Broadwaybabyto

When I had my hysterectomy, I was told recovery would be quick because I was young, fit & otherwise healthy.

They were wrong. The surgeon made an error and despite signs of post op bleeding, discharged me & went on vacation.

When I returned to the ER, I was ignored & gaslit

They told me it was “normal” to be in more pain 8 days after surgery than on day 1 (it’s not).

They said “what do you want us to do?”

They refused to run any tests beyond basic vitals, and scolded me for wasting their time

I knew something was wrong, but I was young and hadn’t yet learned how to advocate for myself.

The pain, swelling and bruising were getting worse with each passing day. I was dizzy, listless and had no appetite.

I slept ALL the time.

I was not getting better

I did what anyone would do, I went back to the ER. Surely this time they would take me seriously?

They didn’t. They made no attempt to hide their frustration that I had returned”. They made misogynistic comments about how “sensitive” I was & that being in pain was normal

I went home feeling completely dejected and disrespected, but also starting to gaslight myself.

Maybe it wasn’t that bad. Maybe this was normal pain. Maybe I did need to suck it up.

I tried to force myself to eat and go for light walks. I tried to play through the pain.

I was vomiting everything up and frequently collapsing from fatigue.

I could not suck this up.

My boyfriend had to carry me into the ER for a third attempt to get help

They did the exact same thing. Asked what we expected them to do. Told us the pain was normal. Refused to call a consult or run tests.

Thankfully my boyfriend believed me over them. He was certain if I went home, I wouldn’t make it through the night

He refused to let them discharge me. He told them, loudly and sternly, that he was not taking me home to die. That they needed to do their jobs.

They threatened to call security but he did not back down.

Thankfully a doctor overheard him and decided to look in and see if he could calm the situation.

When he saw me, half unconscious and white as a ghost, he immediately ordered tests. He told the triage staff not to call security and to take me into a private room

It turns out my boyfriend was right. Had I gone home that night, I wouldn’t have made it to morning.

I had a massive internal bleed and a giant infected abscess which had been growing since the surgeon sent me home.

I was rushed to another hospital for emergency surgery and given 50/50 odds of survival. I spent over a month in the hospital, developed a second hospital acquired infection, and needed 11 months to fully recover.

I survived due to luck & privilege. Had my boyfriend not believed me, I wouldn’t be here. Had he not been a white man? He likely would have been removed & I would have died

This is medical misogyny. They didn’t listen because I was a woman. They thought I was being dramatic

I tell this story because of what happened to Adriana Smith. A young black woman in Georgia who tried to get medical care for severe headaches, and was dismissed and gaslit instead.

She suffered brain death at home because no one believed her. Because of misogynoir.

To make matters worse, she’s been turned into a medical experiment because she was nine weeks pregnant and living in a state with an abortion ban. She’s on organ & tissue support being treated as a human incubator.

No care when alive & forced “care” when dead

Misogyny in medicine kills. It maims. It disables and traumatizes.

Women are frequently treated as hysterical and not given the medical care they require.

We often need a man to accompany us just to be taken seriously.

It’s not right and it needs to change

I will forever deal with medical PTSD because of what I went through, but at least I survived.

Adriana wasn’t so lucky, and no one’s survival should ever be based on luck, privilege or their ability to find a man to speak for them

I survived due to luck and privilege, Adriana didn’t.

What’s worse, due to abortion bans and dangerous forced birth policies, her body is kept alive on organ and tissue support without her family’s consent.

We must do better:

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/adriana-smith-misogyny-and-the-cruelty

#misogyny #misogynoir #ableism #patriarchy #abortion #mybodymychoice #disability #ableism #uspol

RFK Jr’s push to create a registry of all people with autism should be setting off alarm bells.

We’ve been here before.

I talk a lot about the Nazi’s Aktion T4 program, because many people forget that they tested the gas chambers on disabled people. We were targeted first because we were seen as expendable. “Useless eaters”. People no one would miss.

Did you know they also created a registry of children born who might have mental or physical disabilities? Midwives were paid to report them to the government, and lists were made.

Creating a registry of autistics won’t “solve autism”. But it could set the stage for something far more sinister.

We must remain vigilant and fight back.

Disabled people are not expendable. Autistic people are not dangerous. Health supremacy is.

#uspoli #hhs #rfkjr #fascism #autism #chronicillness #disability #ableism #eugenics #aktionT4

When I started The Disabled Ginger I sent it to my friends and family … as most of us do.

I was proud that I was finally standing up for disability rights. That I was taking my pain and putting it on the page in an effort to help others. That I had found something that lit a spark inside me.

Unfortunately, many of my friends didn’t feel the same way.

My disabilities are invisible, and I had become very good at hiding them. Apparently that’s what people expected of me, as they didn’t like this “new” version of Kelly.

Almost none of my friends subscribed. What’s worse, many stopped talking to me. Or would only reply in brief texts.

It’s almost been a year since I launched, and my circle is noticeably smaller. Many people I thought I was close with haven’t reached out for nearly 6 months.

When you find your purpose and your passion, it’s an incredible feeling. Hopefully people support you.

Not everyone will. And that’s ok.

It’s painful seeing so many relationships fade away. It hurts knowing they don’t see the value in me now that I’m “officially” disabled.

As painful as it is, it’s also a perfect example of why I became an advocate. Ableism is a huge problem. Being disabled can be incredibly lonely. I wanted to give a voice to those who haven’t yet found theirs.

In the process I’ve met incredible people from all over the world who inspire me to keep going. Who give me a reason to write every day. Who remind me of the compassion, love and goodness that’s still out there.

Thank you to each and every one of you. I couldn’t do this alone.

My latest looks at the reasons we hide, and what would happen if we all decided to stop hiding and show the world the realities of chronic illness:

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/why-are-chronically-ill-people-forced

#chronicillness #longcovid #mecfs #ableism #disability #disabilityrights #eugenics

Email leaked to Ken Klippenstein telling NOAA employees that their course material can’t contain ANY of the following words in order to remain complaint with Trump’s executive order on DEI.

The party than ran on freedom and speech and avoiding censorship now actively censoring people.

Every word breaks my heart… but I want to pause on the inclusion of “empathy”.

The fact that they can’t use the word empathy is a perfect encapsulation of this whole administration.

#uspoli #noaa #trump #dei #deia #censorship#fascism #freedomofspeech #inclusion

Medien: 3

Seems like there’s a mass exodus going on from the bird site… are there are handy lists of covid cautious, disability and/or chronic illness accounts to follow?

A number of people have told me they want to leave the bad place but are afraid they will lose their communities if they make the leap.

I see bluesky have starter packs that are helping connect people - wondering if there’s anything similar here? Would intro posts with hashtags be the best way for newbies?

Trying to be cognizant of people‘S limited spoons and fear about learning new platforms - while also encouraging them to come to healthier happier places!

Medien: 1

@davidaugust@mastodon.online always worth a share. So simple and yet so lost on many people!