DemonicSymphony

Several decades later my sister had an MRI, as a long shot, to try to figure out why she was sick and deteriorating with a number of symptoms that were close to being written off as anxiety. She was sent straight to the hospital for adult onset hydrocephaly. Two days later she had brain surgery to put a shunt down her neck into her stomach and drain the fluid out. (No, you cannot usually get brain surgery that fast. Yes, it was that urgent.) Recovery was long and squiggly but it happened.

I think of that boy every once in a while. The one who died. I have no doubt that treatments developed for people like him, and tested on people like him, saved my sister's life.

I've been type 1 diabetic since I was about one and a half, and was incredibly sick. If my mother hadn't also been type 1 and recognized the signs I likely would have died.

I was born in 1982. Insulin was first given to a patient in 1922, and he survived. Before that, type 1 meant death, often very slow and agonizing. Before insulin, doctors advised a super strict "keto" diet to prolong life, and it could work for awhile - up to a year, I believe. But it was a miserable existence as the body was literally eating itself as the blood turned acidic until the patient eventually died.

60 years. Only 60 years before my birth did that procedure work for the first time. That's absolutely nothing given the span of human history and I think a lot about the people who died from it throughout time.

But yes, people tried. Healers and doctors of all sorts tried all manner of things to allow these (mostly!) kids to live. The fact that it was accomplished at all is nothing short of a miracle. The fact that I've been alive 42 years is fucking insane considering my body doesn't produce a hormone necessary for survival. If you think that doesn't blow me away on a regular basis you have another think coming. It's nothing short of a miracle.

Every medical advancement is. The amount of work that goes into it and the vast amount of luck necessary to get it right even when all the research and information is sound is just astonishing.

In 1930, having diabetes type I would basically mean being hospital bound, being woken every few hours for regular injections.

In 1965, you'd be able to live at home and get by with a very strict diet and a few timed injections. You'd struggle with chronical side effects. Having children wasn't done - passing on your genes would be immoral, and it might not even be legal for you to marry.

In the year 2000, you'd have a device clipped to your belt that would measure your blood sugar and distribute insulin, you only need to change the needle a few times a day. You might even be allowed to join in P.E. class

In 2025, you stick on two patches that do the same thing. They're synchronized through your phone.

He's lived long enough that three of his grandkids have been born with the same condition, and he's been there to assist with the recovery after the laparoscopic version of the same surgery he had.

He has a scar from collarbone to waist that's as thick as my finger--thicker, in some places. My nieces and nephews have scars so tiny you could mistake them for being from a particularly bad cat scratch. And their recovery was measured in weeks, instead of months.

This is a bigger deal than some of you might think, because Superman is one of the heroes in the DC Universe who keeps his secret identity pretty damn secret, because as probably the most powerful and influential person on earth, a lot of people do not wish him well - and would jump at the chance to hold people dear to him as leverage.

Yet, he trusts this poor, scared little kid. To comfort him, and entrust him with his biggest secret - just as Billy did for him.

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These are quick commissions so the price is set quite low, though you can feel free to tip as well!

Examples!!

The rules are all written out on the Ko-Fi page, but basically:

Give me up to 3 character references or a detailed description of the person/animal/character I'm to draw

Give me the name of your flag/flags, or if it's more obscure or a specific version of a flag you'd prefer, then send a photo!

I reserve the right to decline at will if I don't feel like a flag request is in good faith. This is my choice.

We're here, we're queer, we're really fucking tired so we're just gonna go straight to biting instead of feigning polite confusion if you're gonna be a bigot this time, just so you know.

Happy Pride!

@betrayedbycinnamon is awesome and podficced one of my fics; as a thank-you, I offered to bind any fic of her choosing. She decided on veryrach’s Gonna Be My Girl?, a Winterhawk fic that plays with the perception of gender and how one presents themselves.

I decided on a legal quarto (probably my favorite size, honestly) and chose a purple-and-teal Dubletta bookcloth for the cover. (The purple was very hard to photograph, but I promise it's there.) The cover design is HTV, with the "My Girl," the kiss, and the tip of the lip gloss in pink.

This was also the first full bind where I used my 3D-printed book trimmer. It worked so well, and was so easy to use, I am absolutely thrilled. I didn't get the bottom edge quite even (it's a little rough) but overall I'm super happy with it.

I always try something different with every bind; for this book, I decided I wanted to try using tapes and a rounded spine. The tapes were really easy to work with; the spine was very easy to round as well, though the curve is a little choppy in places. Considering I don't have a proper finishing press, I think it's still pretty good.

I just want to say, truly, to any asexual out there who feels broken or like they have to 'perform' for an allosexual partner:

Tempted to actually put this on spotify so I can secretly stream it at work...

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH FROM @FRANCOISARNAUDSOURCE!

Opinions vary, and there are valid reasons on both sides. But our official, Bitch-tested answer is this: drive that fucker into the ground.

There is absolutely no need to "upgrade" if you do regular maintenance on an older vehicle. It's better for your wallet and the planet. Unless your lifestyle changes, necessitating a very different vehicle than what you have, then we believe in driving cars until they cartoonishly break down on the side of the road, wheels and doors just falling off everywhere.

How To Save Money With Affordable Car Repairs 

You Have the Frugal Right to Repair Your Shit. Or Do You? 

Buying used she always says "if you have $2000 to spend, pay $1000 for the car and put in $1000 of repairs." So usually, driving it into the ground *with proper maintenance* ends up being more effective.