La Maja Oscura

This is not entirely unusual for me, as I have hEDS. It was, however, a bit more extreme than I am used to.

Tuesday night, I went to stand up and every muscle in my body completely noped out. I collapsed on the floor, and could not get up, as none of my muscles was working at all. I flopped and sort of inchwormed out of my room and down the hall to find Jonathan. About 60 feet of impossible movement. I'm sure I looked both alarming and comical. I'm still not sure how I made it, but the only other option was to die where I was, which seemed like an unpalatable choice. Our tenant has had nursing training, so I sent Jonathan to get her. She took one look at me and immediately called an ambulance. In the ambulance, the 3 EMTs were wonderful. They immediately started an IV and hooked me up to an EEG (EKG?)

I deal with crises through a combination of terrifying competence and humor. Samples of dialogue from the ambulance ride: EMT: I've established an IV. 22 needle in the hand. 22 in the hand. Me: ...is better than 2 in the bush. EMT: I can't find a pulse. No pulse detected. Me: I suppose this is a good time to tell you I'm an organ donor... EMT: (trying to distract me from the Unpleasant Things her colleagues were doing to me) What made you choose to become an organ donor? Me: Oh, I'm just really into recycling... We arrived at the hospital, and I spent 23 hours in a hallway, with one trip to the CT scanner. No water, no fluids, no bed pan. My muscles were still AWOL, so I was completely helpless. It was...unpleasant. When my bloodwork came back, it was determined that I had so little potassium in my body that it didn't even register on the tests. No one could explain how I was still alive. I spent a further 5 days in the hospital, and gradually regained control of my muscles. I'm now back to my normal, which isn't very, but at least I can shuffle around and wipe my own butt again. Small victories. :) Early next week, I have to see a doctor and get another blood panel done, to make sure my potassium and CK levels are stable. This is going to cost me around $350 out of pocket. I don't have anywhere near that much money. If anyone can help, I would be extremely grateful. Reblogs are a huge help! I've just listed more magnets in my Etsy store.

https://mardigoth.etsy.com

(Source) August 2nd, 2026.

One of her family told us that she had given birth yesterday evening, but that Child Protection services had taken her baby away with no warning, claiming that she wasnt prepared to look after him. What had happened, is that she'd literally only just given birth -- hadn't even passed the afterbirth yet, is holding her blood-coated, crying, newborn baby to her chest -- and a nurse asked what her feeding plan was. She was tired from the birth and distracted by the brand new baby in her arms and thrown off by the timing of the question, but still, she managed to answer, and said she planned to breastfeed him whenever he was hungry.

Well apparently that wasn't enough of a plan for the hospital staff, who reported her and claimed that she was unprepared to look after the child, and claimed that had no social supports, and that the baby was at risk if left with her. All because a brand new mother, 30 seconds after giving birth, didn't have a PowerPoint presentation ready to go that cited the timing cycle she would feed her kid on, and instead simply said that she would feed him when he was hungry.

Child Protection services showed up, took her kid, and she was told to show up to court the next day to contest custody if she wanted her baby back.

So a woman who had given birth less than 24 hours prior was forced to rally her family and show up to court to prove that she a) had a feeding plan for the child, and b) had enough social supports to justify reclaiming her baby.

It was one of the most appalling things I'd ever seen. I don't even know if she won her case. They didn't know at the time we saw them, and after that brief interaction on the stairs, i never saw them again. I sincerely hope she got her newborn baby back.

That was about 5 years ago. And the exact same kind of thing is still happening today.

News broke today from a South Australian whistle-blower of the appalling treatment new mothers frequently receive, including hospital staff taking the baby away from the mother "for medical tests," only for the mother to then be told, with absolutely no prior warning, that the baby was not going to be returned to her.

Here's the article, and here are some excerpts:

I have a direct ancestor

called