What's changing for you....

[Muskygary]

Tomorrow; suppose to get up to 50 here. So, I'm going to pour lead outside. Got some pony jigs and football jig to pour. Today powder painted a bunch of swimbait heads , baked them and then put eyes on them.

[WALLEYE WACKER]

Productive day there Gary. Going to be nice by me tomorrow and I’m going fishing. Then I have some 1/32-1/64 shad darts Jigs for the ice to pour and paint and if I have time start epoxying handles on rod  project of 6 rods in all. This one is a 7’ ultra light fast action 1/32-3/16 minimal handle split grip That is light as a feather in your hand.

[bassinfool]

So much has changed in my life I don't even know where to start.  Some of you know that I have worked as a critical care nurse in a trauma/burn ICU for the past 5-6 years in my state's largest and best hospital.  I graduated with my master's degree in May; we had no celebrations, I didn't get to walk across a stage and the trip my wife and I had planned to celebrate our long journey through graduate school was cancelled. 

Work was/is insane.  March and April were a complete whirlwind when our hospital lacked the supplies and ability to test all of our patients and as a result hundreds of staff members were exposed to Covid.  Many got sick, and unfortunately, a few even died.  As time has gone by, our understanding of this virus and our treatment options and modalities have adapted and changed to best serve our patients; Even though our area is seeing a huge spike in cases much like what we experienced in the spring time, our rate of ventilator usage is not following that curve which is a positive sign.  Recently, I have left my position as a bedside RN in the ICU to take an RN educator roll in one of our COVID ICU's and it has been an eye opening experience in the short time I have been here.  This virus is brutal, unforgiving and it does not discriminate.  I have taken care of some of the sickest patients in the southeast for years but I have never seen patients sick like this.  Caring for these patients is hard, not only from a physical standpoint but a mental and emotional one as well.  We choose this career path because we love people; we want to help people and our communities when they're hurt and see them healthier than when we started. 

Unfortunately, this virus went from being a medical issue and turned into one of partisan politics to the detriment of everyone involved.  Now, myself and many other healthcare workers feel this weird duality of caring for these incredibly sick patients and doing everything we can to ensure other people don't get sick or die and when we leave the hospital we go out into a world where people won't even do the bare minimum of wearing a mask to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus.  Where is the empathy?  Where is the love for our fellow man?  I see the same things repeated over and over by certain members of the population about being complicit, it's a violation of their rights and civil liberties.  It's none of those things; it is asking you to the do the absolute bare minimum to protect yourself and those around you.  Do not mistake temporary inconvenience for oppression.  If we ignore the reality of the world around us and refuse to do even the little things we will be forced to make very hard decisions in the future; decisions like who gets admitted to the hospital and who goes home to die, who gets the ventilator when there are so few left, should we take this person off the ventilator because their chance of survival is so infinitesimally small so that this other person may live.   The sooner we mitigate case transmission rates, the sooner we can get back to doing the things we love.  Hopefully a number of vaccine trials will finish up here in the next several months and we will be able to vaccinate our most vulnerable populations. 

We still have a long way to go.  We have learned a lot of difficult, painful lessons along the way and they were paid for in human lives.  Be safe, stay healthy, and be kind to one another.

[Do-It Corp.]

bassinfool, appreciate the insight and the work you are doing.  It is difficult to be certain about anything these days, but do agree we should all be doing what we can.

[ctom]

I agree 100% Bassin. 100%. I'm fine with our state's mask mandate and wish it were a national thing, no exceptions.

On another note......I'll thank you and the missus for taking on this huge task all the while being teased by this virus. I certainly appreciate what you're doing even though we have not met. I appreciate any and all first line workers who are taking care of this tired country.

[Lamar]

Thank you bassin. I hear much of the same from my wife and her fellow workers. My wife came home Friday in tears. They are being totally over worked trying to contain this thing. Married to her for 21 years and her working with the medical sergeants at the hospital I've learned I'm pretty stupid when it comes to medicine. And most other people are too. That's why when it comes to medical advice I listen to the doctors. They have no reason to lie to me. So my advice to anyone that is wondering what they should do is call your primary care physician and ask them. Again they have no reason to lie to you and they know the area and you. You'll get a straight answer on what you should be doing to help all of us get through this.

[olsarge]

Basin thank you for expressing your thoughts on this matter.  You have stated exactly what I feel only far more eloquently than I could.  Thanks again and best wishes.

[WALLEYE WACKER]

Thanks for the healthcare people bassinfool and wife for all that your doing in this difficult virus situations were I live in a small town in Wisconsin people still aren’t wearing masks I wear one all the time when I’m out and won’t stop anywhere to shop if there are more then 2-3 cars in the lot. So many people don’t care about themselves or any one else and that’s why this virus is still growing as fast as it is and will continue because people don’t do what they should be doing. Stay safe healthcare people we would be in a world of  s- - -  without your talents.

[Apdriver]

Without copying Bassinfools reply, I agree with him wholeheartedly. Do what you can but you have to live. Wear your mask. Isolate and follow the CDC guidelines if you get the virus. Please remember, if you do get this, it’s not your fault. It’s an indiscriminate virus like the flu. Just isolate and follow CDC guidelines. I have been working overtime since this whole thing started as an essential employee. My whole company. We will get through this. Just this past week, promising news from some drug companies regarding vaccines and their approval. We will be delivering them world wide.

[ctom]

AP....thank you for the extra that you're providing right now. This is a bad time and to go the extra mile means much to so many!

[bassinfool]

I appreciate the gratitude and to hear you all are doing your part to keep yourself, your families and your communities safe!  I have had several people ask me "What can we do for you and other healthcare workers?" When they say that, most mean things like sending food, cards, Starbucks, etc.  If you really want to know what we want it is for our country to come together as one and fight this virus head on.  As I have already said before, by doing the simple things like wearing a mask and responsibly socially distancing now we can avoid making much harder, almost impossible decisions, later on down the road. 

I had a discussion earlier this week with a work colleague about this situation as we were looking over Covid data from our institution and others in our area.  As we were talking he said something that really stuck with me: After the 9/11 attacks we saw a divided country (although not to the extent we seem to be right now) come together despite our color, creed, nationality, religion, what have you and banded together in order to fight our common enemy.  2,605 American citizens perished that day and it spurned a national call to arms both in a figurative and literal sense.  Well, we are at nearly 2,000 deaths per day and over 250,000 deaths total since this started and yet we still can't come together.  Why?  What has changed?  This isn't the America that I learned about growing up in school who goes out of its way to protect those who are unable to protect themselves.  We have to come together. 

I know you all are tired of wearing masks, not being able to see your families, go to a sports event and all the other things we love to do.  No one is more tired and frustrated than healthcare workers, that much I can assure you.  All we're asking for is a chance to slow the spread so that we aren't completely overwhelmed.

[toadfrog]

I won't be wearing a mask. But then I don't go around people . Just my nature. Why? Beer is good and people are crazy. 

[bassinfool]

I won't be wearing a mask. But then I don't go around people . Just my nature. Why? Beer is good and people are crazy. 

If you're not around people then there should be no reason to wear a mask.  I greatly limit my time around others, especially since I live in an area where non-compliance is very high unfortunately.  Beer is good.  That's why I have been brewing a lot of it lately!  Next to asking my wife to marry me several years ago, buying kegs is one of the best decisions I have ever made! 

[Do-it Rep]

The Hunter/Gatherer in me has been doing a lot of dirt fishing lately.  No mask required and can always squeeze in a quick hunt anytime anywhere.

[WALLEYE WACKER]

Sweet digging there Kyle what detector do you use. We use to do a magazine at work called western eastern treasures that was really a good read.