Melody Pond (they/them)
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thread 1/8
Here’s a fun, pre-ACA healthcare story. One day, I woke up feeling like my insides were being dissolved in acid. On the plus side, there was also vomiting. Lots of vomiting. I deluded myself into thinking “maybe it’s just a stomach bug,” & writhed on the floor next to toilet (bc vomiting) for
08:34 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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nine hours, until I finally got in touch with my sibling to take me to the hospital.

“Why not an ambulance?,” you ask. Well, I did say this was pre-ACA, & being that I’m already poor, this was a no go.

So, I go for the longest most uncomfortable 20 min ride to the hospital, & they put me
08:34 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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back in a bed, & give me morphine that does absolutely nothing. I spent about four more hours vomiting bile & writhing in agony, after they did some tests I absolutely don’t remember, when they finally admit me to the ICU. Turns out, I had gallstones. One them was blocking my
08:34 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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pancreatic duct. I had severe acute pancreatitis, & it was lucky I wasn’t dead.

Four days later, doc comes in, tells me I need surgery, but rather than do it while I was there already, they would discharge me & send me to their outpatient office.

I get to the scheduled appointment & they say
08:34 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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“You need surgery, or this could kill you. It’ll be a $1000 down payment, upfront, or we can’t see you.” Y’all. I didn’t have two nickels to rub together, & they knew that at the hospital.

Six months later, a whole new city, & two ER visits later, I met a surgeon who was very upset I still had a
08:34 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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gallbladder. He told me to make an appointment with his office. Once there he was very angry at the other surgeon. Said “you need surgery now, or this could kill you. Looking at your records it’s lucky you aren’t dead already. I’ll do the surgery, just sign something saying you’ll pay. If you don’t
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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it’ll be sent to creditors.” Honestly, so thankful to him.

Anyways, this was life pre-ACA. As soon as expanded Medicaid went live here, I was on it. It helped me build enough records to use in my SSI case, & now I have traditional Medicaid. Now I don’t have to almost die bc I can’t call an
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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thread 8/8
ambulance, or pay $1000 down on a lifesaving surgery I can’t afford. $50, that’s the most I’ve had to pay a surgeon since. That’s what the ACA did for me.

Republican states that refused to expand Medicaid, that’s what they’re keeping from you.

Vote GOP & we’ll be back to that in no time flat.
08:34 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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DB Gives
A
In response to Melody Pond (they/them).
It blows my mind that there are governors preventing their constituents from getting healthcare under the law, and that many of those same people vote for those republican governors. republicans rely on ignorance. With an educated populace they CAN'T WIN.
05:28 PM - Nov 28, 2023
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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In response to DB Gives.
It’s pretty messed up, but as soon as the Supreme Court ruled it optional it was a forgone conclusion.
06:01 PM - Nov 28, 2023
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Bren
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In response to Melody Pond (they/them).
I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Thank you for posting your story, people need to soak this in. Insurance is already half of what it used to be in so many ways. In Mo they blocked medicaid expansion that we voted for. I don't know why anyone would repeat a vote for them.
05:00 AM - Nov 28, 2023
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Carol Glynn
B
In response to Bren.
MO is so corrupt. Blue dot in MO here. They seem to think we don't have a memory, smfh. AG Bailey, Gov. Parsons & the GOP led legislature Have violated the MO, not to mention the US, Constitutions a lot. I'm concerned about the court here, too.
05:49 AM - Nov 28, 2023
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Acey Deecey 🚀🚀
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In response to Melody Pond (they/them).
Dude, I'm so glad you're alive. What the fuck with that first hospital? Good God. What happened to "first do no harm."
11:08 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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In response to Acey Deecey 🚀🚀.
I think their Hippocratic oath was reserved for paying customers only, unfortunately for me. Like a capitalistocratic oath or something? 🤔
11:23 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Cav4life '88
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In response to Acey Deecey 🚀🚀.
Unless you can't pay then 🤷🏾‍♀️
04:11 AM - Nov 28, 2023
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Peyton
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In response to Melody Pond (they/them).
Sorry for the crap you went through, glad ACA has improved it. I can attest that you can live without a gallbladder, just need more planning
10:50 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Melody Pond (they/them)
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In response to Peyton.
Yeah, it takes a little getting used to, but much better off for it
11:24 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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Anton Brakhage
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In response to Melody Pond (they/them).
Reminds me of that study on death rates (as of 2019) if the US were run on conservative vs liberal policies.

If every state was Blue: -171, 030 deaths.
If every state was Red: +217,635 deaths.

That's a difference of almost 400,000, in a NORMAL (non-pandemic/major war) year.
#ConservatismKills
10:12 PM - Nov 27, 2023
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