Category Archives: medical news

medical news

Halfway to immunization

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

We’re halfway to being fully immunized in our house.

I got my first Pfizer vaccine a little more than a week ago. My much better half, aka my bride, got her Pfizer shot this past week.

In two weeks I will return to the VA Medical Center in south Dallas for my second dose; my bride returns to John Clark Stadium in nearby Plano for hers.

What does that mean in terms of our lifestyle? Nothing, man. We’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing since, oh, this past summer. Which is that we’re going to stay mostly away from restaurants, we will keep wearing masks, we’ll be washing our hands frequently and feverishly, we’ll splash sanitizer on our hands as well, we will maintain appropriate “social distance” from everyone we see.

That’s how we intend to live for the foreseeable future.

I highly recommend that all Americans follow our lead. We have to get through this pandemic together … right? Right!

local news, medical news, military news

VA comes through once again

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By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I consider it a “pre-paid benefit,” and I use it whenever and wherever possible.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs stands ready to assist 18 million American veterans for whatever needs arise. So with that, I will tell you that I got a phone call the other day from the VA. The automated voice informed me that I could call a number and make an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the VA North Texas Medical Center in Dallas. I jumped all over it.

I ended the call, then phoned the number the “voice” gave me. After a lengthy wait, a human being picked up on the other end and she set up an appointment. I could come in the very next day!

And so … the demystifying of this process kicked in.

I received the Pfizer vaccine the next day. My wife and I drove from Princeton all the way through McKinney, Allen, Plano, Richardson and then through Dallas. We navigated our way through the Interstate 30/35E/45 interchange next to downtown Dallas and then arrived at the VA medical center.

We parked in a garage close to the building where I needed to wait for my shot.

I walked in, got my temperature taken and then trekked down the hall to check in with the clerks who were running the inoculation entry station. Here is where my heart began to sink. Why?

Well, when I talked to the lady on the phone the previous day, she told me that a mid-afternoon appointment was likely to mean sparse attendance at the clinic where we reported for our vaccination. What I saw upon arrival, though, was, um, vastly different from what the lady on the phone led me to believe would occur.

I walked down the hall past a long, seemingly interminable line of masked-up veterans. I turned down three more halls and found the end of the line.

My first thought when I got there – which I believe I muttered out loud under my own mask – was “holy crap! I am going to be here forever!” I phoned my wife, who was waiting outside and informed her that I was at the end of a line with at least 300 people in front of me. “I’m going to be here a while,” I told her.

Then a bloody miracle happened! At least it seemed like a miracle. It seemed as though I had been waiting for less than 30 minutes when I found myself suddenly at the desk where I had checked in. I was about to enter the room where 24 inoculation stations were set up.

Jeff Clapper, public affairs officer for the North Texas VA Health Care System, suggests it’s all according to plan. The system, he said in a statement, “has been remarkably effective at immunizing VA North Texas staff and patients, successfully delivering 11,600 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to date, with wait times consistently below 45 minutes.”

Clapper added, “The Dallas (point of distribution) is currently vaccinating both eligible veterans and VA North Texas employees by appointment only; no walk-ins allowed.” He said the North Texas VA office “contacted over 25,000 priority eligible enrolled outpatients via phone call.” He said the Dallas POD is now booking new vaccination appointments for not earlier than the first week of March.”

I have been enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs medical program for just a few years. I signed up when I was living in Amarillo and have found the VA level of service to be exemplary. I had nothing but smooth sailing at the Thomas Creek VA Medical Center in Amarillo. The level of service remains high at the Sam Rayburn Medical Center in Bonham, where I go these days for my regular wellness visits. That brings me to another point: I have suffered no medical emergencies, but at my age I am aware that my luck is likely to run out … eventually.

The Dallas visit to obtain my first Pfizer vaccine shot to prevent me from catching the COVID virus only enhances my good feelings toward the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I am sure I can speak for many veterans who appreciate the care they get. I understand that no massive government system is perfect. For me, though, it’s been pretty close to perfection.

For now, at least.

NOTE: This blog post was published initially on KETR-FM’s website.

local news, medical news

Plano … you had a problem

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

We were alarmed Thursday night when we heard the news about a COVID vaccine site that had run into some, um, difficulty.

My wife was scheduled to report at that very site at John Clark Stadium in Plano, Texas, the next day to receive the first of two COVID vaccine doses. We held our breath this morning as we set out for her rendezvous with immunity from the killer pandemic virus.

We arrived 25 minutes after leaving our house in Princeton.

Then something quite cool happened. We drove Big Jake, our 3/4-ton pickup, into line. We inched forward. We met with a young attendant who took down some information from my bride.

We then drove to another line. We waited a few more minutes. Then we met a second COVID vaccine staffer, who took some more info from her.

Then came the final stop. My wife chatted for a moment with the third attendant, answered a few medical questions.

Then she got the shot. Ba-da-boom … she was done.

I checked the clock. Finished in less than an hour.

News reports the previous evening told us about overbooking at that site because of no-shows and cancellations. We heard about agonizing waits in line, with residents told there were no vaccine doses left; they were turned away.

We didn’t have any particular expectation of similar problems today, only a nagging fear that they might present themselves to my wife.

They did not. What’s more, and this is a rather amazing thing to report, the staff working on the parking lot at Clark Stadium could not have been more courteous, friendly and professional. The personal demeanor actually made the experience almost enjoyable.

She got the Pfizer vaccine, which means she returns in three weeks for the second dose. Now that we know what to expect, there will be far less dread waiting for the end of this vaccine protocol.

I just want to offer a word of thanks and appreciation to some folks who are under a lot of pressure to serve an anxious community.

local news, medical news

Proud of this decision

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Forgive the boastfulness of this post … but I just gotta share it.

Forty-one years ago I made one of the more profound decisions of my life. It doesn’t rank with marrying my wife, which resulted in the family we produced together. But it’s a biggie.

I quit smoking cold turkey. The decision came actually on Feb. 2, 1980, a date which I marked silently a couple of days ago.

Smoking had placed my health in jeopardy. I had developed a “smoker’s cough,” which isn’t surprising in that I was incinerating two packs of smokes each day.

I awoke on Feb. 2, 1980, lit up cigarette, took a drag on it and choked. I had been suffering a cold, with a sore throat, snotty nose and a cough.

I crumpled up the cigarette and the pack from which I took it. Tossed it all in the trash. And never looked back.

It turned out over time that quitting cold turkey was easier than I thought. I had tried to quit before. I would go a few weeks, or months, without lighting up. Then something would happen. I would stress out. Gotta have a cigarette! So then I would fire one up. That did it.

Not this time! I quit cold turkey and learned a lesson that I share with others who tell me they are “thinking about quitting.” 

It is this: Do not “think” about quitting. Just do it. Now! Do not wait until the weekend, or when you finish the pack you’re smoking, or after your next meal. Just quit!

Take my word for this bit of reality: If shedding a nasty habit in that manner can pay off for someone like me — an individual who has abandoned countless unfinished tasks along my life journey — then anyone can do it.

local news, medical news

Not so fast on reopening!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

My friends and former neighbors in Amarillo, Texas, might be facing a relapse, a return to the conditions that caused plenty of alarm in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

City and county officials are planning to allow the reopening of bars, restaurants and other public gathering places. Why? Because hospitalization rates are plummeting.

I would like to offer a word of caution: Don’t do it! At least not just yet!

KFDA News Channel 10 reports: The city has been under the 15% hospitalization rate threshold for six days now. If the city remains under that rate for one more day, Amarillo will no longer be considered an area of high hospitalization. City Manager Jared Miller said bars in Potter and Randall counties may reopen at 50% percent capacity if the hospitalization rate remains under 15% as of 4:00 p.m. today.

Amarillo businesses to reopen, expand capacity thanks to low hospitalization rates (newschannel10.com)

Here’s my concern: What happens if hospitalization and infections spike again in Amarillo? Does the city close the place down once more?

Amarillo has been getting a good bit of media love in recent days over the vaccination rate it has been providing. The city ranks at or near the top of all American cities in the inoculation rate it is delivering to residents. I applaud the city for its response to the pandemic.

My concern from my perch 350 miles away is that the city might be getting a bit too cavalier as it seeks to reopen its business community.

The pandemic ain’t over! There might be a whole lot more suffering to come. Indeed, scientists and physicians are warning that the worst has yet to arrive.

I want all of our cities to reopen. I just don’t want to rush it.

“We need everyone to continue doing what we’re doing that’s effecting our numbers in such a positive ways,” said Mayor Ginger Nelson. “I want to be very clear this morning that we can’t ease up. We’re not at the finish line yet.”

Be very, very careful.

medical news

Frustration? Yes, but there’s an end to it

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I feel the need to offer a note of frustration in dealing with obtaining a vaccine shot to fend off the COVID-19 virus.

We are on different inoculation tracks in our house. I received my first vaccine shot from the North Texas Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas; I’ll get my second shot in a few days.

My wife is getting her first vaccine dose later this week. She is obtaining hers through one of Collin County’s vaccination “hubs,” at John Carter Stadium in Plano, Texas. She’ll be there, get her shot and then we’ll return home.

My frustration dealt with trying to talk to a living, breathing human being at the Collin County Health Department. I couldn’t connect with a living person as I sought to clarify an issue that needed immediate attention.

We got two phone calls today from Collin County. The first one dealt with my appointment at Carter Stadium; we had registered with the county wait list and today our names came up. I sought to call the county back to tell someone that I didn’t need to report for my vaccine; the Department of Veterans Affairs has me covered. I couldn’t find anyone with whom I could clarify the issue.

The second call came about 30 minutes later. The recorded voice told me that my wife had been scheduled at the stadium on the same day I was supposed to report. Fine. Good deal. She’s in!

I am well aware that our health agencies are facing intense pressure to answer questions from anxious Americans. I tend to get hyper-anxious when I cannot obtain answers in a timely, efficient fashion. I am not leveling blame at anyone. I merely am expressing a level of frustration linked directly to the potential consequence of something slipping through the cracks.

We’re dealing straight on with a virus that has killed far north of 400,000 Americans. My most sincere aim is to get answers quickly from fellow human beings who get paid to provide them.

There. Rant over. We’re taking one step at a time toward protecting ourselves from this killer. I believe the frustration will subside.

medical news

Stay focused on COVID

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

One of the many — seemingly countless — blessings of the new presidential administration is its telling us the truth daily about the pandemic that is still killing too many Americans.

President Biden is letting the scientific team he has assembled talk to us about the COVID crisis; he is staying out of the way and out of the limelight.

We aren’t hearing happy talk from the White House about how we have the virus “under control,” nor are we hearing from the president how we should employ miracle cures, such as injecting household cleaners into our bodies.

I keep hearing snippets of good news, about how the hospitalization rate is showing a modest, but steady decline. The virus continues to sicken too many of us; it is killing too many of us as well.

We are hearing the truth, finally, from the people in charge about how this fight against the pandemic is proceeding. I will listen to the scientists and just like with his predecessor, I will effectively disregard any political diagnosis from President Biden about the status of that conflict.

medical news

Biden moves quickly on pandemic fight

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By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

President Biden is wasting no time proving he means what he says about pulling out all the stops in fighting the killer pandemic.

The president today ordered 200 million more doses of the vaccine that is expected to help eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

This, dear friends, is music to my pointy ears.

Now, a bit of full disclosure.

A very close and dear member of my family has just been released from the hospital, where she spent four weeks, most of the time hooked up to a respirator. She now is resting at home with her husband and her golden Labrador retriever.

This is my way of telling you that this disease cuts me close to the quick and I am not going to relent one iota in following the recommended measures to maintain my own health, along with the health of our beloved family members.

President Biden said during his inaugural speech that we should wear masks and do all the things we need to do out of love for our country. I love my country, Mr. President! I hear you, sir!

I also want you to ensure the nation that you do not let up — not at all, not one bit! — in maintaining our national resolve to rid us all of this killer virus.

The death count passed the “horrific” status long ago. It is climbing as I write these words. It came too damn close to claiming someone who is very special to me.

Two hundred million more doses on the way? Yes! Bring more … many more!

medical news

Call it a ‘false positive’

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

It’s a form of “false positive” news about the pandemic.

What we hear this morning is that infection/hospitalization rates are leveling off, that they now are at pre-Thanksgiving levels. Is that good news? Sure it is. At least for today it is.

What’s more, we hear about vaccination rates accelerating. Twenty million Americans have received at least the first dose of vaccine. That, too, is encouraging.

Tomorrow is another day. Next week is another week. Which means that we intend to continue doing what we need to do to stay healthy.

It’s good to remind everyone that this kind of false positive news is no signal to let up, no time to back off.

I take only a small measure of relief to hear the news about infection and hospitalization rates. We are keeping our masks within arm’s reach at all times.

medical news

Words to live by … literally!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Check out the image I attached to this blog post. It contains some powerful words of wisdom that the nimrods of this world need to heed. It showed up today on my Facebook feed, so I thought I would share it with you.

The pandemic that has killed something north of 350,000 Americans is still running amok. Donald J. Trump has ridiculed those who wear masks. He actually needled the man who beat him in the 2020 presidential election because he wears a mask when he ventured into the public.

The Trumpkin Corps of Kooks has bought into their man’s cavalier attitude toward the masks and even toward the danger the pandemic has posed.

I had an up-close look at one of them recently in a Princeton, Texas, supermarket. This woman went off on a store employee about how Gov. Greg Abbott was being dictatorial by requiring Texans to wear masks.

She should see the message I attached to this blog post. Hey, maybe she’s seen it on her own social media network.

I am one American who does not object to wearing a mask; nor do I object to maintaining distance between myself and the other guy waiting in line; nor do I mind washing my hands or cleaning surfaces with sanitary wipes.

If it keeps my family and me healthy and COVID free, I am all for it.