Trees And Other Things

I don't think it violates forum rules, I just didn't think it would fit this thread, but it is your thread, so here goes. True story.

From Charity Hospital in New Orleans, once the largest hospital in the U.S. destroyed by Katrina:

A woman came into the ER with vaginal bleeding. She had recently (two days prior) had a child and had torn quite badly, so she was sewn up and told to refrain from sexual relations for two weeks while she healed. The ER Doctor sewed her up again and sent her home with the same instructions. She was back in the ER the following night with the same problem, so she was sewn up again and sent home. Third day, she came back in in the same condition, and the doctor asked her why this was happening. She told him she just couldn't keep her husband off her, so the doctor sewed her up again. This time the final stiches were orthopedic wire stitches and he left long "tails" extending into the vagina area. The following night, the husband came in to have his penis sewn up, as it had been torn to sheds. The problem stopped and the lady was allowed to heal in peace, and I assume the husband also healed. One of my favorite ER stories.

 

Thank you, Don. That certainly provides a change of pace. LOL

 

Back to the bathroom faucets in the mobile home. This has got me completely stumped.

Recap:
One of a pair of matching faucets dripped on the hot side. They had D-shaped stems (handles only work one way).

Ordered a pair of new cartridges for it that fit perfectly but were different in two ways. 1) seat washers in the bottom were slightly bigger, 2) the openings to the water entrance to the spout lined up the way they should (imo).

They worked except the stem for the hot handle was oriented wrong. I assumed the hot handle was made incorrectly by the mfg.

Since last time:

Ordered one more hot side cartridge from a different mfg. It was even a better match, the washer on the bottom was the same, and oriented correctly for the hot handle, except it had only 1 O-ring instead of 2.

When I installed it, the water would not shut off. I figured I just don't understand something.

I put everything back exactly the way it was before, with the old cartridges, but with new ceramic inserts, which matched perfectly. Now neither hot nor cold water will shut off.

If someone told me this, I would not believe them, so I don't expect anyone to believe me.

So now I'm shopping for two matching cheap plastic faucets. But I want to try one more thing first.

 

I'd go to the big box store and buy new cheap faucets. Cheaper than a plumber.

 

Mary, do you assume these chain reaction plumbing problems will stop instantly with the purchase of new faucets? Ha! Ha! Ha! The possibilities are endless.

There could be a difficulty connecting new faucets to old line. I might have to remove the old cutoff valves. This would require connecting to the PolyB line. SharkBite is the only way to do that. If that doesn't work, I might have to replace all the water lines in the whole place. And what about where that line connects to the pump? It could go all the way to the well.

I might have to dig a new well !!! .. With a shovel !!!

 

Whenever large animal vets couldn't diagnose one of our sick goats, they used the "kitchen sink" method. Throw everything they have at it:. antibiotics, pain killer, vitamin B-12, thiamin (B-1), fluids, worm medicine. If the goat didn't improve you probably couldn't have saved it anyway. Small animal vets usually go by the book. It's like the difference between General Honoré and FEMA during Katrina.

These vets circled the wagons and claimed the cat is still adjusting to her "new mouth" after 6 weeks. They could be right, but it is now 7 weeks and she's still not used to it. Most animals get used to anything quickly, even if it HURTS.

We had an outdoor cat once in Akron that got her back legs caught in a steel trap the neighbor boy set and failed to check. Our dog finally found it after 24 hours. It was winter and the cat's feet had frozen. It learned to walk on 2 front feet for a day or two before we had it put down. You would never know the cat was in pain. It was just happy to have been found.

I don't want this cat to get used to her new mouth if it always hurts to eat. She will always associate eating with the pain. And how will I know?

I had a "kitchen sink" plan ready in case the vets couldn't figure out what was wrong, using just antibiotics and pain killer. There were 5 days of each left over from the surgery. The surgeon surprised me by giving her an antibiotic without a good reason. (Thank you).

Anyway, she stopped eating for 2 days after the vet appointment. I gave her one dose of pain killer. Started eating again for 2 days, and then stopped eating again. That was 2 days ago. Gave her another dose this morning. Just now she ate a little canned cat food. Maybe she just gets really hungry after 2 days and starts eating again anyway. The clue may be how MUCH she eats. I'm keeping an eye on her.

I think the antibiotic can be ruled out as helping now. It has been one week. If I have some proof eating is painful, I'll ask them to do more testing. Probably a wild goose chase, but what else to do?

 

Maybe a second opinion from another vet?

 

Good idea.

 

How many teeth were pulled?

 

Nine.. . All were molars or premolars. I think all 4 in the upper right. At least one from each of the other 3 quadrants, due to resorption.

 

Wow! I am guessing they all need to be removed. Push on the side of the gums above the remaining teeth and see how she reacts as compared to pushing on the gum sides where teeth have been removed. I am guessing the remaining teeth are bothering her because of bone deterioration from the bacteria under the teeth. I went through the same thing and only got relief by having all my teeth removed.

I feel for the kitty. I used to soak premium senior cat food in tuna oil, then mush it up, for my old girls and they loved it. That way they get all the vitamins they need as well as fish oil. It is a bit nasty in the litter box.