#Health Monitoring App Development

[full-stackmobiledeveloper]

Revolutionizing Patient Care: On-Demand Healthcare Mobile App Development Company for 2025

Introduction: Healthcare at Your Fingertips. 

In today's fast-paced digital world, healthcare must keep up with the growing demand for real-time services and patient-centric experiences. On-demand healthcare mobile apps are now playing a pivotal role in modernizing the healthcare industry by allowing patients to schedule appointments, consult physicians remotely, and track their wellness anytime, anywhere. At CQLsys Technologies, we are at the forefront of this digital health transformation. As a trusted Healthcare App Development Company, we offer a wide range of custom healthcare mobile app solutions tailored to hospitals, clinics, wellness brands, and startups.

Whether you're planning to develop a medical appointment app, a telemedicine platform, or a personalized health tracking tool, our comprehensive Healthcare App Development Services are designed to deliver secure, scalable, and intuitive user experiences.

Why On-Demand Healthcare Apps Are Transforming the Industry

On-demand healthcare apps are rapidly reshaping patient-provider interactions. By reducing wait times, improving remote access to healthcare professionals, and enabling real-time health tracking, these apps empower patients while streamlining provider workflows. With features like digital prescriptions, chat-based support, and secure EHR integrations, on-demand healthcare solutions are becoming indispensable.

Healthcare institutions now rely on HIPAA-compliant healthcare App Development to protect sensitive patient data and maintain regulatory standards. Whether it's Health Monitoring App Development, EHR/EMR App Development, or launching a virtual clinic, mobile technology ensures better health outcomes and faster innovation cycles.

Tailored Healthcare App Development for All Stakeholders

Generic solutions don’t address the complexity of healthcare workflows. That’s why Custom Healthcare App Development is essential. CQLsys Technologies builds smart, custom-fit mobile solutions that align perfectly with your operational goals and compliance requirements.

Whether you're a hospital seeking centralized patient data access, a clinic looking to digitize appointments, or a startup building the next big Telemedicine App Development product, we offer modular, scalable, and secure healthcare app solutions.

Our apps integrate seamlessly with third-party platforms, wearable devices, and legacy systems, ensuring they evolve with your business. From Mobile Health App Development to fitness and wellness tracking, we craft experiences that are functional, flexible, and future-ready.

Key On-Demand Healthcare App Solutions We Offer

1. Medical Appointment App Development: Patients no longer need to wait on hold or stand in queues. Our appointment apps let users book, reschedule, or cancel visits effortlessly. Real-time calendar sync, doctor profiles, and reminders ensure a seamless experience.

2. Telemedicine App Development:t Virtual healthcare is no longer optional. Our telemedicine apps support secure video consultations, AI-based triaging, prescription sharing, and chat functionality, bringing doctors and patients closer than ever.

3. Health Tracking App Development Empower users to monitor vital health stats—like glucose levels, heart rate, and sleep patterns—through feature-rich mobile apps integrated with wearable devices and health sensors.

4. Patient Care App Development Support continuous care through personalized reminders, post-surgery follow-ups, and symptom checkers. These apps improve patient engagement and enhance recovery outcomes.

5. Fitness and Wellness App Development. From diet plans to exercise tracking, our wellness apps are designed to help users meet lifestyle goals. Custom-built for wellness brands, gyms, and health coaches.

Built-In HIPAA Compliance for Security and Trust. 

We know that trust is the backbone of any healthcare service. At CQLsys, all our mobile health applications are developed to meet HIPAA compliance standards. This means strong data encryption, secure cloud infrastructure, and strict access control.

Our team implements features such as two-factor authentication, audit trails, and role-based access, ensuring maximum security for patient records. If you're looking for HIPAA-compliant healthcare App Development, we are your go-to partner.

Complete Suite of Healthcare App Development Services. 

As a full-cycle Healthcare Software Development company, we offer:

Healthcare App Development for Startups – Rapid prototyping, MVP development, and scalable builds for startup healthcare ventures.

Mobile Health App Development – User-friendly apps focused on tracking wellness, fitness, and medical history for proactive care.

EHR/EMR App Development – Integrated apps that sync with existing hospital records and ensure data continuity.

Healthcare App for Hospitals – Unified platforms for managing hospital operations, patient workflows, and remote consultations.

Health Monitoring App Development – Real-time monitoring with wearable integration for chronic care and elderly support.

Why Choose CQLsys Technologies for Healthcare App Development

Healthcare Domain Expertise We understand healthcare—inside and out. Our developers, designers, and analysts have years of experience building compliant, reliable, and scalable Health Tech App Development solutions.

Customized Development. Every healthcare organization is different. We provide Custom Healthcare App Development based on individual workflows, compliance needs, and growth targets.

360° Development Approach From planning and wireframing to coding, testing, and post-deployment support, we deliver end-to-end mobile healthcare solutions.

Future-Ready Architecture Our scalable architecture ensures your app grows with your business and can be adapted to include emerging technologies like AI and IoT.

Cross-Platform Functionality Using Flutter, React Native, and native stacks, we deliver apps that perform optimally across Android, iOS, and web environments.

Emerging Trends in Healthcare App Development

The next frontier in healthcare app development is driven by innovation:

AI-Based Diagnostics: Predictive healthcare using machine learning.

IoT Integration: Wearable-based real-time vitals tracking.

Blockchain: Tamper-proof patient record storage and sharing.

Voice Assistants: Voice-activated health apps for elderly or differently-abled users.

At CQLsys, we actively incorporate these trends into our development strategy, making us a top choice for Healthcare App Development for Startups and established enterprises alike.

Conclusion: Redefine Healthcare with CQLsys.

In a healthcare world moving toward digital-first solutions, your mobile app can be the game-changer that improves care outcomes, increases access, and enhances operational efficiency.

CQLsys Technologies stands out as a top Healthcare App Development Company dedicated to delivering innovative, HIPAA-compliant, and user-focused healthcare mobile solutions. Whether it's a telemedicine app, a Patient Care App Development project, or a full-fledged Healthcare App for Hospitals, we help you build for impact.

Take the first step toward smarter healthcare. Get in touch with us today to build a secure, scalable, and successful healthcare mobile app.

[jigarpanchal]

Revolutionizing Industries with Smart IoT App Solutions

The powerful capabilities of a leading IoT App Development Company, showcasing smart city controls, industrial sensors, agriculture monitoring, and wearable health trackers — all interconnected through advanced mobile applications. MeshTek empowers businesses with scalable, secure, and intelligent IoT app development that drives real-time automation and seamless device communication.

[thetatechnolabsusa]

AI in Remote Health Check - Key Benefits & Real-World Examples

Discover how AI is revolutionizing remote health monitoring. Learn how Theta Technolabs, a leading AI development company in Dallas, builds custom healthcare software solutions to enhance patient care, early diagnosis, and real-time data analysis.

[sisgaintechnologies]

Why UAE Hospitals Choose Remote Patient Monitoring Apps

The healthcare industry in the UAE is undergoing a massive digital transformation, propelled by the growing demand for advanced healthcare technologies. At the heart of this transformation lies Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) apps, which are revolutionizing patient care, enhancing hospital operations, and fostering better outcomes across the region. RPM apps allow healthcare providers to monitor their patients' health remotely, providing real-time data, alerts, and treatment recommendations. This article delves into why UAE hospitals are increasingly adopting RPM apps, exploring the benefits, integration into healthcare systems, challenges, and the future potential of this technology in the UAE.

Understanding Remote Patient Monitoring Apps

Remote Patient Monitoring Apps are designed to track and manage a patient’s health data in real time, regardless of their location. These apps enable continuous monitoring of various health metrics such as heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels, and oxygen saturation. Through sensors and wearable devices connected to the app, healthcare providers can access this data remotely, making it easier to track patients' conditions, intervene when necessary, and reduce hospital visits.

RPM apps are a critical component of a broader movement toward patient-centric care, where patients are empowered to manage their health and communicate with their healthcare providers from the comfort of their homes. The increasing demand for these apps in the UAE reflects both technological advancements and a cultural shift toward more convenient, accessible, and cost-effective healthcare solutions.

In the UAE, healthcare providers are increasingly looking for ways to reduce the pressure on hospital infrastructure while ensuring high-quality care for patients. RPM apps bridge this gap by offering a solution that minimizes the need for in-person visits, improves communication, and allows for more personalized care.

Drivers Behind RPM Adoption in UAE Hospitals

The UAE healthcare sector has become a hotbed for innovation, with hospitals and healthcare providers adopting digital health solutions like RPM apps to stay competitive and offer high-quality care. Several key drivers are fueling the growing adoption of RPM apps in the region.

Patient Demand for Convenient Care

Patients are increasingly seeking convenience and accessibility in healthcare. With the rise of wearable technology and smartphones, patients now expect healthcare solutions that allow them to monitor their health independently. Remote patient monitoring apps offer a convenient way to stay on top of health conditions without frequent hospital visits. This growing patient demand for more accessible care has encouraged UAE hospitals to integrate RPM apps into their practices.

Cost Efficiency

RPM apps can significantly reduce healthcare costs by minimizing hospital visits, readmissions, and in-person consultations. With fewer patients requiring physical appointments, hospitals can allocate resources more efficiently, reducing strain on emergency departments and outpatient services. Additionally, RPM apps help catch health issues early, preventing costly hospitalizations due to undiagnosed conditions or emergencies.

Regulatory Support in the UAE

The UAE government has been a key proponent of integrating technology into healthcare. Under the UAE Vision 2021 and subsequent initiatives like the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, the government is actively supporting digital health solutions, including RPM technologies. Regulatory bodies in the UAE have streamlined processes for adopting innovative healthcare solutions, creating a favorable environment for hospitals to implement RPM apps. Government-backed initiatives have further accelerated the adoption of RPM solutions, providing incentives and setting standards for data security and privacy.

Key Benefits of RPM Apps for Healthcare Providers

Remote patient monitoring apps provide significant advantages for healthcare providers in the UAE. The integration of these apps into hospital systems leads to improved patient care, better resource management, and enhanced operational efficiency.

Real-Time Data Access

One of the biggest benefits of RPM apps is the ability to access patient data in real time. Healthcare providers can monitor a patient’s vital signs and other health metrics remotely, allowing them to detect potential issues before they become severe. This real-time data helps doctors make faster, more informed decisions, reducing the risk of complications and improving overall health outcomes. Furthermore, patients feel more supported as they can communicate with their doctors instantly when something unusual occurs, avoiding unnecessary stress or hospital visits.

Improved Chronic Disease Management

RPM apps play a pivotal role in managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, which are prevalent in the UAE. For patients with these conditions, continuous monitoring can prevent serious complications and hospitalizations. RPM apps allow patients to track their health metrics and share the data with their doctors, ensuring a proactive approach to managing their condition. Doctors can adjust medications or recommend lifestyle changes based on the data provided, leading to more personalized care.

Enhanced Patient Engagement

RPM apps promote patient engagement by providing users with constant feedback on their health. These apps often include features like personalized health insights, reminders for medication or checkups, and goal tracking. When patients are actively involved in managing their health, they are more likely to adhere to treatment plans, adopt healthier behaviors, and experience better health outcomes. In the UAE, where patient engagement is becoming a critical component of quality care, RPM apps are proving to be an essential tool for increasing patient participation in their own health management.

Integration with Wearable Devices and AI Technologies

RPM apps do not work in isolation—they integrate seamlessly with a variety of wearable devices and other digital health technologies. This integration enhances their functionality, enabling more accurate and comprehensive monitoring of patient health.

Wearable Device Integration

Wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and specialized medical sensors are an integral part of the RPM ecosystem. These devices continuously collect data on vital health metrics, including heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels, and oxygen saturation. The data collected by these devices is transmitted to RPM apps, where healthcare providers can analyze it in real time. In the UAE, where technology adoption is widespread, wearables have become a popular way for patients to track their health independently. Integrating wearable devices with RPM apps offers healthcare providers a holistic view of a patient’s health, improving their ability to offer personalized treatment plans.

AI-Powered Insights

Artificial intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly significant role in enhancing RPM apps. AI can analyze the vast amounts of data collected by RPM apps and wearable devices to identify patterns, predict health risks, and recommend preventive measures. For instance, AI algorithms can flag abnormal heart rhythms or elevated blood pressure, alerting healthcare providers to potential issues before they become critical. This predictive capability enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery, making RPM apps an indispensable tool in modern healthcare, especially in the UAE’s technologically advanced environment.

Addressing Challenges and Ensuring Data Security

While RPM apps offer numerous benefits, they also present certain challenges that healthcare providers must address to ensure successful implementation and use.

Technological Barriers

Despite the widespread use of smartphones and wearable devices, there are still some technological barriers that can hinder the adoption of RPM apps. Issues such as inconsistent internet connectivity, lack of digital literacy among certain patient demographics, and limited access to devices may pose challenges, particularly in rural or underserved areas. To overcome these challenges, hospitals in the UAE need to invest in training, infrastructure, and device accessibility to ensure that RPM apps can be used effectively by all patients.

Data Privacy and Compliance

As with any digital health solution, data privacy and security are paramount when it comes to RPM apps. In the UAE, hospitals must comply with strict regulations surrounding patient data protection. The UAE's data privacy laws require that hospitals implement robust security measures to protect sensitive patient information, ensuring compliance with international standards such as HIPAA. RPM app developers must adhere to these regulations to ensure that patient data remains secure and confidential. Ensuring data privacy is critical not only for legal reasons but also for maintaining patient trust in these digital health solutions.

Future Outlook: The Role of RPM Software Development

The future of RPM in the UAE is closely tied to continuous advancements in technology, particularly in the areas of software development, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. As RPM software evolves, so too will the benefits it offers to healthcare providers and patients.

Advancements in RPM Software

RPM software is evolving rapidly, with new features being introduced regularly to enhance its capabilities. In the near future, we can expect to see more sophisticated AI-powered tools, more seamless integrations with other hospital systems, and improved predictive analytics. For example, RPM apps may soon incorporate machine learning algorithms that can learn from patient data over time and offer more precise recommendations. These advancements will continue to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and effectiveness of RPM solutions.

Customization for UAE Healthcare Needs

As the UAE healthcare system becomes increasingly digital, the demand for customized RPM solutions tailored to the unique needs of the region will grow. Hospitals in the UAE are looking for RPM software that aligns with local healthcare regulations, integrates with existing systems, and caters to the diverse needs of the patient population. This is where RPM software development plays a crucial role, as it allows for the creation of personalized solutions that meet the specific requirements of healthcare providers in the UAE. This trend toward customization will drive the growth of RPM apps in the region, ensuring that hospitals can provide high-quality care that meets the expectations of their patients.

Conclusion

The growing adoption of Remote Patient Monitoring apps in UAE hospitals offers a transformative solution to many of the challenges facing the healthcare system. By providing real-time data, improving patient engagement, and enhancing care for chronic diseases, RPM apps have become an essential tool for healthcare providers in the UAE. Furthermore, the integration of wearable devices, AI technologies, and predictive analytics will continue to enhance the capabilities of RPM solutions, making them even more powerful in the years to come.

Hospitals in the UAE are already leading the way in adopting RPM apps, positioning themselves at the forefront of digital health innovation. As the demand for these solutions grows, healthcare business owners and providers must take a proactive approach to implementing RPM apps in their operations. By doing so, they can improve patient care, reduce costs, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive healthcare market.

As the future of healthcare in the UAE evolves, the role of RPM apps will only continue to grow, providing both hospitals and patients with invaluable benefits in terms of convenience, efficiency, and outcomes.

[imggloba]

Online Medicine Ordering Apps 2025: Revolutionizing Healthcare Access

Introduction

In the fast-paced digital age, healthcare has experienced a significant transformation, with online medicine ordering apps emerging as a crucial component of modern healthcare systems. As we step into 2025, these apps have evolved far beyond simple prescription deliveries, offering a seamless blend of convenience, accessibility, and technology. This article explores the landscape of online medicine ordering apps in 2025, highlighting their features, benefits, and future potential.

The Rise of Online Medicine Ordering Apps

The concept of ordering medicines online has gained immense popularity due to its ability to address key healthcare challenges such as long pharmacy queues, medication unavailability, and accessibility for patients in remote areas. The global pandemic accelerated the adoption of these apps, and by 2025, they have become a fundamental part of the healthcare ecosystem.

Key Features of Online Medicine Ordering Apps

User-Friendly Interface: Modern apps prioritize intuitive design, ensuring users of all age groups can easily navigate and place orders.

Prescription Upload: Users can upload prescriptions directly through the app using their smartphone cameras, streamlining the ordering process.

AI-Powered Recommendations: Advanced AI algorithms suggest medicines, health supplements, and alternative brands based on user preferences and past orders.

Real-Time Inventory Tracking: Integrated with pharmacy management systems, apps display real-time stock availability to avoid order cancellations.

Teleconsultation Integration: Many apps now offer telemedicine services, allowing users to consult doctors and receive e-prescriptions without leaving their homes.

Secure Payment Options: Multiple payment methods, including digital wallets, UPI, and net banking, ensure safe and flexible transactions.

Order Tracking and Notifications: Real-time order tracking, push notifications, and estimated delivery times keep users informed throughout the process.

Subscription Models: Monthly subscription plans offer discounts on recurring orders for chronic patients.

Medication Reminders: Built-in reminders help users stick to their medication schedules.

Multilingual Support: To cater to diverse populations, apps now offer interfaces in multiple languages.

Benefits of Online Medicine Ordering Apps

Enhanced Convenience: Users can order medicines anytime, anywhere, without visiting physical stores.

Improved Accessibility: Patients in rural or remote areas gain access to essential medications and healthcare services.

Time and Cost Savings: These apps often offer competitive pricing, discounts, and home delivery, reducing the cost and effort involved in purchasing medicines.

Data Security: Advanced encryption ensures the protection of sensitive medical and payment information.

Better Health Management: Features like medication tracking, refill reminders, and doctor consultations contribute to better health outcomes.

Trends Shaping Online Medicine Apps in 2025

AI and Machine Learning: AI assists in personalized medicine recommendations, predicting inventory needs, and improving customer support.

Blockchain for Security: Blockchain technology enhances data security, ensuring transparent transactions and secure patient records.

Voice Search and Virtual Assistants: Voice-enabled searches allow users to find medicines and place orders hands-free.

Integration with Wearables: Apps sync with smartwatches and fitness trackers to provide real-time health data to doctors and pharmacies.

Eco-Friendly Deliveries: Companies adopt sustainable practices by using electric vehicles and eco-friendly packaging for medicine deliveries.

Omnichannel Experience: Apps integrate with offline pharmacy chains, allowing users to choose between home delivery or in-store pickup.

Challenges and Solutions

Despite their growth, online medicine ordering apps face certain challenges:

Regulatory Compliance: Stricter regulations require apps to ensure prescription authenticity and prevent unauthorized drug sales.

Cybersecurity Threats: Developers implement robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive user data.

Digital Literacy Gaps: Companies offer customer support and tutorials to guide less tech-savvy users.

Conclusion

By 2025, online medicine ordering apps are not just about convenience—they are a lifeline for many. These platforms bridge the gap between patients, pharmacies, and healthcare providers, ensuring timely access to medications and medical advice. As technology continues to advance, the future of healthcare lies in innovation, and these apps are at the forefront of this digital revolution.

For businesses looking to enter the healthcare tech space, partnering with a trusted development company like IMG Global Infotech can help build robust, user-centric medicine ordering apps. With cutting-edge technology and customized solutions, they empower businesses to revolutionize healthcare delivery.

Are you ready to be a part of the future of healthcare? Let’s build something impactful today!

[sisgainuae]

Discover why SISGAIN is the most trusted Health Care App Development Company in UAE. We deliver secure, AI-powered solutions for hospitals, clinics & telehealth.

[likitakans]

AI and Health: New Technologies Paving the Way for Better Treatment

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding rapidly in the health sector, and it is revolutionizing our medical system. With the help of AI, new technologies are being developed that are not only helpful in accurately diagnosing diseases but are also playing an important role in personalized treatment and management.

Quick and accurate diagnosis of diseases AI-based tools can now analyze medical imaging data such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs quickly and accurately. This helps doctors to quickly detect complex conditions such as cancer, heart diseases, and neurological problems.

Personalized medicine AI can help create personalized treatment plans for every individual by analyzing genomics and biometrics. This technology ensures that the patient gets the right medicine and the right dose at the right time.

Improved health management AI-based health apps and wearables such as smart watches are now helping people monitor their health condition. These devices regularly track health indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure and sleep quality.

Accelerating medical research The role of AI has become extremely important in the development of new drugs and vaccines. Using AI, scientists can analyze complex data sets and make new medical discoveries faster.

Accessible and affordable healthcare AI technology is helping in delivering affordable and effective healthcare, even in rural and remote areas. Telemedicine and virtual health assistants are bridging the gap between patients and doctors.

Conclusion Artificial intelligence is playing an important role in making healthcare more effective, accurate, and accessible. However, there are challenges such as data security and ethics in the use of AI technology which need to be dealt with. In the coming years, with more advanced and innovative uses of AI, the healthcare landscape may change completely.

[honeybuckin10]

Hospital Beds - a Hawks x fem!doctor!reader One Shot

Summary: Hawks heals more than his wings after the Paranormal Liberation War attacks [wc: 4.6k].  

Warnings: mentions of mental health struggles, mentions of character death, descriptions of wounds, swearing, angst, fluff, comfort, potentially unpopular Hawks opinions. characters slightly aged up.

a/n: started writing thinking this was gonna be cute and flirty, ended up taking a kind of serious turn (still otherwise cute and flirty with happy-ish ending). might do a spicier part 2 at some point. as always, don’t be a ghost reader pls and ty <3

Hawks’ eyes were focused on the window, lost in thought. There was a crowd gathered outside Central Hospital. From the muffled voices through the glass, it didn’t sound like they were there for support. He felt the span of his back against the hospital bed, a sensation both foreign and grounding. The space where his wings once were stung slightly at the contact, despite the heavy nerve blockers he assumed were administered earlier.

“Back again so soon?”

You broke him from his trance as you shut the door behind you. Your eyes immediately scanned his monitors, a pleasant smile never leaving your face.

“At some point, we really do have to get your heart rate checked out.”

He didn’t actually have a high heart rate. But the machines he was hooked up to always went crazy whenever he got sight of you. He was too embarrassed to say anything, though he wondered if you noticed why his charts never reflected any underlying conditions when his vitals were checked by others.

“You’re not a very good patient, you know. Though now that you can’t talk, perhaps you’ll actually listen.”

He tried to respond, but quickly remembered he couldn’t open his jaw, not very much at least. No sound came out of the small gap between his lips.

You had treated Hawks on several occasions now, usually after incidents involving fire. Most were minor. He’d come in and joke that he’d done it on purpose to see you. You’d roll your eyes, every now and then you’d even dignify him with an actual response: ‘nice try’. But his injuries now were unlike anything you’d ever seen. You knew it was bad when he didn’t try flirting with you. Then again, it’s not like he could even if he wanted to.

Your tone was light and breezy, but the furrow in your brow betrayed your façade.

“I’m only joking, of course. But in all seriousness, your trachea was severely damaged from the smoke inhalation during the attack. Fortunately you narrowly avoided respiratory failure, but you won’t be able to use your voice for a couple of weeks. Lucky for you, technology has advanced enough that you won’t have to carry around a notepad everywhere you go. We recommend using the voice app on your phone.”

You handed him his cell phone, when Hawks noticed a plastic bag of personal items behind you with unknown origins. You followed his eyes to see what was distracting him.

“Oh yes, a young man named Tokoyami brought you a change of clothes and some other things you may need while you were out. Said he was your mentee.” You paused, searching for some kind of reaction. You thought it might brighten his spirits. His eyes widened somewhat, but there was still no smile. “It’s clear you’ve had a big impact on him.”

Tokoyami. His mentee. A child. More memories of the battlefield came flooding back. Twice. Dabi. He knew you hoped that bringing up his pupil would put him at ease. But Hawks was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt that he had put the student is such a dangerous situation.

“I also spoke with Dermatology. They informed me that sixteen percent of your body is covered with third degree burns, another twenty percent second degree, and twenty-two percent first degree. Given the severity and location of the burns, you’re also at risk of developing contractures that could compress your airways in the future so we’ll need to keep a close eye on that. Once your wraps come off, they’ve prescribed you a topical treatment that you’re to use three times a day until everything is healed. You’ll also be started on an oral antibiotic immediately, which you’re to take for three weeks.”

He attempted to use his new voice.

“What about wings?” You took a deep breath. Not good.

“I’m getting to that. I’m going to adjust your bed a little first. Are you able to lean forward?” He nodded as the bed rose up and the angle of his back moved more upright. He winced, unable to hide his discomfort but did as you instructed.

“I’m sorry, I know this is painful for you. I’m going as quickly as I can.” You talked through how you were examining his dressings, that his biggest risk at the moment was that the wounds would get infected, and that the dressings would need to be changed again before the end of the day.

“I think they will grow back. But it will be painful and it will be slow. You must be patient during this time and you’ll have to stay out of the field for a while. I’d recommend taking a well-deserved break until they’re fully healed.”

Bedrest sounded like Hawks’ personal hell. He only nodded his head. He didn’t have the energy to protest.

“You’ll also need to go through a psychiatric evaluation before rejoining field.”

Hawks let out a muffled groan. You let out an exasperated laugh.

“Really, you didn’t make a peep when I was examining your open wounds but you draw the line at psych eval?” You watched as he typed out his next thought.

“Waste of time.” Your eyes softened.

“First of all, this is standard procedure. Endeavor, Mirko, Eraserhead, all those UA students are going to have to get one too. Second, even if it wasn’t, what you – what you’ve all gone through would cause even the strongest soldier some kind of stress. We want to make sure that you’re all in the right headspace so that you’re the most prepared you can be going against whatever this enemy is. You have to take care of yourself first before you can take care of others.”

Hawks sat there a moment in silence, absorbing your words. Wondering whether you would be so sympathetic and kind if you knew the truth. He began typing.

“I killed someone,” the unnatural voice said. It came from him, but it didn’t feel like him. It echoed against the walls of the sterile room, void of emotion.

You pulled a chair next to his bed so that you were slightly below his eye level.

“I heard. That must be a lot to carry.”

“You hate me.”

“I don’t.”

“I’m a bad person.”

“You’re not.” You paused, choosing your next words carefully for the fragile hero. “I don’t know what your world is like. I wasn’t there so I don’t know exactly what happened. But I do know that we are both in the business of saving lives, albeit in different ways. My guess is you made a split second decision on what was in the mission’s best interest to save the lives of your colleagues and ultimately the lives of civilians. Nobody has a crystal ball to know whether that was the best or right choice. But it was a life or death situation, and you did the best you could in the moment. It’s natural to feel remorse and guilt, but you can’t let it debilitate you for the rest of your life either.”

What right did you have to comment on such things?

“You’ve never killed someone,” he countered.

“I have. In my OR. There are some people that can’t be saved, no matter how hard you try.”

“I think he was a good person,” he typed, wondering if that negated everything you just said.

“Good people do bad things all the time. It doesn’t make them bad people.” He sighed, swallowing the searing pain as harsh air passed through his lungs. You watched closely as the hero studied his bandaged hands, refusing to make eye contact. “For now, the best thing you can do for yourself and Japan is rest. We need you.”

He sat with your words. It didn’t dawn on him until long after you left the room that you weren’t just talking about Twice.

-

As you warned, the days passed at a glacial pace. He didn’t enjoy how quickly he acclimated to talking through his phone. He had growing pains from the nubs of his wings that began to poke through his skin. Each day brought a revolving door of doctors and healers and other specialists, by whom he was constantly poked and prodded and observed. Hawks hated every minute of it. Almost every minute.

You came in daily to monitor the progress of his wings. It was the most painful part of his recovery. But you entered his room with a smile and sunny disposition, like you weren’t about to inflict torture on him for thirty minutes. The air hurt his exposed back when you removed the old bandages. It stung when you applied antiseptic to cleanse the area. It felt like he was going to pass out when you ran your gloved fingers along the growth that was coming in. He felt all the more pathetic laying on his stomach as you did your work.

But you did your best to distract him with bad jokes and hospital gossip. Not that you had to put in that much effort. Your presence was distracting enough.

On the fourth day after the battle, you finally got a chuckle out him. What’s black and white and black and white and black and white? He shrugged as you applied ointment. A penguin falling down the stairs. You quickly realized that your methods may have been faulty as his laugh devolved into a coughing fit, his lungs still weak.

“Shit, I’m sorry. Try to remember your box breathing.”

He held his breath at the top of his inhale. Four, three, two, one. Exhale. Four, three, two, one. He repeated this for a minute before his breath finally returned to normal. He gave a thumbs up. I’m ok.

Relief washed over your face. “I’m sorry I made you choke on air. But glad to see you in better spirits today.” He began typing.

“I’m always in good spirits when you’re around.” You bit back a smile no one could see as you started redressing the incoming wings.

“Ah, there he is. Yeah, you’re definitely starting to feel better.”

“Can’t you tell? I’m the pinnacle of health.” The gallows humor was hard to miss despite the monotone robotic voice, the statement in stark contrast to his fully bandaged and hospitalized body.

“You will be, soon enough.” You finished applying new bandages. “That’s it for me today, unless there’s anything else you want to share.”

“Capricorn. 27. Single –“

“Yeah, yeah, very funny.” You pulled off your disposable gloves, turning to hide the blush creeping up your neck. “I already knew that from your chart. Nice try,” you teased.

“Didn’t know you were stalking me.”

“Goodbye Hawks, I’ll see you tomorrow.” You knew your faux sternness was hardly believable, as you caught him wink before you closed the door.

-

Two days later you bumped into Hawks and Best Jeanist in the hallway. You broke into a wide grin when you noticed the two heroes, pleasantly surprised to see just how much progress your patient had made in such a short time.  

“Good morning gentlemen.”

“Good morning Dr. y/l/n,” Best Jeanist said with a small bow. Hawks was visibly confused about his formality.

“Please, there’s no need for that. It’s just good to see you back in the land of the living.” Best Jeanist helped fill in the gaps for his perplexed cohort.

“Hawks, Dr. y/l/n was part of the team who developed the drugs to put me in a temporary death-like state to convince Dabi that you’d killed me. We can thank her for setting us up for success to get you undercover.” Hawks knew he missed out on a lot during his covert mission, but had no idea how many parties were involved outside the ordinary network of hero agencies and the Commission. You blushed at the praise.

“It was nothing, really. You guys are the ones doing all the hard work.”

“Truly, we are in your debt,” Best Jeanist piled on. You weren’t used to so much flattery and you had a job to do so you tried to end the conversation.

“Anyways, I have to get to my next patient. Jeanist, keep an eye on your partner. It’s good for him to walk around a little bit but make sure he doesn’t overdo it.”

“I won’t let him out of my sight.” He gave another bow.

“I’m right here,” Hawks typed, unamused by the turn of the exchange.

“I’ll see you in a few hours, Hawks,” you yelled over your shoulder before disappearing down the next corridor.

The session later that day was nothing out of the ordinary. The nubs sprouting from his back had formed into tiny but well-defined wings and he was able to sit up during exams as opposed to lying face down on the hospital bed. All signs of positive progress.

He watched wistfully as you documented your observations, swaying his legs off the side of the bed like a child.

“They’re coming in quite nicely, I’m really happy with where you’re at.”

“Great what do I need to sign to get out of here?”

“Ahhh not so fast. You have to stay at least another two days and even once you’re discharged, you most certainly are not ready to return to active duty.” He pouted underneath his respirator mask.

“You’re no fun.”

“Sorry, just doing my job.” You proceeded to check his other vitals before heading out. First you took off his mask to check his lymph nodes, pressing your fingers firmly against the outer side of his jaw, moving down his neck. He was acutely aware of the lone thin layer of latex that separated you. He couldn’t stop the warmth that crept up his face, thankful that most of it was still covered. His flushed cheeks may have been under wraps, but he couldn’t hide his quickened pulse from you. You put on your stethoscope and instructed him to breathe deeply a few times, the cold metal circle moving from his upper back, to lower back, to his chest.  

Your brow furrowed in confusion. “Your lungs are sounding better but your heart’s beating like crazy.”

He feigned surprise, which was much easier when he didn’t have to control his own voice. “Really? That’s odd, no one else’s said anything.”

You pulled up his chart again to check the inputs of all the other practitioners who’ve treated the hero since his arrival at Central Hospital. All values normal.

“On a scale from one to ten, how much pain are you in at this point?”

“Two or three.”

“Are you feeling nervous about anything?” He chewed his lower lip trying to think of a way to get out of this, knowing that if he said no you would run more tests which would be unnecessary and prolong his stay.

“Yes,” he lied. Kind of. He actually was a little nervous, though definitely not for the reason you likely thought. You brought your chair next to his bed again.

“Do you want to talk about it?” A loaded question.

“No.” The good thing about talking through his phone and the mask was that he could get away with saying less. Sympathetic people tended to not ask follow up questions.

“Okay. Well, you know I’m always here if you ever want to talk.” You spoke slowly, your reassuring voice laced with uncertainty. It was difficult to get a read on him when you couldn’t hear the tone of his voice or see his face. “Do you have any questions?” He nodded.

“Will you go on a date with me?” You almost choked on your own saliva. You blushed, but forced yourself to remain stoic.

“I’m very flattered, but there are strict protocols against physician-patient relationships.” Your stern message was undercut by your stammering, high pitched squeak.

“What if I promise to never get hurt again?” You tried not to smile, knowing it would only egg him on. You were failing.

“You shouldn’t be making promises you can’t keep.”

“What if I find a different doc?”

“You’ve gotten awfully good at talking through your phone,” you muttered under your breath.

“Can’t hear you.” Despite his mostly covered face, you could tell from the crinkle around his eyes that he was enjoying every moment of this interrogation.

“I-I’d have to take it up with the Board of Ethics.”

“That’s not a no.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Can I say one more thing?” You sighed, bracing yourself for whatever nonsense he was about to spew.

“I’d rather you didn’t but legally I think I have to say yes.” You watched as his thumbs frantically moved over the keyboard.

“Thank you for taking care of Best Jeanist. This operation wouldn’t’ve gotten so far without him or you.”

“Oh.” Your felt your heartbeat in your throat. “Again, just doing my job. Glad I could help.” You fiddled with some papers. “Let’s try this one more time. Do you have any other questions… about your health.”

Hawks shook his head, looking exceptionally pleased with himself. Despite the fact that you wanted to scold him for the bizarre interaction, you were reassured by his pleasant disposition, one you hadn’t seen since he arrived.

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

-

Tomorrow rolled around but you entered an empty sterile room, bed ready for a new patient. After a few seconds your confusion passed and you saw red.

You stormed down the hall in search for any hospital staff, until a poor resident had the unfortunate luck of being in your path.

“Where the hell is my patient?”

“I-I’m sorry?”

“Room 3409. Yesterday my patient was there and today the room is empty. He wasn’t ready to be discharged so where is he?”

“I-I-I don’t know ma’am, I’m sorry.”

“Dr. y/l/n, this is a hospital, not wrestlemania if you could keep it down please. And stop traumatizing the junior residents.” Hawks’ pulmonologist emerged from his office and tried to placate you. You glowered at the first young doctor as he silently excused himself from the conversation that was definitely beyond his paygrade.  

“Please tell me he got moved to a different wing.”

“I’m afraid not.” He spoke again before you could let out another outburst. “I warned him of the risks of a premature discharge, to which he insisted he was feeling fine and that those were risks he was willing to take. I had him fill out some paper work and a consent form and he left this morning.” Your nostrils flared as you silently seethed.

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that so I don’t have to report you. Oh, and one more thing…” The doctor took a deep breath before proceeding, worried he may end up the subject of your wrath. “This is probably terrible timing, but – he requested to take you off his care team,” your eyes widened “…and should he be re-hospitalized that you not be involved.”

“WHAT?” You continued mumbling a string of profanities under your breath. The doctor continued slowly and calmly.

“He made it very clear it had nothing to do with the quality of care he received from you. But he uh, mentioned something about a potential conflict of interest.” He took a step back as you burned an imaginary hole through his head with your retinas. “I cannot emphasize enough how much I do not want to know any more information about this.”

“There is no more information about it because it doesn’t exist!” You wanted to scream. “Fuck him. Fuck you. Fuck this hospital. I’msosorryItakethoselasttwoback.” You stomped your foot down like a petulant child before storming off. “FUCK!”

-

By the next day you had cooled off, that is, until you saw Hawks loitering outside Endeavor’s room as you were making your rounds.

“YOU!” you boomed. Hawks’ excitement to see you was quickly replaced with fear as you approached and you were close enough that he could see the rage steaming off you.

“Hey doc,” he said sheepishly.

“Don’t you ‘hey doc’ me.” You were very close to his face. He was sure he would’ve felt your breath if he didn’t have the stupid respirator mask on. For a split second he thought about taking it off but realized that would only further enrage you. “What the hell were you thinking?”

He began typing but you swatted his hand before he could answer. “Ow.”

“And you –“ Best Jeanist would be the next recipient of your verbal lashings. “You said you would keep an eye on him. Liar.”

Hawks had never seen his colleague scared before, but there was a first for everything.

“He just wanted to come for a ride-along, I promise he stayed in the car the whole time!”

“I have never been more disappointed,” you said in a low voice. Best Jeanists bowed.

“I am very ashamed and deeply regret my actions. I am sorry.” That seemed to pacify you momentarily. You returned your wrath to Hawks.

“I told you you’re not ready to return to the field. And now I hear you’re refusing to receive treatment from me? I cannot explain to you how embarrassed and insulted I am.” You allowed him time to type this time as Best Jeanist stood there as witness, desperately wishing for the floor to open below and swallow him whole.

“You’re right. I’m not ready. But this enemy is moving too quickly, time is of the essence. I’m in good enough shape that I can help off the field. I’m sorry I went against your professional judgement.” You continued to glare at him with pursed lips.

“And?”

“And I was being proactive. I’m taking you on that date.” Your face flushed immediately while the avian hero somehow remained shameless. You did your best to maintain your composure.

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise.” You crossed your arms defensively.

“After a stunt like this, I wouldn’t be so sure. Plus, since you’ve already taken it upon yourself to be discharged I’m not sure why you’re even here.”

“Now that we know about the Todoroki family connection to Dabi, we need to gather intel. Also need to consolidate info from those at the Jaku Hospital attack. Off-field work, if you will.” Your eyes narrowed, only to be met with undeterred playful golden irises.

“Fine, I’ll allow it. But I feel the need to make it known that I’m not happy about it.” The injured hero smiled again.

“Thanks, doc.”

“Again, our sincerest apologies for the mishap.” Best Jeanist did his best to make up for his companion’s clear lack of repentance.

You only gave the heroes a parting glare as you walked away.  

The rest of the day passed, otherwise uneventful but long and exhausting. You kept a professional and pleasant face for the benefit of your patients, but it was getting hard to maintain after all you’d seen in the last seven days since the attacks. Yes, there were cases of miraculous recoveries in the face of overwhelming trauma. But far more frequent were lives that were forever altered by all that had transpired, not just for patients themselves but all the other souls connected to those individuals. The hospital was at capacity, and each bed represented not just one person but a web of lives that now had to face a new crippling reality. If you thought about it too much you could cry – which you did, in the nearest break room or supply closet if had even just two minutes between appointments. Thus, your favorite part of the day became doing paperwork in your office at the end of your shift. It was methodical and soothing, and allowed you to disassociate.

It was at that moment when you were enjoying your oasis that an intern rushed into your office, disturbing your peace.

“There’s an emergency on the top floor, you need to come quick.” You immediately got up and followed her down the hall and up the elevator, asking clarifying questions about the situation.

But when you entered the room in question, all you saw was a picnic blanket on the hospital bed, two champagne flutes, a bottle, and the number two hero. The intern shrank in the doorway.

“I’m really sorry, he said he would send me a bunch of merch if I could get you here.”

“You’ve got to be joking.” You rubbed your temples, hoping it would transport you to another dimension where you never went to medical school and thus would not be here. “You are not to accept a single thing from him, do you understand?” The intern nodded aggressively. “Now go, I’m sure you have better places to be, ideally with a patient who actually needs help.” The intern scurried away without another word.

“And you,” now turning to Hawks. “Bribing medical professionals? Super illegal.”

“Sorry.” His mischievous eyes said otherwise, clearly undeterred by your scolding. You scoffed.

“No you’re not.” He shrugged. You took a closer look at the set up. “Seems kinda wasteful, doesn’t it? You can’t even drink.”

He turned the bottle to show the label. Sparkling nonalcoholic cider. The corners of your lips tugged upwards, threatening to betray your steely exterior.

 Any semblance of a smile quickly vanished, however, when he removed his respirator mask.

“What are you –“ He spoke before you could protest or before he lost his nerves.

“I’m going to be gone for a really long time after today. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Or if I’ll be back.” He cautiously grabbed your hands. “Regardless of which it is, I really want to make sure I don’t break any promises.”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in when he paused. You suddenly found it hard to keep eye contact.

“This is a hospital, not the Make A Wish Foundation.” Despite your icy response, you made no effort to pull your hands away from him. He gently rolled his thumb over your knuckles, trying to memorize every ridge and crease.

Most of his face was still covered in bandages, but you liked that you could now see how his lips curved into a lopsided smirk, punctuated by laugh lines that formed around the corners of his mouth. You liked knowing that you were responsible for it. Your mind concocted imaginary circumstances of other things you could do to get him to make the same perfect expression.  Your eyes lifted to meet his when you were done daydreaming.

“I thought they were one in the same.” He was insufferable. His arms fell to his sides when you separated yourself from him. For a moment he almost looked like the defeated shell of himself that was in your care a week ago. But it was quickly washed with relief when he saw you grab the bottle.

“You are the worst patient I’ve ever had.” A satisfying *pop* echoed in the room. He knew your words were hallow, as your acquiescence was rewarded with the hero’s bright eyes and heartfelt smile that made your heart beat in time with the little bubbles that evaporated around you. You handed him a glass of cider, his fingers ghosting over yours as he took the flute from you that sent a shiver down your spine.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not your patient anymore.”

[echoingbirdsofprey]

Delicate (Jake's Version)

2 - Cold Enough To Chill My Bones

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x OFC Samantha Kazansky

Rating: Explicit (MDNI!)

Warnings: swearing, Sam being mean to Jake again, Jake being exceedingly arrogant, blink and you miss the mention of Jake masturbating to a picture of Sam

WC: 3.1k

A/N: Jake is a simp. That is all.

Playlist

Sam was going to make Jake sweat a bit. She had accidentally pressed the follow button that night, and then in the morning she unfollowed him. He hadn’t liked any of her pictures yet, assuming he’d seen his notifications. She was sure he had but maybe he decided not to like anything. There was a lot. Something like five thousand posts. On Sam's end, shed found Neil, as he had been a suggested follow, and then found many of the other pilots she’d seen last night. She was going to wait to follow the rest of them until she met them, though a couple of them hadn’t hesitated to request to follow her. 

4 new follow requests

bob.floydWSO, hotcoyote, foghornleghorn, and paybackfitch

She spent the first hour of her morning in bed, just scrolling through all their pictures like a creep, but they did follow her first and they hadn’t even met her, except Rueben. Once she got bored of that she decided to get up and get breakfast. She let Rocco, her little red dachshund puppy out while she checked to see if her father was up. It was so odd to see his and her mother’s filled with medical supplies. The ventilator and heart rate monitors sat unused since his first occurrence of the cancer. She walked toward the bed and saw that he was still sleeping and she elected not to disturb him. She decided to take a stroll down the beach with Rocco. 

By the time she got back, he had gotten up and was just making his way into the kitchen. His health had been declining and it had been hard for him to make it to her graduation, but by the grace of God and with the help of all of the people around him, they’d made it possible. 

He sat down at the kitchen island. He’d gotten up and gotten dressed in his normal attire, and her mother Sarah had made breakfast earlier, leaving some leftovers in the fridge for Sam. It was difficult for him to eat solid foods as his cancer had destroyed his esophagus so he normally had something he could sip through a straw. Sarah had gotten creative with all kinds of smoothies and shakes and adding protein powders and such to keep him going. 

Sam took Rocco’s leash off and set him free before crossing the kitchen and hugging her father from behind. They’d developed a language, a silent one, that had become unique to them, but this morning, Sam had a little more than their silence could express.

“Do you know a Jake Seresin ?” She asked and he nodded and smiled. He gave her a thumbs up and then grabbed his phone and pulled up his notes app. He typed something and then showed it to her.

Good pilot. Big ego.

Sam smirked and chuckled before hugging Ice again. He typed out something else.

What are you doing today?

“I’m going to go sit on the beach and read, might bring my laptop and get ahead on some of next week's work. I’ll take Rocco too.” She said and he smiled and hugged her as he stood, ready to head to his office. They’d set up a spot in the house that he could stay and work from. He typed out a response and showed it to her.

Enjoy. Don’t work too hard.

She smiled up at him and he rubbed his hand over the back of her neck as he pressed a kiss to the top of her hair, and then he walked slowly to his office. She went back up to her room and took her time, putting her bikini on, a cute little lime green number with a push up bra top and the bottom with gold rings at her hip bones. She then added a sheer black cover up, and the same flip flops from last night. She put her laptop in her bag, and her phone. She packed a few water bottles for herself and one for Rocco, as well as his folding dog bowl. She clipped his leash on and he excitedly leapt out the door. She put her sunglasses on. She slung a beach blanket over her shoulder and headed toward the beach. The morning air was warm and the breeze smelled wonderfully like the sea. There was a faint hint of jet fuel in the air as well, to be expected being near the naval aviation base. 

She picked a great spot in the middle of the beach, where there was no one around for at least a mile each way. She laid her blanket out and put her bag down as she got comfortable. Rocco sat comfortably next to her, just watching the seagulls go by. When he was bored of that, he whined and laid down. Sam scratched his head and then his long back and he wagged his tail. She put some sunscreen on. She opened her laptop and opened up her work email. She replied to some emails that she’d gotten and worked on a spreadsheet for next week’s numbers. Her phone vibrated.

1 new follow request

jseresin90

She smirked. She knew he couldn’t resist. She decided to sit on his request for a couple of hours. She got a head start on a report for next week, and then closed her laptop. She took a tennis ball out of her bag and threw it for a bit for Rocco. He liked to rip the fuzz off of them, so when he got tired of running back and forth, he just took it to the edge of the blanket and ripped the fuzzy bits off. She felt her phone vibrate again. She took her headphones from her bag and popped one in one ear, leaving the other free just to be safe. She didn’t think anyone was going to kidnap or kill her, especially here, but it didn’t hurt to be careful anyway.

Message request

jseresin90: hey

Sam shook her head. He was persistent, she’d give him that. She accepted his follow and message request and then re-requested to follow him. Of course, he accepted almost immediately.

whitehotkazansky: you must really want something from me

jseresin90: just wanna buy you dinner, pretty girl

whitehotkazansky: not interested

jseresin90: your dad is a big deal around here

whitehotkazansky: 🙃

She opened her Audible app and put on a romance book that she’d been trying to finish. The narrator's voice filled her headphones, talking about the main character and how quickly they’d fallen in love with the ranch hand. The notification bell dinged on her phone, interrupting the book. Four fucking times.

jseresin90: whats the harm in one dinner? 

jseresin90: or lunch?

jseresin90: breakfast?

jseresin90: maybe a snack?????

jseresin90: you could be my snack 😏

whitehotkazansky: jake i will strangle you if you dont leave me tf alone rn

jseresin90: whatchadoin?

whitehotkazansky: none of your business

jseresin90: where do you work? Do you work???? Do you just hang out at home and refuse dates from hot guys?

whitehotkazansky: bye jake 😘

She turned her notifications off, finding bliss as she closed her eyes and listened to the book in the warmth of the morning sun. She had fallen asleep at some point and woke up to Rocco growling next to her head.

“What’s up, Rocco?” She asked as she yawned and rolled over. There was a tall man in athletic shorts and a t-shirt standing above her, looking down at her from beneath his aviators. 

“What the fuck.” She rasped, pulling her legs up and sitting cross legged. The man squatted and pulled his sunglasses off.

“Hi.” He said with a wide smile.

“How the fuck did you find me.” She demanded and he blew air from his pursed lips.

“Your best friend is one of my co-pilots...she said you asked about me...and I asked about you, and I’m really fuckin’ intrigued that your dad is thee Iceman Kazansky. ” He explained, putting one of the temples of his sunglasses between his teeth. Rocco decided to waddle his cute little dachshund butt over to Jake, wagging his tail and Jake reached down to gently scratch the little dog's long back. 

“So much betrayal.” Sam joked and Jake smirked. 

“So, about dinner.” He asked, chewing on the earpiece of his sunglasses. Sam sighed heavily but she smiled up at him. A few of the other pilots had followed him, and she assumed they’d gone for a run or something together. 

“C’mon, Bagman, leave the poor girl alone.” She heard another male voice and recognized Bradley Bradshaw immediately. She’d met Bradley a long time ago, when he’d first entered the Top Gun program. They’d flirted, they’d even hooked up once, but Bradley was not the man for Sam. Bradley didn’t even like women. Nonetheless, he always had a soft spot for Sam. He smiled at her and introduced her to Bob Floyd, who had decided to go with them. 

“Nice to meet you.” Sam said and then she looked at Jake with a satisfied grin. “Bagman, huh?”

“ Hangman . But Jake to you, pretty girl .” He said and Rooster pulled him up out of his squat.

“Seriously, Hangman, leave her be .” Rooster said and began to drag him away. Jake saluted her and turned with slumped shoulders. 

Sam laughed and watched him as he was pulled away. He was quite good looking. But his attitude was unreal. Who did he think he was? The arrogance had Sam both horny and annoyed, a very bad combination for keeping promises to one's self.

Later that day, after Sam had gone home and taken a nap. She woke up to more messages from Jake.

jseresin90: I looked through your entire insta

jseresin90: youre really pretty

jseresin90: you've been all over the world that's nuts

jseresin90: I mean I've been a lot of places for active duty but damn

jseresin90: just give me a chance you won't regret it

She really was amazed. The set of balls it took to keep at this...

whitehotkazansky: where would you take me if I said yes?

He was quick to respond.

jseresin90: the nicest restaurant I could

whitehotkazansky: and where would that be 🤨

jseresin90: place on the waterfront called the Marine Room

whitehotkazansky: that where you take all your one night stands?

jseresin90: I don't take anyone there unless they're really special 

Sam left the conversation there for the night. Every time she was on a base with her father, this happened. Some guy fell for her, she'd let him take her out on a few dates, and then she'd find out that they just wanted to get in her pants, or rather up her skirt. It drove her insane. She would play it all the same way too. Rude and callous to try to deter them but there was always one. And Jake was apparently the one here.

🛩🛩🛩

Jake laid in his bed that night, listening to Nat, Bob, Bradley, and Javy watching some football game. Javy wanted to catch up and he’d invited Rueben and Neil too, but they’d left early. Jake still couldn’t believe Javy kept the place here, but it was good that he did, otherwise they'd be staying on base in barracks and that would suck. Jake needed his own space. He wanted his own space, where he could have quiet moments to himself. He kept checking his phone, willing Sam to message him back, but she never did. Usually girls fell head over heels for him. Usually girls fawned over him. Usually it only took him one ask before they were begging him to be in their bed or his. 

This girl was different though. It was like she had no time for his shit, no time for his games and his flirting. She didn’t want to give him the time of day. It didn’t even bother him that Iceman was her father. Jake was a highly decorated Lieutenant. Ice knew he was a good pilot. Jake had even been compared to Ice more than once. So why would Ice have any problem with his daughter dating the Lieutenant? He shouldn’t. And Jake wasn’t a fucking pussy like all the rest of these guys, who were afraid of getting kicked out of the Navy for dating the Fleet Commander’s daughter. Fuck that. Jake was going to go after what he wanted, and that was Iceman Kazansky’s daughter. 

But for right now, all he had was the pictures on her Instagram, so he picked one where she was in the same pretty little lime green bikini as today, and had a date with his hand and some lube for the night. He needed release and it was the only way he was going to get it right now.

🛩🛩🛩

In the morning, Sam headed downstairs to find her father sitting at the kitchen island again. He was staring down at his phone. She kissed him on the cheek and said good morning, then went in the fridge and grabbed some fruit. Her mother had already been in and through with breakfast for him, and had taken Mark and Alexandra on a road trip for the day. They were out of school for the summer, and Alex was trying to tour colleges. Too much travel stressed Ice’s body, so he had to stay home, but today, he wanted to go to the base. That was about as far as he could go, every once in a while, without getting too exhausted. He let Sam eat a bit and then held his phone up.

Would you drive me to the base today? Want to meet all the pilots for the special detachment. Miss the jets too.

“Sure, dad. Let me just go get a little cleaned up.” Sam said as she chuckled to herself, finishing her fruit quickly. She knew he wasn’t in a rush, and the nice thing was that time stood still when he was in the room. His time was valuable to everyone, so whenever he got there, everything stopped for him. That didn’t mean she didn’t respect his time though. She knew he only had so much energy, so the quicker she got ready, the more time he had for what he wanted and she wanted to give him that. 

She decided on a dress, a cotton material that was a light dusty rose type of pink. It had long sleeves and stopped just at the top of her knees. The neck was a shallow v and it had a string that tied around her midsection, just for accent purposes. She put a necklace on and a few bracelets on each wrist. Nothing special or terribly fancy, just random ones all matching rose gold. She also added a few rings on both hands, mostly on her pinkies and pointer fingers, again all rose gold. She carried a small purse, a light brown in color that would fit her phone, keys, and a chapstick. She did simple makeup, just black eyeliner and a little mascara to bring out the pretty chocolate brown of her eyes. 

He walked slowly and she helped him navigate the stairs and the step up into the truck. She liked driving his big ass Ford King Ranch around. Her mother did not and since he didn’t drive anymore, he’d given it to Sam. Her brother would get the other Ford, an F-150, and Alex would get the Mustang because that’s what she wanted. 

When they arrived at the base, she followed her dad to the main building that overlooked all the jets, neatly parked, and the tarmac. All this time when she’d gone with her father to work in all different places and different bases, and she’s still never been up in one of the jets. Only regular airplanes. She assumed it was a much different experience. They met Rear Admiral Solomon ‘Warlock’ Bates, and then the Vice Admiral Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson at the entrance to the building and they both hugged her and shook her father’s hand. They knew he couldn’t speak much.

As they walked along the corridors, Sam glanced out the windows and saw pilots standing around on the tarmac. Some of them looked like they were warming up for a run, a couple of them were doing push ups, and the rest stood around. She thought she saw Jake. She knew it was inevitable but she was kind of hoping they weren’t going out there. But they did.

When they got down to the airstrip, Maverick was there to greet them. He hugged Ice and then Sam. He took over from there, introducing his company of Top Gun pilots to her and her dad. Ice knew most of them, but reintroductions were necessary anyway. He introduced everyone by their callsigns only and when he got to Hangman, Sam nodded and folded her arms across her chest.

“Bagman, isn’t it?” She mused, gaining surprised looks from the Admirals and a look of satisfaction from her father. He watched with pride as his daughter gave the cocky pilot the business. 

“C’mon, pretty girl, don’t do me like that.” Jake sighed. The rest of the pilots all stood stone faced. They couldn’t believe what had come out of his mouth.

“Not planning on doing you at all, Jake .” She said with a smirk, and he stepped closer to her, attempting to save himself from further embarrassment. 

“I’m not askin’ for that. I’m just askin’ for a chance, sweetheart. Just dinner. Just one time.” He said, his voice low, his pretty sage green eyes pleading with her. Her eyes darted to all of the other pilots, all standing in stunned silence, and she decided she couldn’t be cruel any longer, especially with Maverick staring at her, as if he was the one expecting resolution, not Jake. But before she responded, she gave her father a quick look. He nodded and smiled. 

“Fine. Pick me up at 5.” Sam said, as she rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. She’d worn flats, but she was wishing she’d gone through the pain of putting on heels because she would’ve given her life to see Jake’s face as she walked away. 

“Wear something fancy for me!” He yelled after her and she heard the cheers and the sound of bodies shuffling and hands patting Jake’s flight suit. She glanced back and saw that even though he was being bombarded with hugs and rough congratulations, he was still staring after her. 

As she continued on with her father and the two Admirals, he bumped her arm with his. He typed out something on his notes app and showed it to her.

I used to be that arrogant. I like him. But he better not hurt my girl.

She smiled wide and put an arm around her father. He did the same, his arm around her shoulders as they walked. She could tell he was getting tired, so they headed to a room upstairs where he could sit and watch the jets for a bit before they headed home. As they entered and he sat, Sam had a little chuckle to herself and touched Ice on his shoulder. He glanced up and she said, “Dad, I think I could do more damage to him than he could to me.” And they both laughed.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Long COVID symptom severity varies widely by age, gender, and socioeconomic status - Published Sept 2, 2024

By Dr. Sushama R. Chaphalkar, PhD.

In a recent study published in the journal JRSM Open, researchers analyze self-reported symptoms of long coronavirus disease 2019 (LC) from individuals using a healthcare app to examine the potential impact of demographic factors on the severity of symptoms. The researchers found that LC symptom severity varied significantly by age, gender, race, education, and socioeconomic status.

Research highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions as age, gender, and social factors play a crucial role in the intensity of long COVID symptoms. What factors increase the risk of long COVID? Several months after recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), patients with LC may continue to suffer from numerous symptoms, some of which include fatigue, brain fog, and chest pain. The prevalence of LC varies, with estimates ranging from 10-30% in non-hospitalized cases to 50-70% in hospitalized patients.

Although several digital health interventions (DHIs) and applications have been developed to monitor acute symptoms of COVID-19, few have been designed to track long-term symptoms of the disease. One DHI called "Living With COVID Recovery" (LWCR) was initiated to help individuals manage LC by self-reporting symptoms and tracking their intensity. However, there remains a lack of evidence on the risk factors, characteristics, and predictors of LC, thereby limiting the accurate identification of high-risk patients to target preventive strategies.

About the study In the present study, researchers investigate the prevalence and intensity of self-reported LC symptoms to analyze their potential relationship with demographic factors to inform targeted interventions and management strategies. To this end, LWCR was used to monitor and analyze self-reported LC symptoms from individuals in 31 LC clinics throughout England and Wales.

The study included 1,008 participants who reported 1,604 unique symptoms. All patients provided informed consent for the use of their anonymized data for research.

Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between symptom intensity and factors such as time since registration, age, ethnicity, education, gender, and socioeconomic status through indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) on a scale of one to 10.

Education was classified into four levels denoted as NVQ 1-2, NVQ 3, NVQ 4, and NVQ 5, which reflected those who were least educated at A level, degree level, and postgraduate level, respectively. The intensity of symptoms was measured on a scale from zero to 10, with zero being the lowest and 10 the highest intensity. Descriptive statistics identified variations in symptom intensity across different demographic groups.

Study findings Although 23% of patients experienced symptoms only once, 77% experienced symptoms multiple times. Corroborating with existing literature, the most prevalent symptoms included pain, neuropsychological issues, fatigue, and dyspnea, which affected 26.5%, 18.4%, 14.3%, and 7.4% of the cohort, respectively. Symptoms such as palpitations, light-headedness, insomnia, cough, diarrhea, and tinnitus were less prevalent.

Fifteen most prevalent LC symptoms. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that symptom intensity was significantly associated with age, gender, ethnicity, education, and IMD decile. More specifically, individuals 68 years of age and older reported higher symptom intensity by 32.5% and 86%, respectively. These findings align with existing literature that highlights the increased risk of LC symptoms with age, which may be due to weakened immunity or the presence of comorbidities. Thus, they emphasize the need for targeted interventions for this population.

Females also reported higher symptom intensity than males, by 9.2%. Non-White individuals experienced higher symptom intensity by 23.5% as compared to White individuals.

Individuals with higher education levels reported up to 47% reduced symptom intensity as compared to those with lower education levels. Higher IMD deciles, which reflect less deprived areas, were associated with lower symptom intensity; however, no significant association was observed between the number of symptoms reported and the IMD decile.

Regression results with 95% confidence interval. Note: For age, the base group is people in the age category 18–27. For IMD, the base group is people from IMD decile 1. For education, the base group is people who left school before A-level (NVQ 1–2). A significant positive association was observed between symptom intensity and the duration between registration on the app and initial symptom reporting. This finding suggests individuals may become more aware of their symptoms or that worsening symptoms prompt reporting.

Some limitations of the current study include the lack of data on comorbidities, hospitalization, and vaccine status. There is also a potential for bias against individuals lacking technological proficiency or access, which may affect the sample's representativeness, particularly for older, socioeconomically disadvantaged, or non-English-speaking individuals. Excluding patients with severe symptoms or those who were ineligible for the app may also skew the findings.

Conclusions There remains an urgent need to develop targeted interventions to address the severity of LC in relation to age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic factors. LC treatment should prioritize prevalent symptoms like pain, neuropsychological issues, fatigue, and dyspnea while also considering other possible symptoms. Furthermore, sustained support for LC clinics is essential to effectively manage the wide range of symptoms and complexities associated with LC and improve public health outcomes in the post-pandemic era.

Journal reference:

Sunkersing, D., Goodfellow, H., Mu, Y., et al. (2024). Long COVID symptoms and demographic associations: A retrospective case series study using healthcare application data. JRSM Open 15(7). doi:10.1177/20542704241274292.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20542704241274292

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When the writer Amanda Hess was twenty-nine weeks pregnant with her first child, her doctor, looking at an ultrasound, “saw something he did not like.” He suspected a rare genetic condition; Hess underwent an amniocentesis and then an MRI. She sought out a second opinion—which augured catastrophe and, it turned out, was completely wrong—and a third, steadying one. Her son was eventually given a diagnosis of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which puts babies at higher risk for hypoglycemia and certain cancers and makes their little bodies grow fast; often, their tongues become too large for their mouths, requiring corrective surgery.

Extensive testing showed no genetic or environmental cause for her son’s condition, yet Hess felt somehow culpable. “I worried over what I had done to trigger it, over the dark secret of my body that had determined his suffering,” she writes in her memoir, “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age” (Doubleday). Her apprehensions were reinforced by her medical chart, which logged ominous-seeming F.Y.I.s that included “Advanced maternal age” (she was thirty-five), “Teratogen exposure” (owing to a tablet of the anti-anxiety medication Ativan, taken at the six-week mark), and “Anxiety during pregnancy.” These facts revealed nothing about her baby’s prospects, yet they followed Hess around like a misdemeanor rap sheet. Immediately after her son’s birth, by C-section, a labor-and-delivery nurse turned to her—“the paralyzed, split-open, twenty-second-old mother”—and asked, “When did you stop taking the Ativan in pregnancy?”

“Second Life” is not mainly a medical odyssey but, rather, a mordant contemplation of the many screens—from ultrasounds and pregnancy-tracking apps to baby monitors and children’s TV—that reflected and mediated Hess’s experience of pregnancy and early motherhood. Through the porthole of her phone, she encountered the “freebirth” movement, made up of mothers who are skeptical of prenatal screenings and tests, hospital births, and pediatric vaccines, referring to conventional pregnancy care as “birth in captivity.” Hess developed a queasy fascination with these women. “If I had had a wild pregnancy, dismissed prenatal care as a scam, I never would have received that terrifying ultrasound,” she writes. “But I also would have denied myself the information that I needed to protect my child after he was born.” The diagnosis fortunately led Hess and her husband to a physician who specialized in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, and to a hospital with a suitable NICU.

Hess’s book arrives at a historical moment—post-Dobbs, pro-natalist, techno-dystopian—in which both pregnant bodies and the stuff of reproduction itself have come under an extraordinary degree of scrutiny, judgment, and control. Some states routinely charge women with child neglect or endangerment for drug use during pregnancy (and even prescription medications have raised alarms). In Nebraska, a teen-ager and her mother both served time in prison after the girl took abortion drugs and delivered a stillborn infant. And many patients, including those who receive tragic prenatal diagnoses, cannot access abortion care unless they travel long distances out of state, often at great expense and even at legal risk.

Meanwhile, on the other side of what Hess calls the “reproductive technology gap,” a number of startups are touting their powers to select for maximally optimized offspring. Sam Altman, the C.E.O. of OpenAI, is an investor in the biotech company Genomic Prediction, which offers the LifeView Embryo Health Score® Test. It claims to evaluate I.V.F. embryos for a host of polygenic conditions, including propensity for developing diabetes, certain cancers, or schizophrenia; Stephen Hsu, a co-founder of Genomic Prediction, has said that the company’s technology can also predict I.Q., but that “society is not ready for it.” A similar company, Orchid, has backing from Anne Wojcicki, the co-founder of the genetic-testing company 23andMe. “Sex is for fun, and embryo screening is for babies,” Orchid’s founder, Noor Siddiqui, has said. (Creating true designer babies using gene-editing tools such as CRISPR is still largely forbidden.)

In recent years, the term “snowplow parenting” has come into vogue to describe a certain strain of affluent, vigilant child-rearing, one that works to smooth an offspring’s life path at every turn. Polygenic embryo screening may represent the snowplow driven to its logical extreme: the kind of parent who can drop six figures on Ivy-feeder preschools or comprehensive college-admissions counselling might happily intervene at the embryonic stage if she can boost her future kid’s I.Q. The ascendance of such technology, and its prohibitive expense, is a boon to the Nietzschean wing of the Silicon Valley overclass, which has long suspected that all its money makes it special. Perhaps now its genetically advantaged progeny can remove all doubt.

But most parents-to-be don’t breathe that rarefied air, which swirls with false expectations and, for some, carries a whiff of eugenics. Hess, who is a critic-at-large at the Times, takes an ambivalent view even of the more ordinary, in-utero technology that offered such widely diverging predictions about her baby’s health. Her prenatal diagnosis let her create a safe harbor for her newborn, yet the question of when or whether to receive such information remains an unsettling one. When a scientist tells her that, someday soon, a test that screens for Beckwith-Wiedemann and related disorders may be available much earlier in pregnancy, Hess writes, “I wasn’t sure that I wanted it to exist. I thought about the expectant parents who might jump, scared, at an early chance to prevent kids like my son.”

The “dark secret” that Hess ruminates on, one that can haunt the pregnant body and its progeny, hearkens back to a pre-Darwinian concept known as “maternal impression”—broadly speaking, the belief that a woman’s ideas, fears, and experiences during pregnancy leave an adverse physical mark on her infant. “Early modern medical manuals understood the mother basically as a psychic inscription machine,” the historian Hannah Zeavin writes in “Mother Media: Hot and Cool Parenting in the Twentieth Century.” “If she ate, thought, or did the wrong thing, it would be recorded in and on her developing child.” The maternal mind and body, Zeavin argues, was, historically, the ultimate transmission device, “the literal medium through whom the ‘message’ of the child had to pass into life.”

This idea, Hess writes in “Second Life,” “pitched forward through the centuries until it made its way to me.” She sees vestiges of maternal impression in how that single tab of Ativan—along with the anxiety it was meant to treat—was enshrined in her pregnancy records. “Teratogen exposure” refers to a substance that may cause malformation of an embryo; Hess notes, with dry horror, that the root “terato” means “monster,” and the suffix “-gen” is “thing that produces or causes.” “The online medical chart was supposed to be modern and scientific,” she writes. “But when I decoded its medical terminology, it said that I had created a monster.”

A largely unscientific hypervigilance about the blameworthy habits and behaviors of pregnant women is, as Hess discovers, a place of convergence for the medical establishment and the fringe-medicine crowd. At an outdoor retreat for freebirthers, she comes across a chiropractor-influencer who professes that most illnesses are created by “conflict shock”—some distressing life event that the patient has not resolved. When Hess later asks for “clues to why and how to treat” her son’s enlarged tongue, the influencer responds, in part, “The tongue is needed for speaking, sucking, and swallowing. During pregnancy did you experience a self devaluation related to one of these things? Did you need to ‘bite your tongue’?”

Although the reproductive-technology enthusiasts of Silicon Valley and beyond are not necessarily immune to such junk science, they are relatively sanguine about maternal impression. Elon Musk, who has fourteen-ish kids and has called declining birth rates “one of the biggest risks to civilization,” has fathered several of his children using surrogates and seems generally unfussed about where his sperm may roam. One of Orchid’s investor-clients told The Information that Siddiqui suggested she use a surrogate for her children, just because: “She was, like, ‘Well, this is nine months of your life, and it’s not that expensive.’ ” There is also the looming possibility of artificial wombs—which could eliminate the need for human labor altogether, bringing DOGE-like efficiency to the business of breeding.

It might come as a surprise that this tribe of biohacking control freaks is so blasé about outsourcing the work of gestating a human being to other, presumably less optimized vessels. And in fact the venture capitalists Malcolm and Simone Collins, who are the unofficial First Couple of American pro-natalism, have not used gestational surrogates for their children. Otherwise, though, they exemplify a hyper-rationalized faith in genetic determinism: that the message, in the form of DNA, trumps the medium. The Collinses have enlisted Genomic Prediction to run background checks on their embryos and another DNA-testing company to assess the data and then rank ideal candidates for onboarding according to criteria such as potential I.Q. and risk of developing anxiety or “brain fog.”

Within this paradigm of preselection, the work of raising children is, to some extent, completed upon implantation, and allows for what Malcolm calls “intrinsically low-effort parenting.” As depicted in a viral profile of the family in the Guardian last year, this parenting style accommodates unlimited iPad time at age two and the occasional smack across the face.

The Collinses demonstrate how advances in reproductive technology are resulting in unexpected political, social, and even aesthetic realignments. In many respects, they resemble the neo-Quiverfull, self-isolating, homeschooling families who populate so much of the Christian-MAHA sector of social media, and who overlap with the freebirthers who command Hess’s attention in “Second Life.” But the couple’s embrace of avant-garde science and medicine, Simone’s C-section births, and their autistic identities—Simone and two of their children have autism diagnoses—put them at odds with the same group, which rejects the medical establishment and fetishizes maternal impression and “natural” birth, and whose antipathy to vaccines is rooted in an irrational fear of autism.

The collision of these stridently individualistic ideologies is manifest in an online homeschooling platform that the Collinses developed, Parrhesia.io, which sounds like a disease in a Pynchon novel, and is, per an introductory video, “Using AI to Create a Free Alternative to the Education System.” The online marketing includes a few photographs of what we can take to be young homeschoolers using the platform, and, aptly, they all appear to be alone at their screen, as if they’d been programmed from conception for self-sufficiency.

As techno-oligarchs increasingly supplant the democratic state, its functions, and its elected representatives through undue influence and brute force, a Silicon Valley brand of carefully curated pro-natalism can begin to look like top-down social-genetic engineering, in which the children themselves are abstractions. In an illuminating suite of reporting on the frontiers of fertility for the Times, the journalist Anna Louie Sussman summed up the tech world’s view of family as one “in which children are often spoken of as a means to something else—staving off population collapse, an optimization project, a data-driven experiment—rather than an end in themselves.” But what should that end be, ideally? And what means, technological or otherwise, are allowed in reaching it? When you close your eyes and imagine your future children, what is it morally permissible to see? What should a person want when a person wants kids?

The vast majority of expectant parents in the United States don’t have access to the extreme-screening services provided by the likes of Orchid and Genomic Prediction, and thus don’t have to personally confront the ethical questions that the technology raises. But, in the last decade, first-trimester blood tests that screen for a host of chromosomal anomalies have become increasingly routine. These tests, when they detect lethal anomalies, can be a mercy for pregnant people. But Hess observes that, among the sunny promotional materials for the biomedical company Natera and its prenatal genetic-screening blood test, Panorama, “there were no pictures of babies or adults who appeared to have any condition screened by the test.” The unspoken assumption is that a patient who receives a positive test result will not want to become the parent of a child with a genetic disorder, however mild or compatible with a happy life it may be.

In “Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World,” the disability activist Jessica Slice posits that embryonic testing is a eugenic practice, and that the decision to end a pregnancy owing to an in-utero diagnosis is often “strongly influenced by medical and social ableism and misconceptions.” Like Hess, Slice supports abortion rights, but she emphasizes the intertwined histories of the reproductive-rights movement and the early-twentieth-century eugenics campaign. Eugenics, Slice writes, is essentially capitalistic in its aim to eliminate those who are perceived as a drain on the collective; as she puts it, people with disabilities “are the weakest links of capitalism.” This framework applies to how companies such as Genomic Prediction and Orchid create futures markets for babies, helping prospective parents to manage risk and calculate return on investment.

From Slice’s line of reasoning, one might infer that fewer fetuses with serious anomalies are aborted in countries where the ruthless logic of markets holds less sway over everyday life than it does in the U.S. But that does not seem to be the case in Denmark, for example, which has one of the most comprehensive and generous welfare states in the world. It also provides universal prenatal screening for Down syndrome, and more than ninety-five per cent of patients who receive a diagnosis decide to end their pregnancies (in the U.S., it’s between sixty-seven and eighty-five per cent).

This silent consensus on Down syndrome, at least in some cultures and communities, might be seen as a consequence of “velvet eugenics,” a term used by the bioethicist Rosemarie Garland-Thomson to describe “the enterprise of genetic technology and other medical interventions aimed at bringing all humans to a standard, ‘normal’ form and function.” The coinage is vivid, useful, and flawed; deluxe I.V.F. for rich people and non-invasive prenatal testing for everyone else is a matter of choice, and not comparable to the legal violence of, say, Buck v. Bell, the Supreme Court case that, in 1927, upheld the state of Virginia’s right to forcibly sterilize people who were deemed intellectually disabled.

Perhaps inevitably, some critiques of velvet eugenics enfold a soft, muffled doubt about abortion rights. In 2022, a couple of months after the Supreme Court delivered its decision in Dobbs, Garland-Thomson published a paper with the philosopher Joel Michael Reynolds that seemed to endorse at least some aspects of “fetal personhood,” or the legal concept that would give a fetus constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The co-authors’ nomenclature aligned with that of Clarence Thomas, who has written that abortions based on prenatal diagnoses “constitutionalize the views of the 20th-century eugenics movement.” By this logic, ending a pregnancy because of a prenatal test result might violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

One can reject the supposition that establishing fetal personhood could be a boon to people with disabilities and still feel that there is something eerie and terribly sad about the near-unanimous verdict on Down syndrome in some countries, especially given the isolating and demoralizing effect it has on people with Down syndrome and their families. At the same time, the overwhelming result at least bespeaks equality of access to reproductive-health technology in those countries. The state of affairs in the U.S. is different. A rich mother-to-be may get to have exacting input on whether an embryo meets her standards for becoming a person; if a pregnant woman is poor or in the wrong state, she may have none at all.

Both the ancient dogma of maternal impression and the emerging ethos of Silicon Valley baby-coders offer the promise of control. But parenting is not a programming language, and a child is not an engineering problem or a structure to be built to exact specifications. If that’s what you want, you should design a night club or clone your dog. Becoming a parent, Hess writes in “Second Life,” does not comport with the desire “to control and optimize every aspect of life. Babies don’t work like that, and that’s part of what makes parenting meaningful: you do not get to choose.” What’s more, the higher and more narrowly prescribed their expectations for their children, the more unmoored parents will be once their children inevitably outgrow and defy those expectations.

The moral and emotional wreckage of these thwarted conjectures can be witnessed in Musk, who has repeatedly made the appalling quip that his daughter Vivian Wilson, who is trans, was “killed by the woke mind virus.” Most of Musk’s children are boys, which has prompted speculation that Musk is engaging in sex selection; Wilson was assigned male at birth, a designation that she likened to “a commodity that was bought and paid for” in a recent Threads post. “So when I was feminine as a child and then turned out to be transgender,” she went on, “I was going against the product that was sold.” The commodity was found to be defective, perhaps falsely advertised, but not eligible for return. The only option, it seems, was to discard it. Unfortunately for Musk, there is no genetic test to predict whether a fetus will become a trans person, or if she is at pronounced risk of contracting the woke mind virus.

Reproductive technology may assume the chrome-and-glass form of an existential time machine, zipping frictionlessly into the future to retrieve high-definition images of a premium-grade child. But we can only presume so much about a child who is not here. “Second Life” is foremost a mash note to Hess’s firstborn son, who is a complete and ongoing joy, and much of the book’s charisma is rooted in its mood of droll astonishment. “The act of photographing him was a compulsive expression of my wonder at his existence,” Hess writes. “It’s him: tap. He is here: tap. He remains: tap.” The wild fact of her son installs an epistemological brick wall between the before and after of his being, and hers: “Past-me saw a prenatal diagnosis as a tragedy; present-me knew that no tragedy had occurred.” Despite the oracular hubris of the genetic-screening vanguard, the story a parent wants has only one primary source, one reliable narrator. You have to wait for him.

[mostofmyfriendsaredogs]

Hide your kids, hide your wives. It's TICK SEASON in Kentucky. Tick season peaks in Spring and Summer, though they're a threat year-round. The most common ticks in Kentucky are the American Dog Tick (Dermacenter variabilis) and Lone Star Tick (Amblyoma americanum). Their bite can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme Disease, and a whole host of other potentially fatal conditions. Early detection and appropriate treatment are necessary in case of infection. If you’re in doubt, have a doctor check it out. They’d rather give you doxycycline for “no reason” than wait until your joints are so swollen and inflamed that you can’t walk. Trust me, I have been there.

  In March, the Kentucky legislature approved Senate Resolution 32 advocating for “information on prevention and personal protection and raising public awareness of the causes, effects, potential severity, diagnosis challenges, and treatment options of tickborne diseases and illnesses,” to be accomplished in a coordinated effort with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and the Department for Public Health. The desire is to raise awareness among average Kentuckians and to better educate our healthcare providers about the risks, warning signs, and courses of treatment.   Officials in Louisville, KY, ask their residents who find a tick to share it through the Spot A Tick And Share Program, launched in 2022. The program allows environmental health specialists to identify and monitor the tick populations in the Louisville Metro area, as well as the diseases they transmit. Many local, state, national, and even online programs have been developed to contribute to this valuable data collection. Ask your local health department and nearby universities if they have data collection programs. If they don’t, you can still contribute to an online program like Tick Quest or use an app like TickTracker. You must prevent infection by protecting yourself and checking yourself. If you or your pet do experience a suspicious tick bite, please seek a medical evaluation. Sources: KDFW KY SR32 LouisvilleKY.gov Science Direct SciStarter's Tick Quest Tick Tracker App WDRB

[cognitivejustice]

Digital innovations can elevate citizen science as an internationally recognized source of data used by policymakers and as a career opportunity for young people

The Enviro-Champs are a group of over a thousand people using citizen science to draw attention to water quality issues in South Africa.

“We work with the Enviro-Champs to support us on the ground to collect data on rivers”, said Futhi Vilakazi of uMngeni-uThukela Water.

Research by scientists at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and GroundTruth have shown that simple visual tools such as charts to identify and count lifeforms in rivers, or acrylic tubes to identify the clarity of water, can provide comparable results to laboratory tests.

Groups like the Enviro-Champs and other citizen scientists have readily adopted these tools, demonstrating the unique contribution that can come from co-engaged local communities. Citizen scientists can collect more data over longer periods, across large regions or with greater intensity. In one study*, volunteers monitored how water pollution from wastewater treatment works varied every day between 2012 and 2019. Less than two years after the treatment plant was made aware of this monitoring, their compliance with regulations shot up from zero to 60-70%.

Nonetheless, citizen science comes with its own challenges. The process remains highly manual and often paper-based, relying on the selfless dedication of volunteers to improve local issues. Although the community aspect can be a powerful motivator to local authorities, the data they collect are often seen as being too unreliable to use for management.

Through the CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation, IWMI, Groundtruth and key local partners are collaborating to develop technological upgrades that can transform the impact of citizen science.

This includes a smartphone app to digitize, geolocate and upload citizen science river health surveys, using the mini stream assessment scoring system (miniSASS), to an online platform. There have been >350 river health surveys submitted by citizen scientists in 2024. An image recognition AI function was created to recognize lifeforms in the river that indicate water quality, helping verify the data in real time.

[thefitgamer22]

Fitness Trend

How to keep your body fit with yoga

Fitness Trend By practicing regularly using different yoga types that target **strength, flexibility, balance, and mindfulness**, you can keep your body **fit with yoga**. Yoga is more than only stretching; in regular practice, it may boost muscle tone, endurance, and aid in loss of weight.

### 🧘‍♂️ How Yoga Keeps Your Health

#### 1. Improves Flexibility

* Daily yoga assists heal joints and muscles. improves mobility and prevents injuries.

#### 2. Develops the human body

* Strengthen your back, arms, legs, and core through poses like **plank, chaturanga, chair pose, and warrior series**.

#### 3. **Improves Coordination & Balance**

* Helps in stability and body control * Important for injury prevention and functional fitness

#### 4. **Improving Brain Health**

Your heart rate increases from power yoga, vinyasa flow, and surya namaskar (sun salutations).

#### 5. **Helps in Weight Manage**

* Reduces stress-related eating and physiological imbalances * Burns calories in dynamic flows

#### 6. **Advocates of Mental Health**

* Lowers stress, improves focus, and improves the quality of sleep A healthy body is supported on an orderly mind.

Basic Places for Workout

Full-body stretch: **Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)** * **Plank / Chaturanga** Arm & core strength

**Warrior I & II (Virabhadrasana)** – strength and balance **Boat Pose (Navasana)** – core strength **Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana)** – glutes and spine **Twists & Forward Folds** Digestion and flexibility

—

### 🧘 Yoga Workout Tips for Being Fit

* Be **consistent**: perhaps five to six days every week. * Merge **restorative sessions** with **active flows**. * To boost life and reduce anxiety, learn **breath control (pranayama)**. Check your endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance.

—

If you need a list of **YouTube channels/apps** to follow, a **weight loss yoga plan**, or a **beginner-friendly yoga routine**?

fitness trend

At the year of 2025, the fitness sector continues to grow, merging modern workout techniques, holistic health, and technology. These are the top fitness trends shaping the fitness sector:

🔝 Top 2025 Fitness Trends 1. Fitness Driven with AI & Wearable Technology

a lot of smartwatches and fitness trackers are available more advanced works like AI-powered workout recommendations, stress monitoring, and sleep analysis. For providing customers the ability to view real-time data, these devices allow users to tailor their fitness routines and make accurate health decisions.

2. Models for Hybrid Fitness Trend Hybrid fitness, that mixes online and in-person workout options, allows people to get fit when it’s easy for you while staying linked to other. Regardless of their schedules, members can keep continuity with their fitness targets due to this flexibility. careerindia.com +1 +1 stevemaidy.com Fitness Trend

3. Techniques for Mind-Body Fusion It is growing increasingly common to mix mindful practices like yoga and meditation with sports. These hybrid workouts help users reduce anxiety and improve the overall wellness by focusing both mental and physical well-being. ActiveFitGo.com Fitness Trend

[carepartnersproject]

How Personal Caregivers Can Stay Organized with a Family Health Manager App

 In the ever-evolving world of caregiving, organization, and timely communication are critical to providing the best possible support. Whether you’re a personal caregiver helping an aging parent or a family member supporting a loved one through chronic illness, the complexity of caregiving demands practical, tech-savvy solutions. That’s where the Care Partners Project steps in.

We’re thrilled to introduce our highly anticipated Care Management System - a smart, intuitive, and user-friendly family health manager designed specifically for caregivers. This powerful caregiver app is tailored to simplify day-to-day responsibilities, provide much-needed structure, and foster peace of mind for anyone providing caregiver services.

Download the Care Partners Project app: Google Play | Apple Store

Why Staying Organized is the #1 Priority for Caregivers

Caregivers often juggle a multitude of tasks: from helping seniors manage their medications to scheduling doctor appointments, and even coordinating with other care providers. Without the right tools, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

Disorganization can lead to missed medications, overlapping appointments, or delayed emergency responses. When caring for someone with complex health needs or requiring 24-hour care for elderly, having a reliable care coordination solution is no longer optional - it’s essential.

The Care Partners Project Solution

The Care Partners Project understands these daily challenges, which is why we developed our all-in-one family health manager app. Whether you’re using a smartphone or tablet, the platform empowers you to:

Track medication routines with precision

Monitor appointments, tasks, and care schedules.

Coordinate with multiple caregivers and health providers.

Safely track family medical records.

Receive real-time updates and notifications.

It’s more than just an app - it’s your digital assistant, planner, and communication tool, all wrapped into one aging care manager app.

Features That Help Personal Caregivers Stay on Top

1. Medication Reminder App to Avoid Missed Doses

When caring for aging parents or individuals with chronic illnesses, remembering medications is critical. The Care Partners app includes a smart medication reminder app feature that alerts caregivers when it’s time for each dose, tracks missed medications and keeps a log for doctors and family members.

2. Centralized Health Records for Emergency Preparedness

In cases of emergency care for seniors, having instant access to health records is crucial. With our all-in-one health manager app, you can maintain a comprehensive and secure record of medications, allergies, test results, and doctor notes. This enables rapid decision-making during urgent situations.

3. Care Coordination Across Multiple Providers

Managing caregiver services often involves working with nurses, doctors, family members, and sometimes home care assistance teams. Our care coordination feature allows every stakeholder to stay informed, reducing confusion and duplication of tasks.

4. Task Scheduling and Daily Routines

Whether it’s scheduling meals, bathing, mobility exercises, or companionship time with an elderly companion, the app lets caregivers create, assign, and track every activity. The goal? More structure, less stress.

5. Respite Care Planning and Support

Even the most dedicated caregivers need rest. The Care Partners Project platform supports respite care by helping you find backup caregivers, manage time off, and maintain continuity in care routines while you’re away.

Try these features now - download the app now!

A Closer Look at the Benefits for Personal and Family Caregivers

Less Mental Load, More Confidence

Caring for a loved one involves emotional, physical, and mental labor. By digitizing routines and automating alerts, the app offers significant stress relief for caregivers. You don’t have to carry everything in your head or scribble reminders on sticky notes.

Ideal for Aging Care and Senior Care at Home

Whether your loved one requires part-time assistance or 24-hour care for elderly, the platform adapts to your needs. From managing a few weekly check-ins to full-time care-giving, the Care Partners Project ensures that senior care is handled with dignity and care.

Family Caregiver Tools That Keep Everyone on the Same Page

Often, care-giving involves multiple family members. Our family caregiver tools enable collaborative care with shared access, task assignments, and updates. It eliminates miscommunication and keeps all caregivers aligned.

How It Supports Aging in Place

A growing number of seniors prefer to age at home, surrounded by familiar settings and loved ones. With this shift comes the need for smarter solutions to support aging care. The Care Partners Project makes aging in place more realistic by:

Helping you build structured care plans

Connecting you with local home care assistance professionals

Providing instant notifications in case of emergencies

Supporting meal schedules, mobility routines, and elderly companion activities

By providing the structure, accountability, and flexibility needed for home care, our caregiver support system promotes wellness and independence.

Real-Life Use Case: Jane, a Family Caregiver

Jane is a full-time teacher and a family caregiver for her aging mother. Between classes, home responsibilities, and care-giving, she struggled to stay organized. After trying notebooks, calendars, and group chats, she downloaded the Care Partners app.

Now, Jane receives reminders for medication, shares updates with her siblings, and uploads doctor notes in real time. Her mother’s routine is smoother, appointments are never missed, and Jane feels less anxious. “It’s like having a co-pilot for caregiving,” she says.

Why Choose the Care Partners Project App?

Tailored for caregivers by caregivers

Built-in features that support daily care-giving tasks

Supports both personal caregivers and professional caregiver services

Promotes proactive aging care and independence for seniors

Provides a single source of truth for health and wellness management

Get Started: Make Care-giving Simpler Today

Care-giving doesn’t have to be chaotic. With the Care Partners Project app, you’re not alone. You have a partner who understands your daily challenges and is equipped with features that offer real solutions.

From tracking medications to scheduling respite care, and sharing updates with the family - we’ve built the system to be your ultimate family health manager.

Download the Care Partners Project app now:

Google Play

Apple App Store

Take control, reduce stress, and elevate the level of care you provide.