Ok so hear me out. I know my Patreon is meant for medical necessities but this was important.
Tom is dying slowly of lung cancer and that’s our goal - to slow his death. He lost 80lb, and at 7 feet, he looks like a skeleton. Still, we treat him as long as he feels ok.
He lives at a homeless shelter and likes to visit me randomly at the clinic, even when it’s not a treatment day. “My Blima,” he calls me.
Today he came for chemo and we chatted. He fretted over an additional 4lb lost, but his eyes lit up as he recounted a good day last week:
“My brother came up from Alabama and took me to Applebees. Blima I ate a whole rack of ribs, mashed potatoes, broccoli and chocolate cake. I enjoyed it so much.
I don’t like the frozen dinners I usually get for meals.
So, this was a treat.”
I told him I was happy for him.
Then he promptly drew the blanket over his head to sleep through his chemo, and I snuck out to get him a few little gifts which I left for him to find.
Then he woke up.
“My Blima!!!” he called throughout the chemo room.
His face was split into a grin and he had tears in his eyes.
I hugged his bony frame.
“I’m gonna eat well this month My Blima. Thank you.”
But I’m just the steward with funding given to me by my patrons, so thank YOU.
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So here’s my story of how I went from being an anti-vaccine, fearful mother who selectively vaccinated on an alternative schedule -> to a pro-vaccine advocate.
It’s not very dramatic, but these stories never are.
We start in 2008, where I am a new cancer survivor, age 23.
My chemotherapy regimen had me comatose & wheelchair bound. I don’t know why. Once I became a nurse I realize that it was an extreme reaction to the chemotherapy.
But, I survived.
A year later I was cleared to try to become pregnant. I was told I wouldn’t be able to.
Several months later, with a lot of help from God and science, on the day I graduated nursing school, I was expecting my daughter.
I enjoyed my time. I was still recovering my strength and my hair, and processing what I had been through.
He was on the phone, wailing: Blima every bone hurts, I can’t bear it.
I smacked myself mentally. He got an injection yesterday to increase white blood cell production. On occasion, it causes deep bone pain (it works in the bone marrow).
But most of my patients do fine.
Now he was in severe pain, which is complex because he’s on methadone and oxycodone to manage both his addiction and his cancer pain.
The trick for this kind of pain is Claritin - only partially supported by the evidence, but low risk, many patients swear it works.
“Josh,” I said urgently. “Can you get to a pharmacy?”
“No,” he moaned. “I can’t get out of bed.”
I went to the pharmacy next door and swiped my Patreon card for the $14 Claritin. I asked if they’d deliver it, but their driver had left for the day.
@Ami_Magazine allowing scams to be advertised.... not cool.
In case you needed more proof that it’s a trashy rag.
The fact that is was developed by Binyamin Rothstein should be enough.
Who is he? A physician whose license was revoked several times in several states for malpractice, most notably for treating patients with intravenous hydrogen peroxide.
1. They don’t care about healthcare. Their healthcare columns are limited to Reader’s Digest-like sensationalized thrillers and diet advice.
During the measles outbreak, they skimmed over the issues of unvaccinated swaths of frum Jews,
2/n
focusing their efforts on the resulting anti-semitism that occurred.
Clever. 🙄
When I begged @themishpacha if I could write an important column on the dangers of the measles virus and rectifying misinformation about the vaccine, I was told: