#we are supposed to cover medically necessary treatment

[dinosaurcharcuterie]

Our company "completely reworked" the guidelines for trans health insurance claims. It's now "fully up to date with modern standards" and designed to "minimize litigation" and "complaints of inhumane and confusing assessment criteria".

Only the first paragraph of the page has been rewritten, the rest has been shoddily and half heartedly reworked into complete gibberish along the lines of:

Assessments are now mandatory for every new procedure, except every assessment should cover all possible future therapies and only one assessment should ever be performed.

Nonbinary people can't be treated for dysphoria because there's no gender roles for them to fulfill until a statistically significant number of babies are assigned nonbinary at birth and those babies grow up.

HRT can only be started after 12 months' positive response to HRT.

All feminizing HRT effects are final and complete within 3-6 months. Masculinizing HRT has no effects worth mentioning.

Speech therapy is a highly specialized procedure and the treating surgeon must be carefully vetted before approval.

Top surgery for trans men is not mentioned. Top surgery for trans women is medically urgently necessary--but only to cup size A.

Before bottom surgery is approved, we need a medical confirmation it will benefit professionally benefit the current career of the patient who is, statistically, a teacher, priest or underage child.

If it's a surgery from an urban myth and/or bigoted fever dream and even Wikipedia can't find a reliable instance of it being successfully performed in a reputable medical institution, we will consider covering it. Everything else is frivolous and cosmetic.

The word "transgender" is never used and still redirects to a page for HIV prophylaxis if searched in the database.

Over two dozen assessment doctors have expressly refused to do any further confirmations of gender dysphoria (or, possibly, put up with this BS) for insurance reasons. Of the five we have left nationwide, only one sees kids as well as adults. Incidentally, it's the only one trans people will willingly visit. Three others don't answer their phone. Two of those have complaints of not updating their professional knowledge on treating trans people to modern standards... going back at least 15 years.

All cases, for statistical purposes, must be sent in copy to the person who was screaming there was no new law coming as late as the last week of October. They're on the cutting edge when it comes to these matters.

No one is responsible for maintaining this information page but feedback is welcomed and will be sent to the people who maintain the page.

So yeah, no way this will get us any complaints or legal action from... At least two different angles I can think of without "getting political". In other news, for some mysterious reason, several managers have taken to telling the people they're in charge of to ignore any guideline pages that don't make sense. Something about "for God's sake, just make a reasonably intelligent assessment and let me sign off on it before I have to pretend it makes any sense to a client on the phone" and cost factors.

All above my pay grade, I'm afraid. My manager wants me to go the reasonably intelligent route, he decides if I get a raise, so I'm gonna listen to him.

[caught-tumbling]

Since insurance companies and the cruelty they bring is so public right now, I have a story.

As a teenager I was dealing with the worst mental health of my life. Insurance chose not to pay for most programs, barely covered therapy, insisted I try medications that I and my doctors knew wouldn't work, and often stopped covering medications right when they started to work. They flat out refused many many many attempts I and my family made to better my life. So I decided to end it. I didn't see another choice. I gave it a good shot if I do say so myself. It took days to stabilize me and even longer for me to wake up.

Then my insurance chose to push the hospital to discharge me while I was still half delirious. Insurance chose not to cover anything else for the visit. The hospital complied. After I finished recovering physically the policy was to move me to the psych ward to recover mentally. Since I was moved too soon I don't remember everything that went on. But I remember I wasn't the only one insurance chose to move too soon. A woman still going through withdrawal symptoms that could have killed her. A man ripping stitches because he was still supposed to be on bed rest. A dozen people discharged far before they were ready. Others begging to be let out because being there was going to bankrupt their families. The funeral of a friend after insurance chose to discharge him too soon. Not exactly the best situation to find mental stability.

When I got home I got the bill. Weeks in the hospital, all the treatment I needed to survive, the treatment that was demanded by the hospital and the law. I could have bought a house for that much money. A nice one.

I didn't expect to ever pay that bill. I knew it would follow me for as long as it was legally allowed to. I learned a lot about medical debt and collection agencies. It didn't help my recovery a damn bit. Reading that number made me more suicidal than ever, but also more terrified of failing again.

It didn't have to come to that. Insurance could have paid for my therapy. Insurance could have paid for my medications. Insurance could have let my doctors prescribe what they thought I needed instead of what they had a contract with. Insurance could have kept me out of the hospital but they chose not to. And once I was there they could have paid for the time I needed to recover. When I got that necessary treatment my life improved immeasurably, I wasn't in and out of the hospital anymore, I got a job, I got my life on track. I could have gotten there years earlier if insurance just worked with me. But they chose not to. They could have given that help to my friend before he took his life. But they chose not to. It's a choice. A conscious decision to deny what we need to live. A choice to put money over lives. A choice that is inherently evil.

I won't mourn the death of an evil man. I won't judge a person who was pushed and pushed until they saw no good options. I won't cheer for violence. But I can certainly understand it.

[coochiequeens]

He kept what in the fridge?

Pontiac — A district court judge Wednesday denied a pair of dueling $6,500 small claims petitions that centered around a transgender woman's attempt to get her surgically removed testicles back after they were kept for months in her ex-boyfriend's refrigerator.

During a contentious small claims hearing in Pontiac's 50th District Court, Judge Jeremy Bowie ruled "it's a wash" after hearing testimony from Brianna Kingsley, 40, and her 37-year-old ex, William Wojciechowski.

Kingsley filed a handwritten small claims petition in August claiming Wojciechowski "retains possession of my surgically extracted testicles, preserved in (a) Mason jar, kept in (the) fridge next to the eggs. Demand immediate return of my human remains specimen and damages of $6,500."

Wojciechowski filed a counterclaim seeking $6,500 in damages because he said he had been "humiliated" by coverage of the case by "worldwide news outlets."

Bowie denied both claims, a decision he said Wednesday can't be appealed. The judge said Kingsley had an opportunity to get her testicles back when an Oakland County Sheriff's deputy accompanied her to Wojciechowski's Pontiac home in January 2023.

When the deputy escorted her to the house, Kingsley had just gotten out of the Oakland County Jail, where she'd been incarcerated for three days and fined $100 for violating a personal protection order Wojciechowski had filed against her.

"We allow a one-time visit with a Sheriff's officer in situations like that for people to go back to get their belongings," the judge said. "Ms. Kingsley failed to retrieve the testicles from the refrigerator at that time. ... If they were so important to her, she had the opportunity to grab them, and she didn't."

Wojciechowski said he threw the body parts away in July.

"They were rotting in my fridge, and it was disgusting — I've got food in there I wanted to eat," Wojciechowski told the judge. "She didn't keep them in a biohazard container like she was supposed to."

"Specifically why I asked you: I can put a dollar amount on, say, if you were missing work at $16 an hour," Bowie said. "But as to testicles, I can't really put a number on it."

Kingsley, who clutched a small black comfort dog throughout the hearing, said the March 23, 2022 surgery at Henry Ford Hospital cost $20,000, although she said because she's disabled, the state footed the bill.

But the state paid for that; you didn't," Bowie said. "You're not going to be unjustly enriched."

Kingsley replied: "They were my testicles. ... We're talking about my nuts. ... I wanted them in my fridge — not his. ... He denied me access to my own body parts. I don't think that can be quantified. The damages were the loss of these nuts."

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, "The Medicaid program covers medically necessary gender affirmation/confirming medical, surgical, and pharmacologic treatments and procedures for beneficiaries clinically diagnosed with gender dysphoria." Medicaid is the government health insurance coverage for mostly low-income residents.

At one point during Wednesday's hearing, the judge told Kingsley to stop interrupting him, saying, "I've been patient enough."

Kingsley and Wojciechowski said they met on Facebook Community in April 2020 and in the fall of 2021 they moved into a Pontiac house Wojciechowski bought.

After her surgery, Kinsley said she put her testicles in a Mason jar and stored them in the refrigerator "because I deal with trauma with comedy. Shakespeare did it."

The couple broke up in December 2022. Wojciechowski secured a personal protection order against Kingsley, which she violated a month later. After she got out of jail and was escorted by a sheriff's deputy to retrieve her belongings from Wojciechowski's home, she visited the house a second time about a month later.

Wojciechowski said he denied her entry the second time because he felt she was harassing him. The judge said he had a right to deny her entry, since she'd already been allowed to retrieve her belongings a month earlier.

Earlier Wednesday, Kingsley had a hearing scheduled on charges of destruction of property, after she allegedly damaged Wojciechowski's front door. Bowie said she didn't appear for that hearing and that it had been rescheduled for Feb. 28.

[dinosaurcharcuterie]

As someone working in private health insurance in a country in Europe where this stuff is regulated -- I still hate it.

Naturopathy, chiropractic included, got regulated to make these quacks have some accountability, be forced to look at an anatomy textbook and give people a sense of when they were being ripped off. In response, people assumed this was the government putting naturopaths on the same level as actual doctors and dentists. In response to that, you have actual doctors getting certified as naturopaths and "preferring" to give naturopath treatment unless "allopathic" medicine is "necessary". They say it has nothing to do with the prices for naturopathy being a bit higher, and definitely definitely nothing to do with them thinking their patients are faking things.

And, to be fair, direct injuries (as opposed to indirect damage done from delayed or avoided medical attention) from naturopaths are low and mostly limited to medication interactions where people fully believe herbal tea magically can't affect medication, or allergic reactions to massage oils... Except in one area. You get three guesses which.

So, chiropractic especially got regulated even more strictly when injuries kept happening. And it changed nothing much so far, half a decade later. They're supposed to send patients to a doctor if it's a more complex problem, but...

In my current caseload of chronically ill patients I've now got someone who got unlimited chiropractic approved. The original argument was that they'd need less physiotherapy (28-45 euro are covered per session, depending on diagnosis, of which 3 a week are necessary). They have since quit physio entirely, and their condition has gotten mysteriously worse, despite upping the chiro (70-90 euro per session) from twice a month to 3-4 times a week, and their doctors prescribing stronger meds and getting surgery.

I've got someone who has several all caps warnings to not pay out any chiro, as the professor of orthopedics who has been treating them for double digit months says it might be lethal. Their spine is so damaged, half the bones are misaligned and look like something out of a geode splitting ASMR video. After surgery. With half a hardware store worth of titanium screws and plates trying to keep their spinal cord straight enough to undo the nerve damage that kind of injury causes.

I wish those cases were rare enough that just describing them narrows it down to a small enough group of people to identify someone by, but I'm not.

Yes, we get sat down once every quarter or two and told what numbers look good and what numbers make the CEO so so sad. They're happy if a 70 euro chiro visit means the problem is fixed, instead of a 20 minute doctor visit (12 euro, 25 if they're feeling frisky, because regulated prices) with a prescription (3 euro) of 6 rounds of physio (usually the 28 euro/session kind, plus a one time 16 euro fee for non chronic issues or new therapy attempts). But that's only true if the doctor-cum-naturopath types are right and the patient is faking and just needs to whine a little and feel another human being touch them to feel better forever.

Statistics show it's costlier to pay out naturopaths in the long run. Because we can't cancel cover over here. We can't adjust what kind of cover someone has once they have the insurance. We can hike up premiums if costs rise, but that just makes all the healthy cash cows seek greener pastures. The limit to out of pocket pay is 5k annually, and most companies cap it at half that at most, usually just 1.2k.

So why is it covered under those circumstances? The same reason GSH dogs still get liability cover despite causing the most damage, both material and personal, of any dog breed, pit bulls included: it's part of the cultural landscape, and to exclude it would cost you customers and have you branded as a tyrannical, unreasonable company.

And to make matters worse: the fact that we are more or less forced by convention to accept naturopaths as legitimate physicians, means we ask about how often you've visited them in the past as a prospective customer. We can only adjust cover before anything is signed, after all. And because naturopaths have to pretend to be physicians to operate, they have to say what diagnosis they're treating. If they have a medical degree (most don't), that's not too hard and they tend to stay realistic. If they don't, they still have to write something down which they feel is plausible, but serious enough to warrant (further) treatment. Ideally they'd communicate with a physician over that, but that requires a treating physician. And also scary legal paperwork. And the cooperation of said physician, because they sure as fuck can't argue they're providing vital and necessary care beyond the doctor's skill level.

Any stab in the dark they take is now a pre existing condition. Not fixed in six months? Welp, that's chronic. And, yeah, private health insurance companies will refuse to accept you if your health status too egregious (with very few exceptions if you're not a newborn). Or maybe they will--and then be legally in their right to charge up to juuuust under double the usual premium until you can prove you don't have that diagnosis.

How? Easy! A physician needs to confirm (25-40 euros) through lab work (anywhere from 15-2500 euros), and your naturopath can't charge for it anymore if you do get in, or at least one of you will get sued for fraud. In which case you're now on the hook for all costs related to that diagnosis which you've incurred with an insurance company. Plus interest at the current rate of inflation.

So... Only healthy people and the naturopaths are harmed the least by this. Because--oh yes--they recommend healthy people get treatment prophylactically.

I'm not saying health insurance are the good guys (my job would be so much easier if there was universal, science based, tax funded health insurance) but this particular flavor of fuckery is 100% organic woo lobbying.

Periodic reminder that you should never trust a chiropractor with your body under any circumstances

[lawofficeofbryanfagan]

Does Child Support Cover Clothing for Both Houses? Everything You Need to Know

Does child support cover clothing for both houses? In Texas, child support generally includes clothing, but managing these expenses for two homes requires clear communication and planning. This article will guide you through the guidelines, legal aspects, and practical solutions for co-parents. Key Takeaways - Child support in Texas covers essential needs such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and medical treatment, but not luxury items. - Effective management of clothing expenses for children living in two households requires open communication and clear agreements between co-parents. - Legal guidelines dictate that clothing costs should be reasonable, and parents may need to modify child support orders or establish separate agreements to cover specific expenses. Understanding Child Support in Texas Child support is a financial obligation that ensures the basic needs of children are met, covering essential living expenses. In Texas, the primary aim of child support payments is to provide for the general quality of life of the child, ensuring necessities like food, housing, and clothing are covered. Parents are required to pay child support to fulfill this obligation. Child support payments in Texas are designed to encompass various essential costs. This includes not only food and shelter but also clothing, which is a crucial part of a child’s daily needs. While the primary focus of these payments is on necessary expenses, they can also extend to other areas such as school supplies and child care, ensuring a holistic approach to the child’s upbringing. It’s important to note that while child support covers basic needs, it is not intended to provide for luxury items. Parents paying child support should focus on fulfilling the fundamental requirements of their children, ensuring that their money is spent wisely and effectively. Understanding these basics highlights why child support exists and what it is supposed to cover. With this foundation, we can now delve into the specifics of whether child support includes clothing expenses for both households. Does Child Support Cover Clothing? In Texas, child support explicitly includes the costs for: - food - clothing - shelter - education - medical treatment - reasonable recreation This broad scope ensures that the fundamental needs of the child are met, including their clothing requirements. However, the specific allocation of child support money towards clothing can vary. While many jurisdictions, including Texas, design child support to address fundamental needs like clothing, the exact provisions can differ based on individual circumstances and state laws. This often leads to questions about how these expenses are managed between two households. Co-parents need to consider how to share clothing expenses. The child support order may not always delineate specific amounts for clothing, but it is supposed to cover these needs. This means parents need to have clear agreements and communication to ensure both households are adequately prepared to buy clothes for the child. Clothing Expenses for Both Houses Managing clothing expenses for a child living in two households can be challenging. Both custodial and non-custodial parents often share the responsibility of purchasing clothing. It’s common for parents to discuss and agree on who will cover specific clothing expenses to maintain fairness and balance. In Texas, child support is required to cover some clothing expenses, but specific guidelines can vary by case. Creating a shared clothing budget can help both parents manage these expenses and avoid misunderstandings. Establishing agreements on when and how often to buy new clothes can also make it easier to predict and manage costs. Shared Clothing Responsibilities For families where children live in two households, maintaining open dialogue between co-parents is crucial to prevent misunderstandings and disputes over shared costs. Clarifying how clothing responsibilities are divided between custodial and noncustodial parent is essential. Open communication allows parents to agree on responsibilities, ensuring the child’s needs are met without conflict. This can include agreeing on a budget, setting limits on spending, and deciding on the types of clothes to be purchased. Legal Guidelines on Clothing Costs Texas child support guidelines specify that clothing expenses should be reasonable and related to the child’s needs. While child support covers these expenses, the law does not automatically require the non-custodial parent to cover clothing costs unless specified in the custody agreement. Certain costs, such as school uniforms and extracurricular activity expenses, are not typically included in child support and may require separate agreements. Parents can request modifications to their child support orders to include clothing costs if necessary. Practical Solutions for Clothing Costs A shared budget for clothing helps both parents manage expenses more effectively. This not only ensures that both households are prepared for the child’s needs but also prevents disputes over who should pay for what. Another practical solution is establishing a clothing exchange system, where clothes can be rotated between the two households. This can significantly reduce costs and ensure the child has suitable clothing at both homes. Parents can also agree on specific times to buy clothes, making financial planning easier. Addressing Additional Costs Not Covered by Child Support Child support does not typically cover all expenses related to raising a child. Costs like private schooling, extracurricular activities, and college tuition are generally not included in standard child support payments. Understanding these exclusions is essential for parents to plan for the holistic financial needs of their children. While child support may cover a portion of household expenses, it does not extend to items like private tutoring or other specialized needs. Parents need to be aware of these additional costs and plan accordingly. This often involves creating separate agreements or budgets to ensure all the child’s needs are met. Extra Expenses Beyond Basic Needs Beyond the basic needs covered by child support, there are numerous extra expenses, including childcare expenses and all the expenses that parents must consider. These include costs for extracurricular activities, special occasions, and other non-essential items. While clothing expenses are part of child support obligations, they may require clear agreements between both parents to ensure they are adequately covered. Child support typically does not cover clothing costs unless specified in the support order, placing responsibility on the custodial or non-custodial parent to provide. Modifying Child Support Orders Parents can request modifications to child support orders to include specific expenses like clothing. This often requires providing justification or agreement from both parties. In some cases, legal intervention is necessary to establish clear guidelines about clothing expenses that are not explicitly covered by child support. Court intervention can help determine how these expenses are shared, ensuring fair contributions from both parents. Importance of Clear Agreements and Communication Clear agreements and open communication are vital for co-parents managing shared expenses, including auto insurance. Effective communication minimizes misunderstandings and disagreements about responsibilities. Without clear communication, disputes over what expenses are covered can arise, leading to conflicts. Establishing clear agreements fosters a cooperative parenting environment and benefits the child. Drafting a Detailed Parenting Plan A comprehensive parenting plan can outline specific expenses, including clothing, ensuring both parents are on the same page regarding financial obligations. This plan should explicitly detail how clothing costs will be shared to prevent misunderstandings. Parents can also create a shared budget or agreement to manage clothing expenses effectively. This helps reduce conflicts and ensures both parents contribute appropriately. Open Communication Between Co-Parents Maintaining open dialogue between co-parents is essential for addressing financial concerns and preventing disputes over shared costs. Regular communication fosters collaboration in decision-making, minimizing disputes over expenses. Transparent communication ensures both parents stay informed about their child’s needs and helps manage shared expenses effectively. Documenting clothing expenses can also help avoid misunderstandings about child support usage. Consulting with a Family Law Attorney Consulting with a family law attorney can provide essential guidance on child support issues. Establishing clear agreements in co-parenting helps reduce misunderstandings and conflicts regarding shared financial responsibilities. Effective management of child-related expenses hinges on cooperation rather than conflict, emphasizing the need for comprehensive agreements. Clear and consistent communication is crucial to navigate important decisions regarding the children. When to Seek Legal Advice Seeking legal advice is beneficial when disputes arise over child support payments or clothing expenses. Consulting with a family law attorney ensures knowledgeable support, especially in complex situations. Choosing an attorney who specializes in family law and has experience in child support matters can streamline the process of understanding rights and responsibilities regarding these expenses. Choosing the Right Attorney When selecting a family law attorney, prioritize those with experience in handling child support and custody matters. Assess their knowledge of local laws and their success record in handling similar cases. Initial consultations often provide a chance to gauge their approach and compatibility with your case. Conduct thorough research on potential attorneys to ensure they meet your needs during the legal process. Real-Life Examples and Case Studies Real-life examples and case studies add credibility and practical value to discussions about child support and clothing expenses. One example is when parents agree on a shared budget for clothing expenses, ensuring both households are equally prepared for their child’s needs. Testimonials from parents highlight the importance of clear communication about clothing expenses, with many reporting success when they set specific agreements on costs. These examples empower other co-parents to create effective solutions for managing clothing costs related to child support. Example 1: Successful Co-Parenting Agreement Clear agreements between co-parents reduce misunderstandings about responsibilities, especially concerning clothing expenses. A well-drafted parenting plan helps outline clothing responsibilities, ensuring both parties are on the same page. Creating a shared budget for clothing expenses allows both parents to contribute fairly and manage costs efficiently. Implementing clear agreements and practical strategies fosters a positive environment for children and reduces stress over clothing costs. Example 2: Legal Resolution of Disputes Legal intervention can play a crucial role when disputes arise over child-related expenses like clothing. In a notable case, parents struggled to agree on clothing expenses, leading to a court intervention. The court ruled that both parents must share the clothing expenses equally, thus resolving the dispute. This case illustrates the importance of clear legal parameters for shared expenses to prevent future conflicts. Summary In conclusion, child support in Texas is designed to cover essential living expenses, including clothing for the child. However, managing clothing expenses for children living in two households requires clear agreements and open communication between co-parents. Understanding that child support covers basic needs is crucial, but parents should also prepare for additional costs that may not be explicitly included in child support payments. Practical solutions such as shared budgets and clothing exchange systems can help manage these expenses effectively. Consulting with a family law attorney can provide valuable guidance and help resolve disputes, ensuring that both parents contribute fairly to their child’s needs. By fostering a cooperative co-parenting environment, parents can ensure that their child’s well-being remains the priority. Read the full article

[healthcare90]

Understanding Ambulance Services and Standards in India

Ambulances in India have come a long way from being just carts and makeshift vehicles to transport the ill or injured to the nearby medical facility. Ambulances now have integrated technology to improve medical services provided in times of crisis. Ambulance service in India is an integral part of the emergency system, providing swift emergency medical response and patient transportation. Vital to any quality healthcare system, the operation of ambulance service in India has not only proven its need in emergency times but also has brought about important healthcare education to the masses. 

In this blog, we will explore ambulance services and the various standards that have helped improve the healthcare system and operations of ambulance services in India. 

Types of Ambulance Services in India 

Emergency Ambulance Service: These are India's most common types of ambulance services. As the name suggests, an emergency ambulance service provides emergency medical attention, care, and treatment to those in need with acute or critical illnesses or injuries. An emergency ambulance service can either operate on the ground using ambulances like bike, boat, general van, etc. or on the air using air ambulances.

Patient Transport Ambulance Service: These ambulance services transport patients from one hospital to another for advanced medical treatment or, in general, transport dependent patients to their homes. This kind of ambulance service is usually for non-urgent medical cases.

Bariatric Ambulance Service: A bariatric ambulance service is an ambulance modified to accommodate severely obese patients. These ambulances are equipped with the necessary tools to help with the patient's condition. 

Hearse Ambulance Service: This type of ambulance service is used to transport the deceased. Ambulances used for this service do not generally have any kind of equipment. 

Safety Guidelines for the Operation of Ambulance Services in India

Safety guidelines are formulated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the government of different states for efficient operations of ambulance services in India. Following are some of the factors that guidelines cover. 

Vehicle Standards: Ambulance services in India must adhere to the standards set by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), ensuring that each ambulance is properly equipped and maintained to provide the best quality service. 

Equipment: All ambulances must have the necessary medical equipment based on the kind of ambulance it is. For example, an advanced ambulance (ALS) must have advanced medical equipment like ventilators, defibrillators, multipara patient monitors, ECG machines, syringe pumps etc. 

Staffing: Ambulances are supposed to be equipped with qualified and trained emergency medical technicians or paramedics and an experienced driver. Ambulance services in India are to make sure that there is at least one EMT or paramedic in the ambulance. 

Sanitation and Hygiene: Operational ambulances are to have the highest standards of hygiene and sanitation. Regular cleaning and disinfection are important to avoid the risk of spreading an infection. 

Communication: All ambulances must be equipped with proper devices for communication. This can ensure smoother transport by coordinating with the emergency control rooms and hospitals. 

Response Time: Standard guidelines for emergency ambulance services focus on the importance of always reducing the response time and providing swift medical intervention in critical cases. 

Protocols for Patient Care: Specific protocols are included for patient assessment, treatment, and care during transport, as well as handover to medical facilities.

As India treads on towards a brighter healthcare future, its ambulances will continue to be the chariots of hope, care, and life with these golden operational standards set in place.

[nextsmileblog]

How to Pay for All-on-4 Dental Implants?

If you're considering All-on-4 dental implants as a solution for your missing teeth, you may wonder how to finance this dental treatment. All-on-4 dental implants are an innovative and effective full arch replacement option that provides a functional and aesthetically pleasing smile. However, the cost of All-on-4 dental implants can vary depending on various factors, such as the dental clinic location, the expertise of the dental team, and the materials used. In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss the options available to pay for All-on-4 dental implants in Australia and why Next Smile Australia is considered the best dental clinic in the country for this procedure.

Understanding All-on-4 

Before we dive into the various payment options for All-on-4 dental implants, let's have a brief overview of what this dental restoration entails. All-on-4 dental implants are a complete arch dental implant solution that uses four strategically placed dental implants to support a full set of teeth. The dental implants are surgically placed in the jawbone, acting as a stable foundation for a fixed dental bridge or denture. This treatment is typically recommended for patients who have lost all or most of their teeth in a single arch, such as the upper or lower jaw and are seeking a permanent tooth replacement solution.

All-on-4 dental implants offer several benefits, including improved oral function, shorter healing time, and no bone grafting. However, the cost of this dental treatment can be a significant investment, and it's important to explore different payment options to make it more accessible.

Payment Options for All-on-4 Dental Implants

Private Health Insurance

If you have private health insurance in Australia, it's worth checking whether your policy covers dental implants, including All-on-4 dental implants. Some private health insurance plans may provide coverage for dental implants as part of their extras or ancillary coverage. However, the extent of coverage and the waiting periods may vary, so it's essential to review your policy and discuss it with your insurance provider to understand the details of your coverage.

Dental Payment Plans

Dental payment plans allow you to spread the cost of your treatment over some time, usually with little or no interest. Many dental clinics offer payment plans to help patients finance their dental treatments, including All-on-4. These plans may require you to make regular instalments, making the cost of All-on-4 dental implants more manageable and budget-friendly.

Superannuation Release

The Early Release of Superannuation on Compassionate Grounds allows you to withdraw your age to cover the costs of medical or dental treatments deemed essential to treat a life-threatening illness or injury or to alleviate severe pain or disability. In Australia, you may be able to access your superannuation to pay for necessary dental treatments, including All-on-4 dental implants. However, you must meet specific criteria and provide documentation to support your application.

Personal Savings

Using your savings is another option to pay for All-on-4 dental implants. If you have been saving up for an effective dental treatment or have an emergency fund, you may be able to use these savings to cover the cost of All-on-4 dental implants. It's essential to consider the impact of using your savings on your overall financial situation and have a plan to replenish your savings after the treatment.

Credit Cards

Using credit cards to pay for All-on-4 dental implants is another option, but it's essential to use this method with caution. Credit cards typically come with high-interest rates. If you cannot pay off the balance in full within a short period, the interest charges can quickly add up and result in additional financial strain. However, suppose you have a credit card with a low-interest rate or an interest-free promotional period, and you can pay off the balance before the interest kicks in. In that case, it can be a viable option to finance your All-on-4 dental implants.

Payment Plans Offered by Dental Clinics

Some dental clinics may offer payment plans to help patients finance their All-on-4 dental implants. These payment plans may be structured differently from traditional dental payment plans and may have specific terms and conditions. It's essential to review the details of the payment plan, including the interest rates, fees, and repayment schedule, and ensure that it fits within your budget and financial goals.

Government Assistance Programmes

In some cases, you may be eligible for government assistance programmes to help cover the cost of your All-on-4 dental implants. For example, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia supports eligible individuals with permanent and significant disabilities, which may include dental treatments. Some states or territories may also have dental assistance programmes for low-income individuals or seniors. It's worth exploring these options and checking the eligibility criteria and application process.

All-on-4 dental implants can provide a long-lasting and effective solution for missing teeth, but the cost of the treatment can be a significant investment. Fortunately, there are various payment options available in Australia to help make All-on-4 dental implants more affordable and accessible, including private health insurance, dental payment plans, superannuation releases, personal savings, credit cards, personal loans, government assistance programmes, and payment plans offered by dental clinics. It's essential to thoroughly research and understand each option, including the interest rates, fees, and repayment terms, and choose the one that best fits your needs and budget.

Next Smile Australia stands out as a leading dental healthcare clinic for All-on-4 dental implants in Australia, with a team of highly skilled and experienced dental professionals who prioritise patient comfort and satisfaction. Focusing on patient education and personalised treatment plans, Next Smile Australia ensures that patients are well-informed and involved in their dental implant journey. They offer flexible payment options, including private health insurance, dental payment plans, credit cards, personal loans, and government assistance programmes, to make treatment more accessible for patients.

When considering financing options for All-on-4 dental implants, it's essential to carefully weigh the pros and cons of each option, understand the financial implications, and choose the one that best fits your financial situation and long-term goals. It's recommended to consult with your dental provider and financial advisor to make an informed decision and ensure that you can comfortably manage the payments while receiving the dental care you need.

[lettuce-seize-the-day]

i was gonna go grocery shopping today after my first day at the new store (bc i hate driving so i wanted to do it while i was already out yk) but the new store is a shit show bc it just opened within the last 2 months and it's twice the size and traffic of my old one and half the staff lmaooo, so it's a fuckin MESS and i tripped on a cardboard box someone folded up to throw away but it fell down ig, so yeah I didn't see it, but see I was carrying stuff and I was trying to preserve the stuff, so long story short i landed with my FULL body weight all on my elbow and when i tell u it fuckin hurt.............

anyway so now I have 2 arms i can't fucking use to pick things up heavier than like. 5 lbs, 10 absolute max. (bc my left shoulder u recall is separated, which is the less severe version of being dislocated basically but unfortunately means i can't just pop it back where it goes 😔 but it's been separated and untreated long enough that my muscles in my left arm and hand don't work which is cool) so now i did this fun thing on my RIGHT arm so like......cool that my body is? sharing???? but i for real can't carry anything at all. i picked up literally 2 6 packs of soda from walmart (necessities yk) and that just about killed me :(

[movedtodykedvonte]

If you’re not busy how bout a headcanon for how the four lords would react to their s/o, a doctor/field medic, somehow healing them of their cadou parasites and returning them to their normal selves

If you can't afford medical treatment just get your doctor S/O to do a quick surgery. It's legal and fun!!

Here's a cut cause this bad boy is long

Alcina Dimitrescu

You two had discussed it and agreed that it needed to be done. The girls would be in constant danger from BSAA/Blue Umbrella if Alcina was still such a strong bio-weapon.

She had worries; would she be weaker? Would she need to worry about her blood disease again? How would she protect her daughters? You assured her that you two would figure it out, that you would never do this if you thought it would do more harm than good.

The girls protested, saying they could handle whatever was thrown at them but Alcina hushed them, explaining that it was for her sake as well. It was only so long until BSAA stopped letting her get away with literal murder, no matter how necessary.

You had explained the most likely and best outcome, that she'd be cured and all the effects reversed, that she'd need regular infusions of blood and may feel weaker. You tried to treat her like a regular patient, the coldness of being a medic, but the worry loomed over you.

It was a quick procedure, the cadou just as it had smoothly integrated with Alcina, had been slipped out, the changes almost just as quick.

Her skin became humanly pale, no longer a porcelain white, wrinkles showing the age she was when infected, her height dwindling. You didn't account for her to wake up as quick as she did and had to dive to catch her as she wobbled of the operating table, not yet used to her smaller size.

"A mirror" "Are you sure, Alcina? Maybe you should-" "I want a mirror now" She was demanding, but you understood how justified that was. You only had a small one for operating on you but it would have to do.

She pulled at her face, a look of disdain as she inspecting the face of a mortal woman instead of an immortal lord. Seeing this you came up behind her, wrapping your arms around her waist like you were never able to fully do before, and planted a kiss on her cheek, now noticing how warm it was compared to her previous form

"I look horrid" "You look beautiful" The comment drew a smile from her, but you could still sense the doubt in her.

She stayed in her room for a while, you being the only one allowed entrance to tend her: Infusions, getting her used to human food rather than humans for food. Alcina insisted she fully recovers before her girls saw her as to not incite panic.

It was tough on her to be distant with her girls, but tougher on them to not see her after such a harrowing surgery.

When the girls first saw her it was as if they were interacting with a valuable and fragile vase, none of them wanted to get close in fear of hurting her, but they desperately wanted to inspect their mother.

"I'm not made of paper, an embrace won't kill me." It was lovely seeing them perk up at their mother's usual sass and even more relieving when they practically dove into her arms, bombarding her with questions on how she felt.

There were many things to still discuss, but for now, everyone was happy.

Donna Beneviento

Donna surprisingly brought it up to you first. You were having tea having a calm conversation with Angie for once. The mood felt off for that alone but for the whole day it felt off, now you knew why.

She wanted a normal life with you, one free of the mold and her dependence on her dolls. It was all a crutch and she wanted to start to walk without it.

You asked if she was sure, the dolls, especially Angie, meant so much to her, you didn't want to do it unless she was positively certain

"We've made our mind up, Y/N. We want this." Angie's serious response and Donna's nod were a startling confirmation. You set a date and prepared the tools for the procedure

Before all of that, you set up a party for Donna and Angie, placing all the dolls for one last goodbye. "Surprise!" You pop out with all the dolls, you suspect she knew as the dolls came to life to yell as well but she was crying tears of joy either way.

She said goodbye to all the dolls individually, thanking them for being there for her as she shut down her cadou in each of them. Donna told you that Angie didn't want to go until she had to. You understood completely.

On the day of the procedure, you knelt down to Angie and hugged her. She was always a little bit of a pain to you and she found you a bit dull but in the end, you cared and you were going to miss her rambunctiousness. You spared yourself the tears of a verbal goodbye as you placed her on the operating table next to Donna, she feigned unconscious to mimic her sedated friend.

It was slow and grueling to remove the cadou carefully from her face and skull, you wanted to leave as little scarring as possible. Donna had just stopped wearing the veil and you had no desire to be the reason it came back on

The procedure was no less easy as every amount removed, you noticed Angie appearing even more lifeless.

When it was done, she woke up, her working eye blinking under the bright lights of your operating chambers. She did not address you but immediately turned to Angie. You had not an idea of how she knew she was lying next to her

"Angie?" There was no response and you could see the tears forming as she slowly reached for her best friend, caressing the inanimate face. You took her other hand and squeezed it, before lifting it to your lips and planting a kiss.

Recovering was less physical than mental. Occasionally she'd ask her dolls a question, you'd catch her staring sorrowfully at them as they stared back unblinking. It was even worse when you heard her call for Angie, knowing it was impossible for her to respond.

Sometimes you'd find her staring out the window, holding Angie as she took in the horizon.

"It's difficult... She was always there for me." She stared at Angie, brushing the veil from her face as the setting sun leaked in. You sat next to her, leaning in close so you could support Angie's slumped head... Donna smiled at the action. "But, I suppose there's a lot else for me too." Donna rested her head on your shoulder, now looking at the broad horizon before you both.

Salvatore Moreau

It hurt you like nothing else to see Salvatore live in constant pain and suffering. You had done wonders for the hurt of loneliness but physically he was still in agony.

He has insisted not to burden yourself with him and that he was used to it, but the more he assured you the less you actually felt comforted. It came to a head one day that all he was doing was vomiting. You were sure you saw red at some point

"Stop saying you're fine!" "I'm used to it, Y/N" "Well I'm not!" You were a medic, it had become an instinct to stop people from being in pain, and Moreau made it flare up.

He refused to be operated on, making up excuses or insisting it was not a big deal to him after all these years. Clearly, you could tell it was something else, something he wasn't telling you but he refused to let it slip. It became a strain on your relationship. It felt bad but you had to threaten to leave if he was not going to be honest. He owed you that.

You felt even worse when you found out. "I'm scared it would get worse!" You realized that the last time Moreau was likely on an operating table, it turned him into what he was now. It was beyond inconsiderate to try and force him through it again.

For a while, you dropped it, letting the waters calm... until another vomiting fit happened and you thought you might lose him.

Luckily you didn't and unluckily for Moreau he had to see you're tear-ridden face the whole time, unable to assure you he would be fine due to the wretching. A day later he agreed to let you try.

You were relieved but now it went on to how you were exactly going to do this. You were unsure if removing the cadou would be enough to rid him of the tumors or if you would be on that too, you had no intention to make things worse like he feared.

A while passed as you collected the tools and set up an area in the reservoir to operate, everytime you made progress Moreau strayed farther from the area.

You finally finished and Moreau was off lurking in the waters, much like a child hiding from getting a shot. "Are you ready?" "Yes." "Are you lying?" "Yes." You were happy he found humor in the situation but you needed confidence.

You practically held his hand the whole way to the table, both to keep him from escaping to the water and a half for comforting, his grip did not slip until you had fully sedated him.

The procedure was more difficult than ever expected, the tumors were gelatinous and blocked the way to his cadou. You had to be careful not to burst one as well as not to accidentally paralyze him due to the proximity to his spine. It was slow and meticulous but eventually, you got it all.

Nothing happened. He laid unconscious on the table, cadou thoroughly gone, you made sure... but nothing happened. Did you fail? Was there another one? You pondered the possibilities but quickly stood up as the tumors began to swell, becoming enflamed before one burst, an acidic substance barely missing you and melting part of the floor. As more popped you took cover as not to get burned.

The grotesque sounds of bursting meat slowly faded, becoming less frequent until they stopped, but you waited, ensuring you did not accidentally get splashed by a straggler.

"Y/N?" The sound of your name from a familiar deep but the somehow less nauseous voice made you peer from around your cover, a man all too foreign and all too familiar sat dazed-looking on the table.

"Salvatore?" {Insert your own description of Moreau, I don't want to intrude on anyone's interpretation.} "Y/N!" He immediately tried to get off the table to come to you before you quickly stopped him, remnants of acid a very real danger. You covered a path and made your way to him, stopping at the edge of the table. "Did it work?"

Something about the question seemed laughable as you assumed the feeling would be completely different, but you still pulled a mirror close and let him marvel at a face he had long forgotten.

"Did I make it worse?" It was a snarky remark at his previous fears, probably a little insensitive but at the moment he smiled, suddenly pulling you into your first full kiss in your relationship. "Not at all."

Karl Heisenberg

You were helping him in the factory one day, decommissioning the more specialized soldats at the request of BSAA. You being less tech-oriented focused on the less mechanical soldiers while Karl took on the scrap heavy ones.

Having used some Cadou in them, you had to carefully remove that too, to ensure they would not resurrect after the metal was removed. It took no time for Karl to piece together who else that skill could be used on.

"Make space for me on your schedules, Y/N" He lit a cigar after the sentence, not explaining further. "Excuse me?" "You heard me, sweetheart." He ripped a core from another soldat before putting it on the belt to bring it towards you. You stared in disbelief.

"You want me to remove your cadou?" "Yep." "But I thought BSAA was." "I don't want those dick heads snooping in my body like I'm some labrat. You do it." The conversation was quick and honestly, it should have been expected.

Karl had joked with you before that you could take away his cadou. Just snip and a rip and it'd be done. You explained it wasn't that simple and he would chuckle out an agreement, but you could tell that the jokes had an air of seriousness around them. It had been his goal for a while to reverse what had been done to him

Picking a date was the biggest issue. Karl wanted to do it as soon as possible, get it out and be rid of it. You had to explain you needed time to prepare as the place was delicate and a risk. You knew it was out of excitement and anticipation.

When you finally made time, Karl was on the table before you had even put on gloves or disinfected it. "An eager beaver I see?" You tried to bring the humor Karl often did to scenarios like this, but you could see a sense of series on his face, even the glint of his glasses seemed steeled. "I want every trace of that bitch gone."

You nodded, pulling out the syringe to sedate him as you laid him down on the table. Removing his glasses you looked directly in his eyes, there was a trust in his that made you that much more determined. "You ready?" You asked as a medic protocol. "Just stick me doc." You rolled your eyes as he smirked before relishing in the slight scared look he gave the needle when you lifted it before him

The silence of it all unnerved you. Karl was always making wisecracks or jokes to alleviate the dreary mood of the factory. Having him laying silently before you, face still somehow serious while completely relaxed, made it all the more discomforting.

You worked diligently, careful to find all traces of the cadou and to remove them into a jar you had set aside. It was long but you did it with dutiful ease, Karl had waited so long for this and you must do it right

When it was all finished you took the jar, disgusted at the somehow living organism inside. How could she put this in someone she considered her child. Bitch, was too kind a word Karl used for her. You took the jar to a furnace, throwing it in and watching the thing wriggle frantically before burning to a crisp.

Coming back to the table you found Karl stirring awake, groggily holding himself up on his forearms. "So, how'd it go?" "You tell me?"

Karl looked around the room, his hammer resting in the corner. Focusing on it he waited for the item to float toward him, yet it remained still. After a minute of nothing he stopped, a slow chuckle emerging from him, melding into a proud laugh.

"Well, I'll be damned, Y/N. You've outdone yourself." He began patting himself in search of a cigar. You pulled one from the side table and offered it, snatching it away before he could get a grasp on it. "No smoking until you're fully healed."

He shook his head, chuckling a little more before sitting up and pulling you close. Tilting your head up he locked your lips together. Pulling apart he smiled, "Whatever you say, doc."

I completely forgot that Moreau was a doctor and honestly I should've added something about medical knowledge but its super late and I have a job interview to get up for.

[peachy-panic]

WHUMPTOBER DAY 3: “WHO DID THIS TO YOU?”

This is the next chronological piece of Do No Harm, continued directly from this chapter.

Tag list: @whumpervescence  @shiningstarofwinter @distinctlywhumpthing @whumptywhumpdump

WARNINGS: Medical procedures, referenced/implied noncon, slavery setting, the usual.

The young doctor seems a bit skittish and far less cruel than the other Facility employees, and that comes with the dangerous notion that perhaps he doesn’t plan on hurting him. But that notion requires a naivety of which Jaime is no longer capable. He, of all people, is aware that cruelty can disguise itself in many shapes and sizes. Just because it isn’t obvious doesn’t mean it isn’t there, and that only makes it all the more dangerous.

There’s no use in hoping either way, he decides. Dr. Tate will either hurt him or he won’t, will either touch him or he won’t, and Jaime can’t — won’t — react. He has already made that mistake once today and will certainly pay for it later in ways he doesn’t want to think about now. He would do well to remember that he doesn’t hold any power here. Not in this room, this building, this life. And that, despite any arbitrary written rules, Dr. Tate is free to do as he pleases. 

At least he had removed the restraints from his mouth and wrists. Jaime can console himself with this small mercy. 

Those had always been the worst part of nights with Mr. Torley, on the all-too-frequent occasions he decided to use them. He was clearly very into them, and even more into Jaime’s fear of them. In addition to the claustrophobia they stoked in him, the use of restraints in bed had always felt something like a mockery. What use was it to restrain someone who can’t fight back regardless? The binds on his wrists and ankles were nothing more than accessories. The shackles in his mind did all the work to keep him still. And Mr. Torley knew that.

He does his best not to think about that now. Not to think about Mr. Torley at all, since that was what had gotten him in trouble in the first place. Distantly, he wonders how long the influence of his first Keeper will continue to stain Jaime’s existence beyond the termination of their six-month contract.

Dr. Tate, who has been buried in the cabinets above the sink for several minutes, turns back to him sporting bright-blue gloves that adhere tightly around his slender hands. He meets Jaime’s eyes for half a second before his gaze darts somewhere just to the left of his shoulder. 

“We need to run a couple of tests,” he says in a detached, clinical voice, all notes of lightheartedness from earlier removed. “I’ll need to collect some samples from you.”

Jaime nods once in acknowledgement, squeezing his fingers tightly, unconsciously around the edge of the table. There’s an unnatural pause in his cadence, and Jaime when looks up, he watches a slight twitch of movement in the doctor’s jaw. 

“Please remove your pants and underwear,” Dr. Tate says, his voice taking on a lower pitch. “You can leave them on up to your thighs, if you’d like.”

The slight shift in demeanor sets Jaime on edge, but he doesn’t hesitate at the command, even as a familiar panic claws at the inside of his throat. He drops forward from the table, his legs taking his weight. His thumbs hook the waistband of the thin, cotton pants he had been returned in, and he doesn’t allow himself a moment of hesitation before pushing them unceremoniously off his hips. He takes Dr. Tate up on his merciful offer to keep them partially on his body. The cold, sterile air inside the clinic is sharp against his exposed skin.

Jaime’s eyes find the ceiling as he prepares for the touch he knows is coming. He doesn’t look to see whatever tools and instruments Dr. Tate is laying out on the silver tray beside the exam table. He doesn’t have to. “We need to run a couple of tests.”  Whatever foolish hypotheticals Jaime once held in regards to WRU — what they did and didn’t know about the treatment of their wards — had long been shattered. 

Of course they needed to test him for sexually transmitted diseases. They can’t have a Domestic Companion spreading something to the next paying customer that buys their time and exposing their innocent charade. 

There’s a pause in Dr. Tate’s movement, but Jaime doesn’t look away from his spot on the ceiling tile.

“I’m going to touch you, now.” Dr. Tate’s voice is low and measured. “I need to examine you for bumps or sores, any abnormalities.” He clears his throat. “And I’ll take a swab from your urethra. It might be uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t hurt you.” Another pause. “Please, tell me if it does.”

Jaime’s grip on the table tightens, but he otherwise doesn’t react. Distantly, he is grateful for the warning, the bare explanation, mortifying as it is. He knows that the doctors here are not obligated to explain anything to the Companion patients, to seek consent in any form. Their consent was implicitly given in the contracts they signed at intake. He just as easily could have left Jaime gagged and bound to the table and gone about the procedure without so much as a word to him. Jaime is glad he hadn’t. 

Instead, Dr. Tate’s touch is light and professional. His gloved hands don’t linger, they don’t poke and prod to get a reaction from him. It seems, even, that he touches him as little as possible. Almost as if he is as eager to get this over with as Jaime is, which doesn’t feel quite possible. 

The fluorescent strip of light next to his focal point on the ceiling burns at the edge of his vision, but he doesn’t look away, using the mild discomfort as an anchor to hold himself steady. He concentrates on that instead of the gentle touches, gritting his teeth against any traitorous urges his body might provoke. Mr. Torley had loved that about Jaime — his responsiveness to touch — but not as much as he loved using it against him. 

His stomach sours at the memory, fresh humiliation creeping into his cheeks at the idea of something similar happening now. He doesn’t think Dr. Tate would tease him the way his Keeper had, but he still doesn’t relish the idea of becoming physically aroused in front of this young doctor, who couldn’t have been more than a few years older than him and, in another life, Jaime might have found pretty. 

The thought is gone almost as soon as it comes, too painful to linger on. The idea of another life. A normal life. A life at all. These are thoughts Jaime is forbidden to have. The phantom sting of an electric shock lights up the column of his throat and Jaime winces.

“Sorry,” Dr. Tate said quickly, misunderstanding the movement and withdrawing his hand. Jaime’s eyes finally fall to his as the doctor takes a step back, inserting the long swab into a glass tube and sealing it with a cap. “The worst part is over.”

Jaime is numb all over, but he nearly laughs. He knows that having stepped foot in this facility again, the “worst part” has not even begun. 

“I’ll need to collect another sample from your mouth,” Dr. Tate continues, pulling on a fresh pair of gloves, and Jaime absently wonders why they even bother wasting extra product on the patients here. “And we’ll draw some blood—” 

Something catches his voice mid-sentence and Jaime’s eyes flick up to his again. Dr. Tate looks at him, and then pointedly, hurriedly away. Jaime swears he can see his pale cheeks reddening.

“You can— We’re finished with that part.” He stumbles out. “Feel free to cover yourself up.”

Jaime does as he’s told, finding it somewhere within himself to be grateful that the doctor had kept the procedure professional. He couldn’t say the same thing for every encounter he’d had in the facility clinic before. 

********

Sebastian knows what happens next, and that’s why he finds himself taking his time with the rest of the visit. As soon as he’s completed the mandated intake exam, he is supposed to mark the patient as cleared in his chart and alert the handlers to come collect him. To take him back into the part of the facility where Sebastian has never set foot; the “residential” wing where the unclaimed Companions are housed between contracts. On all the promotional advertisements, it’s depicted as a dormitory-like accommodation. Now that Sebastian knows just how little truth exists behind their lies, he can only imagine it’s nothing of the sort. 

His mind conjures images of iron-barred cells and concrete rooms, of medieval dungeons with chains and darkness and filth. It’s a sensationalized version of what he assumes is probably the truth, but that doesn’t mean the reality is any less horrible. After what he’s seen in his time here and everything he’s heard, he has no doubt that the people who are forced to reside here between Keepers are subject to the company’s own brand of horror. Frankly, he’s in no hurry to turn his patient back over to their hands a moment sooner than he has to.

The boy is silent and entirely pliable throughout the whole exam, allowing himself to be moved when necessary and not so much as flinching when the needles for the blood draw break his skin. Sebastian is glad when the more… invasive parts of the exam are over. The boy had been no less compliant during them, maybe even the opposite, but Sebastian hadn’t missed the subtle changes in his posture, the way the muscles in his hands clenched and released around the edge of the table as he touched him as little as possible. 

He had looked up at the ceiling instead of at the wall behind Sebastian, as he had done previously, and Sebastian had silently prayed that the position wasn’t intended as a way to hold back tears. He doesn’t know how he could live with himself if he made this kid cry.

When the blood has been drawn, the test samples submitted for lab processing, and a full physical performed, Sebastian has run out of ways to delay the inevitable. He closes out of the boy’s patient profile on his screen and turns to him, hands folded professionally in front. 

“I’ll need to alert the handlers that your intake exam is complete,” he told him, probably unnecessarily. He hadn’t looked to see how long he had been in the system, but from his behavior, he assumes it’s been long enough to break his spirit. He probably knows these protocols better than Sebastian ever wants to. “They’ll come and escort you back to the residential quarters.”

110750 nods once without looking at him. “Thank you,” he says flatly. Then, there is a moment of pause before he lifts his eyes and seems to level Sebastian with something more sincere. “Thank you for… for letting me get cleaned up.”

Sebastian feels like shattering into pieces all over the cold linoleum. Instead, he tries for a smile and lands somewhere in the realm of a tight, thin line at his lips. “Sure,” he says, a bit mortified to hear the crack in his voice. 

He watches 110750 take slow, measured breaths as Sebastian makes the call he desperately wishes he didn’t have to make. He tries not to stare as they wait in tense silence for the handlers to arrive. Of course, Sebastian could leave the room if he wants. The intake procedure is done, and so is his minimal obligation to patient care. But something feels wrong about leaving him. More than that, something feels utterly wrong about this boy being taken out of the clinic, away from his line of sight, where he can’t see what will happen next. He only knows it won’t be good. 

A split second before he hears the clinic doors whoosh open, Sebastian steps closer to his patient, lowering his voice to a quick, urgent whisper. “Keep an eye on that broken nose,” he advises. “If you have any trouble breathing as it heals, please don’t hesitate to let your assigned handler know that you need medical attention, okay?”

The boy hitches in a breath but doesn’t respond. Sebastian takes half a step closer. 

“Look, you have a right to medical assistance,” he says, the words feeling like treason on his tongue despite knowing their written truth. “Even here. Even now. You can always come see me here if you need to. They can’t legally prevent you from requesting care. Do you understand?”

Unexpectedly, something dark flashes in the boy’s eyes. Something less like the fear and dread he had witnessed earlier, and something much more akin to anger. Anger at Sebastian?

Before the interaction can go any further, they are interrupted by the unceremonious swing of the exam room door. The same two men who had brought him in - one with a fresh bandage on his face - push their way in, stepping between Sebastian and his patient. 

“Up you go, 7-5-0,” Handler Hernandez barks, and the boy is on his feet before he can finish the command, his hands behind his back, head bowed. 

“Oh, look who finally decided to behave,” the other one - Smith, maybe? - taunts as he sizes him up in a way that makes even Sebastian’s skin crawl. Just as he had prior to the visit, the man shifts his gaze to him, a sneer permanently embedded into his expression. “Does he get a lollipop for good behavior? Maybe a sticker?”

The boy doesn’t look up at him, but Sebastian thinks he sees his throat move. He feels a swell of rage rise into his throat, coming to a boiling point for the second time since he entered the room with this boy, but he swallows it back, keeping as level an expression as he can manage. 

“He was perfectly agreeable,” he responds tightly, refusing to play into whatever mockery he’s initiating. 

Smith answers him with a dismissive snort, turning his attention back to the boy like a predator who just found fresh meat. “What do you say, sweetheart?” He asks, the thick rubber of his boots squeaking against the tile as he takes a step too far into the boy’s personal space. “Think we can go the easy way back, or would you prefer to do things the hard way again?”

The beat of silence in the room is painful as they await his response, which comes eventually in a subdued voice, through slightly gritted teeth and with his eyes on the floor. “The easy way. Sir.”

A snort from Hernandez breaks the tension. “Yeah,” he says. “We’ll see about that.”

With that, he is escorted from the room and seems to take with him all the air in Sebastian's lungs. Naively, desperately, he hopes for the briefest moment of eye contact before he’s taken away from him. But his eyes stay downward, even as a large hand curls around his bicep and makes him stumble in his gait as he’s yanked forward. Sebastian watches helplessly as he disappears from sight, one singular thought slicing through his mind on a loop:

Who did this to you?

[thessalian]

Thess vs Cancer Treatment

So I just reblogged a thing and I know it’s supposed to be funny but my medical secretary is coming out so. NUCLEAR MEDICINE, CYBERKNIFE, AND GAMMA KNIFE. And basically how fucking vital they are to cancer treatment.

Nuclear medicine: Basically this will make you just a tiiiiiiiiiny bit radioactive for awhile, yes. What it does is use very small amounts of radioactive material, plus a carrier molecule, to travel around the body and see things that even CT scans and MRI scans won’t give you a really good look at. Yes, your average imaging can generally show a tumour mass if that mass is of a decent enough size, buuuuuuut you really don’t want to be waiting around until a fucking tumour is big enough to turn up on a MRI. And you also want to know if it’s malignant, and how far it’s spread if it is. So what that little bit of radioactive does is moves through the body and its structures, and is taken in (or taken up, in the parlance) by the various organs. If something’s not being taken up as expected in an organ, that’s a sign of badness that seriously precedes the kind of mass that can get picked up on standard imaging. It can be used for more than tumours, too - anything that’s affecting how organs are taking stuff in will show up as “Wait, that ain’t right” on a scan like this. Inflammatory diseases, abscesses, obviously tumours, and even how badly damaged someone’s heart is following a heart attack.

Cyberknife: A type of very specific radiation therapy, largely done by robots (hence the ‘cyber’). Basically, the thing about radiotherapy is that it needs to be targeted (which I’ll cover a bit more when I talk about gamma knife). And ... y’know, people move. They cough, they tilt their heads ... hell, they breathe. You have no idea how much your body’s moving until you need it to be absolutely still. So what this robot is programmed to do is move with the patient. Obviously you still want to be as immobile as possible, but if you still enjoy breathing, you need something that’s going to move with you, especially when the tumour’s small. The smaller the tumour is when you hit it with radiotherapy, the less likely it is that it’ll have metastasised before it’s treated. So this is seriously a huge deal.

Gamma Knife: This is a similar sort of deal, but it’s specifically for brain tumours. See, particularly if a tumour’s down deep, the radiation it would take to deal with it could also destroy some pretty necessary parts of the brain in the process. So what they do is they map out where exactly the tumour is in the brain, and then focus multiple beams so that they cross on that specific spot. That way, the only thing getting a harmful dose of radiation is the tumour, which is what we want in a situation like this.

Why am I so gung-ho about the latter two in particular? One of my temp jobs was one of the few gamma knife centres in London. Thing is, because the situations that call for that kind of treatment are relatively rare, it wasn’t available in NHS hospitals until fairly recently. When the technology was new, no NHS hospitals had gamma knife; just private clinics that specialised in it because they could afford the machines. Now, that wasn’t to say that people on the NHS couldn’t get gamma knife treatment without going private. It is, however, to say that the process of getting the NHS to pay for it was ... difficult. And it’s pretty much how cyberknife patients are being treated right now.

It was a lot of paperwork, basically. I handled a lot of the claims. And the criteria the NHS was looking for was ... gods help me, but ‘value for money’. Was this person with their brain cancer going to live a long enough and productive enough life for it to be worth the cost to the NHS? Also, was this person with their brain cancer strong enough to survive the cheaper but more taxing therapies (which generally had a lower survival rate, a higher remission rate, and took its serious toll on people’s health)? So an old and frail person with other health conditions, who probably couldn’t survive the kind of chemotherapy needed to take out a glioblastoma, just as a for-instance, was not deemed worth it because they would die soon anyway. And there was one, I remember - kid just out of her teens, whole life ahead of her - who basically got, “She’ll probably survive the chemo because she’s young and strong”. If you think that’s a catch-22, you’re right. Thankfully, at least some of those went to appeal, and most of those appeals were eventually successful, but that just leaves people suffering for longer than they had to, with a greater possibility of metastasis.

It was bad with gamma knife, but this was in the era of Tony Blair’s NHS ‘reforms’, which unfortunately set the stage for what the Conservatives did with it a few years later. I mean, like I said, a lot of the time with gamma knife, there’d be an appeal and the appeal would be accepted and the patient would get their treatment. These days, since gamma knife is a lot more common and less expensive now, there are NHS hospitals with gamma knife facilities. Cyberknife, on the other hand, is in the same position as gamma knife was back in the day - with a government with a reputation for slapping away any hands reaching for help. If the benefits people only get little pink cards outlining what to do if someone being denied benefits starts talking about suicide, I can’t imagine that the paper-pushers at the NHS are accepting appeals for people to get life-saving radiotherapy via cyberknife when some other treatment would maybe work, even if it would damage the patient.

So there you go. A little history on medical treatments and devices in the realm of oncology, and why I get really grumpy about it. I don’t imagine any NHS hospital in the country could afford a cyberknife rig right now, with the money they’re not getting from the government (even though that’s why we pay our taxes), and that means a lot of people are needlessly suffering or outright dying because they can’t get the treatment that would save their lives without poisoning them so much.

THIS IS NOT THE US; THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING IN A COUNTRY WITH UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE.

[firstfullmoon]

Do you have favorite quotes related about the importance of small details?

“The precious intimacy of little things.”

— Daphné du Maurier, I Will Never Be Young Again

“On my windowsill when I got home, there was a tumbler with pink jelly in it, and embedded in the jelly, sliced strawberries and bananas… [my neighbour] cooks at odd hours. She must have made the strawberry jelly this morning. When I buy baklava, which is not often because I eat too many, I leave a few for her on her windowsill, with a headscarf over them so the wasps don’t come. For these little gifts we don’t thank each other with words. They are commas of care.”

— John Berger, From A to X: A Story in Letters

“I suppose I could spend time theorizing how it is that people are not bad to each other, but that’s really not the point. The point is that in almost every instance of our lives, our social lives, we are, if we pay attention, in the midst of an almost constant, if subtle, caretaking. Holding open doors. Offering elbows at crosswalks. Letting someone else go first. Helping with the heavy bags. Reaching what’s too high, or what’s been dropped. Pulling someone back to their feet. Stopping at the car wreck, at the struck dog. The alternating merge, also known as the zipper. This caretaking is our default mode and it’s always a lie that convinces us to act or believe otherwise. Always.”

“One of the woman was gently arranging an older woman’s collar beneath her sweater, freeing it from the cardigan’s neck, using both of her hands to jostle it free but also seeming to spend a little more time than necessary, creasing the fold of the collar, the other hand kind of resting on her shoulder, the two of them chatting the whole time, sitting there holding each other, nodding, my head twisting toward them like a sunflower as I finished the stairs and walked by, so in love was I with this common flourish of love, this everyday human light.”

“but her need to share the photo with me [...] smiling and looking at it, smiling and looking at me looking at it, me smiling and looking at her looking at it, which is simply called sharing what we love, what we find beautiful, which is an ethics.”

— Ross Gay, The Book of Delights

“He’s got a fever. He’s all alone. So I’m gonna buy him something to eat.” “The congee downstairs is quite good.” “He doesn’t want congee.” “What does he want?” “Can’t taste anything so he wants sesame syrup.” [...] “What are you cooking?” “I had a sudden craving for sesame syrup.”

“Why did you call me at the office today?” “I had nothing to do. I wanted to hear your voice.”

— In the Mood for Love, dir. Wong Kar-Wai

— Danusha Laméris, “Small Kindnesses”

“It all matters. That someone turns out the lamp, picks up the windblown wrapper, says hello to the invalid, pays at the unattended lot, listens to the repeated tale, folds the abandoned laundry, plays the game fairly, tells the story honestly, acknowledges help, gives credit, says good night, resists temptation, wipes the counter, waits at the yellow, makes the bed, tips the maid, remembers the illness, congratulates the victor, accepts the consequences, takes a stand, steps up, offers a hand, goes first, goes last, chooses the small portion, teaches the child, tends to the dying, comforts the grieving, removes the splinter, wipes the tear, directs the lost, touches the lonely, is the whole thing. What is most beautiful is least acknowledged. What is worth dying for is barely noticed.”

— Laura McBride, We Are Called to Rise

“I’ve never told you this,” she said. “But there’s something about taking the cart back instead of leaving it in the parking lot. I don’t know when this came to me; it was a few years ago. There’s a difference between leaving it where you empty it and taking it back to the front of the store. It’s significant.” “Because somebody has to take them in.” “Yes. And if you know that, and you do it for that one guy, you do something else. You join the world…You move out of your isolation and become universal.”

— Andre Dubus, “Out of the Snow”

“It’s true that, in Vietnamese, we rarely say I love you, and when we do, it is almost always in English. Care and love, for us, are pronounced clearest through service: plucking white hairs, pressing yourself on your son to absorb a plane’s turbulence and, therefore, his fear. Or now—as Lan called to me, “Little Dog, get over here and help me help your mother.” And we knelt on each side of you, rolling out the hardened cords in your upper arms, then down to your wrists, your fingers. For a moment almost too brief to matter, this made sense—that three people on the floor, connected to each other by touch, made something like the word family.”

— Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel

— Ada Limón, from “The Great Blue Heron of Dunbar Road”

“I’m doing a balancing act with a stack of fresh fruit in my basket. I love you. I want us both to eat well.”

— Christopher Citro, from “Our Beautiful Life When It’s Filled WIth Shrieks”

“One of the primary ways we connect with each other is by eating together. Some of the connection happens simply by being in the same place at the same time and sharing the same food, but we also connect through specific actions, such as serving food to one another or making toasts: ‘May I offer you some potatoes?’ ‘Here’s to your health and happiness.’ Much of our fundamental well-being comes from the basic reassurance that there is a place for us at the table. We belong here. Here we are served and we serve others. Here we give and receive sustenance.”

— Edward Espe Brown, Tomato Blessings and Radish Teaching

“Attention is the beginning of devotion.”

“Now in the spring I kneel, I put my face into the packets of violets, the dampness, the freshness, the sense of ever-ness. Something is wrong, I know it, if I don’t keep my attention on eternity. May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful. May I stay forever in the stream. May I look down upon the windflower and the bull thistle and the coreopsis with the greatest respect.”

“it is a serious thing

just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.”

— Mary Oliver, Upstream: Selected Essays / from “Invitation”

— Wendy Cope, “The Orange”

“After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: if anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately. Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there. An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her problem? We told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she did this. I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly. Shu dow-a, shu-biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick, sho bit se-wee? The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—she stopped crying. She thought our flight had been canceled entirely. She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late. Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him. We called her son and I spoke with him in English. I told him I would stay with his mother until we got on the plane and would ride next to her—Southwest. She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it. Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and found out, of course, they had ten shared friends. Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours. She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering questions. She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—and was offering them to all the women at the gate. To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California, the lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies. And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—non-alcoholic—and the two little girls from our flight, one African American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice and lemonade, and they were covered with powdered sugar, too. And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing with green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere. And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought, this is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped—has seemed apprehensive about any other person. They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women, too. This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost.”

— Naomi Shihab Nye, “Gate A4″

“Then there are the things, if you are particularly lucky, that this person has done for you while you’re away: how in the pantry, in the freezer, in the refrigerator will be all the food you like to eat, the scotch you like to drink. There will be the sweater you thought you lost the previous year at the theater, clean and folded and back on its shelf. There will be the shirt with its dangling buttons, but the buttons will be sewn back in place. There will be your mail stacked on one side of his desk; there will be a contract for an advertising campaign you’re going to do in Germany for an Austrian beer, with his notes in the margin to discuss with your lawyer. And there will be no mention of it, and you will know that it was done with genuine pleasure, and you will know that part of the reason—a small part, but a part—you love being in this apartment and in this relationship is because this other person is always making a home for you, and that when you tell him this, he won’t be offended but pleased, and you’ll be glad, because you meant it with gratitude.”

— Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life

[kay-emm-gee]

Can you if you feel like it write some hurt/comfort Bellarke where he got hurt doing something absolutely stupid (getting in a fight or smth) and she is mad tilting his bruised face to herself and huffing angrily in the season 1 verse? Or if not maybe some pregnant clarke in canonverse whichever season/scenario you'd like. I love your wriitng so much!!! I've missed it!

I looooved this prompt (god, I miss s1 bellarke), so thanks for sending it in (and for you kind words!!) Also, title is based on lyrics from Hard Work by Ella Henderson. 

***

my only working remedy

Clarke had just finished helping Monroe haul wood to the smokehouse when she noticed Bellamy. Or rather, she noticed the large bruise that covered half of his cheek. Sighing, she straightened her shoulders and headed for him.

He and two other delinquents were just securing a repaired section of the wall into place when she reached him. Hands on her hips, she watched him bang on it with his fist twice to make sure it was stable. Always double checking, she thought to herself amusedly. For all that he came off hotheaded and impulsive, she had by now realized he was thoughtful and concerned more than he let on. So when he turned, Clarke was not surprised to see a barely-there grin of satisfaction at a job well done on his face.

That grin dropped as soon as he spotted her, however.

“Bellamy,” she said evenly, lips pursed. “You should have come to see me about that.” She gestured to his bruised cheek.

“It’s nothing,” he muttered.

Clarke just barely held back from rolling her eyes at his stubborn tone. As she watched his jaw work, she glanced pointedly at the two teenagers helping him. They scampered off, clearly not needing verbal indication that they should get lost. The entire camp had witnessed enough of her and Bellamy’s standoffs by now to know that it was best to evacuate the area, lest they be caught in the crossfire.

“It’s not nothing,” she argued. “And you know the rule: anyone gets injured, they come to me. Most bumps and scrapes I can fix if I get to them early, but complications from untreated injuries...those aren’t something I can easily fix.”

“What are you going to do about a bruise?” He shot back as he gathered several of the tools the others had left behind. “It’s not like we have cooling gel down here. And besides, it doesn’t hurt.”

Clarke rolled her eyes at the obvious lie. “No, but I do have a needle and thread to stitch up that oozing cut on your cheekbone. Do you want that to get infected? Because at the rate you’re going, it will.” She glanced pointedly at his dirt-streaked...well, everything. “And do you know what we don’t have down here besides cooling gel? Antibiotics. So you are coming with me.”

Bellamy just snorted derisively and turned to walk away. She darted into his path, staring up at him. He glared back, then tried to push past her. Clarke was too fast for him though. She grabbed his arm and yanked him back close to her.

“Infections can turn nasty, Bellamy. I’ve seen it before in the clinic on the Ark. Do you want to risk it? And leave Octavia on her own if it does turn bad? If you’re that scared of a little needle…” She feigned a dismissive huff, shook her head, and then waited.

His eyes flashed with outrage, but he didn’t counter her argument. And when she felt the muscles beneath her hand relax, she knew she had won. Suppressing a relieved sigh, Clarke dropped his arm and headed for the dropship. Bellamy followed, though she could feel him glaring daggers at her back the whole way.

She gestured for him to sit when they reached the corner of the first floor that she had claimed for her medical treatment area. Bellamy plopped down on a makeshift stool without a word, but Clarke didn’t miss the way his shoulders drooped, as if in relief for the break. Frowning, she cast surreptitious glances at him as she gathered the necessary materials to treat the cut. He seemed more exhausted than usual. They all needed more rest and less worry, but she knew that was even more true for Bellamy. He took on too much. She knew it. Everyone knew it. But they also knew that he wouldn’t stop, and if Clarke was being honest, she knew they might not make it if he did.

Clearing her thoughts, she moved to his side. After rinsing her hands with moonshine, she took Bellamy’s chin firmly in her hands and tipped his left cheek up to examine it. She sucked in a breath as the harsh white light illuminated what turned out to be a very nasty bruise. It looked so much worse than it had outside in the light of the setting sun.

“How’d you get this?” She asked as she released his chin.

He glanced sideways at her, then muttered. “Does it matter how I got it?”

Clarke rolled her eyes. So stubborn and closed off, always.

“This is going to sting,” she said curtly, pressing a moonshine-soaked rag to the open cut.

Bellamy twitched and hissed, but he didn’t pull away. She dabbed at the wound a few more times before reaching for the threaded needle. She sterilized it once more, then began stitching. He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply at the first push and pull of the needle. Not for the first time, she wished she had some type of local anesthetic. She braced herself for him to flinch as she kept stitching, but he didn’t move a muscle. Clarke was grateful, because it made her work go easier and faster, but she knew it had to hurt like hell.

“Try to keep it clean,” she warned once she had finished. “And I’ll take them out once it looks like it’s healing up. If it feels hot to the touch or is leaking pus or blood, come to me.”

He stood, and she didn’t miss his eye roll.

“I’m serious, Bellamy,” she snapped.

“When are you not serious, princess?” His grin was mocking and razor-sharp as he turned away from her.

Anger bubbled up in her gut at his cavalier attitude. She threw the used rags back into the bucket so hard that moonshine sloshed over the edge.

“Do you think this is a joke? That what I’m doing here is that superfluous?” She shouted. “I may not be standing on that wall of yours with a gun, or going out to hunt for meat, but I am also working to keep us safe. To keep us alive. To keep you alive, because we both know what will happen to all of them if something happens to you! And I can’t...we can’t...”

A hollow quiet filled the dropship once her shouts stopped echoing off the metal walls. Taking in a shaky breath, she murmured softly, “Do you trust me so little?”

Bellamy just watched her with an intense expression. He seemed taken aback, and she just stood there, hands on her hips, glaring at him with her stomach rolling. The moment stretched, and she felt heat rising from her neck onto her cheeks. She didn’t need his approval, never would, but here she was, still waiting for him to say something, anything.

“We need you,” he finally said, voice low and rough but also sincere. “I know it, and they know it. And I do...trust you.”

He gave her a curt nod, then strode towards the exit. Clarke sighed, then plopped onto the stool he had just vacated, both embarrassed at her outburst and relieved at his reassurance. She was wiping her damp hands on her thighs when she heard his footsteps stop.

“Clarke.”

She glanced up. Bellamy had stopped in the doorway and turned back to face her.

“If anything feels off with this,” he gestured to his face, “I’ll come back.” He paused, then gruffly said, “And thanks for the stitches.”

She smiled wanly at him. “Anytime. And try not to stop a fist with your face again.”

He rolled his eyes and let out a snort. “I make no promises.”

She let out a laugh under her breath as he walked down the ramp back into camp. That was the best she could hope for, she supposed. Nothing was guaranteed on the ground, but somehow, in this moment, Clarke was starting to feel a bit less like the earth was constantly shifting under her feet.

[wanderinginksplot]

Nobody Listens to Kix

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Case 01245: Commander Bly

"Hold still, vod," Kix reminded gently. "The scanner can't get an accurate reading if you keep moving."

"Yes, sir," Commander Bly agreed, obediently fighting to keep still.

Kix refrained from reminding the commander that he in fact outranked Kix - and by quite a large margin. Bly was struggling enough as it was. He had been standing far too close to an explosive blast, and the burns covering the left side of his face and body were clear. The fire had melted large sections of his plastoid armor, adding to the damage.

Continuing to wear what remained of the armor had to be uncomfortable, but Kix had to complete a full scan before he could allow the commander to remove the outer layer. There was a possibility that some of Bly's skin had melted to the inside of the plastoid and he simply didn't feel it due to shock.

Finally, the scanner beeped to tell Kix that it had completed a full scan with no motion interference. Bly was lucky; there was no connection between his skin and the rest of his armor. Kix quickly informed the commander of this and they both worked to remove the plastoid from his singed body glove.

When Bly was free, his hand moved as though he planned on exploring the damage done to the left half of his face, but Kix stopped him with an extended hand and sharp shake of his head. "You won't want to do that, commander. Burns hurt worse than anything. You're in shock right now, but it won't last forever. The sooner you start feeling it, the more painful the treatment will be."

"I understand, Kix," Bly agreed softly, dropping his hand immediately.

"Let me do one final scan, then I'll start mixing a bacta spray," Kix told him, readying the scanner once more. "If we're lucky, we can get your treatment well underway by the time the pain really kicks in."

"Don't you mean 'Kix in'?" Bly asked, quirking a brow. Unfortunately, it was his left eyebrow and he hissed slightly at the new and painful sensation.

"I hope that was worth it, Commander," Kix told him dryly.

"It wasn't my best joke, but hey, laugh or cry, right?" Bly shrugged - carefully using his right shoulder this time. He fell silent again, watching Kix configure the scanner. "Can I ask why you need to do another scan?"

Kix eyed Bly for a moment, but saw no signs of impatience or mockery on the commander's face. "Scanners can work through plastoid, but the signal gets significantly weaker. That's fine if you're checking for surface-level injuries, but if you want to look deeper, you need to get under the armor. Now that we've removed the plastoid from this equation, this scan will show the full extent of the burns."

He began scanning as he finished his explanation, but the medbay door whipped open before the short process had ended. "Commander, how are you?"

Kix was tempted to turn so he could see the new arrival to the medbay with his own eyes, but the accented voice made Bly's spine straighten and his blood pressure ratchet up a few levels, so the medic knew who it was. General Secura had that effect on many a trooper.

Still, Kix always took care of his vode, so Kix silenced the scanner's alarm before it could play an audible arrhythmia warning. It was no business of the general's if her arrival had made Bly's heart literally skip a beat.

"I'm fine, General," Bly answered his commanding officer, voice steady.

It was an impressive show. Bly's feelings for his beautiful general were the worst-kept secret in the GAR… which was saying something. Still, his eyes were clear and his face serene, even as Kix watched his heart rate increase. As if he heard Kix's silent admiration, Bly's gaze slid to the scanner still held in Kix's hand and the medic hurriedly put it away. He had the information he needed, anyway.

Kix cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the general and the commander. "The burns don't appear to be deep. Commander Bly was lucky that he had his face turned away from the blast." He turned to address Bly directly. "The plastoid of your armor protected your body from the worst of the burns, but there will be some scarring on your neck and left hand."

Bly shrugged at that, but General Secura looked unhappy. "Is there nothing you can do to heal him completely? I could arrange transport to a medstation. Maybe some time spent in a bacta tank…"

Fighting not to furrow his eyebrows, Kix shook his head. "Not necessary, General. I'll make a bacta spray to help the healing process, apply some burn gel to pull the heat away, and administer some pain meds for the discomfort. Commander Bly will be all healed up in a few weeks."

As he went to assemble the components for a bacta spray, Kix smirked to himself. A kriffing bacta tank? Troopers went in bacta tanks for missing limbs, shattered skulls, comas… Putting the commander in one for a few mild burns would be insane. Kix’s motions slowed as he heard the quiet conversation taking place behind him.

"I have no skill for Force-healing," General Secura admitted, sounding unreasonably guilty about that fact.

"What are a few more scars?" Bly answered flippantly but his voice grew more serious as he added. "General, I don't care what I look like. What matters is that I can fight for the Republic. The best way to do that is to keep you safe."

Secura seemed to let out a sigh. "You were hurt protecting me- Protecting the Republic's interests, that is. I do not like knowing that you'll be scarred as a thanks for your efforts."

"I would gladly carry a few more marks if it means that you're alive, General," Bly said, tone genuine. Kix winced, thinking that he was cutting it a bit close to admitting having non-regulation feelings for a commanding officer. Bly seemed to feel the same, however, since he added, "Besides, scars will just make my tattoos stand out even more."

"Ah, how could I forget the importance of your tattoos?" the general teased. "No one should go without seeing them."

"Well, we'll try to minimize the scarring anyway," Kix told them both as he came back with the freshly-mixed bacta spray. He talked Bly through the process as he gently cleaned the burns, applied the bacta spray, and misted the burn gel from a special aerosol dispenser. He passed Bly some of the medbay’s strongest pain meds. Kix could tell that the pain was finally beginning to reach the commander and wanted to stop it as soon as possible now that the treatment was working.

"Now, I don't want you reaching around yourself to apply the spray," Kix said, finishing his explanation. "You wouldn't be able to get the right angle and distance, and it would stretch the burned skin more than we want. Take the spray and the dispenser with you and I'll transmit the instructions to the 327th's medic. Limit is still your main medic, right?"

"Yes, he is, but I would like a copy of those instructions as well, Kix," General Secura told him and turned to speak directly to Bly. Taking the hint, Kix moved a few steps away to give them a semblance of privacy - even if he could still see both medbay occupants and hear their conversation clearly. "If Limit is ever busy, comm me and I'll apply the treatments myself."

Bly shifted in the chair. "General, you've got more important things-"

"Hush, Bly," the general told him, lifting a hand to brush her fingertips over the tattoo on Bly's uninjured cheek. "There is nothing more important than supporting my men, especially the commander who kept me from being blown up today."

Obviously fighting a blush, Bly gave a single sharp nod.

Kix cleared his throat. "Feel free to make your way back to the Liberty when you feel able, Bly. General."

The two left the medbay, walking closer together than Kix thought was wise, considering the commander's injuries. When the room was silent once more, Kix pulled out a new patient treatment form and stared at it for a long moment.

Everyone in the GAR knew that Commander Bly had a weakness for his Twi'lek general. It was far from uncommon; the level of attention that Aayla Secura attracted from her appearance, strength, and grace made most of the 327th uncomfortable and ready to fight on a regular basis. However, none of the intel Kix had heard - and he had heard a lot, considering how chatty most brothers were - had suggested that the general felt similarly about her commander. Jedi weren't supposed to be attached, after all.

And yet…

Kix's mind played back the sight of General Secura brushing a delicate hand over Bly's cheek, putting the moment in an infinite loop. Even if she didn't harbor un-Jedi-like feelings for Commander Bly, there was certainly enough room for doubt that Kix could sympathize about how Bly may have gotten confused.

But General Secura had wanted to put Bly in a bacta tank. For mild, superficial burns, no less. And the warmth in her voice when she had volunteered to personally help with Bly's treatment…

Kix shook his head, feeling more confused than he had been since his first day of flash training. However, if there was one constant in his life, it was that paperwork needed to be filed. Kix turned his attention back to the medical form in front of him, checking the 'General Present' box and moving on to his other duties.

[rainydaydream-gal18]

(Clone Wars) Kix x Reader: A Trip to the Medbay

-Though you're injured, you refuse to get help because of a certain medic. Little did you know, this trip to medbay would change everything-

You kicked and tried to wriggle free, but there was no escaping Fives as he carried you to the medbay of the ship with his arms wrapped firmly around your torso, pinning your arms to your side. Troopers and other respected members of the GAR stared at you as you passed by. Not only did this look unprofessional, but you were trying very hard to avoid the destination.

“Fives,” you grunted. “Is this really necessary?”

He stopped in the middle of the hallway, arms still around you.“Well, if I put you down, will you walk to the medbay?”

“No.”

“Then yes, this is necessary.” He smirked. “Although, I do appreciate your honesty.”

“But- but the medbay is for people who need it.”

“And you need it. I saw you at the hangar. Don’t you want to get better?” Fives resumed walking, and you huffed.

“It’s nothing. There are so many soldiers and people out there who need it more than me.” While it was true you felt that way, it wasn’t the only reason you were so desperate to avoid the medbay- or rather, someone in the medbay. Feelings for a medic is what kept you away.

“Come on, ________,” Fives said with a sigh. “I know you’re not crazy about the medbay, but I hear Kix is on his shift. You know Kix. He’ll take good care of you.”

But that’s what you were afraid of.

In actuality, you and Kix were good friends. You’d gotten to know him well on and off the battlefield. You aided the 501st in many ways by helping to move or distribute weapons, gear, or other necessities on board the ship and on missions. On a few occasions, you had been an unofficial assistant to Kix when he was short on help in the heat of battle to get injured troopers to safety and give them the care or medicine they needed. You admired how good he was to the men. Sure, it was his job to ensure their survival, but it was evident that he truly cared about them. You were touched by the depth of his compassion, which was evident whether he was tending to troops or civilians.

You were determined to not let these feelings get in the way of your job, and they didn’t...until one day when Kix tended to one of your injuries. You weren’t used to the close contact with him, even if it was strictly professional. With pulse racing and skin growing warm, you fumbled over your words while answering his questions. You hoped to avoid another interaction like that.

Your heart dropped at the sight of the medbay doors. Fives walked you right in and finally released you from his hold. You winced from the movement. His hand rested on your shoulder, but it was pointless. Kix had already glanced up from his datapad. There was no turning back now.

“Hey, _______. Hey, Fives. What seems to be the trouble?” Kix asked, though he directed his question more towards the ARC trooper. It made sense, considering he was usually the one getting himself into trouble.

“_________ here has an injury she’s been neglecting,” Fives informed him. “I caught her wincing all day, but she refused to come see you. Had to drag her down here.”

Kix looked to you, brows furrowing as he went into medic-mode. He motioned for you to follow him to the nearest empty gurney, which wasn’t far since things were slow in the medbay. You quietly took a seat. Kix noticed your silence and offered a small smile.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you checked out, and you’ll be out of here in no time.”

His efforts to ease what he thought were nerves about the medbay made you feel guilty for being a little distant, yet seeing that smile simultaneously thrilled you.

“Well, my work here is done.” Fives gave you a casual wave. “I’ll see you later.” As he left, your nerves grew. There was no one here to buffer your interaction with Kix.

“So, what’s going on, _________?” Kix asked, eyes meeting yours. This was what you feared...Having his undivided attention in a moment of vulnerability.

“I, um...was… I was moving some supplies in the hangar, and I-I think I pulled something,” you said. “I’m getting sharp pains when I lift anything now” You failed to mention it was an injury you sustained lifting very heavy gear during the most recent battle, and it was reinjured because you hadn’t received the proper treatment or rest since then.

His brows furrowed again as he thought. “I see. First thing we’re going to do is locate the source of pain.” He leaned forward and put a hand on your shoulder. “Does it hurt here?”

“No.”

Kix’s hand travelled to your shoulder blade where he pressed. “Here?”

“No.” Your cheeks were burning.

He carefully lifted your arm, and a sharp pain jolted in your ribs. Air hissed through your teeth, and Kix looked at you apologetically. “Those muscles don’t pull easily, but when they do, they hurt. You must have been really exerting yourself.”

Unable to think of a response, you simply nodded.

“It’s nothing that a little pain-dulling stim won’t help, but you’ve got to rest. I’m giving you a note to excuse you from heavy-lifting for a while until you recover.” As he began to administer the stim, his eyes found yours again. “________, is everything okay? You’ve seen me do this a hundred times with others. You know there’s nothing to be afraid of, right?”

You took a deep breath, and the pain that was usually there already started to fade. You figured it was time to at least give him a little insight as to what was going on in your head. “Actually, I guess I’m just a little nervous being treated by...you.”

“Me?”

“But it’s not because I don’t like you or anything! It’s quite the opposite. I mean…” You cleared your throat. “You’re my friend, and I guess I’m not used to you being my medic.”

He nodded, that small smile returning to his face. “I think I get where you’re coming from.”

“Really?”

Ugh, he was handsome, strong, smart, compassionate and understanding. This wasn’t helping the situation with your feelings, but you were glad he didn’t take offense.

“If I’m being honest, I feel the same way sometimes,” he continued. His gaze was on the datapad again as he typed some notes. “Being that you’re a female.”

“But you deal with female civilians, and you never look nervous,” you pointed out curiously. “Why am I different?”

He stopped typing, but didn’t meet your gaze. “I suppose it’s the same reason as yours, because you’re my friend. And a young, attractive female friend at that.” Then his brows went up. “But it doesn’t interfere with my work. I don’t want you to be in pain, and nothing hinders that.”

Your heart nearly melted in that moment. “You think I’m attractive?”

“I was hoping you didn’t notice that part,” he muttered, giving a shy sideways glance. “But yes. You’re attractive, smart, caring...”

You suddenly noticed that the medbay was empty, save for the two of you. Good thing, too, because you had gathered your courage. “I, um...The feeling is mutual. I think you’re attractive. You’re kind, intelligent, compassionate.” Kix’s gaze snapped up to meet yours. Something was communicated in that look between you two. In the next instant, he had left the datapad behind and walked over to stand in front of you. You were still sitting up on the gurney, legs dangling over the side. There was nowhere to go as he leaned in- not that you wanted to go anyway.

Kix’s hands rested on your shoulders as he quietly asked, “Does this hurt?”

You took a breath. “No.”

His hands moved to rest on each of your arms. “This?”

You shook your head.

Finally, he wrapped one arm around you to pull you off the gurney and to your feet, his other hand tipping your chin up. “And this?”

“Not one bit,” you whispered. You leaned in the rest of the way to press a kiss to his cheek, pausing to gauge his reaction. He returned the gesture on your cheek, and then all at once your lips captured his. Kix leaned into the kiss gently at first, as if getting used to the feeling. Then, he took control and pulled you tighter into his embrace as he kissed you over and over. Your arms wrapped around him, just as you had wanted to do many times. It felt safe there. Secure. He pulled away momentarily before placing one last soft peck on your lips.

When you separated, reality started to hit you. You kissed Kix. He kissed you back. It was something you had dreamed about, and it happened in the empty medbay. At the same time, you felt waves of affection as you gazed into each other’s eyes.

“So this happened,” you said.

“Yes, it did.” Kix smirked. “You had it coming. You’re too beautiful, you know that?”

You smirked back, revelling in the newfound confidence in front of him now that your feelings were revealed. “And you’re talking too much.” You pulled him in for another electric kiss.

The moment was interrupted when the medbay doors slid open. Kix quickly turned to shield you from the view of whoever entered, quickly trying to think of a cover.

“Relax,” Fives’ voice echoed in the room. “It’s just me. And you’re lucky it is because if anyone else spotted you locking lips, you’d both be in trouble.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Had to say, I approve. I just wish it hadn’t taken the two of you so long to get together.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He raised a brow at you. “So, did you at least get your injury taken care of, or was this whole thing a plot to avoid getting checked out?”

You laughed. “Kix took care of it. I have to tell my boss that I’m off the field for a few days. I’ve got a note and everything.”

“I’m sending it directly from my datapad,” Kix informed, releasing you to retrieve the device. “In the meantime, why don’t we hit the mess?” He glanced up at you.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to some grub,” Fives agreed. When you and Kix stared at him, he shrugged. “What? I feel like going to the mess hall too. I think I’m entitled considering I know of a little secret of yours.”

“You’ve got a point.” You rolled your eyes, smiling. “Fine, but you can’t come on our official first date.”

He held his hands up. “Like I’d want to. I’m going to have to rinse my eyes out after catching you swapping spit the first time.”

Kix clapped a hand on the ARC trooper’s shoulder. “You certainly have a way with words, brother.” You and Kix held hands on your way out of the medbay, and Fives led the way. At the sight of the first trooper in the hallway, you and Kix let go of each other’s hands and put some distance between you. You caught Kix’s gaze out of the corner of your eye, and he smiled knowingly at the secret the two of you shared.

This was going to be difficult, but you knew you could do it together.

[clatterbane]

I really haven't had the mental energy yet to start talking about that long-awaited gastroscopy appointment this Monday. Hoping I can in some more detail later.

But, I'm still on liquids for now! 🙃 Turned out that King George Hospital's pediatric scope was broken, and I had needed it before since part of the stricture was so narrow. And, if anything, it's closed down further since then.

Also, the main doctor who ended up talking with me was A SURGEON, who was there to have a look at the situation to further decide on options.

There was apparently a multidisciplinary team meeting back in December, and it was decided that the biodegradable stent they were going to install last time (if the one on hand hadn't turned out to be defective) was probably not the best option after all. So, that installation was never in the plans for the most recent appointment, contrary to the last thing I heard back in October I think it was now.

Some terrible communication all around, yeah. And absolutely nothing I heard Monday inspired much confidence, other than that surgeon being much more forthcoming with actual information about my condition and what was even being discussed on the medical professional end of things.

[ETA: He also said he would copy me on the report letter to the GP's office, and include his contact information so that i would at least have someone I knew I could get in touch with if needed. Which I really appreciated!]

(Why would a patient even need to know what type/size of stricture they even have, right? 🙄👿 Much less any of the rest of it. )

None of that sounded good, tbqh--and it's looking even less great the more I have tried to look into what the potential options from here might even be.

Apparently, it basically looks like I was chugging bleach, and did not get prompt treatment afterwards. Which is why they were having continuing trouble believing that the issue is totally a product of one DKA episode.

The surgeon seemed very surprised too after looking through my records--but again he wasn't here while I was basically passed out in the bed with gastric stasis, spewing up straight stomach acid for like two days straight. 😬 As Mr. C who was indeed looking after me then said, "It was A LOT of acid."

But, it's definitely better to know more, and have some better idea of where we even stand now.

One of the reasons I have not been able to talk about this much yet? The whole situation is overwhelming. And I am also very angry about the continuing treatment delays, Plague Time or not. While treating me like a mushroom, up to this point.

They have not been following their own guidelines there, and there is very little doubt that my condition has indeed turned more serious because of it. And it seems like they're being overly quick to jump into more drastic, poorly tested measures now--after not giving safer, well-supported treatments a fair trial and keeping The Lowly Esophagus Owner in the dark up to this point.

I am not even going to rant more right now. It's hard to stop, and that really won't help me when I am already trying hard not to get totally overwhelmed.

But yeah, that's the very short version of what happened, and roughly where we are in GI Fuckery Land right now. Consulting with surgeons. 😩

Who say that little planned look-see session will be rescheduled ASAP if they have to get the right scope from the another hospital.(He did also say they can hopefully do another dilation then, since I just can't eat.) But, I am really not holding my breath for that.

That surgeon also sounded particularly concerned that I've been on a DIY liquid diet for months, with no input/help from a dietician. So, I am supposed to get an urgent referral for another freaking phone appointment. He also seemed to think I should be getting Ensure, etc.--any special nutritional stuff deemed medically necessary--covered through the NHS. So, at least there's that. It's not like I have to follow any stupid-ass recommendations that I don't think will help me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯