#nursing homes in Houston

[carterahealth]

How Does Houston Long-term Health care Help and What is the Future of the Service

Healthcare has crossed all the barriers and led to a smooth path with the congregation of valuable methods for patients all across the world. On top of that long-term healthcare insurance is there to provide with coverage that overcomes any high amount of cost. As we have entered the phase of technology, you can see how AI and ML power has bettered clinical trials. Moving on to the in-house patient care provided in Houston it again has enriched its routes by the miraculous acceleration for not only the doctors but patients as well.

Houston Long-term Health Care provides with healthcare services that range from giving you the best and foremost treatment if you are suffering from a chronic disease to accommodation. Over here the doctors are specialized with outpatient care techniques, As it is given long-term healthcare is not at all a temporary business as given in the hospitals and institutions. The costs that are associated with extended healthcare services can also vary according to the disabilities and cognitive impairments.

Ph no. (833) 735-2273 Mail us info@carterahealth.com Address 1449 Hwy 6 Suite 320, Sugar Land, TX 77478

[ahugaway]

Nursing homes in Katy and Houston | A Hug Away Healthcare Inc.

At A Hug Away Healthcare Inc., we believe in compassionate, personalized care for your loved ones. Our nursing home services provide a warm and supportive environment, ensuring every resident feels valued and at home. Discover care that truly feels like a hug away.

[headintheclouds-posts]

Exo as husbands pls

Enjoy :)

Exo as husbands

Suho

The proud husband

To put it simply, this man would do anything for you

If you need something, he will get it

If you’re hungry, he will cook

If you’re tired, he will be your mattress

The moment you became his wife, he sole purpose was you

Likes to talk about you to Exo-l's

As he is the leader of the group, you have become a older sibling type figure to the fans

Which he loves

Date nights together consist of old movies on the sofa with a bottle of red

Likes to sit and reminisce over your wedding photo's

He would just be an amazing husband

Xiumin

The cute husband

He's just a squishy squish

He doesn't really act any different as a husband to when he was your boyfriend

He still teases you

Plus will do anything to put a smile on your face

He will happily do all the cleaning

Because according to him, you do it wrong

As we know, Xiumin likes to drink so I think dates would be a karaoke bar, with you both drunkenly screaming Whitney Houston's 'I will always love you' into a microphone/empty bottle

Always makes you breakfast in bed

You are literally his best friend and being with you is his favourite pastime

Baekhyun

The crazy husband

I wouldn't know whether to say Congrats or good luck

He is a tornado with a beautiful voice and handsome face

But still a tornado

He is also a clingy boy

So expect lots of cuddles/headlocks

Knows how to cheer you up when you're not feeling so great

Expect lots of butterfly kisses to the face

Loves to go long drives with you, just listening to music and talking about life

He's just your number one fan and will make sure you always have a smile on your face

Chanyeol

The protective husband

If you're going out with friends or at a work event, he will be your personal taxi driver

Always making sure you're ok

Also the type to tease you, in a loving way though

Likes to take you on spontaneous dates

He loves to stroke your hair whilst you sleep and looks lovingly at his wedding ring

It fills him with a sense of pride when he does

Loves how your lips feel against his skin

Can’t actually go a whole day without a kiss from you

Marriage with Chanyeol would be filled with loving moments

Kyungsoo

The attentive husband

Actions speak louder than words

Kyungsoo's love language is his actions

He will always make sure you have eaten or that you are hydrated

At first it confused you, like you have managed to survive this long

Then the reality hits you, he’s trying to take care of you

Listens intently to whatever you have to say

Has had the same background on his phone for years and it’s from the day you met

Can’t stand to see you sad

It breaks him inside

Will provide advise whenever you need it

Though he doesn’t always say it, you’re everything to him

Kai

The affectionate husband

He kisses you and holds you any chance he gets

He knew you were his before marriage

But now it’s like official and legal

So he has to show you every chance he can that he loves you

Expect to come home and find the lights dimmed and candles lit

The faint sound of your wedding song playing in the background

Kai would take your hand and pull you close to dance with you

Why am I giggling and kicking my feet rn

He likes to watch the stars with you

Whilst talking about your future

He will do anything to show you how real and unwavering his love is

Sehun

The Impulsive husband

‘Sighs’

You only have yourself to blame for this

You knew what you were getting into and you’re not getting any sympathy from me

You’re now married to someone who I can only imagine has a circus living inside his head

He’s always down to do something fun

Your dates consist of paint-balling and silent discos

Always knows how to cheer you up when you’re having a bad day

I can imagine him being quite a heated kisser

He doesn’t like to sleep alone so he wraps his entire body round you like an octopus

He’s like the worst nurse when you feel sick

But you appreciate the effort

I don’t know why but Sehun just gives me feral vibes

Like it wouldn’t shock me if he lived wild in the jungle like Tarzan

But being with you gives him the sense of home he’s always wanted

You are his world

Lay

The doting husband

Be prepared to be treated like a queen

He has waited for the moment to call you his wife

Now that it’s official he can’t wait to be the husband he has always dreamed of being

Expect long talks into the night

He plans he whole future around you

You’re literally his one and only

Constantly sends pictures to the exo group chat of your travels as a married couple

Wants to show you off every chance he gets

Will sit and write songs about you

Every fibre of his being is you and your happiness

[goldeneyedgirl]

Ficmas2024 Day 1: Cowboys & Witches Verse Discontinued Sequel

Happy Holidays and welcome to this year's edition of Ficmas! I swear to god, this is upon me faster every single year. Requests are staying open this year, so if you still have something you're dying to see, now is the time to abuse my ask box.

Today's offering is the original draft of the sequel to Love & Duty, the verse second most in need of some heavy editing and rewrites. When I was asked for Solstice, I decided that it was a much more interesting and fun sequel and this kind of sat in a corner of my writing folder. This takes place roughly a year after Love & Duty

There's a good chance I will repurpose aspects of this version into a future installment of Love and Duty, but for now, this is what we have. I hope you like it!

untitled love & duty sequel.

Time meandered on.

More vampire raids were happening up and down the border, though no news came from Del Rio, much to Alice's secret relief. But the raids were bad - three Guardian Houses were lost entirely, with the survivors decamping for Houston with horror stories and gruesome war wounds. The dead were left behind, without a chance for a blessing or the final rites, something that left everyone on edge.

The aunts tried to disguise their worry but failed miserably; soon Alice was diverted from battling the hemlock and the blackberries, and assisting with the near constant creation of blessing amulets and charms, of memorising protective spells, and strengthening shields and protection around the property.

It was stressful and exhausting. But it distracted her. That was important - mooning over Jasper Whitlock-Hale was a pointless waste of energy, and she would get over whatever it had been. She had had a crush, and he had mistaken his gratitude with lust. Nothing else. She was, in all probability, never going to see him again.

It had been almost a year since Del Rio - she had tucked all thoughts of the cowboy in a corner of her mind that only came out when she was getting ready to sleep. She knew what would happen if the aunts found out; a lecture about the isolation and loneliness of Laredo twisting up her mind, and a lot of tasks around the house to get her mind off something as silly and frivolous as a boy.

But the nights she drifted off thinking about Jasper's smile, and the warmth of the Del Rio house kitchen, were the nights that she managed to sleep the best.

And then there was a raid in Laredo proper.

Evidently a messy attempt to locate the Guardian House that brought her and the aunts straight into town, to spend most of the night and an entire day posing as nurses to aid with the injured in town. She’d stitched and bandaged and made endless cups of tea, and secretly created dozens of blessed salt lines. They rarely did much to vampires on the hunt, but they could disrupt or conceal a scent trail. Every little bit would help until the Council figured out why the raids were happening and send out scouts.

All four of the Laredo witches arrived home at dusk, physically and mentally exhausted. Blood stained their clothing, their supplies were low, and there was nothing else for it - they all needed a wash, some toast and tea, and then a whole night sleeping. It was a relief that the aunts didn’t expect her to put in a full night’s work, and she took her time in the bath before preparing for bed. Two of the cats - Ginseng and Yarrow - were curled up on her bed, warm and purring. It was very peaceful and comforting after such a long day and that... that should have been the first warning, to not let her guard down.

It was a child's lesson, truly: be prepared for the worst. Sleep in shifts, close together. Update and info the Council. Summon assistance. Especially after a raid that size, with so many dead. They'd had to burn so very many bodies, because their wounds were too great to decipher a changing bite from the... mutilation before them.

But they were all so tired and really, what was the harm of one night's sleep...

Famous last words.

—

Alice slept deeply, better than she had in a long time, sandwiched between the two cats. Her dreams were all of the sun, standing in the grass.

Or she was until the screaming started, and suddenly she was awake and being torn away from her bed.

“Alice?”

Oh.

It was Jasper. In person. Staring down at her in the thin light of her room looking so very out of place.

A whole year older. She wasn't sure if he'd managed to get even taller, or if it was because he was there in person. His hair was longer, tied off his face, and there was a row of clumsy stitches across his cheek. His clothing was filthy, and he was laden down with weapons as he clasped her tightly against him, closing the door without making a sound.

“Alice, quick,” Jasper murmured, keeping both eyes on the bedroom door.

“Jasper, what’s going on?” she asked, her voice still heavy with sleep, and becoming more and more aware with every passing moment that she was standing there in her very thin nightgown in a very cold room, in front of a man she hadn’t been able to get out of her head.

“Maria Moreno’s coven are here,” he murmured. “They've been looking for you and the aunts, and they found you. We heard the rumours and we... we thought we could get you out, but we're too late."

"She's in my house?" The blood drained from her face, and her knees nearly buckled. Maria Moreno, one of the most infamous and murderous of the Southern vampires, and leader of one of the most formidable armies. The previous day’s slaughter in Laredo had just been her search for the witches. What Maria was truly capable without the presence of the Guardian Houses was something Alice could even picture.

“Get your boots, a coat, we have to leave immediately,” Jasper said, whispering so quietly they were more like puffs of air. “The traps are set, we can still get away clean.”

Alice nodded, and grabbed her dress from where she had tossed it over a chair, pulling it on over her nightgown without a second thought, and tugging on her socks and boots. “What about the animals? The aunts?” she whispered, as she carefully shooed both cats out of her window; they were sensible creatures, they would get themselves away smartly. Cats hated vampires.

“Peter and Emmett are trying to get them out,” Jasper said. “Come on.”

They slipped out of her room, and crept down the hallway, Alice freezing behind Jasper when she heard a scream, shuddering as it cut away suddenly.

One of the aunts, most certainly; Alice's stomach twisting at the cold realisation.

A cat streaked past them, dashing down the stairs, and Alice hoped that it - Clover, she thought - made it to safety. She hoped all of them did.

“Hello Jasper.”

The words were like a thunderclap in the house. Sensual and almost mocking, both she and Jasper froze up as the woman stepped out from a room at the opposite end of the hallway.

Alice had only ever seen pictures of Maria Moreno, and they did her no justice - she was so much more beautiful and terrible in real life. Her dark hair was arranged elaborately, with loose curls spilling over both shoulders; her red and black gown made of worn but expensive fabrics. And she was gorgeous, with a beauty that was awe-worthy, right down to the blood smear across her face.

The most dangerous woman in Texas, if not the world.

“And the little baby witchling. The very last of the Benoit line. Isn’t she pretty,” Maria cooed, stepping forwards. “Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.”

“An arrangement?” Jasper said, his hand tight around Alice’s.

“You and your friends leave right now - I’ll even let you take the horses - and I won’t follow. I’ll stay here and get to know the witchling here, and her governesses,” Maria said, sounding very reasonable. “Or you can try and leave, and I will kill every person on this property, and then go straight to Del Rio for your sister and the little pregnant woman. Rosalie would make an exquisite addition to my army, I’m sure.”

Jasper actually growled at her, and reached behind him to pull a shotgun free from the strap on his back.

“You’ll let us pass, Maria,” he said darkly. “You’ll crawl back into whatever hole you came out of, and stay the hell out of Texas. That’s not negotiable, and it never will be.”

Maria began to laugh but was cut off by Jasper firing the gun once, twice, three times. Whatever it was loaded with glowed faintly blue and knocked Maria clear off her feet and through a wall.

“Run,” he told Alice, half-pushing her down the stairs.

And she tried, stumbling in the darkness and wondering if this was just a terrible dream.

As she reached the door, she heard Jasper yell out and she turned to see Maria had caught him on the landing. Grasping him around the throat, she held him in the air effortlessly, as he clawed at her grip.

But she was not unmarked from the shotgun - there were gouges across her chest and throat, the right side of her face looked like raw meat, weeping a yellowy fluid with blue bruise-like marks at the edges.

She looked like the monster she was and somehow, she was still beautiful.

“Oh Jasper, it’s been so long. We could have been together nearly a year by now, yes, nearly a year. You’d be a glorious addition,” Maria sighed. “We could rule Texas together, mijo. Just say the word”

Alice stared at him as he dangled there; he wouldn’t be able to breathe.

And then Maria’s words began to sink in. A year. A year...

“A year? You… you were the one that did that to him?” Alice turned around.

“Oh, that’s sweet. She’s stayed behind for you. She could already be escaping,” Maria laughed. “I have no use for her, but it’s very cute.”

“You ripped him open,” Alice continued, staring up at Maria.

“Well, Jasper decided not to accept my very kind invitation,” Maria said, “and that offended me quite badly. I’m surprised you lived - was that your doing, witchling? I’ve heard of Laredo’s skill with healing.”

Alice stared at Maria and Jasper. She thought of the silence upstairs, the certainty that at least one of the aunts was dead, if not all of them. The women that took her in and raised her the best way that they knew how, when her own parents cast her out and rewrote history to erase her.

She thought of the hours nursing Jasper, of the wound on his torso, and all the bite scars; of how sweet he'd been to her, how he'd come all this way to save her from the very person who'd tried very, very hard to kill him and nearly succeeded. And put his family in danger for his efforts.

The rage and frustration and grief all bubbled over.

The curse was an early defensive spell, crude but extremely effective. As she spits out the words at the viper on the stairs, she makes the slashing gesture at Maria, Maria has no chance. She drops Jasper and hits the wall limply, her eyes wide and fixed on Alice as the curse takes effect.

Jasper fell to the floor choking and gasping, but already trying to get to his feet. He half-falls down the stairs but manages to gain his wits long enough to grab Alice's hand and pull her out of the house so fast that she's nearly pulled off her feet.

“She won’t stay down for long, we need to get clear,” he said, as they tore across the yard towards the barn. “That was really damned stupid, you should have run.”

“She was going to kill you!” Alice snapped, as they arrived in the barn. Both Hallow and Haven were saddled, and Peter was waiting.

“Sybil and Emmett are off,” Peter said grimly. “They took Duke, we’ve got Hallow.”

“Where’s Bandit?” Jasper asked, tightening the saddles.

“Emmett took him. I’ll ride with Alice,” Peter said.

“Alice’ll come with me - Haven won’t be fast enough with two riders,” Jasper said firmly, boosting Alice into the saddle and easily swinging himself behind her. “We need to go, now.”

“The aunts, did they get out?” Alice burst out, and Peter mounted Haven.

“Sybil did,” Peter said with finality. “She’ll be pleased to see you - they were all determined to see you safe, witchling. We need to go, now.”

With Jasper’s arms tight around her, clutching the reins, Hallow and Haven took off like Alice had never seen them, as if they understood the severity of the situation.

Maybe they did.

“What about the cats?” Alice cried out as they passed beyond the boundary line. Ginseng, Yarrow, Ginko, Clover, Lobelia, Arnica, and Nettle. They had been her constant companions for years, dear things, and they didn’t deserve to die this way.

“We’ll come back for the damn cats,” Jasper snapped as they came over the hill, where two figures on horseback waited under a tree. “Sybil, now!”

Aunt Sybil, who looked small and frail nodded, and murmured something under her breath and there was a boom that nearly flung Alice from the saddle. She jerked around to catch a glimpse of the Laredo Guard House as it burst into green flames that seemed to almost be alive as they crawled over everything that was there, and Alice felt the tears on her cheeks as the small party tore away from the wreckage.

All of it, gone. Perhaps Maria would perish in the fire, but the thought of that didn't help. All she can do is turn around and surreptitiously wipe away her tears before anyone notices.

—

It's a long journey to Del Rio, especially at night. It's mostly silent, with Jasper and his friends relying on runes to communicate, rather than draw attention by speaking out loud.

Alice's not sure if she sleeps or if she passes out, but she becomes aware of the rocking motion of the horse, and that she’s slumped into the crook of Jasper’s arm. She's warm, and he smells safe - like sunbaked dirt and salt and tea leaves. And even though she's embarrassed, she's so very tired, and it feels unnecessary to open her eyes... she had already been drained when she cursed Maria, and … she needed to sleep.

So she did.

—

It takes them two days to get back to Del Rio, as Jasper leads them on a winding trail designed to confuse Maria and keep them safe. The first morning she only wakes when Jasper and Peter are lifting her from the horse, and she is quite embarrassed when she has to reassure them that she is unharmed, only tired.

There is a third man, built like a bear, with curly black hair and kind eyes, that has set a small bonfire - one with lemon-coloured flames that doesn’t smoke and will offer them some small amount of protection as they rest and eat. His name is Emmett, and he is married to Jasper’s sister. Prolific with a shotgun, and a fair rider, he had been the one to get Sybil out in one piece, and visibly regretted failing the other two aunts.

Aunt Agnes and Aunt Enid. She should use their names, they had been good to her. Raised her well and prepared her for everything they could. They had died, and she had lived, and the guilt weighed heavily on her.

Sybil held her tightly when she made her way over; the old woman was wearing only her nightdress and dress coat buttoned tight. She felt very small and breakable when she warpped her arms around Alice, and looked very day of her age as she inspected Alice.

“I am so very, very glad to see you, little one,” she murmured. “I prayed to the goddess you would come away safe, and you did.”

“I’m sorry,” Alice sniffled. “Enid and Agnes…”o

“We are - were - just a bunch of old women clattering about a rotting house. Our lives have been lived, and they would hoave considered their lives for yours a worthy trade. Everything has a price that has to be paid,” Sybil says, smoothing Alice’s hair back.

Alice nodded, sniffling.

“Good girl,” Sybil sighed. “You need to eat something.”

The food the men carried was basic - bread, dried meat, and water. It was enjoyable but Alice kept her plate on her lap to distract herself as the others spoke over her head. She listened half-heartedly, until one word caught her attention.

“We’re going to Houston?” Alice looked at Sybil with wide eyes. “Houston?”

“Until we can rebuild the Laredo House, yes, I will go to Houston. I have my sister and my nieces there,” Sybil said calmly. “You have been invited to take a position at Del Rio.”

Alice blinked. "Without you?"

Sybil smiled wistfully. “Yes. Perhaps, if we can rebuild Laredo, we might both return there one day - if I am still able. But until then, I will be safe with my family in Houston. Your presence will be appreciated in Del Rio.”’

Alice nodded and refocused on her food. Why on earth would she be needed at Del Rio? They needed a healer, yes, but she hadn't taken her oaths and knew nothing about the male Guard Houses. And invited by whom?

Her gaze lifted to look at Jasper on the other side of the fire, but Jasper seemed very intent on his rations, and Emmett was watching Jasper.

“Charlotte’s having a baby,” Peter blurted out suddenly.

“Oh! Congratulations,” Alice pasted a smile on her face. A competent - if reluctant - midwife she could be. It was her least favourite duty, and the one that the aunts had once despaired she would ever manage. But it was reason enough to be invited to Del Rio.

“We’re very excited,” Peter was talking very fast. “Though I think Rosalie is even more excited.”

Rosalie and Emmett. More people at the Guard House. In her mind, it was always just Peter and Charlotte, and Jasper. It was oddly overwhelming.

“We need to get moving,” Jasper interrupted. “We’ve got awhile to go, and you need to be on the road to Houston by dusk. We’ve lingered long enough.” He began extinguishing the fire, and Alice watched as Peter and Emmett exchanged a look.

Whatever was going on, she was sure they’d fill her in soon.

—

By the time they arrived at the Del Rio House, Alice had never been so grateful to not be traveling - she couldn’t walk in a straight line, she’d been on horse back so long.

The Del Rio house was a cheery as ever, as Alice was escorted inside. She could smell something baking, and fresh flowers sat on the table in the entrance. It was exactly how she pictured it, but it was very hollow now she was here in person.

“Alice! Oh, you came!” Charlotte appeared in the doorway, a pistol loose in one hand. "Are you all okay?"

Peter shook his head. “Enid Benoit and Agnes Beaumont didn’t survive,” he said grimly. “But we got Alice and Sybil, and both of the horses.”

“A good result,” Jasper sighed, rubbing his hand over his face.

“Better than we feared,” Charlotte said, smiling sadly. “Come and eat.”

The table was set with food, and there was a beautiful blonde woman waiting in the kitchen, who immediately greeted Emmett with a kiss.

“My sister, Rosalie,” Jasper said, as they crowded around the table. “She came here to keep Charlotte company whilst we were gone.”

“You must be the Alice I’ve heard so much about,” Rosalie said politely.

“Hello,” Alice managed, half collapsed in her chair. Everything about the last few days get quite surreal. She would give anything to be back in Laredo, battling the hemlock and talking to the cats right now.

“You look quite pale, Alice, would you like some rest before you eat?” Charlotte looked worried.

“Yes. Yes, I think that would be good,” Alice managed.

“The guest room at the top of the stairs, let me show you,” Charlotte said, moving to stand.

“I remember, Charlotte,” Alice smiled. “Please, don’t trouble yourself. Thank you all, but I’ll excuse myself for now.”

The guest room was just as nice as it had been the first time, with towels and a nightgown laid out, so that she could once again wash and exchange the other clothing she owned for borrowed garments that didn't fit her right. It was all exactly how she pictured it.

And she hated all of it.

Washing herself mechanically, changing into the too-long nightgown, Alice curled up in the middle of the bed, and buried her face into the pillow to weep for everything that she had lost, and for the very sudden and inescapable realisation that she was now completely, and utterly alone in the world.

[reasoningdaily]

Wrapping his wife in a blanket as she mourned the loss of her pregnancy at 11 weeks, Hope Ngumezi wondered why no obstetrician was coming to see her.

Over the course of six hours on June 11, 2023, Porsha Ngumezi had bled so much in the emergency department at Houston Methodist Sugar Land that she’d needed two transfusions. She was anxious to get home to her young sons, but, according to a nurse’s notes, she was still “passing large clots the size of grapefruit.”

Hope dialed his mother, a former physician, who was unequivocal. “You need a D&C,” she told them, referring to dilation and curettage, a common procedure for first-trimester miscarriages and abortions. If a doctor could remove the remaining tissue from her uterus, the bleeding would end.

But when Dr. Andrew Ryan Davis, the obstetrician on duty, finally arrived, he said it was the hospital’s “routine” to give a drug called misoprostol to help the body pass the tissue, Hope recalled. Hope trusted the doctor. Porsha took the pills, according to records, and the bleeding continued.

Three hours later, her heart stopped.

The 35-year-old’s death was preventable, according to more than a dozen doctors who reviewed a detailed summary of her case for ProPublica. Some said it raises serious questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to diverge from the standard of care and reach for less-effective options that could expose their patients to more risks. Doctors and patients described similar decisions they’ve witnessed across the state.

It was clear Porsha needed an emergency D&C, the medical experts said. She was hemorrhaging and the doctors knew she had a blood-clotting disorder, which put her at greater danger of excessive and prolonged bleeding. “Misoprostol at 11 weeks is not going to work fast enough,” said Dr. Amber Truehart, an OB-GYN at the University of New Mexico Center for Reproductive Health. “The patient will continue to bleed and have a higher risk of going into hemorrhagic shock.” The medical examiner found the cause of death to be hemorrhage.

D&Cs — a staple of maternal health care — can be lifesaving. Doctors insert a straw-like tube into the uterus and gently suction out any remaining pregnancy tissue. Once the uterus is emptied, it can close, usually stopping the bleeding.

But because D&Cs are also used to end pregnancies, the procedure has become tangled up in state legislation that restricts abortions. In Texas, any doctor who violates the strict law risks up to 99 years in prison. Porsha’s is the fifth case ProPublica has reported in which women died after they did not receive a D&C or its second-trimester equivalent, a dilation and evacuation; three of those deaths were in Texas.

ProPublica condensed 200 pages of medical records into a summary of the case in consultation with two maternal-fetal medicine specialists and then reviewed it with more than a dozen experts around the country, including researchers at prestigious universities, OB-GYNs who regularly handle miscarriages, and experts in maternal health.

Texas doctors told ProPublica the law has changed the way their colleagues see the procedure; some no longer consider it a first-line treatment, fearing legal repercussions or dissuaded by the extra legwork required to document the miscarriage and get hospital approval to carry out a D&C. This has occurred, ProPublica found, even in cases like Porsha’s where there isn’t a fetal heartbeat or the circumstances should fall under an exception in the law. Some doctors are transferring those patients to other hospitals, which delays their care, or they’re defaulting to treatments that aren’t the medical standard.

Misoprostol, the medicine given to Porsha, is an effective method to complete low-risk miscarriages but is not recommended when a patient is unstable. The drug is also part of a two-pill regimen for abortions, yet administering it may draw less scrutiny than a D&C because it requires a smaller medical team and because the drug is commonly used to induce labor and treat postpartum hemorrhage. Since 2022, some Texas women who were bleeding heavily while miscarrying have gone public about only receiving medication when they asked for D&Cs. One later passed out in a pool of her own blood.

Doctors and nurses involved in Porsha’s care did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Several physicians who reviewed the summary of her case pointed out that Davis’ post-mortem notes did not reflect nurses’ documented concerns about Porsha’s “heavy bleeding.” After Porsha died, Davis wrote instead that the nurses and other providers described the bleeding as “minimal,” though no nurses wrote this in the records. ProPublica tried to ask Davis about this discrepancy. He did not respond to emails, texts or calls.

Houston Methodist officials declined to answer a detailed list of questions about Porsha’s treatment. They did not comment when asked whether Davis’ approach was the hospital’s “routine.” A spokesperson said that “each patient’s care is unique to that individual.”

“All Houston Methodist hospitals follow all state laws,” the spokesperson added, “including the abortion law in place in Texas.”

“We Need to See the Doctor”

Hope marveled at the energy Porsha had for their two sons, ages 5 and 3. Whenever she wasn’t working, she was chasing them through the house or dancing with them in the living room. As a finance manager at a charter school system, she was in charge of the household budget. As an engineer for an airline, Hope took them on flights around the world — to Chile, Bali, Guam, Singapore, Argentina.

The two had met at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. “When Porsha and I began dating,” Hope said, “I already knew I was going to love her.” She was magnetic and driven, going on to earn an MBA, but she was also gentle with him, always protecting his feelings. Both were raised in big families and they wanted to build one of their own.

When he learned Porsha was pregnant again in the spring of 2023, Hope wished for a girl. Porsha found a new OB-GYN who said she could see her after 11 weeks. Ten weeks in, though, Porsha noticed she was spotting. Over the phone, the obstetrician told her to go to the emergency room if it got worse.

To celebrate the end of the school year, Porsha and Hope took their boys to a water park in Austin, and as they headed back, on June 11, Porsha told Hope that the bleeding was heavier. They decided Hope would stay with the boys at home until a relative could take over; Porsha would drive to the emergency room at Houston Methodist Sugar Land, one of seven community hospitals that are part of the Houston Methodist system.

At 6:30 p.m, three hours after Porsha arrived at the hospital, she saw huge clots in the toilet. “Significant bleeding,” the emergency physician wrote. “I’m starting to feel a lot of pain,” Porsha texted Hope. Around 7:30 p.m., she wrote: “She said I might need surgery if I don’t stop bleeding,” referring to the nurse. At 7:50 p.m., after a nurse changed her second diaper in an hour: “Come now.”

Still, the doctor didn’t mention a D&C at this point, records show. Medical experts told ProPublica that this wait-and-see approach has become more common under abortion bans. Unless there is “overt information indicating that the patient is at significant risk,” hospital administrators have told physicians to simply monitor them, said Dr. Robert Carpenter, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist who works in several hospital systems in Houston. Methodist declined to share its miscarriage protocols with ProPublica or explain how it is guiding doctors under the abortion ban.

As Porsha waited for Hope, a radiologist completed an ultrasound and noted that she had “a pregnancy of unknown location.” The scan detected a “sac-like structure” but no fetus or cardiac activity. This report, combined with her symptoms, indicated she was miscarrying.

But the ultrasound record alone was less definitive from a legal perspective, several doctors explained to ProPublica. Since Porsha had not had a prenatal visit, there was no documentation to prove she was 11 weeks along. On paper, this “pregnancy of unknown location” diagnosis could also suggest that she was only a few weeks into a normally developing pregnancy, when cardiac activity wouldn’t be detected. Texas outlaws abortion from the moment of fertilization; a record showing there is no cardiac activity isn’t enough to give physicians cover to intervene, experts said.

Dr. Gabrielle Taper, who recently worked as an OB-GYN resident in Austin, said that she regularly witnessed delays after ultrasound reports like these. “If it’s a pregnancy of unknown location, if we do something to manage it, is that considered an abortion or not?” she said, adding that this was one of the key problems she encountered. After the abortion ban went into effect, she said, “there was much more hesitation about: When can we intervene, do we have enough evidence to say this is a miscarriage, how long are we going to wait, what will we use to feel definitive?”

Around 8:30 p.m., just after Hope arrived, Porsha passed out. Terrified, he took her head in his hands and tried to bring her back to consciousness. “Babe, look at me,” he told her. “Focus.” Her blood pressure was dipping dangerously low. She had held off on accepting a blood transfusion until he got there. Now, as she came to, she agreed to receive one and then another.

By this point, it was clear that she needed a D&C, more than a dozen OB-GYNs who reviewed her case told ProPublica. She was hemorrhaging, and the standard of care is to vacuum out the residual tissue so the uterus can clamp down, physicians told ProPublica.

“Complete the miscarriage and the bleeding will stop,” said Dr. Lauren Thaxton, an OB-GYN who recently left Texas.

“At every point, it’s kind of shocking,” said Dr. Daniel Grossman, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco who reviewed Porsha’s case. “She is having significant blood loss and the physician didn’t move toward aspiration.”

All Porsha talked about was her devastation of losing the pregnancy. She was cold, crying and in extreme pain. She wanted to be at home with her boys. Unsure what to say, Hope leaned his chest over the cot, passing his body heat to her.

At 9:45 p.m., Esmeralda Acosta, a nurse, wrote that Porsha was “continuing to pass large clots the size of grapefruit.” Fifteen minutes later, when the nurse learned Davis planned to send Porsha to a floor with fewer nurses, she “voiced concern” that he wanted to take her out of the emergency room, given her condition, according to medical records.

At 10:20 p.m., seven hours after Porsha arrived, Davis came to see her. Hope remembered what his mother had told him on the phone earlier that night: “She needs a D&C.” The doctor seemed confident about a different approach: misoprostol. If that didn’t work, Hope remembers him saying, they would move on to the procedure.

A pill sounded good to Porsha because the idea of surgery scared her. Davis did not explain that a D&C involved no incisions, just suction, according to Hope, or tell them that it would stop the bleeding faster. The Ngumezis followed his recommendation without question. “I’m thinking, ‘He’s the OB, he’s probably seen this a thousand times, he probably knows what’s right,’” Hope said.

But more than a dozen doctors who reviewed Porsha’s case were concerned by this recommendation. Many said it was dangerous to give misoprostol to a woman who’s bleeding heavily, especially one with a blood clotting disorder. “That’s not what you do,” said Dr. Elliott Main, the former medical director for the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative and an expert in hemorrhage, after reviewing the case. “She needed to go to the operating room.” Main and others said doctors are obliged to counsel patients on the risks and benefits of all their options, including a D&C.

Performing a D&C, though, attracts more attention from colleagues, creating a higher barrier in a state where abortion is illegal, explained Goulding, the OB-GYN in Houston. Staff are familiar with misoprostol because it’s used for labor, and it only requires a doctor and a nurse to administer it. To do a procedure, on the other hand, a doctor would need to find an operating room, an anesthesiologist and a nursing team. “You have to convince everyone that it is legal and won’t put them at risk,” said Goulding. “Many people may be afraid and misinformed and refuse to participate — even if it’s for a miscarriage.”

Davis moved Porsha to a less-intensive unit, according to records. Hope wondered why they were leaving the emergency room if the nurse seemed so worried. But instead of pushing back, he rubbed Porsha’s arms, trying to comfort her. The hospital was reputable. “Since we were at Methodist, I felt I could trust the doctors.”

On their way to the other ward, Porsha complained of chest pain. She kept remarking on it when they got to the new room. From this point forward, there are no nurse’s notes recording how much she continued to bleed. “My wife says she doesn’t feel right, and last time she said that, she passed out,” Hope told a nurse. Furious, he tried to hold it together so as not to alarm Porsha. “We need to see the doctor,” he insisted.

Her vital signs looked fine. But many physicians told ProPublica that when healthy pregnant patients are hemorrhaging, their bodies can compensate for a long time, until they crash. Any sign of distress, such as chest pain, could be a red flag; the symptom warranted investigation with tests, like an electrocardiogram or X-ray, experts said. To them, Porsha’s case underscored how important it is that doctors be able to intervene before there are signs of a life-threatening emergency.

But Davis didn’t order any tests, according to records.

Around 1:30 a.m., Hope was sitting by Porsha’s bed, his hands on her chest, telling her, “We are going to figure this out.” They were talking about what she might like for breakfast when she began gasping for air.

“Help, I need help!” he shouted to the nurses through the intercom. “She can’t breathe.”

“All She Needed”

Hours later, Hope returned home in a daze. “Is mommy still at the hospital?” one of his sons asked. Hope nodded; he couldn’t find the words to tell the boys they’d lost their mother. He dressed them and drove them to school, like the previous day had been a bad dream. He reached for his phone to call Porsha, as he did every morning that he dropped the kids off. But then he remembered that he couldn’t.

Friends kept reaching out. Most of his family’s network worked in medicine, and after they said how sorry they were, one after another repeated the same message. All she needed was a D&C, said one. They shouldn’t have given her that medication, said another. It’s a simple procedure, the callers continued. We do this all the time in Nigeria.

Since Porsha died, several families in Texas have spoken publicly about similar circumstances. This May, when Ryan Hamilton’s wife was bleeding while miscarrying at 13 weeks, the first doctor they saw at Surepoint Emergency Center Stephenville noted no fetal cardiac activity and ordered misoprostol, according to medical records. When they returned because the bleeding got worse, an emergency doctor on call, Kyle Demler, said he couldn’t do anything considering “the current stance” in Texas, according to Hamilton, who recorded his recollection of the conversation shortly after speaking with Demler. (Neither Surepoint Emergency Center Stephenville nor Demler responded to several requests for comment.)

They drove an hour to another hospital asking for a D&C to stop the bleeding, but there, too, the physician would only prescribe misoprostol, medical records indicate. Back home, Hamilton’s wife continued bleeding until he found her passed out on the bathroom floor. “You don’t think it can really happen like that,” said Hamilton. “It feels like you’re living in some sort of movie, it’s so unbelievable.”

Across Texas, physicians say they blame the law for interfering with medical care. After ProPublica reported last month on two women who died after delays in miscarriage care, 111 OB-GYNs sent a letter to Texas policymakers, saying that “the law does not allow Texas women to get the lifesaving care they need.”

Dr. Austin Dennard, an OB-GYN in Dallas, told ProPublica that if one person on a medical team doubts the doctor’s choice to proceed with a D&C, the physician might back down. “You constantly feel like you have someone looking over your shoulder in a punitive, vigilante type of way.”

The criminal penalties are so chilling that even women with diagnoses included in the law’s exceptions are facing delays and denials. Last year, for example, legislators added an update to the ban for patients diagnosed with previable premature rupture of membranes, in which a patient’s water breaks before a fetus can survive. Doctors can still face prosecution for providing abortions in those cases, but they are offered the chance to justify themselves with what’s called an “affirmative defense,” not unlike a murder suspect arguing self defense. This modest change has not stopped some doctors from transferring those patients instead of treating them; Dr. Allison Gilbert, an OB-GYN in Dallas, said doctors send them to her from other hospitals. “They didn’t feel like other staff members would be comfortable proceeding with the abortion,” she said. “It’s frustrating that places still feel like they can’t act on some of these cases that are clearly emergencies.” Women denied treatment for ectopic pregnancies, another exception in the law, have filed federal complaints.

In response to ProPublica’s questions about Houston Methodist’s guidance on miscarriage management, a spokesperson, Gale Smith, said that the hospital has an ethics committee, which can usually respond within hours to help physicians and patients make “appropriate decisions” in compliance with state laws.

After Porsha died, Davis described in the medical record a patient who looked stable: He was tracking her vital signs, her bleeding was “mild” and she was “said not to be in distress.” He ordered bloodwork “to ensure patient wasn’t having concerning bleeding.” Medical experts who reviewed Porsha’s case couldn’t understand why Davis noted that a nurse and other providers reported “decreasing bleeding” in the emergency department when the record indicated otherwise. “He doesn’t document the heavy bleeding that the nurse clearly documented, including the significant bleeding that prompted the blood transfusion, which is surprising,” Grossman, the UCSF professor, said.

Patients who are miscarrying still don’t know what to expect from Houston Methodist.

This past May, Marlena Stell, a patient with symptoms nearly identical to Porsha’s, arrived at another hospital in the system, Houston Methodist The Woodlands. According to medical records, she, too, was 11 weeks along and bleeding heavily. An ultrasound confirmed there was no fetal heartbeat and indicated the miscarriage wasn’t complete. “I assumed they would do whatever to get the bleeding to stop,” Stell said.

Instead, she bled for hours at the hospital. She wanted a D&C to clear out the rest of the tissue, but the doctor gave her methergine, a medication that’s typically used after childbirth to stop bleeding but that isn’t standard care in the middle of a miscarriage, doctors told ProPublica. "She had heavy bleeding, and she had an ultrasound that's consistent with retained products of conception." said Dr. Jodi Abbott, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine, who reviewed the records. "The standard of care would be a D&C."

Stell says that instead, she was sent home and told to “let the miscarriage take its course.” She completed her miscarriage later that night, but doctors who reviewed her case, so similar to Porsha’s, said it showed how much of a gamble physicians take when they don’t follow the standard of care. “She got lucky — she could have died,” Abbott said. (Houston Methodist did not respond to a request for comment on Stell’s care.)

It hadn’t occurred to Hope that the laws governing abortion could have any effect on his wife’s miscarriage. Now it’s the only explanation that makes sense to him. “We all know pregnancies can come out beautifully or horribly,” Hope told ProPublica. “Instead of putting laws in place to make pregnancies safer, we created laws that put them back in danger.”

For months, Hope’s youngest son didn’t understand that his mom was gone. Porsha’s long hair had been braided, and anytime the toddler saw a woman with braids from afar, he would take off after her, shouting, “That’s mommy!”

A couple weeks ago, Hope flew to Amsterdam to quiet his mind. It was his first trip without Porsha, but as he walked the city, he didn’t know how to experience it without her. He kept thinking about how she would love the Christmas lights and want to try all the pastries. How she would have teased him when he fell asleep on a boat tour of the canals. “I thought getting away would help,” he wrote in his journal. “But all I’ve done is imagine her beside me.”

[seo-changbinnies]

sawry for not being online besties but i’ve been busy traveling around houston with my flute choir and playing songs at nursing homes <3

[kaz-playz]

In my hc

Despite Houston, Miami, and New Orleans being who they are, theyre really normal as a couple. Like that's their archetype.

Their high school superlative was "most likely couple to be on national news for a crime" but they are just GIRLS.

They live normal lives. Together at least. Separately? They are deffo wanted criminals.

But like at home-

New Orleans is reading a magazine, socked feet propped up on the ottoman. It's January so Miami is wrapped in a light blanket wearing footie pajamas, curled up in a ball, and nursing a hot chocolate. Houston has her own throw blanket, oversized hoodie, and hot chocolate and is curled up into miami picking something to watch.

And its just different versions of that but like appropriate for the rest of the seasons.

[pacinosgf]

barbara ann robinson (née morris, born april 7, 1947) is an american musician, singer, songwriter and producer. she is known for her work as a bassist, keyboardist and vocalist with the band midnight mayhems and as a solo artist.

❝ i was born in a little place called venus. after all these years, it remains a little place. last time i went there was thirty years ago, to solve a problem of my husband's doing, but he has gone there since then. i was my parents' only child, because my mother had such a complicated pregnancy that, after me, she couldn't have any other one. i had the nerve of being born as a girl, at that, but my parents were really fond of me. i had a good childhood. helped them at the farm all day, they looked after me. they were very private people and didn't really engage with the community, so we were the odd ones.

i'd spend the morning running after our animals, helping my mother with the house, my daddy with the farm work, and then in the afternoon i'd go over to my aunt's house to learn how to be a proper lady. she was a war widow of a rich man who came back to town after the war. she'd wrap my hair in ribbons and teach me how to cook, how to sew, how to behave, how to play the piano. we would read romances together. no girl i grew up with had this kind of thing, which didn't help my case, being the odd one. she'd talk about her life in houston as a wife. we'd go there once a month so she could get me new dresses and stuff, i still keep a beautiful hairbrush and some other things she got me.

i was too young to remember when it started, but she always talked about how i had to leave venus and study somewhere else. study to become a teach, a nurse, whatever it was, but study and leave our town. and so i did. that gave people the impression i thought i was better than them, but i don't even know what i thought about it back then. i was just too obedient. relied on my parents and my aunt to know what i could and should do. all i knew is that i should study and leave and marry good and send money back to my parents' every month, never really thought deep about it.

she died when i was 15, which was for the better, because she'd kill me if she was there to witness how i let jim follow me up and down, take me home from the church and all. we wouldn't say a word, just walk. he says that he is in love with me since we were kids, but he's a liar, don't listen to what he says. i started paying attention to him because he was gentle and he'd take me home without making any move and, at 15, i knew i should get some prospects for my future. my parents wouldn't let me leave venus if i was still single. the girls i grew up with already had planned weddings with guys much older than us or the boys we grew up, disgusting men like only a place like that could raise, that could have been my future too. and jim was kind, third of six kids, played the drums for the church band just like i played the organ. it felt safe. one day i stopped him in the tracks before getting home and asked him what he wanted with me. no, i think i said something like i want to study. you can't stop that. i want to leave this place. i won't change my mind. find another girl to take home or bear with me. and he showed up the next day to talk to my parents, so it was official.

after that we finally started properly talking. he had never thought about leaving, but it seemed good. he said i was too smart to not study, so he'd wait and work until then. we would walk through town, the only thing we could do as a non-married couple, taking the longest paths so we could keep talking. i would talk, actually, he'd listen in a way i was never sure if he was paying attention until he showed he was. i told him about how i liked playing music and went as far as saying that i had this fantasy of playing and making music one day. he supported it, of course. said i could do it, started practicing more on the drums in the case i'd ask him to go with me. we haven't changed much since then.

i am a few months older, we got engaged when he turned 18, and i went to houston for nursing school. he'd visit me once a week, under the watchful eyes of the lady that owned the boarding house for the single nursing students, bringing things like his mother's jam, letters, all that stuff. that's when i actually got attached to jim. he would ask me about how i was doing in school, if i had found a place to play. i took him to the vinyl and music store i was a regular customer and we'd share a headphone, we went to one of the nursing school parties and he made me sing. i sang for the girls at the boarding house, i sang for some of my closest school friends, but had never sang to so many people in that context. i remember feeling full that night, so happy that i'd explode.

i got a guitar and played the piano for an old lady and her friends every week. i saved all the money i could to buy a bass, that brand new instrument media was diminishing because it was too dangerous. made girls dance and lose themselves, made men forget who they were. and then i finally went to the store, all happy and mighty, and they denied me one. said i should save more for a piano of my own. the bass guitar was too masculine and dangerous for such a girl.

i wrote a letter to jim about it, how i was mad and feeling down, but i wouldn't give up, of course. i think it only a few lines of the whole letter, of course. he answered me and kept sending letters but stopped visiting me for almost two months. i became afraid that he had found another girl, nicer than me, and i'd have to drop everything to go back home to live with my parents. i was already used to this new future when he came in a random day. he went to pick me up at the school in his brother's car, seemed like he would die at any moment. and then he gave me the bass. a red bass, beautiful bass, that i still keep, of course. said that he really liked me, that he hoped i liked him too. that i made him feel special because i put up with him. that i deserved all good things and that he knew i could get them alone, but he would try his best to give me some too. i wasn't big on physical touch, but i had no idea of what to say. i kissed him. not the first time, but probably the first one i truly, totally, wanted to do it.

we got married in 1967, my last year of nursing school. we were twenty. i left the boarding house, we found an apartment to live in houston, he got a new, less strenuous, job, in the city. we'd work all day, and when i didn't have night shifts, he'd take me to places where i could sing or play. nothing fancy, but still. we'd play with wedding bands sometimes. we'd go home and talk and listen to records. i felt happy. i remember thinking that if the music thing didn't work out, i'd still be happy enough. jim was still nice, he didn't change after getting married, which was my biggest fear.

we had some nice years, going here and there, playing and working, and then we had the bad luck of meeting this awful guy, who you may know as [ . . . ]

@gllianowens

[lxchadora]

→ CHARACTER OUTLINE — [ROSITA ESPINOSA]

[BASICS]

Status: Open for plotting

Verse: The Walking Dead; open towards playing her in other apocalyptic and horror verses

Full name: Rosita Espinosa

Place of birth: Dallas, Texas

Date of birth: October 24, 1989

Religion: Agnostic

Languages: Spanish, English

Romantic orientation: Biromantic

Sexual orientation: Bisexual

Occupation: Survivor, army mechanic (formerly)

[APPEARANCE]

Faceclaim: Christian Serratos

Height: 5’7”

Build: Slender, athletic

Skin: Tan, olive

Eyes: Dark brown

Hair: Dark brown, long

Attire: Likes neutral colors, especially green and black

[MENTAL]

Positive traits: Resourceful, brave, assertive, adaptable, loyal, honest, compassionate, driven, intelligent, forgiving

Negative traits: Temperamental, blunt, vengeful, reclusive, stubborn

Zodiac: Scorpio

Temperament: Choleric

[SKILLS]

Mechanic skills

Bomb disposal

Knife and melee weapon combat

Firearms

Medical skills

Various other specific survival skills learned during the outbreak

[BIOGRAPHY]

Born in Dallas, Texas, Rosita grew up in a working-class household. Her father left her mother for another woman and moved to another state when Rosita was two, so Rosita never really knew her father. He would rarely visit his daughter.

Her affinity for fixing stuff began when she was little as her mother could not easily afford mechanics or new household appliances. So she taught herself mechanic skills and she found a passion in repairing broken stuff.

Her mother would often work multiple jobs in order to be able to make a living for herself and Rosita. During her teenage years they often moved around a from town to town. Rosita began to work jobs as a mechanic or waitress to keep a roof over their head.

When Rosita was 15, her mother died of ovarian cancer. When her brother Luz, who was eight years older, heard the news he moved into an apartment with Rosita and his son so his sister wouldn't be put into a foster home. While they lived together Rosita often had to babysit her nephew and help him with homework.

After high school graduation, Rosita trained as a mechanic in a trade school before joining the army in the hope of getting a college scholarship after completing her service. Her dream had been to get into nursing school like she always wanted since she was little.

At some point during the outbreak, Rosita met the military sergeant Abraham Ford and his friend Eugene Porter in Houston, Texas. The three of them were part of a larger group, though the group eventually got smaller and smaller until only the three of them were left. During her time with the group, Rosita used her charms to persuade various group members to teach her their skills. She formed a friendship with Abraham which eventually became a romantic relationship.

During this time Rosita also found out that Austin, Texas had been bombed, which was the town her brother and nephew had been located when the virus broke out.

[newbookcats]

Ten Noteworthy and Unforgettable Stories to Stash in Your Travel Bag to Explore Both Real and Fictional Worlds on Your Next Vacation or Olympic Games

Originally posted on my blog: https://newbookcatsreads.blogspot.com/2024/08/ten-noteworthy-and-unforgettable.html

Unless you live in the sun-blazing heat and humidity of Houston or anywhere close to the Earth's equator, Summer rolls around only once a year. Nonetheless, summer in the United States is a time of change: the weather itself turns warmer as the sun works overtime, tropical storms and hurricanes become more occurrent as beach attendance rises, another academic year ends and readies for the subsequent classes to come later, and the awaited summer vacation and family traveling. 

Whether I went to my local park or partook in a family road trip to Florida, each vacation was the most anticipated part of my summer. Moreover, partaking in exciting adventures only gave me more brownie points when I inevitably returned to school and expressed all the amusement to my classmates and friends. Nonetheless, I still left energy to read imaginary stories as well as listen to my classmates' summer stories. 

Meanwhile, to distract myself from the never-ending wait to reach a destination (seriously, how many times is too much to ask a parent "Are we there yet?"?) to the inevitable downtime needed for my family to recharge after too many waves on the lazy rivers, my requirement for serious entertainment was delivered in the form of binging episodes of true-crime from Forensic Files or a murder mystery novel...and from the title of my blog, I do not have a doubt which of the two choices I or you chose on our previous vacations. 

Thus, here are ten noteworthy stories to stash in your next vacation's travel luggage! In between glimpses of dragons and historical romances, do not forget to look up from the imaginary universe in your hands to explore reality outdoors! 

Ten Noteworthy and Unforgettable Stories to Stash in Your Travel Bag to Explore Both Real and Fictional Worlds on Your Next Vacation

 1. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Need a break from home? If yes, then may I suggest traveling with Monty along with his younger sister Felicity and his best friend/crush Percy on their Grand Tour of Europe set in the 19th century?! Not only is Monty perfectly sassy and desired by the likes of many women and men, but his desires for trouble and flirts with danger only lead this trio to life-threatening adventures only heard in tall tales. Watch out for this impeccable novel that tackles both pirates and social issues in the midst of a historical comedy and romance!

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.[Goodreads]

2. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

From the book that inspired the hit Amazon Prime series, it's only fitting to read the book before summer ends and compare the book to its television adaptation. Then, we may all decide whether the book is better than the series?

In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help. At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England. Like that could go wrong. [Goodreads]

3. The War Outside by Monica Hesse

It's 1944, and World War II is raging across Europe and the Pacific. The war seemed far away from Margot in Iowa and Haruko in Colorado--until they were uprooted to dusty Texas, all because of the places their parents once called home: Germany and Japan. Haruko and Margot meet at the high school in Crystal City, a "family internment camp" for those accused of colluding with the enemy. The teens discover that they are polar opposites in so many ways, except for one that seems to override all the others: the camp is changing them, day by day, and piece by piece. Haruko finds herself consumed by fear for her soldier brother and distrust of her father, who she knows is keeping something from her. And Margot is doing everything she can to keep her family whole as her mother's health deteriorates and her rational, patriotic father becomes a man who distrusts America and fraternizes with Nazis. With everything around them falling apart, Margot and Haruko find solace in their growing, secret friendship. But in a prison the government has deemed full of spies, can they trust anyone--even each other? [Goodreads]

4. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train...[Goodreads]

5. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Although this is my current read, Maniscalco has me completely trapped in impulsively purchasing a one-way ticket to Italy and engulfing plates of pasta while reading. Be sure to bring this book and a bookmark with you wherever you go to vacation because it will keep you hooked!

 Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe - witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family's renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin...desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister's killer and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that's been long forbidden. Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked—princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia's side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women's murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems...[Goodreads]

6. The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

Anna Fox lives alone, a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother and their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble and its shocking secrets are laid bare. What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.[Goodreads]

7. Angelfall by Susan Ee

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.[Goodreads]

8. Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

If you are still mourning the last book of Sarah J Maas' Throne of Glass series, I highly recommend Miller's Mask of Shadows. The story follows Sallot who is training to be a royal assassin...but only if someone does not kill them first!

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home. When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen’s personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge. But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.[Goodreads]

9. Any Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys Mystery

If your ideal read on a vacation is short but still encapsulates all the features of well-thought stories, then I highly recommend choosing a novel from either the Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys series. I might also recommend bringing several of these novels, particularly if you plan to travel for several days, as they might just leave you wanting more adventure after your first look.

10. Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading

Reminiscent of the Nancy Drew series, this novel is for those who have read all the Nancy Drews and are looking for more history, action, and adventure!

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the thrilling first installment in a new series of adventure mystery stories that are one part travel, one part history and five parts adventure. This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations. After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses. Kitty's adventure begins with the lingering mystery of a sunken ship called the Clara Nevada and as the plot continues to unfold this spirited story will have armchair explorers and amateur detectives alike anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept along through the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to a suspenseful final climatic chase across the rugged terrain of Canada's Yukon, the harsh land made famous in the stories and poems of such writers as Jack London, Robert Service and Pierre Berton. It is a riveting tale that brings to glorious life the landscape and history of Alaska's inside passage and Canada's Yukon, as Kitty is caught up in an epic mystery set against the backdrop of the scenery of the Klondike Gold Rush. Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is a perfect book to fire the imagination of readers of all ages. Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history this book will inspire anyone to learn and experience more for themselves as Kitty prepares for her next adventure - flying around the world![Goodreads]

Love,

newbookcats

What stories that you read on vacation were so noteworthy that it surpassed your trip experiences? Were any of the novels so good you felt forced to shout its praises from clifftops, or were any so bad that you hid the evidence of your bookish guilt in a dark cave for only Wilson volleyballs to find? Which of my above picks would receive Gold at the Olympics? Correspond with me in the comments below or via my social medias. Talk to you soon!

 Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr

[carterahealth]

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[ahugaway]

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[dailyunsolvedmysteries-movedd]

7-Year-Old Found Dead In Washing Machine

7-year-old Troy Khoeler was found dead inside a washing machine in his family's Texas garage.  The boy's parents filed a missing persons report at approximately 5:20 a.m. on July 30. They were looking for their 7-year-old son, who had last been seen the night before in the family's Houston-area home.

Officers arrived at the home and searched the area, but found no sign of Troy. They then interviewed the parents and searched the house for any evidence that the boy was inside or what could have possibly happened to him.

About two hours later, they found Troy's body, fully clothed, in a top-loading washing machine that was kept in the garage of the home. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said he was last seen by his parents the night before when they put the child to bed as they always did.

At the scene, an official said it was unclear whether Troy was killed by the washing machine, or if he had been killed elsewhere and then placed inside it as a means of covering up his death or attempting to hide the body. The garage door from the home's living area was unlocked, and Troy's bedroom door was open. He could have gotten out to the garage down a short hallway connecting the two parts of the home, which is located in a neighborhood.

The Sheriff's office has not said whether the lid to the washing machine was closed, or whether Troy was wet or dry when he was found. Police said it was a newer-style washing machine, but did not say whether it appeared the machine had been recently turned on or used by the family. No one else lived in the home besides Troy and his parents. He was home with his father at the time, and his mother was at work at a nearby hospital, according to police.

Then in October his adoptive parents, Jemaine and Tiffany Thomas, were charged in connection with his murder.  According to prosecutors, text messages describe how the adoptive father said he was going to kill the boy for stealing his snacks.

In 2022, two separate investigations took place after a teacher reported concerns because of bruises on Troy's face. The first investigation took place in January. According to records, the child said his cousin hit him with a toy. But the report said, "The child's explanation of getting hit with the toy does not seem consistent with the injuries to both his eyes." The report also states the child flinches, but it was not known if he flinches because of current abuse or his history of abuse by foster parents. The child also could not recall how he sustained a burn on his back.

The child was assessed by medical staff and it was determined that the injuries "may result from abuse or neglect but accidental/natural explanations are possible." The findings from the January investigation show the case was closed, and he was determined as safe with a low-risk assessment.

Nearly two months later in March, DFPS was notified again after concerns from a school nurse and teacher. The report said, "He had a red mark on his eye that covers half of the eyelid and there is some darker bruising near the hairline area. He has a fingerprint on his neck near the Adam's apple, and a scratch on the lower cheek area below his ear."

According to the report, the child gave different stories of what happened. He said he fell on concrete, fell on the carpet, and then said he fell on the grass. He also mentioned his cousin punched him. The child was described as hyper, antsy, and skittish when approached. He also mentioned his father tried to break his Chromebook and requested it not be sent home.

The father claimed the child was playing football and wrestling with cousins when he may have been hit on the eye by his cousin. According to the findings from the March investigation, DFPS could not confirm the allegations that the child was abused. The case was closed and he was marked as safe with a moderate-risk assessment.

Four months later, Troy was found dead in a washing machine and his adoptive parents are behind bars.

[ashleyslothlife]

Is anyone interested in a what it was like it was like to be disabled in US public schools before the ADA for this disability pride month? Ground rule: If you are the type of person to call parent of disabled children heroes and saints this post isn't for you.

We'll start in the 80's I'll start with my brother because it ties into my story later. My brother had Cerebral Palsy, scoliosis, a seizure disorder that could be heat induced, and high enough support needs that I've yet to meet a disability advocate that agrees that it was reasonable to require him to go to school.

In Houston, Tx disabled students were segregated in a separate school from the abled students. That school regularly had the air conditioners go out, because they had been put in used in the first place. So first danger for my brother. Every wheelchair user is different, for my brother it was bad for him to be left in his chair for the whole school day, he needed to be allowed on the floor. His "teacher" would refuse to help him out of his chair, because then she'd have to pay attention to him instead of just sitting at her desk reading a book. So my father filed several complains because we could tell from my brother's behavior he was in pain from being in his chair all day. Finally another teacher starts letting him out of his chair at the start of the day.

My mom gets a terrifying call from the front office that the teacher "can't find her son." So my mother makes a terrified drive trying to figure what could have happened. She stops in the parking lot when she sees my brother is just sitting in front of the large glass windows enjoying the sun, we teased him about being cat. The teacher didn't even bother to look, she just noticed he was gone and called the front office, the front office didn't bother to look they just called my mother. My mother was so upset she just took him home. To add even more rage to this, my brother had vocal stims they could have heard him from the front office from his location. He would vocally stim while in the sun. My parents stop sending him to school, my parents get harassed by the school system, cops are sent for truancy, while my parents wrangle paperwork they are forced to send him back till they could get him dismissed from the system. You'll never guess what happens next, I've been called a liar so much.

My mother gets another call that they can't find her son, my mother once again terrified goes to get him, and is relieved to find him in the same location. My mom yells out "found him" and takes him home.

After much uphill fighting they finally get him out, and every second sick day I have a truant office shows up to harass my parents. White privileged played a big part in them being able to. I graduated high school with a Black girl who had similar disabilities to my brother, her parents tried to pull her out, they put her mother in jail for 2 days. To me: I've been hard of hearing from the jump it seems. I got tested before Kindergarten when to school with a note from an audiologist saying I'm hard of hearing, which every teacher except one ignored. I wasn't considered disabled so I didn't go to the school my brother was at. When I'm nine in 89, I am a medical adventure chicken pox took a field trip to my brain, caused encephalitis, caused seizures, EMTs gave me a drug that should never be given to children, I spend 3 days in a coma. When I'm cleared to go back to school my neurologist and his team write up the accommodations I require and send them to the school. The school principal and teachers a big mad over the use of the word require apparently. One of the requirements is to allow me to miss a call to go to the nurses station for a nap, because a brain healing from trauma needs a lot of sleep. He also stressed that socially I was within my age range but my memory had been effectively wiped so I might need some review with a tutor. They decided those requests were beyond the pale, and my parents received a letter from the city dismissing me from the public school system with a thinly veiled threat that if they fought this choice they would demand my brother's attendance as well. So they had to make a hard choice, fight for me and maybe endanger my brother, or put me in private school that didn't have any oversight. So I ended up in weird Christian private schools, I was a preachers kid so I knew about everything but only the weirdest Christians open affordable private schools. As much as I still feel upset about my education sometimes, I don't fault my parents at all for the choice they made. Even if I had been in a public school in a science class if that science teacher didn't speak up or put me in the back of the class I wouldn't have learned anything anyway.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 6.9

Holidays

Accession Day (Jordan)

Ananda Mahidol Day (Thailand)

Bill and Ted Day

Birsa Munda Shahidi Diwas (Madhya Pradesh; India)

Clothing Poverty Awareness Day (UK)

Community Day (La Rioja, Murcia; Spain)

Coral Triangle Day

Cornflower Day (French Republic)

Denture Day

Donald Duck Day

Feast of the Birth of the White-Breasted Giantess

Filipino-Chinese Friendship Day

Global Maintenance Day

Home Sweet Home Day

International Archives Day

International Batten Disease Awareness Day

International Day of Celtic Art

International Dough Disco Day

La Rioja Day (Spain)

Light Industry Workers’ Day (Former USSR Nations)

Meezer’s Colors Day

Monkey Spank Day

Murcia Day (Spain)

National Cancer Thriver Day

National Earl Day

National Earl Baltes Day

National Helen Day

National Heroes’ Day (Uganda)

National Krewe of Tucks Day

National Long COVID Awareness Day (Canada)

National Meal Prep Day

National Mitchell Day

National Sex Day

National Sex Educator Appreciation Day

National Stripper Appreciation Day

No Apologies Period Day

Profess Your Love Day

Purple People Eater Day

Rockman Day

609 Day

South American Football Day

Toy Industry Day

Traverse Myelitis Awareness Day (UK)

World Accreditation Day

World APS Day (a.k.a. World Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome Day)

Writers’ Rights Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Dark ’n Stormy Day

Kraft Cheese Day

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

Independence & Related Days

Flevelt (a.k.a. the Confederation of Flevelt; Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]

Självstyrelsedagen (Åland Self-Governing Day; Åland)

2nd Sunday in June

Abused Women and Children’s Awareness Day [2nd Sunday]

Bunker Hill Day observed (Massachusetts) [Sunday before 17th]

Canadian Rivers Day (Canada) [2nd Sunday]

Father’s Day (Austria, Belgium) [2nd Sunday]

International Drink Chenin Blanc Days, Day 3 [2nd Sunday]

International Shiatsu Day [2nd Sunday]

LEAF Open Farm Sunday (UK) [2nd Sunday]

Mother’s Day (Luxembourg) [2nd Sunday]

Multicultural American Child Day [2nd Sunday]

National Career Nursing Assistants’ Day [2nd Sunday]

National Children's Day [2nd Sunday]

National Garden Day (Germany) [2nd Sunday]

National Puerto Rican Day [2nd Sunday]

Race Unity Day (a.k.a. Race Amity Day; Baha’i) [2nd Sunday]

Ride the Wind Day [2nd Sunday]

World Pet Memorial Day [2nd Sunday; also 2nd Tuesday]

World Swallowtail Day [2nd Sunday]

Write To Your Father Day [2nd Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 9 (2nd Full Week)

National Automobile Service Professionals Week (thru 6.15) [Week with 6.12]

National Clay Week (thru 6.15) [2nd Full Week]

National Email Week (thru 6.15) [2nd Full Week]

National Flag Week (thru 6.15) [Week with 6.14]

National Little League Week [2nd Week]

National Pet Wedding Week (thru 6.15) [2nd Full Week]

National Right of Way Professionals Week (thru 6.15) [2nd Full Week]

Festivals Beginning June 9, 2024

Annecy International Animated Film Festival (Annecy, France) [thru 6.15]

Beacon Sloop Club Strawberry Festival (Beacon, New York)

Community-Wide FELStival (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

International Dairy-Deli-Bake Seminar & Expo (Houston, Texas) [thru 6.11]

Jewish Cultural Festival (Dayton, Ohio)

New England VegFest (Worcester, Massachusetts)

Peabody Awards (Los Angeles, California)

Savor Idaho (Boise, Idaho)

Feast Days

Aidan of Lindisfarne (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)

Architects of the Middles Ages (Positivist; Saints)

Bathe in Marinara Day (Pastafarian)

Bede (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)

Cloverfield Dairy Cow (Muppetism)

Columba of Iona (a.k.a. Columbia or Columkille; Celtic Christian) [Poets]

Edmund (Christian; Saint)

Ephrem the Syrian (Roman Catholic Church and Church of England)

George Pérez (Artology)

James Collinson (Artology)

Jim Jones Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Joe Haldeman (Writerism)

José de Anchieta (Christian; Saint)

Jotunheim Day (Pagan)

Liborius (Christian; Saint)

Lord Buddha's Parinirvana (Bhutan)

Michael Ancher (Artology)

Paul Beatty (Writerism)

Pelagia of Antioch (Christian; Virgin and Martyr)

Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (Artology)

Primus and Felician (Christian; Martyrs)

Ralph Goings (Artology)

Remembrance for Sigurd the Dragonslayer (a.k.a. Siegfried; Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Richard, Bishop of Andria (Christian; Saint)

Robert Indermaur (Artology)

Vesalia (Feast of Vesta; Roman Goddess of the Hearth)

Vincent of Aden (Christian; Martyr)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [33 of 57]

Premieres

Bill of Hare (WB MM Cartoon; 1962)

Cars (Animated Pixar Film; 2006)

The Coo Coo Bird (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1947)

The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon (Novella; 1966)

Dire Straits, by Dire Straits (Album; 1978)

The Empty Chair, by Jeffrey Deaver (Novel; 2000)

Gone in 60 Seconds (Film; 2000)

How Do I Know It’s Sunday (WB MM Cartoon; 1934)

Invisible Touch, by Genesis (Album; 1986)

Jelly-Roll Blues, recorded by Jelly Roll Morton (Song; 1924)

Kids Say th Darnedest Things!, by Art Linkletter (Humor Book; 1958)

Labour of Lust, by Nick Lowe (Album; 1979)

Loki (TV Series; 2021)

Mr. Tambourine Man, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1964)

The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco (Novel; US Translation 1983)

The Nine Billion Names of God, by Arthur C. Clarke (Short Stories; 1967)

Ode to Discord: A Chimerical Combination in Four Bursts, by Charles Villiers Stanford (Song; 1909)

A Pirate Looks at Fifty, by Jimmy Buffett (Memoir; 1998)

Party Girl (Film; 1995)

Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, by Elvis Costello (Album; 2009)

Some Girls, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1978)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Film; 1989)

Stroke It Rich (Radio Game Show; 1947)

Super 8 (Film; 2011)

Tangled (Phantasies Cartoon; 1944)

3, by Honeyhoney (Album; 2015)

Tumble Weed Greed (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1969)

Ups an’ Downs Derby (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1950)

The Wise Little Hen (Disney Cartoon; 1934) [1st Donald Duck]

The Year of the Mouse (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1965)

Today’s Name Days

Annamaria, Ephraim, Grazia (Austria)

Diomed, Efrem, Kolumban, Ranko (Croatia)

Stanislava (Czech Republic)

Primus (Denmark)

Elar, Haljand, Hallar, Helar, Helari, Hellar (Estonia)

Ensio (Finland)

Diane (France)

Annamaria, Diana, Ephram, Grazia (Germany)

Rodanthi (Greece)

Félix (Hungary)

Efrem, Primo (Italy)

Gita, Liega, Ligita, Naula, Valeska (Latvia)

Felicijus, Gintas, Gintė (Lithuania)

Kolbein, Kolbjørn (Norway)

Felicjan, Pelagia, Pelagiusz (Poland)

Chiril (România)

Stanislava (Slovakia)

Efrén, Feliciano, Julián (Spain)

Birger, Börje (Sweden)

Cole, Coleman, Colman, Dean, Deana, Deanna, Dee, Dena, Diana, Diane, Dianna, Dianne, Dyane, Prima, Primavera (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 161 of 2024; 205 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 23 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 1 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 4 (Jia-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 3 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 2 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 11 Blue; Foursday [11 of 30]

Julian: 27 May 2024

Moon: 12%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 20 St. Paul (6th Month) [Architects of the Middles Ages]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 83 of 92)

Week: 2nd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 20 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Dag (Day) [Half-Month 12 of 24; Runic Half-Months] (thru 6.26)

Duir (Oak) [Celtic Tree Calendar; Month 6 of 13]

[funeraldoc]

— BASICS

Name: Genevieve Huệ Birch, M.D., aka Viva Age & Birthdate: 39, born November 27th, 1984 Gender, Pronouns & Sexuality: cis woman, she/her, lesbian Hometown: born in Sugar Land, TX but considers herself a naturalized New Yorker Affiliation: law enforcement, non-corrupt Job position: forensic pathologist with the NYPD Education: bachelor’s in psych and biology, medical doctorate specializing in forensic pathology Relationship status: widowed, in between hookups Children: One, estranged (see wanted connections) Positive traits: altruistic, witty, open-minded, competent, and principled Negative traits: cynical, self-righteous, fickle, cavalier, and brusque

— BIOGRAPHY

content warning: cancer and death of a loved one

the illegitimate child of a wealthy Houston lawyer, Mark Birch, and a Vietnamese immigrant he was having an affair with. Genevieve was adopted into the Birch family when she was a toddler, after Mark and his wife, Stephanie, had trouble getting pregnant

a few years later, Stephanie and Mark were able to conceive. Genevieve did not welcome having younger siblings–she feared that this meant she was replaceable.

natural intelligence plus a terror of failure caused her to overachieve in school, always on honor roll and in the most prestigious extra curriculars. if she wasn’t perfect she was nothing and Genevieve Birch refused to be nothing. this pattern of success eventually cemented her as her father’s favorite

she discovered she was a lesbian in 9th grade and immediately became “boy crazy” to compensate for this perceived flaw. this obviously did not make her straight but the perceived promiscuity was a source of tension with her family

she fell pregnant as a senior in high school. the father of the baby wanted her to marry him and she wanted to abort. Genevieve took the middle route and gave the baby up for adoption. this is one of her greatest regrets (and also a wanted connection!)

despite her GPA slipping during her pregnancy, Genevieve graduated on time and even made it into Rice for her undergrad. she got to know and accept herself once she was away from the stifling influence of her family, and started going by Viva

Viva met a woman named Heather Kędzierski and fell head over heels–allowed herself to fall head over heels. Heather felt the same way and the two quickly moved in together

the two had grand plans after the graduated–they were going to move to NYC, Heather was going to become a world-renowned sculptor and Viva would be a wealthy doctor.

the first was easy enough–Viva got accepted into NYU med school (but not Cornell or Columbia–Viva was as devastated by the situation as Heather was amused) Heather got a security job at an art gallery and soon started selling her pieces as well

it was a beautiful life. a charmed life. Viva was able to be her full, intense self and Heather was there to soften her edges. Heather could be as raw and vulnerable as she needed to and Viva would protect her

in 2011, a month after Viva started her residency as a cardiologist and a month before New York legalized gay marriage, Heather was diagnosed with cancer. it was fast moving, terminal. Viva dropped her residency and stayed home to nurse Heather full time. 

when Heather passed, Viva was broken. she didn’t want to be a doctor anymore, not when there would be patients like Heather, patients who couldn’t be healed, only comforted. against almost everyone’s advice she switched her specialty to forensic pathology. can’t grieve for dying patients when they come to you dead already

Viva’s bullheadedness and cold ambition proved to be an asset when working with the NYPD. corruption may have been an unstoppable force but Viva was an immovable object, and she quickly gained a reputation as one of the most competent and trustworthy members of the forensics department

— WANTED CONNECTIONS / PLOTS

Returning to the Prodigal Mother: Viva’s long lost kid wants go get out of Texas and move to NYC, they end up on her couch Some Gangs Wear Badges: a criminal is murdered by the police and Viva is in charge of investigating the death. she reaches out to the criminal’s friends and confidantes for information/protection Friend-in Law: old friends of Heather–possibly working in the media–who are horrified by the fact that Viva’s working for the cops now You Can’t Corrupt Me: corrupt police or gang members who are trying to turn Viva to their side. she is Too Tired For Their Shit but they are persistent and a strange friendship has formed Can I Influence You?: someone working in politics or media that Viva is desperately trying to get on her side, either by being a whistleblower or helping them campaign against corruption and for decriminalization 

also just general friends, drinking buddies, hookups, etc! if you have an idea, i want to hear it