Thursday, October 20, 2005
Where's Fritz?
I know where he is now, but this evening it's been difficult to get any information. He started feeling "strange" over the weekend and finally decided he must be coming down with something. So he stayed in bed, got rest and drank fluids, all the right stuff. Part of the problem was bouts of becoming very cold, one of which he had while we saw "The Aristocrats." When I headed back to Boston on Wednesday morning, we agreed he'd call and see a doctor.
The doctor took cultures, urine and lots and lots of blood and the results came back today--he has a blood infection. They could rule out Lyme Disease and, presumably, things like West Nile Virus but had no other information. They told him to come up for some IV drips. He left around 3:00pm and hadn't been seen or heard from as of 9pm.
After much calling back and forth, I finally got a call from him since the hospital will not give out any information on a patient unless the patient specifically authorizes it. But they will give the patient the info that someone is trying to get in touch. I finally got a call from him with his story. He arrived at the hospital at 3:30pm but because the clinic screwed up on forwarding the records, he wasn't taken to an examination cubicle until 7:30pm and did't see a doctor until 8:30pm. As of 9:15, the IVs hadn't started and at this point he thinks they may have to admit him for the night.
He sounded exhausted and dispirited, which I just hated to hear. I know he's not in any danger, but having to sit in a waiting room for four hours just to be taken to a room in an era when files can be sent from location to location in seconds is truly unacceptable.
For those of you who haven't encountered this before, let me introduce you to the annual Penis Festival in Japan. There's something wonderful about this, I think, seen from the perspective of a country that's as "peniphobic" as the U.S.
Ancient cultures and some modern ones maintain a healthy regard for male and female genitalia, are not ashamed of them and can celebrate them in a positive, enlightened manner. In ancient Greece, fertility festivals in the spring are widely believed to have sparked dance rituals that became theater. Roman homes had shrines to the giantly endowed Priapus, and a kind of alleyway formed by giant carved stone erections was part of the sacred precinct on the island of Delos near the spot where the god Apollo was born.
Check out these two sites for pictures of the most recent festival:
http://ehacked.com/front_page/articles/japans_penis_festival/
http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/aichi/tagata_jinja.html
And finally, a joke a friend sent:
Bob was excited about his new .338 rifle and decided to try bearhunting. He traveled up to Alaska, spotted a small brown bear and shot it. Soon after there was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to see a big black bear.
The black bear said, "That was a very bad mistake. That bear was my cousin. I'm going to give you two choices. Either I maul you to death or we have sex." After considering briefly, Bob decided to accept the latter alternative. So the black bear had his way with Bob. Even though he felt sore for two weeks, Bob soon recovered and vowed revenge. He headed out on another trip to Alaska where he found the black bear and shot it dead. Right after, there was another tap on his shoulder.
This time a huge grizzly bear stood right next to him. The grizzly said, "That was a big mistake, Bob. That bear was my cousin and you've got two choices: Either I maul you to death or we have rough sex." Again, Bob thought it was better to cooperate with the grizzly bear than be mauled to death. So the grizzly had his way with Bob. Although he survived, it took several months before Bob fully recovered. Now Bob was completely outraged, so he headed back to Alaska and managed to track down the grizzly bear and shot it. He felt sweet revenge, but then, moments later, there was a tap on his shoulder.
He turned around to find a giant polar bear standing there. The polar bear looked at him and said, "Admit it Bob, you don't come here for the hunting, do you?"
Bears of various species
Friday morning update:
He was admitted and spent a typical night in the hospital not sleeping much since he was awakened every hour for vital signs, etc. They still don't know exactly what kind of infection it is but he told me he feels much better after a night of the medicated IV drips.
The doctor took cultures, urine and lots and lots of blood and the results came back today--he has a blood infection. They could rule out Lyme Disease and, presumably, things like West Nile Virus but had no other information. They told him to come up for some IV drips. He left around 3:00pm and hadn't been seen or heard from as of 9pm.
After much calling back and forth, I finally got a call from him since the hospital will not give out any information on a patient unless the patient specifically authorizes it. But they will give the patient the info that someone is trying to get in touch. I finally got a call from him with his story. He arrived at the hospital at 3:30pm but because the clinic screwed up on forwarding the records, he wasn't taken to an examination cubicle until 7:30pm and did't see a doctor until 8:30pm. As of 9:15, the IVs hadn't started and at this point he thinks they may have to admit him for the night.
He sounded exhausted and dispirited, which I just hated to hear. I know he's not in any danger, but having to sit in a waiting room for four hours just to be taken to a room in an era when files can be sent from location to location in seconds is truly unacceptable.
For those of you who haven't encountered this before, let me introduce you to the annual Penis Festival in Japan. There's something wonderful about this, I think, seen from the perspective of a country that's as "peniphobic" as the U.S. Ancient cultures and some modern ones maintain a healthy regard for male and female genitalia, are not ashamed of them and can celebrate them in a positive, enlightened manner. In ancient Greece, fertility festivals in the spring are widely believed to have sparked dance rituals that became theater. Roman homes had shrines to the giantly endowed Priapus, and a kind of alleyway formed by giant carved stone erections was part of the sacred precinct on the island of Delos near the spot where the god Apollo was born.
Check out these two sites for pictures of the most recent festival:
http://ehacked.com/front_page/articles/japans_penis_festival/
http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/aichi/tagata_jinja.html
And finally, a joke a friend sent:Bob was excited about his new .338 rifle and decided to try bearhunting. He traveled up to Alaska, spotted a small brown bear and shot it. Soon after there was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to see a big black bear.
The black bear said, "That was a very bad mistake. That bear was my cousin. I'm going to give you two choices. Either I maul you to death or we have sex." After considering briefly, Bob decided to accept the latter alternative. So the black bear had his way with Bob. Even though he felt sore for two weeks, Bob soon recovered and vowed revenge. He headed out on another trip to Alaska where he found the black bear and shot it dead. Right after, there was another tap on his shoulder.
This time a huge grizzly bear stood right next to him. The grizzly said, "That was a big mistake, Bob. That bear was my cousin and you've got two choices: Either I maul you to death or we have rough sex." Again, Bob thought it was better to cooperate with the grizzly bear than be mauled to death. So the grizzly had his way with Bob. Although he survived, it took several months before Bob fully recovered. Now Bob was completely outraged, so he headed back to Alaska and managed to track down the grizzly bear and shot it. He felt sweet revenge, but then, moments later, there was a tap on his shoulder. 
He turned around to find a giant polar bear standing there. The polar bear looked at him and said, "Admit it Bob, you don't come here for the hunting, do you?"Bears of various species
Friday morning update:
He was admitted and spent a typical night in the hospital not sleeping much since he was awakened every hour for vital signs, etc. They still don't know exactly what kind of infection it is but he told me he feels much better after a night of the medicated IV drips.
Comments:
<< Home
Hey Will - truly sorry to hear about Fritz. Please transmit our best wishes for prompt recovery (I'm sure I speak for all of your readers here).
One question though; since you guys are married, doesn't that count for something as far as hospital visits/patient rights are concerned?
D.
One question though; since you guys are married, doesn't that count for something as far as hospital visits/patient rights are concerned?
D.
Best wishes to Fritz for prompt recovery so that you can take the flying carpet for making a last minute trip to Japan ;-P ;-)
Thanks for your birthday wishes, Guilelmo!
Love & Peace,
Hans
Thanks for your birthday wishes, Guilelmo!
Love & Peace,
Hans
Thank you all so much for your concern and best wishes. At 6:50 this morning he called from his room where he had, indeed been admitted to a night of non-rest as regular checks for vital signs and other medical procedures mostly precluded any real sleep.
Nothing more is known other than that it isn't Lyme Disease, a major concern in Rural areas of new England.
He's kicked into his feisty mode and plans to tell the hospital that he IS leaving this afternoon as he has to teach over the weekend. Despite the lack of rest, he's feeling better in terms of the actual infection and he was quite touched to think that people he doesn't even know expressed concern for his well-being. I'll be up there tomorrow and will be able to take care of a lot of things for him.
Yes, being married makes a difference and made a huge difference in June of '04 when he had his by-pass operation. The doors of the hospital and all its offices and records were open to me due to the immense good will of the hospital staff. BUT, the reality is that New Hampshire has passed a law specifically to not recognize any other state's gay/lesbian marriages and the hospital's non-disclosure policy concerning patients who enter via the emergency room, as he was told he should do by the doctors, applies to blood relatives as well as to someone like myself. So there wasn't any discrimination involved, just bureaucracy and its attendant frustrations.
Again many thanks and I'll update on his condition--which I stress isn't life-threatening, when I know more.
Nothing more is known other than that it isn't Lyme Disease, a major concern in Rural areas of new England.
He's kicked into his feisty mode and plans to tell the hospital that he IS leaving this afternoon as he has to teach over the weekend. Despite the lack of rest, he's feeling better in terms of the actual infection and he was quite touched to think that people he doesn't even know expressed concern for his well-being. I'll be up there tomorrow and will be able to take care of a lot of things for him.
Yes, being married makes a difference and made a huge difference in June of '04 when he had his by-pass operation. The doors of the hospital and all its offices and records were open to me due to the immense good will of the hospital staff. BUT, the reality is that New Hampshire has passed a law specifically to not recognize any other state's gay/lesbian marriages and the hospital's non-disclosure policy concerning patients who enter via the emergency room, as he was told he should do by the doctors, applies to blood relatives as well as to someone like myself. So there wasn't any discrimination involved, just bureaucracy and its attendant frustrations.
Again many thanks and I'll update on his condition--which I stress isn't life-threatening, when I know more.
I'm glad Fritz is feeling better. I hope he continues improving.
I do love a good penis festival. Thanks for the links.
I always suspected that "sport" hunting was a sublimation, with all those big guns and shooting. I love it when big bears shatter illusions and have their way with you. Especially that last part.
I do love a good penis festival. Thanks for the links.
I always suspected that "sport" hunting was a sublimation, with all those big guns and shooting. I love it when big bears shatter illusions and have their way with you. Especially that last part.
Great post Will. You're getting really good at this stuff.
I hope Fritz is on the mend. How scary.
I've known about that penis fest. I hope to attend someday. It's true we're such prudes. I've started a small anal blog, just about health and pleasure. Noone comments. I think it's just too taboo. We're all tightasses.
Very cute bear story!
Post a Comment
I hope Fritz is on the mend. How scary.
I've known about that penis fest. I hope to attend someday. It's true we're such prudes. I've started a small anal blog, just about health and pleasure. Noone comments. I think it's just too taboo. We're all tightasses.
Very cute bear story!
<< Home
