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Medical Care

Outdoors, day. A prison watchtower separated by a wired fence. The camera is close up on the fence.

Mass Incarceration’s Dystopia Gets Even Worse: Harvesting Organs and Co-Opting Radical Language

Content warning: incarceration, enslavement, white supremacy, experimentation on adults and children, family separation, death from medical neglect, medical industrial complex, prison industrial complex, trauma, state violence   In 1949, an incarcerated white man in Sing-Sing Correctional Facility named Louis Boy…
An older Asian woman with short dark hair waits in an office setting. She holds her head in her left hand, looking despondent. She's wearing a short-sleeved light blue top and dark shorts.

Substandard of Care: Accommodations in Healthcare

You can listen to an audio version of this essay here.   As told to Editor-in-Chief Denarii Grace   Rooted in Rights would like to acknowledge that this essay is the product of a collaborative effort between the storyteller…
Indoors. A group of people of different ages and races in a waiting room. Some are patients, seated, while the rest are healthcare workers standing around and a receptionist behind a desk.

No, I Can’t Always Give You 24 Hours’ Notice

“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be able to make it to my appointment today. I’m in too much pain. I can’t sit long, let alone drive.”   “Since you’re calling with less than 24 hours’ notice, there will …
A sort of silhouetted, blurry, hands and body of a horror film-like human figure. They're behind matte glass. The photo is black and white.

Very Unfair: The Nightmare of Institutionalization

Like so much in this dystopia, care is about money. And disability is most certainly expensive. The durable medical equipment, medication, personal care, transportation, home modifications—the shopping list goes on. And everything tagged “accessible” is marked way up. Until I …
Close up of a clear, plastic pill organizer with pills of various colors inside.

Chronically Ignored: How Western Medical Practices Harm Chronically Ill People

At 7:47 pm, I had so many wires attached to me.   Though I craved my typical end of the day shower, I had to find another way to self-soothe. I did some yoga, avoiding the Superman and cobra poses; they …
An assortment of medical instruments and personal effects, including pill bottles, needles, and socks, surround an empty white stool on a white background.

What’s In A Pair of Socks?

CONTENT NOTE: blood work, medical trauma, emetophobia, medical ableism   I sat on the hard metal gurney, watching my legs shake underneath the torn forest green scrubs. I tried to count my breaths, my ears throbbing from the cacophony of emergency …
Close up of three hands. An elder's hand lays between the hands of a younger person's two hands. All three fair-skinned hands rest on the younger adult's lap.

A Life Worth Living: An Elegy For My Mother

CONTENT NOTE: discussion of systemic ableism, death, end-of-life care, and euthanasia   My mother and I were always a team. When my Girl Scout troop had a roller skating party, my mom strapped skates to my feet, took hold of …