Everything you lose is a step you take

ASSAD ZAMAN as ARMAND

—He's a good boy. Good squire. And he meant no harm. I know that now. —One need not intend harm to do it. —I wish Ser Duncan had killed him. —Aerion is your brother. And the septons say we must love our brothers.

I remember talking to a psychologist: guy was like "are you absolutely sure you weren't abused as a child? I am literally a therapist, so you can tell me". when I demurred, he was like "truly? because you really really come across like you were, and I meet a lot of people with that history".

This had to happen. I had advancing diabetic retinopathy, and without the injections to dry up the blood vessels my eyes kept creating, I would have gone blind. My vision is permanently damaged, but I am not blind. I needed - and still need - those injections.

Unfortunately, the first doctor I went to had no patience for the idea that this might be traumatic and painful. He was brusque, and rude, and his way of convincing me to do it was "well, it's either this or go blind." It was terrible. I hated it. I considered whether it was worth stopping and just letting my eyes deteriorate.

It wasn't until I went to a different retinal specialist that I even learned there were smaller clamps they could use, which hurt much less! There were other methods of numbing, so I didn't feel the needle! The staff there was patient with my fear and pain. They worked with me to successfully make the process much more tolerable. They encouraged me to get a situational anti-anxiety (Xanax) prescription from my PCP, and even offered to write one for me if I couldn't!

And unlike the first doctor, they didn't require me to: sign a consent form for the procedure, then take the pill, then wait half an hour for it to kick in, before finally starting the procedure - and if I had to take medication to survive the appointment, I needed to go through this process every single time.

Bastille album covers mini paintings collection

acrylic on canvas