Day by Day

Regardless of the numbers on your paycheck or in your bank account, nobody is less than you.

Also most people in NYC are working more than 1 job. I know people living out shelters working 2 jobs.

This happened in Syracuse, New York, where I live. It is one of the poorest cities in the entire United States. We have a large number of homeless people, many who are mentally ill and/or disabled. When these stories are labeled as “New York,” people think it’s NYC and end up ignoring the issues in “upstate” NY.

This homeless man’s name is Jeremy Dufresne. He is a homeless man suffering from schizophrenia. He was charging his phone in order to contact his mother. A gofundme was put together in order to replace Dufresne’s clothes and phone charger. So far 22k has been reached to help him get on his feet. 

Al-Amin Muhammad, a local homeless advocate, confronted the Dunkin Donuts employees. He runs an organization called We Rise Above the Streets, which has been feeding and clothing homeless people in Syracuse, NY. You can support this organization by donating here. 

(Money supports distribution of meals, clothing, and hygiene items)

Al-Amin Muhammed is a former homeless man, drug dealer, and convict. He now dedicates his life to helping those who went through the same struggles as he did. He actively protested this Dunkin Donuts. He met with the owners of this store, and they agreed to contribute to feeding the homeless.

Additionally:

The workers who dumped the water on Dufresne were fired almost immediately. Furthermore, one of the workers publicly apologized for his actions. Another popular donut shop is giving away 1,000 donuts to the homeless in the wake of what happened.

I will find you….. and I will follow….

Multiple gynos refused me an IUD because  “oh, it hurts so much to put in when you’ve had kids! We don’t want to put you in pain!!”

I was at a 7-9 on the pain scale regularly for my periods, and the docs were determined to make me run the gauntlet.

“But what about the pill?”

“Symptom-swap.”

“Have you thought about depo?”

“Mood drop.”

“And the patch?”

“Family history of breaking out in rashes.”

“Well, what about the nuva ring?”

“How will that NOT give me the same symptom-swap issues?”

“…”

“Look, I’m in pain so bad I wake up in the middle of the night. I’m in pain so bad I didn’t know I had appendecitis. I need SOMETHING.”

“Have you tried an ibuprofen protocol?”

“YES.”

“There are yoga poses that help with cramping.”

“I can’t uncurl from the ball of pain I’m in. How the hell am I supposed to hold position?”

“Well, how much caffeine do you drink? That could be a factor.”

“I have three cups of coffee a day and drink lots of water.”

And so on.

Then, one day, I made an appointment and went to Planned Parenthood.

“Yeah. Hi. I have incredibly painful periods that are fucking crippling me, and I need an IUD.”

“Okay. Do you have a chart of your periods I can look at?”

“Yup.”

“Okay. Looks like you have regular, heavy periods where the pain is worsening. Is that right?”

“Yup. And the fatigue. And the mood swings. And all of it.”

“Fatigue and mood swings, too?”

“Yup.”

“…is there any history of endometriosis in your family?”

“Yup. I’ve never been diagnosed, though. They say it takes a biopsy.”

“The biopsy can confirm tissue, but if you don’t have excess tissue, it doesn’t really help. You can have endo without excess tissue.”

“Okay. So, what are my options?”

“I suggest Mirena. Paraguard can make period symptoms worse even though it’s got no hormones while Mirena has a low-dose hormone that should help with all your pain and other issues. Here’s all the info on both of them. Here are models of both of them. Why don’t you take everything with you, read through it, then call if you have any questions? We can go ahead and schedule for insertion before you leave, and you can just call and say which type you want after you’ve read up. Is that okay?”

“…Yeah. That’s. That’s fine.”

“Do you have any questions right now?”

“Um, I got told a bunch I shouldn’t get an IUD because the insertion will hurt too much because I haven’t had kids.”

“Looking at the pain you’re usually in, I think you can handle it. It will definitely hurt, but it should only last about twenty seconds.”

“Twenty seconds?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been refused the best option for dealing with my symptoms because of TWENTY SECONDS?!”

“Sadly, we hear that a lot.”

Strength comes in all different packages… These 7 plus-size athletes talk to us about their lives in sports!

I will find you….. and I will follow….