I am writing this at 02:00 in the morning while stariing out over the darkerkened hospitlal parking lot outside my room. And contemplating the series of events that brought me here. It all began nearly a year ago with the release of the the Apple Watch 6 with the ability to read the blood oxygen level. That seemed a significant eniuugh feature to make the upgrade worthwhile so I got new watch and passes its predecessor too a friend. After several months my friend reported his watch was nagging him to to see his cardiologist and my watch kept reporting low blood oxygen levels. After extensive tests, my friend has been diagnosded and treated for angina an defibrillator and I am waiting
to be released following triple bypass surgery. (CABGx3) To my way of thinking about the best ROI i can think of.

WOW! What a story. Those watches certainly did an outstanding job of telling you guys what time it was.

Sorry to hear about your surgery. I hope your recovery is quick, easy, and complete. If you're lucky you'll be like my friend's father who, 35 years ago, was ready to get into his car and drive from south Fl to NY 3 days after quadruple bypass surgery.

Apple ought to use you in an ad.

Let me add to Artie's best wishes: May you have a complete and speedy recovery! I know several people who have had bypass surgery and all are doing well.

My sincere wishes for a speedy recovery joe. May God be with you.

jaybass

I join everyone else in wishing you a speedy recovery....and it should be. I went through it in 2008 (quintuple) and I’m still kicking. artie’s right that you should be out soon. My operation was on Tuesday and they booted me out of the hospital on Saturday.

For me, the operation was not the worst of it. One of the nurses had the sniffles and I went home with a cold. Believe me, coughing with a wired-together sternum ain’t fun.

Pshaw! I am CABGx4. Six years ago I had the surgery and, although the recovery seemed to take forever, I have never felt better. Mind, I've lost 20 lbs, run around the park three times a week and cut my drinking by two thirds.

Good luck. It will take time, but you will feel better.

And, welcome to The Zipper Club.

Now that we've regaled you with all our cardio battle stories, a practical question: How did you and your friend manage to get beds? The news practically everywhere is that unvaccinated victims of Covid are overwhelming hospitals, especially ICUs, and that high-priority (but not Covid) patients are not able to get in.

I was concerned about that, but as I live in a part of Texas that has a relatively high vaccination rate, large number of beds, mayors who early on told the governor where to put his mandates, a plethora of medical schools, and competing medical chains that have learned to work together to their mutual benefit my only inconvenience was having procedures in hospitals scattered all over the DFW metroplex none of them near my home. However, the effects of COVID were visible at every level.

• No one allowed in the building unless they are wearing hospital provided face masks
• One door where there use to be a wall of doors
• Top of the line cardiac surgeons with open surgical time available
• Every one screened in and wearing "sticker of the day".
• Staff working twelve hour three day sifts at two (or more?) facilities
• "Traveling" nurses in cardiac ICU
• Only one visitor per patient per day
• Anything not in an airtight sealed container not allowed in building, or room (including food)
• Cafeteria, snack bar, and worst of all — the Starbucks counter closed.
• Gift shop(s) closed
• half an acre of lobby/waiting with seating for 100 and only three occupants

In many cases the shortages are not ICU beds per. se. it is an ICU bed with the proper respirator and other equipment, not to mention staff trained to operate the equipment.

My friend's procedure was done in office.

Apropos of that, here's an up to date HHS compilation of total and ICU hospital bed usage.

It and the new cases/deaths numbers indicate that he surge has died down...at least for the moment.