested that the survival rate for patients on respirators ranged from 14% (Wuhan, China) to 34% (early data from the United Kingdom). A report from the New York City area appeared more discouraging, with survival listed at only 11.9%.

But the New York data incorporated only patients who died or were discharged from hospitals — a minority of a larger sample. Most ventilator patients were still in the hospital, receiving treatment, making it impossible for researchers to draw reliable conclusions.

Calfee worries that data from these early studies may not apply to U.S. patients treated in hospitals with considerable resources.

“The information we have is largely from settings with tremendous resource gaps and from hospitals that are overwhelmed, where patients may not be treated with optimal ventilator support,” she said. “I would be very worried if people used that data to make decisions about whether they wanted mechanical ventilation.”

Don't Miss A Story

Subscribe to KHN’s free Weekly Edition newsletter.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

Still, a sobering reality emerges from studies published to date: Older adults, especially those with underlying medical conditions such as heart, kidney or lung disease, are least likely to survive critical illness caused by the coronavirus or treatment with a ventilator.

“Their prognosis is not great,” said Dr. Douglas White, a professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He cautioned, however, that frail older adults shouldn’t be lumped together with healthy, robust older adults, whose prospects may be somewhat better.

Like other clinicians, White has observed that older COVID patients are spending considerably longer on ventilators ― two weeks or more — than is the case with other critical illnesses. If they survive, they’re likely to be extremely weak, deconditioned, suffering from delirium and in need of months of ongoing care and physical rehabilitation.

“It’s a very long, uphill battle to recovery,” and many older patients may never regain full functioning, said Dr. Negin Hajizadeh, an associate professor of critical care medicine at the School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell on New York’s Long Island. “My concern is, who’s going to take care of these patients after a prolonged ventilator course ― and where?”

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Joyce Edwards, 61, who is unmarried and lives on her own, has been wondering the same thing.

In late April, Edwards revised her advance directive to specify that “for COVID-19, I do not want to be placed on a ventilator.” Previously, she had indicated that she was willing to try a ventilator for a few days but wanted it withdrawn if the treatment was needed for a longer period.

“I have to think about what the quality of my life is going to be,” Edwards said. “Could I live independently and take care of myself — the things I value the most? There’s no spouse to take care of me or adult children. Who would step into the breach and look after me while I’m in recovery?”

People who’ve said “give a ventilator a try, but discontinue it if improvement isn’t occurring” need to realize that they almost surely won’t have time to interact with loved ones if treatment is withdrawn, said Dr. Christopher Cox, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University.

“You may not be able to live for more than a few minutes,” he noted.

But the choice isn’t as black-and-white as go on a ventilator or die.

“We can give you high-flow oxygen and antibiotics,” Cox said. “You can use BiPAP or CPAP machines [which also deliver oxygen] and see how those work. And if things go poorly, we’re excellent at keeping you comfortable and trying to make it possible for you to interact with family and friends instead of being knocked out in a coma.”

Heather McCrone of Bellevue, Washington, realized she’d had an “all-or-nothing” view of ventilation when her 70-year-old husband developed sepsis — a systemic infection ― last year after problems related to foot surgery.

Over nine hours, McCrone sat in the intensive care unit as her husband was stabilized on a ventilator by nurses and respiratory therapists. “They were absolutely fantastic,” McCrone said. After a four-day stay in the hospital, her husband returned home.

“Before that experience, my feeling about ventilators was ‘You’re a goner and there’s no coming back,’” McCrone said. “Now, I know that’s not necessarily the case.”

She and her husband both have advance directives stating that they want “lifesaving measures taken unless we’re in a vegetative state with no possibility of recovery.” McCrone said they still need to discuss their wishes with their daughters, including their preference for getting treatment with a ventilator.

These discussions are more important than ever ― and perhaps easier than in the past, experts said.

“People are thinking about what could happen to them and they want to talk about it,” said Dr. Rebecca Sudore, a professor of medicine at the UCSF. “It’s opened up a lot of conversations.”

Rather than focusing on whether to be treated with a ventilator, she advises older adults to discuss what’s most important to them — independence? time with family? walking? living as long as possible? ― and what they consider a good quality of life. This will provide essential context for decisions about ventilation.

“Some people may say my life is always worth living no matter what type of serious illness or disability I have,” she said. “On the other end of the spectrum, some people may feel there are health situations or experiences that would be so hard that life would not be worth living.”

Sudore helped create Prepare for Your Care, a website and a set of tools to guide people through these kinds of conversations. Recently it was updated to include a section on COVID-19, as have sites sponsored by Compassion & Choices and The Conversation Project. And the Colorado Program for Patient Centered Decisions has published a decision aid for COVID patients considering life support, also available in Spanish.

Some older adults have another worry: What if there aren’t enough ventilators for all the COVID patients who need them?

In that situation, “I would like to say ‘no’ because other people need that intervention more than I do and would benefit, in all probability, more than I would,” said Larry Churchill, 74, an emeritus professor of medical ethics at Vanderbilt.

“In a non-scarcity situation, I’m not sure what I’d do. I’m in pretty good health, but people my age don’t survive as well from any major problem,” Churchill said. “Most of us don’t want a long, lingering death in a custodial facility where the chances of recovery are small and the quality of life may be one we’re not willing to tolerate.”

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/no-intubation-seniors-fearful-of-covid-19-are-changing-their-living-wills/

[grassroutes]

Maxoak Bluetti 1500Wh Backup Solar Generator Review: Be Ready for Anything

Our verdict of the Maxoak Bluetti EB150: An affordable all-round great performing backup battery that stores an epic amount of energy. Combine with a solar panel or two (cable included) for complete electrical resiliency.1010

I thought I’d never see the day that supermarket shelves are empty, but as recent events have demonstrated, our modern societies are more fragile than we’d like to believe. It’s more important than ever that you’re prepared for emergencies: whether that’s a virus pandemic, a natural disaster, or civil unrest. These events can happen, and will increasingly do so in the coming decades.

One important aspect of emergency preparedness is electrical power. It’s no good having six months of food in the freezer if it’s all going to thaw in a day. So today, we’re taking a look at the Maxoak “Bluetti” EB150; also marketed under the PowerOak brand in the UK. It’s an enormous 1500Wh energy store with 1000W AC output, and includes an MPPT controller for direct connection to large solar panels.

Design and Specifications

Inputs: AC adapter or solar (16-60V 10A), 9mm DC connector

Output: 2 x AC sockets, 4 x 2.1A 5V USB ports, 1 x 45W PD USB-C, 1 x 12V 9A car port

Total Capacity: 1500Wh

Maximum Output: 1000W continuous, 1200 peak

Battery Technology: Lithium-ion

Charge time: AC 10 hours, solar variable (minimum 4 hours)

Weighing 38 pounds (17kg), the Maxoak EB150 is about the size of a small office PC. There are no ruggedization features like rubber bumpers or covers for the sockets, but the case itself is solid metal with a secure ABS handle and front/rear panels. It can certainly take a beating unless said beating involves any element of water. This is not waterproof, or even splashproof. Keep it away from rain.

The Bluetti will easily withstand the odd zombie or animal attack

Also, as a large lithium-ion battery, you shouldn’t attempt to pierce it, as that may result in a fire. So keep it away from bullets or crossbow bolts, too.

The AC sockets are located at the rear, with everything else around the front.

Two AC sockets around the back (this is the UK model; the US model has 3-pin 110V sockets)

There are three buttons for power, AC, and DC output. Outputs are activated by holding down the relevant button for a few seconds. A small display screen indicates the current battery level (an estimate via five segments), and exact numbers for input, AC and DC output wattage.

4 x USB-A ports, 1 x USB-C PD port, and a car socket provide plenty of DC output options for all your devices

Although I had no problem seeing the LCD screen in direct sunlight, I was only able to capture it indoors. If I have one complaint about the Bluetti, it’s that the battery remaining indicator is too vague, consisting only of five segments. The aspect aspects of the display give an exact figure, but not for the battery. A simple percentage would have been preferable here.

How is This a “Solar Generator”?

Strictly speaking, the Maxoak Bluetti EB150 doesn’t generate anything itself, but it does include the circuitry necessary to charge the battery from standard solar panels, and even includes the right cables. It can also simultaneously charge and discharge at the same time.

Built-in to the Bluetti is an MPPT charge controller; these are superior to the older style PWM, particularly on cloudy days, as they’re able to balance the conversion to get a greater charge.

The Maxoak Bluetti can be used with nearly any kind of solar panel, but with a couple of specifications. It must ran at 16-60V, and a maximum of 10A. The total possible input power is 500W. For testing, I hooked it up to an old monocrystalline panel rated at 175W, and was able to generate about 120W at peak (mid-afternoon on a clear UK spring day). I don’t have a watt-meter to test exactly what the voltage the panel was putting out, but it seemed to work: the Bluetti was showing roughly 50% after a day of gloriously good weather and was fully charged after another. I should also note the fan was running almost constantly when charging or using the AC.

If you have multiple panels but they’re under-voltage, you can wire them in series to increase the voltage to the required range. Or if they’re the right voltage already but well under the maximum current, you can wire them in parallel, which will increase the current while keeping the voltage the same. A combination of parallel and series wiring can also be used.

Under ideal conditions, it could take as little as 4 hours to fully charge the Bluetti from solar. If you’re doing the math, you might be wondering why it isn’t 1500 (the total capacity) divided by 500 (the total possible input)–or 3 hours. That’s due to an inherent inefficiency in any charge controller; in this case 25% of the electrical energy is lost in the process. This isn’t a flaw of the Bluetti, it’s true across the board when doing this kind of conversion.

The Bluetti includes overcharge protection, meaning that once the battery is full, it won’t continue charging and explode. That’s always a good thing.

Charging from AC

A standard AC charger (168W) is also included should you wish to charge from the grid, and since this is a fixed input we can tell you it would take 10 hours to do so. This must be from an AC electrical output; there is no way to charge from a car battery.

One of the few compromises in the Bluetti is that there’s only a single input. So you couldn’t, for example, combine a solar panel on top of your campervan with a wind turbine. While this would have been a nice feature, it’s probably of less use to most people and would have increased the price significantly.

The Maxoak Bluetti is rated to 1500 charge cycles, which is about average. A cycle is anytime the battery is used then charged again (even if it wasn’t fully discharged). While this sounds like a short lifetime, in reality, it means you could run the battery down and recharge daily for about five years; and at that point, it would still function but at a”degraded” 80% capacity. It’s difficult to test these claims extensively, but Maxoak provides a 1-year warranty. If you’re at the point where you’re having to use this as your only source of power for years on end though, you probably have bigger concerns.

Discharging: What Can It Run?

The Bluetti is rated to 1000W continuous and 1200W peak (for a few minutes). That’s a combined total for everything plugged into the device (AC and DC), not just any single device. If two AC sockets isn’t enough, it’s okay to plug in an extension lead; the additional sockets don’t inherently draw extra power, it’s just a case of ensuring the devices plugged into it are within the total limits. Exceeding the limit shouldn’t damage anything though, it will simply result in the unit shutting down.

In real terms, what does 1000W look like?

A deep freezer may take anywhere from 30-100W. CPAP machines are about 30-60W. The oxygen concentrator that keeps my father alive peaks at 300W. The Bluetti could comfortably run all of them, at the same time, along with multiple smartphones charging, and my Macbook Pro. On the other hand, an electric chainsaw is around 2000W; it could not run that. Nor could you plug in a kettle, which may be anywhere from 1500W to 3000W.

This is only half the picture though; the other half is how long it’ll stay powered for. To find this out, divide the total capacity in Watt-hours (Wh), and divide by the total power being drawn (in watts). This will give you a number of hours. So a 100W freezer, from a full 1500Wh charge, would last 15 hours.

We tested the stated capacity of the Bluetti with a total 750W load, consisting of a plasma TV, gaming PC, lamp, and dehumidifier. Sure enough, it lasted around the two-hour mark, as would be expected.

That’s a lot of stuff plugged into the Bluetti!

Taking it to the extreme, an average smartphone battery is 10Wh. If you fully discharged your smartphone and used the Bluetti to charge it up, you could survive for roughly six months.

Should You Buy a Maxoak Bluetti EB150?

The Maxoak Bluetti provides more than enough power for most people and at a sensible price point. You’ll find models from competitors with a higher peak output, even if they don’t have a greater total capacity; these will cost more, but perhaps your specific use-case demands that. You’ll also find models that can charge faster, which might be more suitable if you want more solar panels, or the ability to charge from the grid in only a few hours. But again, those will either be more expensive or compromised elsewhere. The Maxoak Bluetti is a good all-rounder for most people.

The package doesn’t include solar panels, but that’s probably a good thing–it’ll be much cheaper for you to source them locally, or used. There’s no need to buy perfectly new panels or with a brand name attached, they are much the same and have a longer life span than batteries. While you could just charge the Bluetti from an AC outlet, you’ll be a lot safer should anything bad happen if you have a permanently free source of energy.

Maxoak Bluetti 1500Wh Maxoak Bluetti 1500Wh Buy Now On Amazon $1,399.99

If you do need even more capacity, Maxoak have you covered there too. The EB240 stores a whopping 2400Wh of power. The continuous and peak rating are the same, but it’ll last longer. If you’re powering critical medical equipment, it’s a good idea to buy the largest battery you can afford.

I wish we didn’t have to recommend a backup power generator at all if I’m completely honest. It’s a lot of money to spend on something you should hopefully never need. But I think we’re all coming to the realization that we have a very fragile existence. Please don’t let the next major catastrophe catch you unaware: build resilience into every aspect of your life. What would you do if faced with a week-long power cut?

Money Off Coupons for the Maxoak Bluetti 1500Wh

We’ve secured some coupons to make the Bluetti even more affordable.

US readers: Maxoak Bluetti EB150 on Amazon US. Use the code “bluetti1500” at checkout for $140 off; combine with the voucher that can be applied on the Amazon page for a total of $290 off. The EB240 model currently has a promotion for $390 off the purchase price of $2000 (no coupon code needed).

UK readers: Poweroak EB150 on Amazon UK. Use the code “IBQWIGRI” for a £70 discount; combine with the £130 voucher that can be applied on the Amazon page for a total of £200 off.

We also have one Maxoak Bluetti EB150 to give away to one lucky reader! Enter below, but please note this competition is open to US residents only. 

Enter the Competition!

Maxoak Bluetti 1500Wh Solar Generator

Read the full article: Maxoak Bluetti 1500Wh Backup Solar Generator Review: Be Ready for Anything

Maxoak Bluetti 1500Wh Backup Solar Generator Review: Be Ready for Anything posted first on grassroutespage.blogspot.com