Covid-19 Check In -- Fall 2020 Edition

[Jim Courtney]

Well, the predictable fall/winter Covid surge is now underway across the country and in Europe.

Please drop a short note on this thread, to let us all how you are doing. What's happening in your little part of the world, including those parts that are upside down?

My wife and I are still hunkering down on our little farm in the country in Kitsap County. Our Governor has reinstituted restrictions: No more dining in restaurants, capacity limitations in many businesses. We were fortunate in being able to have my wife's annual Pulmonology evaluation done at UW Medical Center the week before last, before the new restrictions. Downtown Seattle is a ghost town, most people evidently still working from home.

The kitchen/house remodel is done, the last boxes of stuff moved back into house. My train room is again empty and I went to Home Depot today to buy some dimensional lumber to start benchwork. More to come as progress is made.

How are y'all doing?

[South Park]

  With everyone sequestered at home, my phone has been on fire with
requests for work.  At present, I am booked out a year.  It is insane.  But
with everything shut down, all I do is work and sleep.  Kind of reminds
me of deployments.  Work, eat, shower, sleep, work ..... without any deviation
for months on end.  Fortunately, my pleasures are largely solitary, and not
dependent on group functions or travel.

[Pat Student]

Health wise, we are doing fine or I say when asked, "V & A" (vertical and ambulatory).

Omaha has a mask requirement extending in February with latest revision, not statewide, but local jurisdictions can require.  Restaurant
seating limited to 50%.  K-12 is a mix of in person and on-line classes. High school sports has had a pretty normal season.

Modeling is limited to posting on the forum as we had to have over half of the basement foundation anchored or rebuilt.  Had to take down the layout, un-finish the basement, take down porch stairs, and a deck that is now being rebuilt as the foundation work has been completed.

[Keith Hayes]

Aw gees, Pat: I hate it when modelling goes backwards!

Here in Denver we are buckling down again through the end of the year. Seemed like we had a handle on COVID till September and then things started to get out of control. The office is back to working from home, though we have projects in planning and construction across the country. The family and our social pod continue to be healthy.

My wife took a spill a month ago and broke her wrist, so I have literally been her right hand. I got in one session of modeling last week and continued the SoundCar install in Waycar 1008. I need to fuss with the wheel wipers and clean the wheels. Testing of the east end staging continues. I have a turnout that continues to give me fits: the B-4-Fs like to split the points for some reason. I also drilled out the pilot deck of 346 to accomodate the cinder pipe: now to grind off the solder blob holding the stack or use a gentle touch with a soldering iron? And while I have the boiler off, I should figure out how to isolate the motor and maybe order some hollow markers from PBL.

[Jim Courtney]

Hey SP,

One of my buddies, retired Navy, used a similar analogy.
"Covid 19 is like a sea deployment only there is never shore leave at a port of call."

[Norm Acker]

Hi group. I haven't posted for a while, the CRRM has been keeping me busy all summer working on RGS 20.

I caught Covid the week of Halloween, had a fever and cough for two days and lost my sense of smell for a week. I got better very quickly and self-isolated for 12 days, and I'm back to feeling great.

I also purchased a Cricut Maker and am working to make the panel roof for my Waterton tank, which has been neglected for a few too many months. I'll post pictures of my progress when I make some.

I've also received two 12" x 24" novelty clapboard siding panels from Evergreen, and hope to also use the Cricut to cut the walls for my monstrous quarter inch South Platte hotel.

I hope everyone is well and keeps safe, and has a good Thanksgiving!

Cheers,
Norm

[Todd Hackett]

There isn't much of a surge here at this point. I didn't see yesterday's numbers, but Hawaii County had 13 new cases the day before with a 14 day average of 9 per day. Tourism is back, but limited. Most new cases are being identified as community spread, so the requirement for incoming travelers to test before coming seems to be working for now. Kalawao County on Moloka‘i, which is about 100 miles from me, hasn't had any cases, which is a bit ironic because this county used to be a leper colony and is now the only COVID19-free county in the country. There's now a state-wide mask mandate, but my town is small enough that I can generally keep the required 6-foot distance from others that falls under the exception to mask wearing while outside, and I can usually complete the 3-mile walk around my neighborhood while only seeing a few other pedestrians.

Aside from picking up an occasional photo on eBay, and reading the forums, I haven't been doing a lot of railroad or model activities. I'm still planning a samll garden railway, but have other landscaping tasks that need to be completed first, and at this pace it may never happen.

[Ken Martin]

I am doing well and looking down on the grass.

I haven’t done any modeling, a watertank is still sitting on my workbench. I have been doing a bunch of drawings of CB&Q SG wood depots for fun working from photos.

The club was open for a couple of weeks and I got some running in. Also saw some of the other members then the government raised the threat to the highest level and now the Gov. has imposed a 10pm to 5am curfew.

Ken Martin
Sacramento

[John Greenly]

Hi Jim, and all,

We're doing okay here in upstate NY.     I am amazed to be saying this, but Cornell has done very well with COVID this fall.  All the students have been being tested twice a week, faculty and staff once a week,  and there typically have been a couple of cases found per week, all promptly contact-traced and quarantined.  Finally two weeks ago there was a cluster of about 20 cases from a frat party,  but seems to have been contained well.  My lab has been operating safely all summer and fall, I go in a couple of hours a day to help the students and keep things running.

I'm just getting back into railroading again now that winter is coming on.  I'll post some small progress on my #13 and 30 engine projects, and I'm getting up my courage to attack the caboose mystery again.

I spent as much time outdoors as possible through late summer and fall, as an antidote to working mostly at home in front of a computer screen.   I celebrated my newly cataract-free eyes by buying a really good telephoto lens for bird photography, something I have been wishing I had for about 50 years!  Maine was letting in NY people without quarantining so we made it out to our favorite island, Monhegan, off the coast for a week in September, my favorite time.  Here are a couple of photos from there-  there were hordes of  young, naive migrating birds that never had seen a large mammal with a camera before.

Cheers,
John

[Doug Heitkamp]

Hi Folks,

Even though this thread is a bit over a month old, I thought I would add my 2 cents.

Three weeks ago I was release from the hospital where I spent a month under their care. I came down with a serious case of Covid and Bacterial Pneumonia. After testing positive and doing fine, on day 8 I tanked. My Blood/Oxygen absorption would not get better than 69%. Off to the ER I went. I was quickly moved to the ICU where I was intubated and on a ventilator for 12 days. After that I spent a week in a regular hospital room. After that, I was transferred to a rehab hospital for a little over a week.

I'm home now, and by the grace of God, I seem to have made it through the whole ordeal without any major damage. My doctors and nurses kept calling me the miracle patient. I lost a total of 30 pounds, most of it muscle mass. They told me that for every day you spend in the hospital, expect 4 or 5 days to recover. I still have a few months to go but I'm getting stronger every day. I have nothing but praise and thanks for the doctors, nurses, and therapists that kept me alive and helped with my recovery. Also, a huge thanks to all who kept me in their thoughts and prayers!

One thing that did help me while I was in the hospital, was reading this forum. I had my phone and was able to read up on most of the posts. It really helped me feel like my life was returning to normal. I'll still be at home for a while and hope to do some modeling while I recover.

Thanks for "listening"!

Doug

[Lee Gustafson]

Doug,

Best wishes to you and your family for a speedy and complete recovery. Please keep us updated on your recovery and yes the forum is a great source of comfort and information during this very difficult time. Take care.

Lee Gustafson

[Jeff Young]

Great to hear that you’re on the mend, Doug.  Does not sound like it was fun. :(

Cheers,
Jeff.

[John Greenly]

Thank goodness, Doug, you're on the mend,  and thanks for letting us know!  Take it easy,  don't push yourself, it takes time.

I believe that I can understand a little bit what you've gone through.  Way back last March I almost certainly had COVID myself,  though at the time it was not thought to be here yet, and there was no test.   I did get a flu test, and that was negative.  I had just been in the hospital for an unrelated matter, and I found out later that they just then had admitted several people with undiagnosed viral illnesses.  I probably caught it there.  I had a very high fever for most of a week and trouble breathing,  then fever started to come down,  but the next day suddenly I had a most extraordinary full-body violent shaking episode, and shortly temp shot back up to 103.  I gradually got better,  but  I stayed home from work for three weeks, and it really wasn't 'til this fall that I feel about right again.  I lost 15 pounds, and I'm skinny to begin with!  

anyway,  I'm cheering for you!!

all best regards,
John

[Jim Courtney]

Sounds like an awful experience, Doug, so happy that you are recovering.

The physician in me is curious: Other than supportive care, how did the docs treat you? Did you get the monoclonal antibodies? Rendesivir? Invermectin?

IMHO, your recovery is a sign from God, that you are meant to build more C&S models. Best get on with it when you can.

[train3guy]

Glad you are doing better Doug!  Have patients, recover takes a while!

                                                                                                                    Duncan

On 1/2/2021 11:14 PM, Doug Heitkamp [via C&Sng Discussion Forum] wrote:

Hi Folks,

Even though this thread is a bit over a month old, I thought I would add my 2 cents.

Three weeks ago I was release from the hospital where I spent a month under their care. I came down with a serious case of Covid and Bacterial Pneumonia. After testing positive and doing fine, on day 8 I tanked. My Blood/Oxygen absorption would not get better than 69%. Off to the ER I went. I was quickly moved to the ICU where I was intubated and on a ventilator for 12 days. After that I spent a week in a regular hospital room. After that, I was transferred to a rehab hospital for a little over a week.

I'm home now, and by the grace of God, I seem to have made it through the whole ordeal without any major damage. My doctors and nurses kept calling me the miracle patient. I lost a total of 30 pounds, most of it muscle mass. They told me that for every day you spend in the hospital, expect 4 or 5 days to recover. I still have a few months to go but I'm getting stronger every day. I have nothing but praise and thanks for the doctors, nurses, and therapists that kept me alive and helped with my recovery. Also, a huge thanks to all who kept me in their thoughts and prayers!

One thing that did help me while I was in the hospital, was reading this forum. I had my phone and was able to read up on most of the posts. It really helped me feel like my life was returning to normal. I'll still be at home for a while and hope to do some modeling while I recover.

Thanks for "listening"!

Doug

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