Norman Haase
2010-02-27 20:42:03 UTC
HisNibs.com update --No MRSA in my bursa!
February 24th, 2010
Greetings everyone!
As some of you know, I've been largely out of
commission since the end of January with a
staph infection in the bursa of my right
elbow. I'm slowly getting back up to speed,
but it's difficult due to the fact that I'm
right-handed. Anyway, more details in this
newsletter if you're interested.
I haven't been able to work on new pen models
(photos, videos, etc.) these past several
weeks, but I've just received my re-stocking
orders of Private Reserve ink (everything is
in stock as I write this) and of the great
Pilot 78G fountain pen (all but the 'B' nib
in the teal color, which wasn't shipped to me).
My wife Teresa was a great help during my
convalescence, as she helped with writing
notes and getting customer orders prepared
after a full day's work at her own job (she's
a pre-school teacher), shoveling us out of
the blizzard of '10, and generally nursing me
back to health. I've always endeavored
to ship orders within 24 hours, but expect
that I may slip a bit on that for the next
few weeks...and probably won't be including
my usual note.
Join us on our Facebook fan page!
On the blog...Glad I never faced these guys
across the net!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~in this issue
* No MRSA in my bursa!
* Private Reserve back in stock
* Pilot 78G back in stock
* 'His Nibs' page on Facebook
* On the blog...Glad I never faced these guys across the net!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No MRSA in my bursa!
I've just returned from an unexpected
week-long stay in the hospital for a staph
infection of the bursa that covers the elbow.
I received intravenous antibiotics (the
strongest available in the beginning, to
guard against MRSA...and am happy to report
that there's no MRSA in my bursa!) :-)
(MRSA infection is caused by
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria often called
"staph." MRSA stands for
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
It's a strain of staph that's resistant to
the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used
to treat it. MRSA can be fatal.)
Subsequently, I had surgery on the elbow to
physically clean out the infection, followed
by more intravenous antibiotics and
eventually a 10-day course of oral ones.
I'm telling everyone that this is a football
injury, as it occurred immediately following
my watching of the NFC and AFC Championship
games leading up to the Superbowl.
Resting my elbows on my armchair for the
better part of six or seven hours (with the
too frequent movement of right hand
transporting snacks to mouth!), I apparently
caused enough of an abrasion on my elbow from
the rather coarse material to create an entry
path for some of the bacteria that's always
on our skin.
I put the pain down to a pinched ulnar nerve,
which I have on the left elbow, and
treated it with ice and anti-inflammatories
for the next couple of days. When I finally
hightailed it to the doctor, the arm was red,
warm and a bit swollen. He started me on oral
antibiotics immediately, but after a couple
of more days with the redness spreading down
the arm, it was off to the hospital --
perhaps just overnight -- for intravenous
antibiotics.
Well, I ended being in for a week with that
treatment -- with a nice little surgery
thrown in.
Recovery has been slow as the surgical
incision is right on the pivot point of the
elbow. Every time I attempted to bend my arm,
the wound would reopen. That's healing
nicely, but now my arm no longer bends fully.
I'm slowly working that back into shape with
daily exercises, but it looks like it may
take several weeks more to get full flexion
back. Beside the fact that writing and eating
are difficult, the main consequence of this
is that I'm once again growing a full beard.
I don't dare try and shave left-handed...I
wouldn't have a nose.
I can't count at this point the number of
customers that have emailed or written me
with good wishes. They've been greatly
appreciated and a real lift to the spirit!
I've also been amazed at how many people have
had similar infections and quite of few of
them with MRSA. A couple of people mentioned
that they were on antibiotic drips for
months! Our overuse of antibiotics is
coming back to bite us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Private Reserve back in stock
Loading Image...
From cartridges to bottles, from fast-dry
inks to ink-mixing and cartridge-refilling
kits, from regular size to oversized,
Loading Image...
everything is back in stock in this vibrant
and colorful line of inks.
See the complete line here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/ink.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pilot 78G back in stock
Loading Image...
"Norman, Just a note to let you know that
I got the Pilot 78G with "B" nib sometime
ago. The instrument is a real pleasure to
write with, so much so that I find myself
using it for normal, everyday use. It may seem
small in comparison to my other pens but it
really is comfortable in my hands."
C. B., military address
"Boy, for the price you can't beat this
little guy, can you. Love the look of the
line the nib lays down [referring to 'B'
nib]. Very light and very simple and elegant.
Thanks so much!"
K. C., Lincoln, NE
"Hi Norm, I received the pen yesterday,
and I must say, it was worth it. I've been
playing with it since, and it's stays on me
wherever I go. I thought it was a shame that
I write ugly with something so fun to write
with, so I've decided to improve my
handwriting... Thanks so much!"
I. S., Champaign, IL
"Norman, just wanted to let you know that
after a few weeks of use, the Pilot 78G has
become my favorite everyday pen. The
combination of size, weight and nib fit
exceptionally well with my needs. Thanks for
recommending it. I'm also sold on the Private
Reserve ink. I'll be back for more."
B. C., Wheeling, WV
"Norman, my Pilot 78G has arrived! This
pen is everything the reviews said it was,
great line variation, smooth nib, easy to
write with. etc,. I filled it with Private
Reserve DC Supershow Blue and could not
believe how beautiful this little pen writes,
it really brings some personality to my
handwriting. It arrived 2 days after it was
ordered, and I really appreciate the
handwritten note you enclosed with the
writing samples of the other nibs. Personal
service like this is hard to find, and I will
be purchasing from you again in the near
future. Thanks again."
R. S., Olmos Park, TX
Read more here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/pilot_pens.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'His Nibs' page on Facebook
Loading Image...
Click here to visit our Facebook page -
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/His-Nibscom/78639347704
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the blog...Glad I never faced these guys across the net!
Loading Image...
The February 18th blog entries have a pair of
table tennis players that make me glad I'm
retired.
See the entries here... - http://hisnibs.blogspot.com
Regards,
Norman Haase
His Nibs.com
www.hisnibs.com
February 24th, 2010
Greetings everyone!
As some of you know, I've been largely out of
commission since the end of January with a
staph infection in the bursa of my right
elbow. I'm slowly getting back up to speed,
but it's difficult due to the fact that I'm
right-handed. Anyway, more details in this
newsletter if you're interested.
I haven't been able to work on new pen models
(photos, videos, etc.) these past several
weeks, but I've just received my re-stocking
orders of Private Reserve ink (everything is
in stock as I write this) and of the great
Pilot 78G fountain pen (all but the 'B' nib
in the teal color, which wasn't shipped to me).
My wife Teresa was a great help during my
convalescence, as she helped with writing
notes and getting customer orders prepared
after a full day's work at her own job (she's
a pre-school teacher), shoveling us out of
the blizzard of '10, and generally nursing me
back to health. I've always endeavored
to ship orders within 24 hours, but expect
that I may slip a bit on that for the next
few weeks...and probably won't be including
my usual note.
Join us on our Facebook fan page!
On the blog...Glad I never faced these guys
across the net!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~in this issue
* No MRSA in my bursa!
* Private Reserve back in stock
* Pilot 78G back in stock
* 'His Nibs' page on Facebook
* On the blog...Glad I never faced these guys across the net!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No MRSA in my bursa!
I've just returned from an unexpected
week-long stay in the hospital for a staph
infection of the bursa that covers the elbow.
I received intravenous antibiotics (the
strongest available in the beginning, to
guard against MRSA...and am happy to report
that there's no MRSA in my bursa!) :-)
(MRSA infection is caused by
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria often called
"staph." MRSA stands for
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
It's a strain of staph that's resistant to
the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used
to treat it. MRSA can be fatal.)
Subsequently, I had surgery on the elbow to
physically clean out the infection, followed
by more intravenous antibiotics and
eventually a 10-day course of oral ones.
I'm telling everyone that this is a football
injury, as it occurred immediately following
my watching of the NFC and AFC Championship
games leading up to the Superbowl.
Resting my elbows on my armchair for the
better part of six or seven hours (with the
too frequent movement of right hand
transporting snacks to mouth!), I apparently
caused enough of an abrasion on my elbow from
the rather coarse material to create an entry
path for some of the bacteria that's always
on our skin.
I put the pain down to a pinched ulnar nerve,
which I have on the left elbow, and
treated it with ice and anti-inflammatories
for the next couple of days. When I finally
hightailed it to the doctor, the arm was red,
warm and a bit swollen. He started me on oral
antibiotics immediately, but after a couple
of more days with the redness spreading down
the arm, it was off to the hospital --
perhaps just overnight -- for intravenous
antibiotics.
Well, I ended being in for a week with that
treatment -- with a nice little surgery
thrown in.
Recovery has been slow as the surgical
incision is right on the pivot point of the
elbow. Every time I attempted to bend my arm,
the wound would reopen. That's healing
nicely, but now my arm no longer bends fully.
I'm slowly working that back into shape with
daily exercises, but it looks like it may
take several weeks more to get full flexion
back. Beside the fact that writing and eating
are difficult, the main consequence of this
is that I'm once again growing a full beard.
I don't dare try and shave left-handed...I
wouldn't have a nose.
I can't count at this point the number of
customers that have emailed or written me
with good wishes. They've been greatly
appreciated and a real lift to the spirit!
I've also been amazed at how many people have
had similar infections and quite of few of
them with MRSA. A couple of people mentioned
that they were on antibiotic drips for
months! Our overuse of antibiotics is
coming back to bite us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Private Reserve back in stock
Loading Image...
From cartridges to bottles, from fast-dry
inks to ink-mixing and cartridge-refilling
kits, from regular size to oversized,
Loading Image...
everything is back in stock in this vibrant
and colorful line of inks.
See the complete line here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/ink.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pilot 78G back in stock
Loading Image...
"Norman, Just a note to let you know that
I got the Pilot 78G with "B" nib sometime
ago. The instrument is a real pleasure to
write with, so much so that I find myself
using it for normal, everyday use. It may seem
small in comparison to my other pens but it
really is comfortable in my hands."
C. B., military address
"Boy, for the price you can't beat this
little guy, can you. Love the look of the
line the nib lays down [referring to 'B'
nib]. Very light and very simple and elegant.
Thanks so much!"
K. C., Lincoln, NE
"Hi Norm, I received the pen yesterday,
and I must say, it was worth it. I've been
playing with it since, and it's stays on me
wherever I go. I thought it was a shame that
I write ugly with something so fun to write
with, so I've decided to improve my
handwriting... Thanks so much!"
I. S., Champaign, IL
"Norman, just wanted to let you know that
after a few weeks of use, the Pilot 78G has
become my favorite everyday pen. The
combination of size, weight and nib fit
exceptionally well with my needs. Thanks for
recommending it. I'm also sold on the Private
Reserve ink. I'll be back for more."
B. C., Wheeling, WV
"Norman, my Pilot 78G has arrived! This
pen is everything the reviews said it was,
great line variation, smooth nib, easy to
write with. etc,. I filled it with Private
Reserve DC Supershow Blue and could not
believe how beautiful this little pen writes,
it really brings some personality to my
handwriting. It arrived 2 days after it was
ordered, and I really appreciate the
handwritten note you enclosed with the
writing samples of the other nibs. Personal
service like this is hard to find, and I will
be purchasing from you again in the near
future. Thanks again."
R. S., Olmos Park, TX
Read more here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/pilot_pens.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'His Nibs' page on Facebook
Loading Image...
Click here to visit our Facebook page -
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/His-Nibscom/78639347704
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the blog...Glad I never faced these guys across the net!
Loading Image...
The February 18th blog entries have a pair of
table tennis players that make me glad I'm
retired.
See the entries here... - http://hisnibs.blogspot.com
Regards,
Norman Haase
His Nibs.com
www.hisnibs.com