tirsynni

[tirsynni]

Post on my dash about medical debt reminded me of the time tumblr saved me two grand. I don't think I told y'all about it because I am out of the habit of posting everything I do on tumblr lol

So. Last December, I had a bad cavity filled, and about a week later, I woke up with half of my face paralyzed. Which, as I'm sure you can imagine, freaked me the fuck out. Fortunately I had some level-headed Discord friends who a) told me what Bell's palsy was so I could look it up and b) reminded me to call my dentist for an emergency appointment. Dentist was also pretty sure it was Bell's palsy, but urged me to go to the emergency room to get checked out, because one-sided facial paralysis is also a possible indicator of a stroke. And you don't fuck around with strokes.

Bell's palsy, if you, like me of 6 months ago, don't know, is a harmless paralysis/muscle weakness on one side of the face that can be caused by a variety of things. It usually goes away on its own after a few weeks but also you can speed up the process with steroids.

I was pretty sure I was not having a stroke, because I'm Red Cross first aid certified and I know the symptoms of a stroke, and while one-sided facial paralysis is one of them, I didn't have any of the others. Also, I had quit my shitty job in October, which meant I had a shiny new marketplace health insurance plan and hadn't even touched my deductible. But I called my parents from the car and they urged me to get checked out and promised to help me pay off the emergency room bill if I needed it, because they're good people and they love me even if they drive me crazy sometimes. So off I went to the nearest emergency room.

Emergency room staff also didn't think I was having a stroke, because I waited ALL AFTERNOON, periodically having a new person come up to me and ask me to smile, hold both arms out to the side, press down on their hands, and tell them what month and year it was. (They don't ask who the president is anymore. Hmm, I wonder why.) One guy had me drink a cup of water while he watched. I cannot stress enough that I did not have any medical tests other than a physical examination: no CT scans or MRIs, no IV drugs or blood draws, nothing.

I get diagnosed with Bell's palsy and given a prescription for Prednisone. And then they give me a phone number and tell me to talk to this person about administrative stuff. So I call, and the dude on the phone verifies my name and date of birth and insurance information, and then he says, "It looks like your copay today is going to be $2400. How would you like to pay?"

I am, to this day, kind of impressed that he didn't even stutter over that number, but I assume working in a medical call center drains your entire soul. At this point, it's about 7pm, and I've been in the hospital since 2pm, and I'm stressed because half my face doesn't work, and I know that I can't afford $2400 because I quit my shitty job with nothing lined up back in October. But, I still remember every tumblr post I've ever read about health insurance and the medical system and how you can negotiate down a bill. I am not looking forward to this process, it sounds like a pain in the ass, but the alternative is paying $2400, so I say the magic words: "Send me an itemized bill."

I kinda expected the guy to try and get me to pay up front, but he just says "Ok" and finishes up the process. I get discharged, go to the only open pharmacy at that time of night to get my Prednisone, have the pharmacist tell me the prescription isn't written right and he can't fill it, go home, and have a screaming sobbing meltdown because I have used up every single milligram of cope in my entire body. (I got my steroids eventually, and the Bell's palsy cleared up in a couple weeks.)

A few weeks later, I get the bill in the mail. I brace myself and open it...

$300.

Turns out, after going through insurance and processing and everything, they couldn't actually find $2400 worth of stuff to charge me for. Shocking! Who could have predicted!

I might have been able to argue it down even more, but I was fed up with entire thing, so I paid the $300 just to be fucking done with it. Sometimes the cheapest way to pay is with money.

What if I had paid that $2400 up front? Do I think they would have been like, "Oh, oops!" and refunded me $2k? Well, possibly, but I am not optimistic.

So, thank you to everyone who has ever posted about navigating the US healthcare system on tumblr. Because of you, I knew how to handle this situation even when I was tired and stressed.

Don't forget to ask for an itemized bill, folks.

[tirsynni]

According to Know Your Meme, on August 18th, 2005, Erwin Beekveld brought forth this work into the world. HAPPY TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY, THEY’RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD.

[tirsynni]

I met this pretty lady almost two years ago. October 2023, I believe. A lean, mean, feral kitty who was single-handedly populating the neighborhood. I was introduced to her by a neighbor who warned me away from her. The woman fed some of the stray cats and had a good relationship with them, but this particular kitty? I needed to watch out for her. My neighbor told me that even if you fed her, she was mean.

Here she is now: fixed, up to date on all her shots, gently plump, and content as can be. Kinda crazy, huh?

[tirsynni]

Chapters: 2/3 Fandom: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Leon S. Kennedy/Piers Nivans Characters: Leon S. Kennedy, Piers Nivans Additional Tags: Whumptober 2023, Hurt/Comfort, Whump Series: Part 16 of Resident Evil Whumptober 2023 Summary:

When a winter storm stalls Leon's evac, Piers Nivans is his only hope.

[tirsynni]

[tirsynni]

the weirdly vengeful and petty tones aborted babies take in pro-life propaganda images are so funny like this passive aggressive "was it worth it mommy?" and "it's a shame you can't join me in heaven mommy 😔" like do you ever wonder if you were aborted for a reason you little bitch ass baby

[tirsynni]

it's crazy that sexism can even affect animals. the way people assume all dogs are boys. the simultaneous way people will get genuinely really mad if you dare mistake their pretty princess for a boy despite the fact all german shepherds look the same. the refusal to buy pink toys and accessories for male pets. i recently met someone who insisted they never adopt girl cats because they're always meaner than boy cats. i feel like im losing my mind. they're literally cats.

[tirsynni]

CH

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This isn’t about anything.

This isn’t about anything.

This isn’t about anything.

[tirsynni]

[tirsynni]

First off, I want to make it clear that I don't think any of the bullshit happening lately has anything to do with "protecting the children." That is just an excuse to use when they don't think "national security" will work. Want to take away peoples' rights? Target certain groups of people? Bring out the "protecting the children" card.

For those who are genuinely concerned about children finding stuff online, there's a simple but highly unpopular solution. It comes in two parts.

Teach children boundaries and

Ensure children feel comfortable talking to a parent or adult about their concerns.

If a child feels comfortable saying "No" to someone in person when they feel their boundaries are being violated, they'll feel comfortable backing out of other things which push their boundaries and make them feel uncomfortable. Pick up a book at the library with some intense scenes? They'll feel comfortable saying "enough" and grabbing a different book. Click through the "adult" warning on a website, only to discover the stuff there is too adult for them? They'll feel comfortable backing out of that site.

"But what if my mental health issues makes it difficult for me to do that?" Then that is a pre-existing issue which you should already be addressing to ensure your own safety. If you stay on something which harms you or triggers you, then that is your sign that your current safety plan is not working and need to be re-addressed.

Second part: if the child does encounter something which makes them uncomfortable, they should have an adult in their life they feel comfortable so they can discuss the matter. That is the responsibility of the parent. If the parent knows the child isn't comfortable discussing certain things with them, the parent needs to step up and give the child safe options.

Censorship is never the answer. Increased education, especially regarding boundaries, is an answer.

Those who burn books (literally and metaphorically) have never been on the right side of history.

[tirsynni]

being anti ai is making me feel like in going insane. "you asked for thoughts about your characters backstory and i put it into chat gpt for ideas". studies have proven its making people dumber. "i asked ai to generate this meal plan". its causing water shortages where its data centers are built. "ill generate some pictures for the dnd campaign". its spreading misinformation. "meta, generate an image of this guy doing something stupid". its trained off stolen images, writing, video, audio. "i was talking with my snapchat ai-" theres no way to verify what its doing with the information it collects. "youtube is impletmenting ai based age verification". my work has an entire graphics media department and has still put ai generated motivational posters up everywhere. ai playlists. ai facial verification. google ai microsoft ai meta ai snapchat ai. everyone treats it as a novelty. every treats it as a mandatory part of life. am i the only one who sees it? am i paranoid? am i going insane? jesus fucking christ. if i have to hear one more "well at least-" "but it does-" "but you can-" im about to lose it. i shouldnt have to jump through hoops to avoid the evil machine. have you no principles? no goddamn spine? am i the weird one here?

[tirsynni]

All who live in EU please read this article!

The European Union is going against online privacy by trying to pass a bill in october where AI will monitor all your texts before sending them! Even encrypted ones! If you don’t have the time to read it fully at least read the basic explanation and the what to do part. Our privacy depends on it!

Also please reblog this or post the link to your own blog to make it reach as many as possible!

[tirsynni]

I had a stupid idea and I really wanted to draw it for some reason

[tirsynni]

[tirsynni]

Do you hear it? Do you hear it? Can you hear it?

[tirsynni]