poplitealqueen:

My Mom is a mutant.

To be specific, she has a disorder called Factor V Laiden Thrombophilia (same as me *waves*), a genetic mutation that causes abnormal clotting of the blood. When treated appropriately (I can never take birth control, I’ll develop complications if I ever get pregnant if I’m not careful, and in situations such as long flights I have to make sure to move around as often as possible), it’s manageable.

There’s always a very real sense of danger, however. See, blood clots can form anywhere in the body, and *move* anywhere if not caught quickly enough. If it moves to the heart or the brain, you’re screwed, plain and simple. Even if it doesn’t, and it just stays in your leg and eventually goes away, for example, it leaves damage that is often irreparable.

Fifteen years ago, when my Mom was pregnant with my youngest sister and what would have been her twin, she developed a bloodclot in her left leg. It was late enough in her term that attempting to get rid of it would have meant terminating the pregnancy, and my Mom, after asking if she would die from it and being told no, decided to not go through with the procedure. She lost one of the twins, gave birth to my baby sister, and ever since then has lived with a disability that puts her in constant pain.

The first time I saw her with her bad leg, it was when I was six-years-old. She came home with my little sister–I had to hold her since my Mom needed crutches to get around. She screamed the entire time she walked down the hallway to her room. It hurt her that badly. I’ve never felt more helpless in my entire life. The sound of her crying like that has never ever left me.

The best way to describe the physical atttributes of her leg would be like taking a hot knife and stripping off all the skin of your lower leg. Among the symptoms she’s had for over a decade include: swelling to the point that she’s torn pants, weeping–which means the wound on her leg that never goes away because of the poor bloodflow leaks fluid–to the point that she has to wrap a towel around it, bleeding, the skin cracking and falling off on a regular basis, a higher chance of getting infections (in the past four years, she’s had two staph infections, one of which resulted in an emergency room visit), and the almost complete assurance that in the next ten years, she’ll be completely wheelchair bound.

She raised me and my three other siblings on her own with that disability after my Dad left and our extended family stopped giving a shit about us, and as often as she frustrates me, I want to be able to help her. She has done *so* much for me, and seeing her in pain every single day, having her crying in bed because she thinks nobody will ever love her again because of her bad leg, seeing her cycle through seasons of depression only to fight back with everything she has, seeing the look of hope when she finds something that might fix her leg only to learn that it’s too expensive to get the treatment, kills me. Knowing that it’ll only get worse without proper help hurts more than I can properly articulate. She isn’t the perfect mother, not by a long shot, but I love her and I want to be able to help.

The thing with her leg nowadays is that the bloodclot is gone. It has been for about a decade. It’s the damage it did to the veins that remains. We have yet to encounter a doctor willing to attempt surgery to replace the damaged vein, and everything else has been more for dealing with it than actively trying to find a solution.

We have found one possible one, however. An oxygen treatment that has been proven to help restore bloodflow. The problem is, the treatment is expensive and considered experimental, so it isn’t covered by our insurance.

You’re probably wondering where I’m trying to get at with all of this. It’s simple. One treatment costs 150 dollars, and my Mom would need to do about eight of those in the span of a few months to see any actual improvement. I want to change that. I want to be able to go up to her, tell her, “I’ll handle paying for the oxygen treatments to fix your leg.” I want to be able to see some hope on her face again, instead of the near-constant acceptance that she can’t change it no matter how hard she wants to.

I’m still just that six-year-old kid that wants to help her Mom. The only difference is, I’m not helpless anymore.

On my Patreon, I make a grandiose show of how I want it to help launch my career as a professional writer, which is true, but nestled deep in those descriptions is one throwaway line about helping to pay for medical bills. I didn’t delve deeper into how on there, since as this post shows it gets rather long-winded, but of the many medical bills that comes with this family, the need for my Mom to get this treatment is starting to creep higher and higher. She’s already showing signs of being unable to walk, and her leg is slowly but surely getting worse. Her doctors have even started talking about possible amputation if there isn’t any improvement.

In short, I’m asking you guys for help, because I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to see my Mom in pain anymore. I know how to help her, but since losing about $500 worth of income last month, my paychecks go towards the bills and such that we already have. I haven’t been able to save like I used to, and the longer we wait the less likely we’ll be able to fix anything.

I need your help, guys. My Mom needs your help. I know this is a longshot. I know I’m not popular, I’m not beloved in a way that warrants having money thrown at me for no good reason, my creations are still fledgling, I know there are people out there that have it so much worse, but I’m still taking this chance. I’m coming with my nose pressed to the ground before you in supplication, and asking from the bottom of my heart: please, help my family.

Whether this story warrants that is beyond me, but stories are all I have.

If you can offer anything, thank you. If all you can do is read this, thank you. There isn’t any guilt here. It’s simply a story and a question from someone with nowhere else to turn. Those don’t always need responses.

internetcrisis:

You don’t have to be more attractive. You don’t have to be attractive at all. You don’t have to attract anyone or anything. You are not a magnet, damn it. You should be you for you and only you. And yes I am talking about you and you and you.  

realsocialskills:

The GOP is trying to repeal the ACA and cut Medicaid again. They almost have the votes to do it. We have the chance to stop them from getting the votes, if we act *right now*. We need to put overwhelming pressure on every senator to vote no.

Their current attempt to take away our health care is called “Graham-Cassidy”. It’s important to tell our elected officials to vote *against* Graham-Cassidy. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network has more information about what’s going on, and how to contact your representatives. This is the script they suggest using for phone calls and emails (They also have suggestions for what to do if you can’t make calls):

My name is [your name], and I live in [your town]. I’m [calling/writing] to ask Senator [Name] to vote NO on the Graham-Cassidy bill, or any other bills that would repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut Medicaid funding and leave millions of people with no health insurance. The people of [your state] are still watching, and our health care is just as important to us now as it was in July. We’re counting on you to do the right thing and save our health care. Please vote NO on Graham-Cassidy.

It’s also worth contacting your state governor. They can’t vote on the bill, but they *can* put pressure on senators to vote against it. Senators sometimes listen to governors about what’s right for their state. You can find your state governor’s contact information here.

lauraannegilman:

houndtroglodytes:

zoologicallyobsessed:

gaybatrachologist:

mexicanine:

it’s 2015, we should stop saying “adopt dont shop” and change it to “adopt wisely and shop only from a reputable breeder who health tests their dogs and cares about their temperament and needs.”

Anyway…….. adopt don’t shop

Ah no.

Adopt don’t shop is a catchy phase but it’s ultimately based on uneducated claims and simplifying a much more complex issue. There’s a range of reasons why adopting from animal shelter’s isn’t always the best course for some people.

I’ve worked in an animal shelter for 3 years now. And I am all for adoption and encouraging people to adopt. But there are valid reasons why adoption isn’t always the right option.

• Firstly allergies. There are specific dog breeds that are bred  to  be hypoallergenic for people with moderate  to severe allergies.
  Most people will just say in response “why not just find a  hypoallergenic dog in the shelter then!” This is unrealistic. As someone who has worked in a shelter, I’ve never seen a  hypoallergenic dog there. Most of the dog breeds are unknown or mixed breed.  Hypoallergenic are expensive too, so it’s unlikely they’ll end up in shelters. And if they do they’d be high-demand dogs who would be easily adopted within days.
• Breeds for specific purposes. Some people need certain breeds of dogs for certain specific reasons (be it allergies, illness, assisting with a disability, family friendly, working dog) ect. Certain breeds have been bred to assist with very specific purposes and expecting to find these breeds in shelters is unrealistic
• It ignores the importance of good breeders and rescues working together. Breeders can offer valuable resources such as finances, kennel space, networking or knowledge  Shaming and alienating proper breeders does nothing to help animal shelters or the animals people claim to care about
• Proper breeders are actually beginning to breed more healthier dogs (that often have a range of health issues due to inproper breeding). Such as with brachycephalic breeds like pugs. 
• Not everyone is prepared / experienced enough to deal with shelter dogs. Not all shelter dogs have issues, most of them are just lonely or scared. But there are also of dogs (and cats) that require extra care and patience. And you just never know with a shelter animal. Most of the time the history of the animals are unknown. You might not know how the animal will react around children, or around other pets. Not everyone can accommodate for the needs of these animals. That’s why so many animals adopted from shelters end up getting returned weeks or even days later! And this can really mess the animal up even more so. 

There’s lots of great reasons to adopt shelter animals!  But there’s also great reasons to want to buy a pet from a proper breeder too. Shaming someone for buying a pet instead of adopting (especially when you don’t know the circumstance or situation) is stupid and based on a misguided sense of moral high ground. 

Another factor in my choice to buy from a breeder, is that responsible breeders offer lifetime support, so no animal they breed should ever end up in rescue- and the breeder will bend over backwards getting them out if they ever do. If anything were to happen to me, my dog has a safe and knowledgeable home to go to, guaranteed. That’s peace of mind. Also, my breeders are always available for any questions I might have, and will even be taking on my girl for a few months while I’m away overseas. While I have endless respect for those who choose the rescue option, the ongoing support and shared love of the breed clinch it for me. I’m proud of owning a dog from a responsible breeder.

My cats are all rescues, and I volunteer at an animal adoption center.  But my family’s dogs have always come from reputable breeders - the ones that for whatever reason were not considered suitable for working/showing (mismatched eyes, too much nose, deaf or blind, etc).  The breeders wanted to find the best homes for them, where they could be beloved pets.

Yes, you’re paying the breeder a fee for your dog.  But you’re ‘rescuing’ it just the same.

(Generic/chain pet stores, OTOH…yeah.  They need to stop selling livestock. That’s what adoption days are for.)