#health insurance news usa | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

intheholler · 3 months

Text

Appalachia & Southeastern USA LGBTQ+ Resource Masterpost

Under the cut, you'll find queer-focused resources sorted by state.

I have a sister post with donation links for those outside of the region who'd like to help us grow.

If you aren't from the region, I encourage you to find the organization that speaks to you the most, put your money where your mouth is and help us be better.

If you are from the region, I sincerely hope this can help you or someone you know in some way.

This list is inexhaustive as Tumblr is only permitting 100 links (which is also what necessitates the sister post and is why you may not see your contribution unfortunately).

Disclaimer: I do not (necessarily) personally endorse these organizations, nor have I vetted them thoroughly. If I have included anything you know to be detrimental or harmful in any way, please DM immediately me so I can rectify it.

General Regional Resources

Appalachian Outreach organizes events and provides access to resources for the queer community all across Appalachia.

STAY (Central Appalachia) is a youth-led activist organization in central Appalachia.

Trans in the South is a directory for gender-affirming healthcare in the south.

Southerners on New Ground (SONG) is a queer liberation group funding projects, protests, and campaigns to build a queer-friendly south.

Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project (STYEP) connects trans youth affected by anti-trans legislation with gender-affirming healthcare providers in the southeast; they offer grants up to $500 to individuals for emergency support.

Trans Health Project helps trans folks understand, access and utilize their medical insurance. They provide grants for gender-affirming surgeries.

Campaign for Southern Equality provides funding, training and resources for/to queer individuals and activists.

Not region specific, but important all the same: Help suspected transgender John and Jane Does regain their identities.

Resources by State

Alabama

AIDS Alabama helps provide housing to vulnerable individual and families, including helping queer youth find housing.

ALTGO’s list of local resources for gender-affirming care, legal services and generally queer-friendly physical/mental healthcare.

The Knights & Orchids Society provides housing, healthcare, and general support to the Black queer community.

Based in Birmingham, Magic City Acceptance Center offers supportive safe spaces and direct support to 52 counties in Alabama.

Medical Advocacy and Outreach in southern Alabama provides HIV+ care, as well as HIV & hepatitis C testing.

Prism United funds free therapy and hosts gatherings for queer individuals along the Gulf Coast.

Shoals Diversity Center is a Florence-based group that offers mental health services, support groups and other resources for the queer community in the Shoals area.

T.A.K.E. Resource Center provides direct support, grants, housing advocacy and other services for trans women of color in Alabama.

Thrive Alabama facilitates access to queer-focused healthcare services in North Alabama.

Georgia

Carollton Rainbow organizes queer-focused social events in West Georgia and provides tools for advocacy in the community.

Emmaus House is a soup kitchen in Savannah also providing laundry and shower facilities.

Emory is an Atlanta-based, queer-focused law firm.

Feminist Women’s Health Center (I know the name isn’t necessarily ideal, sorry) in Atlanta offers trans-inclusive, affordable medical care. They also provide access to abortions.

First City Network in Savannah provides referral services for healthcare, advocacy, education and mutual aid for queer Georgians.

List of housing assistance in the Savannah area

Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia serves the queer community’s legal needs in Georgia.

Kentucky

AIDS Volunteers of Lexington (AVOL) provides housing and assistance to low-income people living with HIV/AIDS.

Arbor Youth Services provides emergency shelter to queer youth in Louisville, up to age 24.

Berea Human Rights Commission offers free investigations into claims of housing or employment discrimination with a focus on queer folks.

Kentucky Health Justice Network provides referrals to gender-affirming providers, as well as financial assistance for trans healthcare and abortions.

Kentucky Youth Law Project provides free representation to queer youth.

Massive Kentuckian LGBTQ resource list provided by Lexington Pride Center, broken down into easy-to-browse categories.

Louisville Youth Group strives to give queer youth the tools and skills they need to grow personally and facilitate positive change in their communities.

Sweet Evening Breeze helps queer young adults in Kentucky between the ages of 18-24 obtain emergency housing.

Trans Kentucky’s list of gender-affirming healthcare providers across the state

Guide on changing your name following gender-affirming surgeries in Kentucky, and a tool to help you do so.

Louisiana

AcadianaCares supports folks living with HIV/AIDS while providing support to houseless and impoverished individuals.

ACLU Louisiana website.

Community resources in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette (much of it only provides addresses and emails, so it’s hard to link individually here).

Directory of trans-focused healthcare providers

List of in-person and online queer support groups. In-person groups are based in Monroe, Lafayette and Baton Rouge.

Mutual aid in Shreveport

Out of the Closet provides clothing for the queer community with multiple locations throughout the state.

OUTnorthla is a queer film-festival hosted by PACE Louisiana.

Queer-forward healthcare in Louisiana.

QUEERPORT is a grassroots org offering a platform for queer creatives.

Tulane Drop-In Clinic provides free medical and social services to runaway and otherwise houseless youth.

Guides for legal name changes in Louisiana.

Mississippi

Capital City Pride hosts pride events, meet-ups and book clubs for the queer community around Jackson.

Gulf Coast Equality hosts drag shows, food drives and other events for the Gulf Coast area.

The Spectrum Center in Hattiesburg offers a community closet, short-term emergency housing, free HIV testing and scheduled support groups/events for the queer community in Hattiesburg.

Violet Valley Bookstore is a queer feminist bookshop owned by a published lesbian author in Water Valley.

Guide for name changes in Mississippi.

North Carolina

Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group (CTHCG) connects trans folks with gender-affirming care.

Down Home NC helps rural working class communities organize to advocate for their rights.

Guilford Green Foundation & LGBTQ Center provides financial support to queer nonprofits and activist groups in NC to fight anti-queer legislation.

Ladies of the T is provides resources and support to trans and gender non-conforming women of color in the Tri-City area. .

North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Attorneys (NCPMB) provides attorney referrals, visibility, and support for the queer community.

Pitt County Aids Service Organization (PICASO) provides HIV prevention and testing services in Eastern NC, as well as support for individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

Asheville-based Tranzmission’s compilation of trans-focused medical, social and legal resources in WNC.

Triad Health Project provides free HIV testing, contraceptives, prevention outreach, daycare and access to their food pantry in Guilford County.

Durham-based Triangle Empowerment Center provides the queer community with emergency housing, access to PrEP, as well as support groups and other events.

South Carolina

Harriet Hancock Center is a community center offering social support for queer individuals in the Midlands area.

Free gender-affirming gear to South Carolinians!!!

Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA), a queer-focused social justice group

List of queer-friendly medical providers across the state

Uplift Outreach provides safe spaces for queer youth in Spartanburg.

Charleston Black Pride serves the queer POC community in the low country area.

We are Family Charleston’s community center hosts support groups and provides direct support to the queer community around Charleston. They offer microgrants to trans individuals in the state as well as in-person support groups and aforementioned free stuff for trans folks.

Closet Case is a thrift store by and for queer individuals, operated by We Are family, offering safe and affordable clothes shopping.

T-Time holds support groups for trans individuals, based in Myrtle Beach.

Palmetto Community Care provides confidential HIV testing and support as well as free contraceptives.

South Carolina based community support network for the trans community

Legal assistance in Columbia, SC/Midlands area

Guide on changing your name in South Carolina

List of queer-safe, gender-affirming care providers in Columbia, SC

Tennessee

CHOICES provides low-cost LGBTQ healthcare, among other services, such as abortions.

Emergency housing in Tennessee for those living with AIDS

Launch Pad helps queer youth among others obtain emergency shelter in the Nashville area.

Metamorphosis provides transitional housing and other emergency support for queer youth between 18 - 24.

Mountain Access Brigade provides abortion funding across the state.

My Sistah’s House in Memphis provides emergency housing and support for queer people of color, as well as access to health services for sex workers.

The Seed Theatre in Chattanooga provides free resources such as binders for the trans community and hosts safe, social spaces.

Tennessee HIV Prevention & Care

Trans Empowerment Project provides support to trans and gender-nonconforming folks around Knoxville.

Youth Villages provides emergency housing for youth under 18.

List of trans-focused healthcare providers across the state.

Virginia

Counseling, free hygiene products, temporary housing and more provided by Side by Side VA

Virginia Home for Boys and Girls partners with Pride Place to provide temporary housing for queer young adults (18-25).

Side by Side VA provides temporary housing for queer youth for up to 6 months.

Nationz, based in Henrico, provides free STI/HIV testing, food pantry, PrEP, and notary services for the queer community.

Justice 4 All provides legal aid for low-income Virginians.

Virginia Rural health Association’s list of gender-affirming healthcare providers

General rural healthcare resources in Virginia

West Virginia

Dr. Rainbow connects folks with queer-friendly care in the state.

Fairness West Virginia’s list of gender-affirming care providers.

Harmony House West Virginia provides queer-friendly shelter for houseless people.

Holler Health Justice is a queer- and POC-led mutual aid organization based in WV, though they seem open to serving all Appalachians.

Holler Health Justice also provides financial/logistic support to West Virginians seeking abortions.

WVFREE connects West Virginians with birth control providers.

Nearby gender-affirming care for trans youth at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Transgender Health Center.

#appalachia #appalachian #anti-fascist south #queer #queer resources #alabama #georgia #kentucky #louisiana #mississippi #north carolina #south carolina #tennessee #virginia #west virginia

194 notes · View notes

xiaq · 1 year

Note

Hi! I read an old post of yours from when you were teaching, where you said you earned 39k a year, and that it wasn't a lot of money. That would be 3k a month + 3k end-of-year bonus, especially if it's tax free (as in, all money already goes to you, with taxes already paid). In my country, that's a very good income. How much does life cost in the USA, for you to say that academia is not a career that makes you lots of money? I think I'd need context to understand, if you can explain, please :)

Hi there! So what it comes down to is cost of living coupled with an inability to put money away for retirement.

Also, that 39k is before taxes. So I was really making around 32k annually or 2,600 a month. No bonuses.

When I was making that, I was living in Dallas, TX and then Gunnison, CO. The average rent cost for a one bedroom apartment in Dallas was $1,500 base per month and in Gunnison, CO the average rent cost for a one bedroom apartment is $1,700. In both places I paid less than the average, but my total costs with paid parking, utilities, etc. were around $1,500. In addition to housing, I had to pay for health insurance which was around $2,000 a year, car insurance which was around $1,500 a year, and then general car maintenance which was $2-3,000 a year depending on if I needed new tires. I walked or rode my bike as much as possible, but was still spending at least $50 a month on gas (more when I'd go camping or drive home for the weekend 3 hrs away). I also had to pay for vet bills, food for me and my dog, and standard life stuff. Even with couponing and a strict budget, I was spending around $300 a month on food for me and my dog in Dallas and $400 per month in CO since food was more expensive in the mountains (like, a little box of strawberries was $8, a 2-serving bag of salad was $5). Also, even though I was paying for health insurance, I still had to pay copays and out of pocket for bloodwork and some specialists, which was a couple more thousand a year. I rarely went out to eat, I don't drink or smoke, and I bought all my clothes and books second-hand. Pretty much any time I traveled it was because my parents or friends were going somewhere and I could tag along, or I was car camping. So I was living a very frugal lifestyle and still had no money left at the end of the year to put toward retirement based on my teaching salary.

So, as a breakdown my approximate annual costs were (I just went and found an old budget spreadsheet from 2020)

Rent+utilities+wifi/phone $18,000 Health insurance $2,000 Car insurance $1,500 Car maintenance $2,000 Gas $1,000 Vet bills/dog food $1,000 Food $3,500 Medical copays and oop expenses: $2,000 Clothes $500 Books $500 Home-goods, laundry, cleaning products, misc $500 Skin, hair, hygiene products $500 Total cost: $33k You'll notice this is more than my teaching salary. I was doing a bit of tutoring and ghostwriting on the side and my parents were kind enough to pay for some of my car maintenance that year, which is the only reason I didn't end up in financial trouble.

Importantly, I had no money at all for emergencies or putting toward retirement. I was also working 60-70hrs a week, had very little opportunity for career/salary growth, and was constantly being asked to pick up additional unpaid labor for the benefit of students/the program. I loved teaching, but there was no way that lifestyle was sustainable and there wasn't any hope of retirement. AND I was one of the few people who had no student loans to pay off by the time I finished graduate school. Thanks to academic scholarships, living at home, and my parent's assistance, I had no debt. That is highly unusual for people in academia and I can't even imagine the stress it would have added to my life if I was trying to pay off student loans every month as well.

Also, I'd just like to point out that adjunct professors make even less than I was making as a lecturer, and even tenured profs don't make all that much more. The humanities in academia in the US is not the place to be if you're wanting to make a reasonable amount of money for the amount of work you're doing. :( By contrast, working in tech, I'm now making $100k a year (78k take home), I work 40-50 hrs a week, I'm putting money into my retirement every month, and my work/life balance is magnificent. I'm also up for a promotion in a few months and I have a lot of opportunities for career and salary growth in the future. For the first time in my adult life I don't feel like I have to count every penny, and I think I may actually be able to retire some day.

Anyway, I hope that helps give context!

#also the environment is so much healthier #love my boss and coworkers #don't feel like it's a constant competition #mylife #academia #professor things #sigh #money #maybe im jaded #but most of the current and former academics i know #say theres only money to be made at big name schools #if your field is humanities

163 notes · View notes

beardedmrbean · 4 months

Text

These days, there are many ways to get what you want but don’t have. Dimples? Wear cheek clamps. Freckles? Get them tattooed on your face. Different eye color? Just ask an ophthalmologist to laser a chemical dye into your cornea or have a silicone iris surgically implanted instead.

If that sounds dangerous to you, that’s because it is — and eye doctors are desperate to get the message across to the many blue- and green-eyed hopefuls who are being bamboozled by purported success stories online.

Eye color change procedures, none of which are FDA-approved, carry with them risks that include severe light sensitivity, glaucoma, cataracts, corneal disease, vision loss and blindness. Side effects may manifest shortly after a procedure or take years to develop. In many cases, people become depressed as they navigate these consequences, eye doctors told USA TODAY.

One clinic in New York City is driving much of the social media chatter on permanent eye color change, garnering millions of views per TikTok. Run by ophthalmologist Dr. Alexander Movshovich, KERATO is the first keratopigmentation practice in the U.S. that uses special lasers to insert pigments inside a healthy cornea to cover the eye’s natural color, which lies in the iris. The procedure costs $12,000 and is not covered by insurance.

But the risks and cost doesn't deter some people.

Just before the new year, actor and model Jessica White revealed on Instagram that she permanently changed her eye color with KERATO from dark brown to hazel. In 2014, reality TV star Tameka “Tiny” Harris said she went to Africa to change her eye color with iris implants: the riskiest procedure of them all, ophthalmologists say.

What is an iris implant and is it safe?

During iris implant surgery, a doctor cuts a slit in the cornea and slides a folded, artificial iris made of silicone into it, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The fake iris is then unfolded to cover the natural one. This surgery is illegal in the U.S., so many people get it in other countries. Some experts consider the surgery “malpractice.”

Dr. Guillermo Amescua, a cornea specialist at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute within the University of Miami Health System, said he has treated several patients who have experienced serious complications from iris implants and have had to get them removed: an additional surgery that could further damage the eye.

One patient of his is now partially blind; another developed glaucoma — nerve damage that causes vision loss and blindness — so severe they had to get a cornea transplant.

The resulting mental health effects can be brutal. "When people get their implants, they're super happy and experience a boost in self-esteem," Amescua said. "When they start getting complications, however, they go into denial and then get really bad depression when their implants are removed."

#nunyas news

14 notes · View notes

usaigi · 1 year

Text

Mexican Matt Murdock Headcannons

Yay my meta was well received thank y'all. Here are some hc as a treat :)

Jacobo "Jack" Murdock is from Monterrey 🤠🇲🇽 Super Norteño, he sounds like a cowboy. Has the thickest accent, it embarrass Matt so much

Jack never went to high school and tells Matt to copy how the people on TV talk. They speak "proper" Spanish.

Dad's great great great... granddad was an Irish soldier in the Saint Patrick's Battalion. Hence "Murdock"

He was boxing in Mexico when he met Roscoe Sweeney. Sweeney promised he'd sponsor Jack's work visa and help him immigrate to the US

Sweeney never followed through with the sponsorship. He'll get around to it, don't worry. But as long as Jack's undocumented, he can't box for other promoters/organizers

He would go back to Mexico but he's making more money here than he could back home. Plus he met someone.

Margarita "Maggie" was training to be a nun until she saw him

Baby Mateo Murdock takes after her. He has her eyes, red hair, and pale skin Maggie worries will burn in the sun.

(TW Intrusive thoughts/Post Partrum Psychosis) Maggie worries a lot. About Matty choking on his blanket, about SIDS, about how she betrayed God, about how her child carries her sin, about how the devil possessed her husband, how maybe she should borrow Mario's car with Matty in the back seat so she can drive them off a bridge so at least one of them gets the change to go to Heaven

She nearly kills him.

Jack calls Father Lantom and their marriage is annulled. Maggie leaves to get help and doesn't come back.

Jack still misses her. Matt never knows.

So many nicknames: Matty, Canelo (Cinnamon), Chiltepin (Small Peper), Rojo (Red), Tomatillo (Tomato), Chapulín Colorado, Diablito (little devil), Irlandés (Irish. Later takes a 23andme and finds out he's only 5% Irish)

Jack doesn't speak a lot of English. Matt becomes his personal translator by 1st grade

After the accident, Matt even has to translate what the nurse says for his dad. There's an interpreter when the doctors need to talk to his dad. It hurt hearing about his diagnosis and treatment from the doctor. It hurts all over hearing the interpreter repeat it to his dad.

Matt feels so guilty he can't help translate documents for his dad anymore.

His dad's funeral is the first time Matt meets his extended family. One of his Tia offers to take him in but that would mean leaving New York/the USA and going to Mexico.

He says no. New York is his home.

Sister Maggie is one of the few nuns who speak Spanish. And the only one who will read him poetry. She reads him Jose Marti, Juana Inés de la Cruz, Miguel de Cervantes. Matt likes her. Even if she's strict and doesn't tolerate his sass.

Nina Rosario from In The Heights Kinnie

Almost cried the first time he heard "Breathe," no song has even spoken to him more

NINA: They are all counting on me to succeed I am the one who made it out The one who always made the grade But maybe I should've just stayed home... When I was a child I stayed wide awake, climbed to the highest place, on every fire escape, restless to climb .... I got every scholarship Saved every dollar The first to go to college

Takes a 3000-level Spanish for Elektra. Should have thought this through, Elektra speaks it with an Ethpañol accent. Cringe.

But the class is interesting. So he takes another. And another. And soon enough he has enough credits for a Spanish language and literature major.

Eavesdrops on a lot of conversations. Both because no one assumes he knows Spanish and because of his senses

Foggy: Do you have health insurance?

Matt: of course *pulls out his Vick's Vaporub*

Can't eat spicy food. This face turns as red as his hair :( The other Defenders/HFH tease him for this

Dislikes Spanglish because text to speech/screenreaders don’t recognize it

Calls La Virgen de Guadalupe Mom

Drinks Corona :D

#daredevil #matt murdock #matthew murdock #netflix daredevil #marvel #mcu #charlie cox #foggy nelson #karen page #usaigi speaks #mateo murdock au

55 notes · View notes

acnews · 2 days

Text

#usa news #us politics #usa #usa today #us healthcare #us health system #us health insurance #usa politics #pharmaceutical

0 notes

gallawitchxx · 8 months

Text

tag game tuesday 🤘🏼

oh hell yeah, the pals are OUT today! huge thanks to @celestialmickey @creepkinginc @metalheadmickey @energievie @deedala @whatthebodygraspsnot @michellemisfit @harrowhark-a-vagrant @transmickey @heymrspatel @mmmichyyy @suzy-queued & @whatwouldmickeydo for inviting me to play!

you can call me: bee 🐝

pronouns: she/her

sun sign + favorite flower: cancer & big pink lilies! 🦀 🌸

what time did you wake up today? 5:30am.... but ask me about my bedtime 😉

what kind of phone do you have? i think an iphone 12 mini? it's blue! i love it! i just got a new skull pop socket for it! 📱

pick one: beach, mountain, desert, or forest? beach bayybeee 🏖

favorite vegetable: a child would gag around me -- asparagus or brussels! 🌱

last person you talked to on the phone: my health insurance LOL & it was surprisingly helpful! ☎️

last person you texted: leah 🥰

you’re at the smoothie shop, what are you getting? something fruity & sour or something with a creamy almond flavor 🍓🍋

you’re at the zoo, which exhibit are you seeing first? monkeys! 🐒

last movie you saw in theaters: barbie 💄

last movie you watched at home: jumanji 😅

something that sparks joy: my backyard has really been doing it for me lately -- there's so much variety! so many plants & trees! so many bees & other pollinators! plus, at least 3 different types of butterflies, dragonflies, hummingbirds, praying mantises, lizards, crickets... i've spent so many years living in a concrete jungle & to have such diverse flora & fauna right in my yard is such a treat! 🐝🦋🦎☀️🌳

and finally, what’s your current obsession? i'm not obsessed, but the current season of love island usa is packing a serious punch! i don't usually love the hometown series, but i am not mad about it this summer! 💖🌴

i'm going to tag some folks that have been in my notes lately, but who i've never interacted with! wanna be friends? if not, that's cool too! have a lovely day! 🥺 @mybrainismelted @lupeloto @jadepetals @astralwashboard @propan-3-ol @gembu-tortuesouscafeine @carlgallagerswife @gillyp (we are already buds, but including you anyway) & also @just-allovertheplace & @pleaseignoremme (tumblr won't let me tag you but I SEE YOU 👀🖤)

#it was so cool to see so many on the dash today!#must be something in the water today 💦#tagged #tag game tuesday

43 notes · View notes

irisdigitals · 2 months

Photo

(via Allied Benefit Systems - Know plan and Resources of its :)

#allied health #allied insurance #usa news #insurance #insurance news

1 note · View note

silvermoon424 · 3 months

Note

Another thing I don't understand is why healthcare has to be tied to jobs and employment. And if we don't get jobs at the age of 26, we got dropped out from our health insurance. I just don't fucking understand that. Why is our job or employment more important than our HEALTH? Shouldn't health be more important than a job??? Especially for people who have chronic illness or pain. I don't fucking understand the USA. Both the gov't and corporate people are so fucking evil to everyone.

Tying healthcare to employment in the US is a feature, not a bug. I can't even imagine how many people out there desperately want to quit their shitty jobs- and may even have enough savings to support themselves while they look for a new one- but just can't afford to not go without health insurance.

For my latest two jobs, I literally didn't take any time off in between new jobs. A lot of people I know expressed amazement at this, but it's only because I literally can't afford to go without health insurance. I depend too much on my medications to have to go without them for a few weeks.

Companies would save tons of money if healthcare was subsidized by the government, but none of them lobby for it because healthcare being tied to employment ensures that they'll always have a steady stream of employees.

#asks #Anonymous

11 notes · View notes

tewz · 8 months

Text

I think it's such a shame that no one can get mental help in Upper Michigan, USA. I had to take "getting help" into my own hands and read into psychiatry/different therapies and teach myself how to be less depressed/anxious on my own because my survival instinct kicked in and I can't just go without help. I literally had to help myself as a last resort. It was really difficult but I somehow pulled through. I'm still not able to function like a proper adult (can't work or drive), but I'm no longer s**c*dal and planning my own death like I did between the ages of 14-28. My 30's have actually been great so far. I have a lot less episodes and they are shorter and less intense. I haven't self-harmed in about 5 years or so too. Some people can't conquer such a thing though, and I am really concerned for several of my friends. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who live in my area who come to me crying about how they can't take it anymore. A couple of them jumped through hoops to get online therapy (tele-health, but it's very pricey and inconvenient). It's pretty much all of my friends at this point. Like my advice and compassion can only do so much and it doesn't ever seem to help them. It's become a little tiring in a way.

Same with getting a dentist with cheap insurance. The greedy conservatives (which is 2/3 of the population here) won't allow it. We all have to travel downstate or to Wisconsin to get basic work done (it takes 3.5 hours of driving to get downstate and 2.5 hours to get anywhere good in Wisconsin + no one drives or can afford cars anymore so we're all doomed). I'm gonna have to start getting to the abscess stage again to have to energy/drive to seek another dentist willing to help and that is not fair. I shouldn't have to look like I do hard drugs just because no one will fix my teeth + depression never helped with that equation either.

Everyone's life up here is a disaster. I live in a corner of the world that is sickeningly resource-less. The nearest psychiatric hospital is 1.5 hours away and doesn't usually accept people unless they've committed a crime or something drastic. The 2nd closest one is a double drive down to Wisconsin, unless you have Michigan-only insurance, then you're driving 6 hours downstate.

Another thing that drives me up the wall is the lack of basic ANYTHING. My friend from New York wants to come visit, but there's little to no AirBnB's up here unless you find a cabin in the woods with no phone/internet service, T-Mobile doesn't reach up here, no Uber drivers of any kind (2 expensive taxi companies that are overbooked all the time is the only way to get anywhere), no basic stores to find anything you're looking for so we all have to order stuff off the internet, no records stores in the entire U.P. except for a couple run-down multi-media stores that have maybe a bin or two of 60's country and Christmas music on vinyl, etc, etc. Also, my town has always been living about 10-15 years in the past. You can't find online reviews or even websites for most stores because the boomers and bootlicking assholes around here don't know what the fuck computers are. And if there's a fashion trend that I find on the internet (like crop tops of example), they won't hit our stores until 5 years later when the trend slows down. The end. Rant over. I don't wanna upset myself but like... lol...

#personal #mine #text

13 notes · View notes

lynxmuse · 1 month

Text

Mindfulness Moment

So I’ve heard that story/statistic about how “one in four/five young people want to become social media influencers” and my first thought was to reactively roll my eyes. Which even on the face of it is kind of a weird reaction on my part, as it’s not like “being famous” is all that new of a desire, even as a profession. (I mean certainly, especially given my flair for the dramatic, becoming a well known and loved actor or statesman or whatever would not be something I would shun at all.)

But beyond that, I caught part of an interview with Taylor Lorenz who said something that I was totally not expecting and that really shredded my preconceived (eye-rolling-inducing) notions and expanded my context. When she asked young people why they wanted to become a social media influencer, many of their responses were along the lines of “so I can get help when something goes wrong.” As in, “if my parents lose their house, I will be able to ask my followers to help,” or “if someone in my family needs medical care, I can ask my followers to donate to ensure they can get care.” *

Which… again, was not something I had considered. But with the growing economic precarity that has been set up as the status quo through wealth extraction and income inequality, it’s actually a rather astute strategy. They are simply seeking security for their adult life that is not available in the “ordinary” and often-called “proper” channels. In the absence of fair, reliable, and institutional social care, your social circles are all you have left and therefore online attention becomes a very valuable form of currency.

Their influencer desires aren’t (entirely) coming from a place of vanity – they are coming from a place of disquiet and uncertain existence.

* I should point out that she was talking to people in the USA, where healthcare is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, even for those who are fortunate enough to have some form of health insurance. Thus the concern for a health emergency to cause financial ruin, and/or the concern that a family member will suffer without proper treatment due to an inability to afford it.

#mindfulness #ontology #influencers #community #politics #policy #money #governance

4 notes · View notes

lets-donate-a-kidney · 4 months

Text

Reasons to Donate a Kidney

You can make terrible, terrible kidney puns, and no one can stop you from kidney-ing around.

The average lifespan on dialysis is only 5-10 years. You might extend someone's life by 20 years or more!

Dialysis is painful, exhausting, prevents a person from holding a regular work schedule or traveling, and weakens their body over time. Eventually, it fails. You'd be freeing someone to have a normal life.

You aren't just helping the recipient: you're giving something priceless to all the friends and family members who care about that person.

Kidneys from living donors have a higher success rate than kidneys from deceased donors, and last for twice as long!

You might start a kidney chain, in which multiple people receive kidneys! The longest chain on record gave kidneys to over 100 people - and was started by a stranger who didn't know any of them.

Over 80,000 people in the USA alone need a kidney transplant, and several thousand die every year waiting for one. But if even just 1 in 1000 adults donated a kidney, we could wipe out the waiting list overnight.

Kidneys almost always fail in pairs. Your chance of kidney failure isn't much higher with one kidney compared to two.

You get cool donation scars to show people!

Kidney donors actually live longer than the general population, and have a lower rate of kidney failure! Why? Because the screening process for kidney donation screens out potential illnesses early, and kidney donors are more likely to take care of their bodies afterward.

If your remaining kidney does fail, you'll be put at the top of the kidney wait-list, and spend much less time on dialysis. As a result, kidney donors actually have a higher survival rate for kidney failure than non-donors.

The National Kidney Registry also lets kidney donors extend this waitlist benefit to several friends and relatives, in case any of them ever have kidney failure.

The risk of long-term complications from kidney donation is extremely low. Most people can start walking within a day of surgery, go back to work in 1-2 weeks, and are back to 100% within a month.

Doctors and nurses LOVE doing living donor transplants! The success rate is high, complications are low, there's none of the tragedy associated with postmortem transplants, and for once their patients are eager to be there. And, as my nephrologist said, "It's a lot more rewarding than prescribing Viagra!"

It's a way to put a little more kindness into the world, and your example might inspire others, too.

In the USA, all costs for surgery and screenings are covered by the recipient's health insurance or Medicaid/Medicare; you as the donor will not have to pay for it. You can also get reimbursement for lost income through the National Kidney Registry.

Most people will have to get surgery and spend a night in the hospital anyway if they live long enough. Donating an organ lets you have this experience on your terms, while you're healthy, so hospitalization won't be scary or overwhelming if you need it later in life.

You'll learn new things about your body! I discovered that I had an extra vein on the left side of my torso, and that my hemoglobin levels were low. The vein is harmless and cool, but the hemoglobin thing (and taking iron supplements for it) actually helped me avoid developing an iron deficiency later.

It's a chance to be part of something bigger than yourself - a miracle of modern science!

I won't say donating a kidney was "easy," but I will say it was 95% waiting on people, 4% letting doctors and nurses talk at me, and 1% letting them stick me with needles. The hardest part wasn't pain, or fear, but sitting around tired for a couple days.

You probably won't have to make many modifications to your lifestyle after kidney donation. Literally the only activity I was told to avoid was contact sports, and if I'm in pain I take acetaminophen instead of ibuprofen.

You can get a tattoo that says "Some parts may be missing," or "Organ donation - it takes guts!" and a kidney pillow souvenir.

If donating while alive isn't right for you, you can still sign up to be a postmortem organ donor, and increase awareness of living donation! Remember, it would only take a small percentage of people donating to make a BIG difference!

#kidney donation #kidney donor #organ donation

4 notes · View notes