The Nice People No. 17

Pyxis

PasturesNew said:

Pyxis said:

 They tested routinely to check for Rhesus negative complications.

Funny you should mention those.  I was born suddenly, unexpectedly, at home. Dad delivered me. Mum thought she wanted to go to the loo - and along I came.  I have been told there was the potential for me to be a rhesus baby. I guess if I had been I might've just died... I've no idea about any of it really, what it is/what it means and whether I'd have pulled through.  Dad would've had to leave mum, to go down the road to a phone box, to phone a midwife, who'd have had to get her coat on and get on her bicycle. 

Something else I don't really know/understand is that mum was supposed to always carry a card with her, with her blood group on it, she never did.  It was, apparently, rare and she said the vernacular name was "blue blood", "I've got blue blood" she used to say. Just tried to Google that, but no joy.... the Royal meaning overwhelms results and I CBA to filter those out.

I thought that blue blood was the term they gave  to babies. ‘Blue babies’ is a thing.
It sounds like your mum was rhesus negative, and you were rhesus positive. In that case, the mother has an immune reaction to the rhesus positive blood cells from the baby when they cross the placenta.
In the first baby, this doesn’t present a particular problem. However, those positive cells start an antibody response in the mother, so that if she has a second baby who is also rhesus positive, those antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the baby’s blood cells, resulting in the ‘blue’ baby, which can be fatal if not dealt with.

If the baby is also rhesus negative, then there isn’t a problem.

edit.....for that to occur, the father has to be Rh+.
If the father is also Rh-, then the baby won’t be Rh+ and there won’t be a problem.

ukmaggie45

Pyxis, have you thought of doing your language through Duolingo? OH and I have just started to learn Welsh with it. Been coming here for nearly 50 years, but better late than never I suppose!  I don't know how far you can get with it since we only started a month or so ago, I expect it's too easy for anyone who's been learning a language for a few years.

Pastures, that ship photo is lovely - must remember to show it to OH when he gets home - he's really into all kinds of sailing ships and boats. I'm used to a fairly solitary life because of the ME/CFS. Mostly the only people I see are the neighbours in the distance here. At home might see the neighbours once a week (or less) if they stop by when I'm sitting in the porch having a cig. I don't have the capability of managing long conversations or a lot of noise... The other day DD in London did a video call to us, and though it was lovely to see the GrandKids they were very rumbustious, had to get OH to get the news for me as I was knackered after about a minute. 

Feel sorry for your MiL Doozergirl. If you're used to going out and about and socialising I can imagine it must feel very claustrophobic to have to stop. I don't see our girls that often - one is in London, and the other over on The Wirral. OH does some kid sitting over on The Wirral, but the GrandTwins are too over stimulating for me for longer than 10 minutes or so - wish there was a volume button on them sometimes!    Your MiL must be missing having a longer interaction with your DH, especially if this is the first time it's happened. I reckon Pyxis is right, and that as time goes by it'll become easier.

Oh Sue, sending you some cyber hugs. Oh, I see we don't have them anymore, so have a nice red heart instead!   You're having a worrying time, over your sons too. Soothing words don't help much, but at least we can try and prop each other up here in the Nice People's place. 

Pyxis

Maggie....the classes were conversation ones. I really need the practice of responding immediately in a conversation. Done all the grammar etc. loads of times.

I could start a brand new one, I suppose.
About twenty years I started Japanese, and the teacher was brilliant, but then she had visa problems and had to stop. I’ve forgotten it all now except for konichiwa and arigato gozaimas, so I could start from scratch.I really, really want to go to Japan, and would have done by now, were it not for all the illnesses, so once this is all over, I must go! 

Good idea, Maggie, I’ll look into it! 👏👏

Doozergirl

Nearly time to wake up 🙄

If I'd have known there was an all-nighter, I'd have come back sooner!  

@Pyxis there's been a lot of chatter about people starting online classes.  It's probably worth asking your language teacher too as people still need to try and make
money.  

GDB2222

PasturesNew said:

Are you blood type A, or O?
This'd be an "interesting" snippet of "Coronas Trivia" or statistics .... if only one knew which group one is.  Pub Quiz answer stuff.... 

While many do know theirs, I've never known mine, never needed to know.  Never been in Hospital, wasn't even born in one. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8122493/People-Type-blood-likely-catch-coronavirus.html 

I am Blood Group: B RhD Positive, whatever that means. Apparently, 8% of people are in this category.   

I know all that without being pregnant, even once. DW is RH negative, so needed Anti D after the first baby was born. 

chris_m

Pyxis said:

Comparing your 2.5 year unblemished attendance record  with an ‘enforced’ 12 week social isolation, I doubt any good employer will hold it against you. Keeping yourself safe is your number one now.

A friend phoned me yesterday. He's diabetic and his work have sent him home for, initially, seven days, even though neither he nor anyone else is showing any symptoms. They wouldn't accept any argument that he was feeling fine, just told him to go as it was for his own safety.

Pyxis

I pinched this from one of the Virus threads. it gives a general overview of the distribution of blood types.
I’m sure I once studied something about how blood types diverged.......it would have been in the dark ages, though. (My studies, not the divergence). Might have been the Health and Disease course I did with the OU in the early 1980s. I have the study modules somewhere.............



The negative groups are very much rarer.

Being AB- is serious. For one thing, if you need blood, there might not be any, (although I think you can have O for some purposes? Not sure.)
For another thing, you are in immense demand as a blood donor, so might be called out at a moment’s notice.
It might also be that blood group who is advised to carry supplies of their own blood with them when they go abroad, in case they have an accident and need a transfusion. Again, not sure.

chris_m

Pyxis said:

For another thing, you are in immense demand as a blood donor, so might be called out at a moment’s notice.

"You're AB negative, Rhesus positive, that's very rare."
"Rhesus? Hang on, they're monkeys. I came to give blood not to be insulted by a legalised vampire."
"Hold on, where are you going?"
"You've had my blood, I'm off for my tea and biscuit"
"But that was only a smear to test"
"It might be only a smear to you, it could mean life or death for some poor soul. How much do you want?"
"Well, a pint is the usual quantity."
"A pint, why that's very nearly an armful. Sorry, I'm not walking around with an empty arm for anybody"

A Hancock, The Blood Donor

PasturesNew

There aren't many confirmed cases in my county.  I did, however, manage to pick a spot to live that's slap bang in the middle of the local cluster of all cases. 

This morning I have new news... my initial/preferred area of where I'd like to buy my next home has two confirmed cases, with two schools there closing... it's a peninsula area. 

So, all my househunting and living are now entirely in the local cluster area.  

I'm jinxed.  

Today: I am sitting here waiting for the garage to call.  They will look at my door handle and see if they can fix it with a cable, or if it needs parts.  They will then phone and I'll tell them to do it (whatever it is as they have me over a barrel at £130+VAT/hour).  IF ... fingers crossed ... it's just a cable/fixed, then they'll retest the MoT (can't say it's failed as it's not left their workshop) ... and then they'll order me a taxi to go and collect it. 

I don't want it to be a "needs parts" thing ... that'd truly be a right nuisance, but at least it's not a Friday/Saturday. 

Refugees: I'm also now seeing the occasional post of 2nd homers fleeing to their 2nd homes where they think it's "safer"; they're registering with local Doctors, so it's not going unnoticed.  Most 2nd homers wouldn't ever bother registering with the local Doctor because they know if they're ill they can just walk in and be seen anyway. 

With a ton of these, 99% Londoners, it's possibly exacerbated any local "stockpiling" as they'll have turned up to completely empty houses and need everything.... x10.

chris_m

PasturesNew said:

Refugees: I'm also now seeing the occasional post of 2nd homers fleeing to their 2nd homes where they think it's "safer"; they're registering with local Doctors, so it's not going unnoticed.  Most 2nd homers wouldn't ever bother registering with the local Doctor because they know if they're ill they can just walk in and be seen anyway.

They are already causing problems with the healthcare services in Gwynedd which aren't geared up to cope with the increase in numbers.