I don’t think the dx is UTI.
I thought the same thing.
I can’t imagine any sane person wanting to be in D.C. right now, but unfortunately we need some there to block the nasty greedheads who are always delighted to be there.
On the one hand I hope he gets well. On the other hand I hope he rediscovers how much he likes being in Mississippi.
You’re probably right. Simple UTI is easy to eliminate and it won’t shut you down. I;m sure the Senator is battling another condition that may have as one of it’s components UTI. Prostatitis, nephritis or worse.
A chronic UTI is often a symptom of much more serious issues.
Doesn’t matter. this is Mississippi, they’ve got a deep bench of lunkheads.
You misspelled “racists.”
Permit me to state that his absence means one fewer “Aye” for the Tax Cut. They need affirmatives.
Sad! I think this is a Judgment on the Tax Bill. Lemme check with Pat Robertson…
In an elderly person, UTIs can be more complex. My FIL had a stay in the hospital that was supposed to be for uncomplicated surgery. But as an elderly person, he recovered more slowly and needed a urinary catheter, which resulted in a UTI that kept recurring even after he was discharged and didn’t need the catheter. Eventually it went away, maybe on the third round of antibiotics.
But if this particular lunkhead isn’t in DC they have one less vote even if after whatever time frame they are certain to return him or some other lunkhead to the Senate.
Oh, please, someone help me wipe away the buckets of salted tears of sympathy for this frog-faced motherfucker who wanted to help take away healthcare from millions of Americans!
Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea?
So until Cochran returns, Mitch McConnell can only hope for 51 votes for anything, leaving him able to withstand only ONE GOP defection. That’s a very slim margin of error.
I think Donald just pisses him off.
OK, as a Critical Care RN, this is for all the armchair medical professionals here diagnosing this guy with “a far more serious issue than a UTI”:
In a 79 year-old male, likely with prostate enlargement, urinary tract infections are not only common, they’re a frustrating and difficult infection to fully eradicate. People battle them chronically at that age, and every now and then they become acute and more serious. So, he really could just have a very bad UTI.
The combination of an aging and naturally weakened immune system of an elderly person, with chronic retention of urine from difficulty fully emptying the bladder due to enlarged prostate(a highly likely condition for a 79 y/o male), leads to the building up of a microbiome in the bladder that encourages bacteria to grow and thrive. They have sticky “fingers” that cling to the cells in the bladder, then lay down a biofilm that protects them from full removal off those cell structures. Even with antimicrobial treatment, if the conditions in the bladder support their growth, they return again and again.
The most common source of sepsis in the elderly are UTI’s, even in otherwise healthy individuals. When these bacteria move out of the bladder and begin setting up shop elsewhere, such as the kidneys, they can cross over into the bloodstream quickly due to the highly vascular nature they encounter there. Elderly folks can become very weak, sometimes confused, have low or high temps, elevated lactic acid levels and serious hypotension all from a UTI. If they move into septic shock, many organ systems can be effected, risking death. At that point, admission to an ICU to receive large volumes of fluids, blood pressure support, and other treatments is required.
So, yes, Cochrane cold be battling “just a UTI”. But also be pretty sick.
If he’s down to 51 votes, the loss of one vote means 51-48. Lose two more votes, and it’s 49-50 or 49-48 or something else, depending on whether these two lost votes go over to the Dems or not…
It’s more complicated, isn’t it?
Yep. And dementia can be a common side effect of a UTI in the elderly. So I’m guessing Cochran’s primary diagnosis really is a UTI, but with complications.
Typically, I will wish political opponents good health even at cost to my side, as I typically have been debating conservatives who are generally patriotic and in favor of helping the American people and the world.
But these are not typical times. Cochran and the Republicans are no longer conservatives, they are full bore fascists in service of a cult of personality. They are attempting to do incredible harm to America, its people, and the world. Cochran’s health is inconsequential compared to the incredible suffering that would result from Trumpcare, starving the government with tax cuts, killing climate action, degrading our alliance, and the like.
If Thad Cochran’s dick has to fall off so that we can delay some Republican destruction with a cost of thousands of lives, then so be it.