Lut Health Update: A Little Better
Jul. 13th, 2017 09:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rowynI went through Lut's email and found some email addresses from 2009 for family members. I tried emailing, and reached one of his brothers and one of his sisters. They contacted the rest of his family for me, so his family knows now. Three of his siblings are going to come on Friday to see him.
He's looking better this morning. Still delusional, but he's calm, articulate, and willing to accept assistance. He's breathing better and when he dozes off it looks more like actual sleep. I don't know if this will be a sustained upwards trend, but I'm hopeful.
He started chemotherapy on Tuesday. He gets one treatment per week for two weeks, then one week off, then repeat. In 6-9 weeks we'll know if it's working. The chemotherapy includes a steroid, and he's on an antiviral because the chemotherapy weakens his immune system. He's also getting Halidol for his neurological issues. And an antibiotic because he was running a fever for a little while.
For my hospital-related transportation problem: I am thinking about buying a new car, rather than a used one. I can afford it: I only live like a poor person, I am not actually poor. I don't have enough ready cash to buy one, annoyingly. I may look into getting a loan against my 401(k), to avoid paying third-party interest or early withdrawal penalties. I don't know if this will qualify or not.
Recommendations on cars are welcome. Pretty much all I want is a good cost-per-mile figure and cheap to insure. I do not need or want any fancy extras, or a sporty car or an SUV or anything. I am perfectly happy with small, reliable and efficient. -_-
He's looking better this morning. Still delusional, but he's calm, articulate, and willing to accept assistance. He's breathing better and when he dozes off it looks more like actual sleep. I don't know if this will be a sustained upwards trend, but I'm hopeful.
He started chemotherapy on Tuesday. He gets one treatment per week for two weeks, then one week off, then repeat. In 6-9 weeks we'll know if it's working. The chemotherapy includes a steroid, and he's on an antiviral because the chemotherapy weakens his immune system. He's also getting Halidol for his neurological issues. And an antibiotic because he was running a fever for a little while.
For my hospital-related transportation problem: I am thinking about buying a new car, rather than a used one. I can afford it: I only live like a poor person, I am not actually poor. I don't have enough ready cash to buy one, annoyingly. I may look into getting a loan against my 401(k), to avoid paying third-party interest or early withdrawal penalties. I don't know if this will qualify or not.
Recommendations on cars are welcome. Pretty much all I want is a good cost-per-mile figure and cheap to insure. I do not need or want any fancy extras, or a sporty car or an SUV or anything. I am perfectly happy with small, reliable and efficient. -_-
no subject
Date: 2017-07-13 03:02 pm (UTC)I like my fiat, small, reliable, efficient to a T.
all my good wishes and prayers are falling flat,
I've deleted 4 versions so far.
this is super hard, and I hope you get all the support you need.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-13 05:13 pm (UTC)My mother-in-law has a Toyota Yaris, and it seems like a nice little car. She's quite happy with it, and they're pretty inexpensive as new cars go.
(Hope this doesn't show twice, I forgot to log in...)
no subject
Date: 2017-07-13 05:34 pm (UTC)My family's had good luck with Subaru which is what I've got now, but it's too new to really give a personal recommendation.
Stay away from Dodge? I think that brand actually died, so...
The cheapest car I considered was Kia... it had worse statistics but not horrible and they're really cheap.
Also, car dealers are thieves, so don't trust anything they say and they *will* try to trick you into paying them more for less at every step of the process.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-13 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-13 10:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-14 12:37 am (UTC)I've never had a car, but my mom has had Toyota Camerys for years and been very pleased with them.
I think that the most useful car-buying advice I've heard (again, as someone who's never done it) is to be perfectly willing to walk away. You never need to buy that particular car or from that particular person, and your ability to walk away is powerful in the car-buying situation, for all that people selling cars will endeavor to make you forget it.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-14 05:57 am (UTC)As for cars and whether you can trust a car dealer... It depends on the dealership and if their service department is honest -- if they know they have you doing all the car work at the dealership for the life of the car, then they may be nicer about things. Or at least it's how it works for a sample of... one town? (Our local Subaru place is excellent (including "gas station quoted coolant system repair at $800 and a week to get parts; Subaru dealership fit me in within a couple hours, did it for $84"). The local Toyota dealership is slime, and hard-sell with slimy tactics like "won't even give a ballpark till you swear you're gonna buy one of their cars.")
Anyway, a used Subaru may be a potentiality if the dealership is not slime. Gas efficiency may not be the best compared to others, because All Wheel Drive eats a little, but I think I get about 23mpg with mostly in-town driving and the occasional longer distance one.
If you have the fortune to have some time to shop around, you can always find 2-3 cars at different places and tell each dealer, "I have some options. I'm shopping around. You get ONE chance to make me your best offer on Car X in your lot. I'm not going to play the back-and-forth game and come back here asking you to sweeten the deal, and you don't do the back-and-forth to me. Fair?" And if they complain, mark 'em off. (WITH FIRE! Ahem.)
Anyway, GOOD LUCK!!
no subject
Date: 2017-07-14 03:46 pm (UTC)If I had to buy a new car today I'd look at the Honda Fit or the Nissan Rogue.
We had very good luck the last time we bought a new car using Consumer Reports to get base pricing and haggling advice. I'm not sure they still offer that and it is a paid service. We figured out which car we wanted, and emailed local dealers asking for an online quote. Then went in with the print-out (this was.. oh man, pre-2008). The salesman presented me with a many-dollars-higher paper quote. I whipped out the email with his online offer and he stammered and said he'd have to take it to the manager. Whereupon we heard "WHAT!?" from the back office - and we got our price.
Wishing you and Lut all the best in this tough circumstance.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 01:08 am (UTC)http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/car-prices-build-buy-service/index.htm
You can try it out without subscribing--they just don't give you a $100 discount with participating dealers that subscribers get. It's a good way to get a general sense of how in demand a particular model is (based on how much dealers agree to discount it for Consumer Reports).
On a related note, this is a good time of year to be car shopping since dealers will need to get rid of leftover 2017 models before the 2018 model year begins in early fall, making late August to Labor Day a good time to buy if you're ok with whatever happens to be left (https://www.autotrader.com/car-tips/buying-a-new-car-whens-the-best-time-211343).
Telnar
Cars
Date: 2017-07-17 11:30 am (UTC)