I think the pandemic opened the floodgates to an element that has no concern for pristine and sacred areas. Thank you Hollywood, too.
1 Like
Hollywood? 
I follow some of the ER and Urgent Care wait times for the hospitals in Ontario on Twitter.
A 15-19 h wait for ER has been common in London, ON over the past 4 years.
Urgent Care has hours that are something like 8 am to 5 pm or 6 pm, or once they have seen 150 patients, whichever comes first. Which means a minor issue could result in a 6 hour wait on a busy day.
Before 2020, a standard wait at an ER or Urgent Care in Ontario was usually around 3 hours for something that wasnât urgent, such as a break, a torn ligament, a bad cat bite.
Iâm thankful that the larger hospitals post their wait times when itâs a long wait.
Iâve had 2 family friends in their 80s stuck on a gurney , waiting to be seen by an MD in ER for over 18 h, over the past 18 months.
When I needed Urgent Care on July 2nd, the line was out the door onto the street at 9:30 am in London, ON. The Urgent Care opens at 8 am. My friend let me know people start lining up an hour before it opens its doors. Iâm lucky to have access to a car. I drove to a small city outside London, 60 km away, and I was lucky to be 3rd in line at their ER.
1 Like
Not really related to Mt Shast meadows, but every time thereâs a story about a dumb personâs encounter with a bison/elk/bear/etc mom grumbles about the âDisneyfacationâ of nature. Hmmm wild animals are wild and fields that are trampled donât regenerate over night :exploding_
Recently (like in the past week) there was a story of a woman who jumped the initial fence of a tiger enclosure at a small zoo and taunted the animal. My first reaction was sadness that she was still protected by a second fence and so was not bitten/mauled. My secondâin keeping with Disneyfacationâwas that kids know to steer clear of shere khan.
2 Likes
A candidate for the annual Darwin awards, for sure 
4 Likes
Thanks! No official dx yet. I need to schedule the follow up, where they apparently will want to do the 'scope to double check on everything. I had the acid reflux mostly down to a very dull roar in the last several month by just keeping adult beverages and more rich foods to 1-2 nights a week. This past month has been more indulgent than is typical. Itâs amazing how quickly you can undo months of âresetâ.
I generally have been able to keep it to Tums (and not all that many of them at this point). The script I just got is for Omeprazole. My understanding is that it is for the short term. I have no interest in staying on something long term if it can be readjusted again with diet and lifestyle!
3 Likes
A particular popular western themed series has brought thousands to our area looking for a piece of the âwestâ. Our rivers, campgrounds, hiking trails, hiding places are all over run with many idiots looking for a thrill. No manners. No scruples. Ruins the whole experience for polite visitors.
3 Likes
Amen!
Thank you, @mts !
1 Like
I had erosive esophagitis due to ignoring gerd for too many years.
But the time i mentioned it (my 2nd quadrennial physical in the army) and got some barium contrast imaging it looked like surgical repair (which at the time was of the crack-chest-open type) was the only option.
Luckily it took over a month to get me in to see a surgeon at the AFB in the next state over (my Army baseâs smaller hospital couldnât do the procedure). In that time I followed the GI docâs orders with a passion and what had been a monster eroded area hanging off the back of my esophagus was less than half its former size and looking healthy pink by the time the surgeon ran the TV camera down there to examine it.
I had to talk the surgeon into doing the camera exam. The first day I met him, he was all set to crack my chest 2 days later, just based on the month-old contrast imaging.
For me it was less about what helped gerd and more about my habits triggering it. Three daily pots of coffee, frequent pepperoni pizza (the whole thing) at midnight, and, strangely I thought, my habit of eating handfuls of raisins as my favorite snack were all problems.
7 Likes
Hereâs a Gift link A Mount Shasta meadow is at risk of being âloved to death.â Can a federal order save it?.
2 Likes
Ahhhh, so they have Yellowstone SyndromeâŚleaving the walkways to walk out towards the boiling hot hot springs. 
3 Likes
Iâve found that the best thing to handle GERD is ice cream. And you enjoy it in the process!
A doctor I saw said that the worst thing you can eat after 8 is âAfter 8â, I.e. no chocolate after 8pm. Much as I love chocolate, I stick to this religiously.
1 Like
Glad you got through that and are behaving yourself. Pepperoni pizza and Costco dogsâŚvery bad!
End your food intake at 6pm and make it a light meal. Eat dessert earlier in the day, donât lie down after a meal, know your triggersâŚ
The worst part of having gerd was getting genuine food poisoning. Bad oysters one new yearsâ eve 'bout killed me.
2 Likes
We have seen soooo many Darwin Award nominees at Yellowstone and Glacier. Many stories donât make press. Stoopid people doing stoopid stuff. Having your child in a tent suffer a mauling by a bear because you were too lazy to hang your food away from your sleeping area OR you canât read. Many illiterates visit parks.
2 Likes
Weâre getting a new shower head!
9 Likes
I had the same experience, and I was traveling.
1 Like
Everyone is different but if you do some searches under my name youâll find posts about reflux and what has helped me recover pretty much completely. I wish you a speedy recovery!
3 Likes
