Spanky Sproul 5: Grace for Me but Never for Thee (Unless Thou Payest Me)

[Sarcastically spinster]

On 10/8/2021 at 7:09 PM, hoipolloi said:

According to the Mayo Clinic, overdosing on Vitamin D supplements can be toxic & cause serious illness. 

Then again, whose guidance would you follow? The Mayo Clinic's or "two doctors from NY who are saving lives with mega doses of Vitamin D therapy"? 

There were some early studies about high doses of Vitamin D that looked promising.  

It's a fat soluble vitamin, so the main concern with toxicity is that your body stores it and levels can build up over time.  As a short term supplement at high doses, it's probably relatively safe.  Also, having a toxicity level can still allow for giving doses well above normal recommended daily values under medical supervision before it becomes problematic.  As long as it's medically supervised, high doses of Vitamin D is a pretty low risk approach.  Certainly an improvement over ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine.  

However, I haven't heard anything about this nebulizing approach, and it reeks of going to internet doctors, and I'm calling "likely bogus" on this one.  

Glad she looks to be giving zinc and Vitamin C, though.  I think her supplements look similar to the EVMS protocol recommended fairly early on (reputable source) though I'm going off memory.  Hopefully she sticks to those, rather than going to America's Frontline Doctors for hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.  

[Banyan]

Lisa reports Spanky is doing much better. He affirms his much improved health in a video and, of course, includes a plea for more handouts. But the GoFundMe project isn't going too well so far.

I for one am grateful for his recovery. I'm sure none of us would be pleased to see Reilly and Donovan having to fend for themselves alone with the Queen.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Banyan

[Howl]

28 minutes ago, Banyan said:

I for one am grateful for his recovery. I'm sure none of us would be pleased to see Reilly and Donovan having to fend for themselves alone with the Queen.

Yes, that would be the absolute worst. They've already gone through so much turmoil and loss in the relatively short lives. 

I still worry about the 1) possibility of the boys being affected by long COVID and 2) having it and not receiving the treatment they need.

This is more on my mind since the high-school age, very athletic (cross country runner) son of a fb friend is struggling with long COVID and has just been diagnosed with COVID-related asthma. 

[Banyan]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

I still worry about the 1) possibility of the boys being affected by long COVID and 2) having it and not receiving the treatment they need.

It sounds as if the boys may have been infected. No mention about how they were treated.

Quote

My precious husband has battled some breathing issues along with Covid pneumonia. He was in the hospital a bit yesterday (October 4th at the time of this writing) getting IV fluids to hydrate his body. Our sons have been coughing and fighting headaches.

I've heard "long Covid" also referred to as "long-haulers Covid," and it's very serious. A UAMS research team last month made some important discoveries that could offer hope to sufferers of long-haulers Covid.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Banyan

[Howl]

21 minutes ago, Banyan said:

A UAMS research team last month made some important discoveries that could offer hope to sufferers of long-haulers Covid.

Thanks for that link; it's exciting information.   Kudos to the researchers for zeroing in on that so fast.   

I sometimes worry that lingering and very long-term (decades)  post-COVID issues could bring down our health-care system.  Viruses are sneaky and are not our friends. 

Also, vaccinations have helped some long haulers who became ill before the vaccine was available.  Too bad for Lisa, Spanky and the boys that they are too stupid to go that route. 

[Jasmar]

2 hours ago, Howl said:

This is more on my mind since the high-school age, very athletic (cross country runner) son of a fb friend is struggling with long COVID and has just been diagnosed with COVID-related asthma.

Ugh, my middle daughter is dealing with this. She got a fairly mild case in July 2020, but has struggled with asthma, chest pain, fatigue, weird body aches, weakness and trembling, etc off and on since then. They seem to come in waves, like fibromyalgia flares. It sucks.

[hoipolloi]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

Also, vaccinations have helped some long haulers who became ill before the vaccine was available. 

Approved vaccines & medical care from licensed and qualified medical professionals at duly licensed clinics or hospitals?

NEVER, says Queen Lisa. "Give me internet diagnoses and cures I make up for myself from OTC supplements!"

Re: long haul COVID. There's long haul COVID and then there are just the after-effects of the infection, many of which come from being in a COVID ICU for days or weeks. For an idea of how bad it really is, both in the hospital and afterwards, go check out this thread in Reddit's r/nursing sub.

Warning: that thread is not for the faint of heart. Most of the posters are ICU nurses but a number of home healthcare nurses have chimed in. They repeatedly point out how bogus the "survival" statistics of 98% or 99% are -- these numbers mean nothing when life as you knew it has been completely wrecked and you are literally a frail shell of your former self, with no clear prognosis or sense of when -- or IF -- you might get better.

[Howl]

Just messaged a fb friend who is a retired respiratory therapist who has gone back to work and asked him about the best mask to get. I don't mask outside, but inside any public place -- I'm double masked with surgical type masks. 

I'm vaxxed but COVID scares me more now than it did a year ago.  And the few people I know who did get COVID had very, very mild cases.

It still scares the crap out of me because masking requirements have been relaxed here in TX and I see unmasked people in the grocery store. I may have said it before, but when I see an unmasked mother with unmasked children at Trader Joe's or ANY unmasked person, I KNOW that none of them are vaxxed.  All of the responsible people are masked up. 

[Howl]

Sounds like the Sproul's are really struggling.  RC wrote a blog post yesterday (October 15), noting that his DUI has made him essentially unemployable; although he's had some part-time gigs, it's not nearly enough to pay the bills, yada yada.  There are other reasons he hasn't gained traction, of course...

They were already struggling financially big time when COVID hit and the gofundme is a dud.  See the text box below for the past to two paragraphs from his Risk and Vulnerability post on his ironically titled Jesus Changes Everything blog.  The whole thing is worth a read, though, because it's a window into how RC sees the genesis of his problems and ignores everything that went on before the DUI and the social media cray that's happened since.   

Quote

The result? The ugly, vulnerable, authentic truth is I am struggling to provide for my family. Then COVID hit not just the broader world but our own home. All four of us are recovering from COVID, including me coming back from pneumonia as a result. We have medical bills. We have car repairs. We have power bills. We have mortgage payments. We are behind. A dear friend, in the midst of our COVID battles, set up a gofundme to help us- gofundme. We are deeply grateful for those who have contributed.

Here is what I am asking. Would you please pray for us? Pray for me to find a job to provide for my family. Pray for our continued recovery from COVID. Pray that the body of Christ would come alongside us in this time of need. Would you also consider giving to the fund? And would you consider sharing a link to this piece and to the fund? These things are profoundly difficult for me to write. It is, however, all part of stewarding our failures well.

 I do have to wonder if Vesta will step in to save them from total financial ruin (for the sake of her grandsons) or if she's just had it with Spanky  & Lisa. 

It's also a bit of a stretch to beg for money when they are living in a very large, very nice house in a very nice neighborhood. 

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Howl

[Giraffe]

On 10/12/2021 at 12:00 PM, Howl said:

Just messaged a fb friend who is a retired respiratory therapist who has gone back to work and asked him about the best mask to get. I don't mask outside, but inside any public place -- I'm double masked with surgical type masks. 

I'm vaxxed but COVID scares me more now than it did a year ago. 

I'm more scared, too. I was vaccinated in January and for my own peace of mind I need to act as though I'm not vaccinated because it was so many months ago I don't trust how effective it is at this point! I have a flight next week and I've ordered N95's for it rather than my standard surgical paper masks I've lived in for the duration of the pandemic. 

[hoipolloi]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

The whole thing is worth a read, though, because it's a window into how RC sees the genesis of his problems and ignores everything that went on before the DUI and the social media cray that's happened since. 

Spanky says that Robert Wolgemuth (husband of the former Nancy Leigh DeMoss) is his "literary agent and precious friend."

I wonder if the Wolgemuths have contributed to the GoFundMe?

 

[Katzchen24]

5 hours ago, Howl said:

Sounds like the Sproul's are really struggling.  RC wrote a blog post yesterday (October 15), noting that his DUI has made him essentially unemployable; although he's had some part-time gigs, it's not nearly enough to pay the bills, yada yada.  There are other reasons he hasn't gained traction, of course...

I must admit I don't understand why the DUI has made him unemployable. I'd say his reluctance to get a job that didn't involve grifting for cash is the bigger problem. And their medical bills would have been large. Didn't the Queen have a whole bunch of medical issues that involved a hospital stay a while back?

Spoiler

 

 

Funny how begging for cash is acceptable to people who think any kind of social support is the devil's work. 

Also, 'precious' is the most abused word in the fundie dictionary.

Edited to add: Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if Scamaritan covers married couples like Spanky and the Queen (thrice married)? I don't know if they have health insurance, or if they do, is it Scamaritan, but it did cross my mind. 

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by Katzchen24
I wanted to add the final bit.

[LurkerOverThePond]

On 10/8/2021 at 7:07 PM, Howl said:

I'm in the ongoing J & J Janssen 2-dose COVID vaccine study, with the first dose in late August 2020 and the second in late November 2020.

I'm very, very grateful for people like you who participate in vaccine studies and do something very tangible (and risky, too) to end this pandemic. Thank you ❤️

[Flossie]

10 hours ago, Katzchen24 said:

Also, 'precious' is the most abused word in the fundie dictionary.

Don't forget 'blessing/s' and 'sweet'.

[GreenBeans]

On 10/8/2021 at 6:07 PM, Howl said:

Right, because we ALL know someone who died from COVID vaccine. Right? RIGHT? 

Not sure why, but this has me absolutely steamed.  I'm in the ongoing J & J Janssen 2-dose COVID vaccine study, with the first dose in late August 2020 and the second in late November 2020.  The 2nd dose, originally scheduled for late October,  was delayed because the entire study was paused when 1 (ONE!) participant developed a condition that was  ultimately shown to be not related to the vaccine.  The study was then, and only then, OK'd to continue and 2nd doses given.

What antivaxxers fail to understand: When you vaccinate thousands of millions of people across a wide age range in a short period of time, just based on statistics there will inevitably be some people who have heart attacks, strokes or other fatal illnesses within a day or two after receiving the vaccine. One or two may literally drop dead an hour after receiving the vaccine. But that doesn’t mean death was caused by the vaccine.

There is ongoing monitoring for serious side effects by comparing perceived side effects to the frequency of this type of illness statistically expected in the general population. That’s why they stopped recommending Astra Zeneca and J&J for younger people here - because there is an increased (still extremely low, but increased compared to the general population) risk of life threatening thrombosis. No such risk for  Pfizer/Moderna. And way lower risk than dying from COVID, especially with the delta variant and in an area where numbers are high.

[LilMissMetaphor]

It's where GOD has you? Nah, it's where you put yourself, fool.  God didn't tell your drunk ass to stick your kids in the car and go joyriding.

Fuck, I hate bad theology.  

[Howl]

3 hours ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

I'm very, very grateful for people like you who participate in vaccine studies and do something very tangible (and risky, too) to end this pandemic. Thank you ❤️

Why, thank you for this kind note!

However, I have to admit to some element of self interest!  My study was 80/20.  80% of participants (at least in my 65+ cohort) would get some combination of the vaccine, 20% got placebo.  I thought there was a pretty good chance of getting the real deal (vaccine, not placebo) and having early protection from COVID, which turned out to be the case.  They unblinded us when vaccines became available in early 2021 to allow those who received placebo to get an actual vax.  

However, for those of us who got actual vaccine, we haven't been unblinded to which combination we received!  That information resides with the Janssen people and isn't available to the company that administers the vaccine study in my city.   The possible combinations were placebo/low dose, low dose/low dose, high dose/high dose, low dose/high dose. 

I got my fist vax in August 2020 & the 2nd in Nov. 2020.   I'm strongly considering leaving the study and getting a booster later in Nov after my next  study visit the first week in Nov.  

I'm also participating in something called Texas Cares Covid Antibody Survey, which consists of 3 blood draws, each 3 months apart. 

Quote

What is Texas CARES?  The Texas Coronavirus Antibody REsponse Survey, or Texas CARES, is a survey that will help us better understand the human antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Survey participants will help us measure things like how many people in the survey have COVID-19 antibodies, and how long those antibodies last. 

Yeah! I know my COVID antibody number, but there is no reference point yet to say what that number means in terms of protection from COVID!  

I have vaccinated friends going to movies, flying, eating indoors.  I'm just not there yet for any of those things.  I'd love to see Dune and the latest James Bond movie on the big screen, but nope, gonna wait awhile. 

Edited October 17, 2021 by Howl

[danvillebelle]

He's struggling to provide for his family because all his grifting gravy trains ran out.  He's never done an honest day's work in his privileged, spoiled, riding-daddy's-coattails life.  Cry me a river, Spanky.  

[apandaaries]

19 minutes ago, danvillebelle said:

He's struggling to provide for his family because all his grifting gravy trains ran out.  He's never done an honest day's work in his privileged, spoiled, riding-daddy's-coattails life.  Cry me a river, Spanky.  

Exactly! By now, he should have a solid resume and references. He has only himself to blame for lacking those.

I’m not happy to write this, but I know several people who’ve had DUIs. They’ve all changed their ways since those young adult-big mistake times, but they also accepted responsibility for their actions (never blamed God for intoxicating them and then putting them behind the wheel with children in the car), took the appropriate measures demanded by the courts, and improved themselves. Also, every one of them is now employed.

I’m in CA (as is spanky, no?), and a friend’s teenage daughter just got a job at Walmart for $17/hr. My daughter (17, little work experience) has been to interviews where they’re desperate for workers and the pay is commensurate. Panda Express offers $17+/hr for front workers and $20.50/hr for kitchen workers. Jobs are out there.
 

Covid recuperation is obviously now an issue, but there were lots of jobs out there before. As he told his editor and then us, the only skills he wants to use are speaking and writing, but he lacks an audience now. 
Well, that’s his own damn fault now, isn’t it?  He was born into privilege and power and abused both, and now people doubt the veracity of his faith. Shocking, I know. Poor Sprouls. 

I don’t anticipate that they’ll learn much of anything from this, but I kind of enjoy watching karma play out (although, as always, I hope the kids are spared the parents’ stress).

[older than allosaurs]

20 minutes ago, danvillebelle said:

He's struggling to provide for his family because all his grifting gravy trains ran out.  He's never done an honest day's work in his privileged, spoiled, riding-daddy's-coattails life.  Cry me a river, Spanky.  

They could put the boys in school.  Then Lisa, who seems to have more energy and more real world skills -- she's a skilled cook for one thing -- could get an actual paycheck job.  They could sell that big house now that it's not full of kids and get something more modest. 

RCJR could work retail once he's recovered.. Lots of openings these days.

People would be more inclined to help out if they saw some realistic effort on the Sprouls' part.

 

[Howl]

1 hour ago, apandaaries said:

I’m in CA (as is spanky, no?)

They're in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  

Pretty sure I've made this comparison before but bear with me, I'm gonna repeat myself. 

Disgraced star pastor Ted Haggard was outed by a gay prostitute and admitted to other same-sex relationships and subsequently ditched by his Colorado Springs, CO megachurch. 

Unlike many of the disgraced preachers we know of, Ted submitted to be under the direction of Overseers,  realized that he is bisexual while undergoing secular counseling but committed to his marriage,  did some Master's level Counseling coursework at Univ of Phoenix, worked as an insurance agent (JOB!) to support his family, and then returned to Colorado Springs and started St. James Church in a barn/outbuilding.  St. James looks to be thriving.  He makes no attempt to hide his story. 

Now, I don't hold Ted Haggard up as a wonderful human being.  Pretty sure he lied when he said he didn't do drugs with the gay prostitute.  He's a conservative Xtian. He's experienced and acted on same sex attraction but doesn't believe in gay marriage, so totally F**K THAT GUY. However, he's NOT LAZY,  did what needed done and rose up from the ashes without begging for money, while putting in the hours.   

Despicable Mark Driscoll also scarpered and started a new, successful church in Phoenix.  It will implode at some point because Driscoll is a sociopathic asshole, but he's not lazy sociopathic asshole. 

Spanky and Lisa are on the rocks financially because they have been attempting to grift their way out of their situation instead of working.   That no one is running to dump even small donations into the GoFundMe is extremely telling. 

 

 

[hoipolloi]

2 hours ago, apandaaries said:

I know several people who’ve had DUIs. They’ve all changed their ways since those young adult-big mistake times, but they also accepted responsibility for their actions (never blamed God for intoxicating them and then putting them behind the wheel with children in the car), took the appropriate measures demanded by the courts, and improved themselves. Also, every one of them is now employed.

I have a friend who was exactly in this situation. He accepted the consequences, did everything he was required to do, and has since avoided further trouble. He is and has been gainfully employed for the 20+ years since his DUI. 

2 hours ago, older than allosaurs said:

People would be more inclined to help out if they saw some realistic effort on the Sprouls' part.

I agree. If the boys went to public school, both of the Sproul "parents" would have the time to get paying jobs, which probably wouldn't be hard to do in today's economy. No, Spanky won't be paid to sit on his ass and bloviate, but it would be actual money. Too bad the GoFundMe can't include requiring proof of gainful employment on the part of Spanky or Lisa as a condition of receiving the money that's raised.

[forgetmenow]

I've been wondering if they had ANY takers for their obviously very real, not at all dirty-scamming-fake-seminary.  It seems as though they didn't and that does a little to restore my faith that not everyone is completely gullible.

[danvillebelle]

It chaps my hide to see people like him lamenting about no job when my daughter busts her ASS in the deli at our local grocery because they can't. find. or. keep. help.  She's been doing the jobs of 2-3 people for months.  

Go sling some fried chicken and potato salad, Lisa and/or Spanky.  It might do you some good.

[Katzchen24]

I'm wondering if everything is OK at Chez Sproul. Spanky hasn't posted or released any new videos for a week now, and he's usually pretty regular with them. I hope the boys are OK.