Doctors on call east liverpool oh

My mom told me that she did a biopsy after a mammogram, MRI, and ultrasound, and I panicked. I googled everything about it, and I tried to ask her for more details. She said, "I don't know any more details and I can't tell you until I get more results back."
I literally cried and had 58 panic attacks. I tried to call my friend's mom, a gynecologist, and she said the same thing. She even said, "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not her doctor and I can't magically guess what's happening. Moreover, I need sleep. I am on call tomorrow. Talk to you later." I felt that was rude. I texted my friend's mom, "Do you really have this bedside manner with every patient?"
What is even worse is that my dad's who is a doctor but not an ob/gyn, tried to calm me down too. She tried to hug me and walk me through breathing exercises and told me that she'd support me while we waited for more results. My mom doesn't even like my dad's SO so yeah.
I told her to stop giving me false hope. We have a FAMILY HISTORY of breast and uterine cancer!

My mom told me that she did a biopsy after a mammogram, MRI, and ultrasound, and I panicked. I googled everything about it, and I tried to ask her for more details. She said, "I don't know any more details and I can't tell you until I get more results back."
I literally cried and had 58 panic attacks. I tried to call my friend's mom, a gynecologist, and she said the same thing. She even said, "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not her doctor and I can't magically guess what's happening. Moreover, I need sleep. I am on call tomorrow. Talk to you later." I felt that was rude. I texted my friend's mom, "Do you really have this bedside manner with every patient?"
What is even worse is that my dad's who is a doctor but not an ob/gyn, tried to calm me down too. She tried to hug me and walk me through breathing exercises and told me that she'd support me while we waited for more results. My mom doesn't even like my dad's SO so yeah.
I told her to stop giving me false hope. We have a FAMILY HISTORY of breast and uterine cancer!
tl;dr: I told them to stop giving me false hope and they got mad at me

So I finally received a call back from my doctor today and was prescribed HRT. I feel like I'm finally able to start really taking the steps to become the girl I've denied myself to be for the past 30 years or so. On top of that I got called mam almost all day on the phone at work. Every time I heard "mam" it made made my day. Just thought I'd share this bit of positivity and happy pride everyone!

My stepdad (46M) passed away peacefully this past Sunday morning after a 4 month battle with this terrible disease. I miss him terribly, but I am more so relieved that he is no longer suffering.
He was diagnosed in late January with two inoperable connected grape sized tumors on each side of his brain. The original symptom was that he had a seizure just as he pulled into his parking lot at work. Looking back, he had randomly developed symptoms of anxiety and paranoia a few weeks prior to the seizure. I find myself wondering how long ago the disease really started taking shape.
He was in hospital rehab for about a month before coming home and he had strengthened himself to the point where he could even walk again! He was discharged in late February and came home awaiting treatment which started a few weeks later. For a time it was almost normal. We made sure he laughed a lot.
He was uninsured, and the hospital social workers botched the Medicare application, but somehow we still managed to get care for him. After his first radiation treatment, within hours of it, he lost use of his legs. No strength to move or stand. This was our first sign that things were about to get bad.
On top of the obvious struggles with the disease, the things that came along with it were sometimes harder to watch. He was a victim of the Florida opioid epidemic. He was so proud of getting clean in 2011. He had quit smoking 6 months before getting diagnosed. The doctors did what they do and got him on pain killers. I understand why they prescribed them, it was just so hard to know that he relapsed for reasons beyond his control. I guess I’m glad he went out feeling as high as he wanted to be.
By mid March, his personality had completely changed. He was borderline catatonic, only asking for Wellington rolls (pain killers) or to start the car (a cigarette). Who were we to deny him of these things? It was the only way he could cope. His short term memory loss and aphasia were brutal.
My grandma had GBM. We thought we knew what were in for but this was so much worse. By April he had lost full arm strength. He was incontinent. He started declining treatment. I almost wish he had gone for palliative care right away instead, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to argue against his will to fight even if we knew it was a losing battle. If I could go back, I would have pleaded with him to pick quality of life over quantity.
Early May, we could tell it was getting close. He stopped eating for a time and eventually tried to get my mom to stop cleaning and changing him. We sent him to the hospital, they pumped him full of fluids and his personality returned! He was himself for Mother’s Day after his discharge but rapidly slipped again.
He developed a cold that put him back in the hospital. Somehow, after being pumped with fluids, he talked his way into full time hospice care at home. By the time he got home, he was in such a fog that he accused my brother of sending him home against will.
Last Monday, I went by his house. The family he truly loved was there and he actually popped in to say hello. We laughed with him and told him we loved him. He told us he was hungry and when we told him he had to have pudding or soft food because he couldn’t swallow, he called our bluff and slammed down a Burger King cheeseburger. He loved Burger King. I’m so glad he made one more appearance.
By Wednesday, he was unresponsive. I think he could still hear us though. On Saturday, I stopped by and held his hand and told him how lucky I was to have known him and how much of an impact he made on me. His eyes were fluttering and his mouth was somewhat moving. I told him I loved him and said it was okay.
I’m still struggling with how quickly and severely he deteriorated, but I am so glad he is at peace now. I don’t know what else to say. Thank you for being a safe space.

My mom told me that she did a biopsy after a mammogram, MRI, and ultrasound, and I panicked. I googled everything about it, and I tried to ask her for more details. She said, "I don't know any more details and I can't tell you until I get more results back."
I literally cried and had 58 panic attacks. I tried to call my friend's mom, a gynecologist, and she said the same thing. She even said, "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not her doctor and I can't magically guess what's happening. Moreover, I need sleep. I am on call tomorrow. Talk to you later." I felt that was rude. I texted my friend's mom, "Do you really have this bedside manner with every patient?"
What is even worse is that my dad's who is a doctor but not an ob/gyn, tried to calm me down too. She tried to hug me and walk me through breathing exercises and told me that she'd support me while we waited for more results. My mom doesn't even like my dad's SO so yeah.
I told her to stop giving me false hope. We have a FAMILY HISTORY of breast and uterine cancer!

Hi, I am here to represent some of the aspects of the dysfunctional family of my parents. I have made peace with the past but there have been a few recent events with each family member that are bothering me lately. I am working on myself, reminding myself that although some of it is affecting me now, it does not really matter. Its the logical mind though which needs convincing. What should I do here? Any help is appreciated 1. My Elder Sister (her and I have an age gap of almost 2 years):There was an incident that happened when we were teens, affecting her and me both. I lost my connection with friends little by little. Life became a mess really. She chose to bring this up and how it affected her, (years later) when she introduced me to her - to be fiancee - FOR THE FIRST TIME, trying to pick up a fight then and there. She was 28F (in2020) at the time. I am not sure what she expected out of it and why she did that. When I brought incidences on how she had literally been an asshole to me all her life, she tried to justify herself looking at him as if the only person there purer than the purest water on earth was her. (Really?) I did not storm out or anything like that but handled it like a more mature person than her. It really made me think later though on how far she could go to paint a picture about me to someone who was going to be a part of the family. It also made me realize that I was right to think that she and mum had many conversations belittling me (which was obvious infront but not it was obvious behind my back too), My mother is a narcissist btw. She asked me one time this year if I wanted to stay at her house for a week since she and her now husband would be out there would be no one at home, I said okay. Now when I was leaving her house, since the door had automatic lock, I did not do the manual lock (from outside). I was on my way to the airport when she showed her disapproval on this. So I went back, but there was a malfunction on the door, it was not opening at all for me to even lock it. She was literally screaming on the phone over the video call. I could see my parents sitting behind in the video call, watching this whole ordeal, I tried opening this giant door, slamming myself to it but it did not budge. I eventually had to take help of the neighbour. He was a physically bigger person than me. And he too had trouble opening the door but with effort, he pushed it open. I was then able to lock the door automatically +manually.Later I noticed I had big blood clots (three) covering my right thigh, the side from which I was slamming myself on to the door. Even when she visits home, she tries to degrade my choices, my weight, anything related to me. I told her I like myself and how I do things.There was one time, when during our conversation she asked me what I wanted to eat (for the first time). I said no, she insisted. When I told her and it was a pretty cheap order, her reaction and the entire demeanor changed. She booked the order but was so agitated, didn't continue the call and I never said yes to any of her questions after. 2. Father : I took a break from my corporate career in 2021 to pursue a career in government. I asked my father if he was okay with me being at home to prepare. Initially, he said okay but it was clear later on that he really did not care on if I had my own space to prepare or the privacy. And no I don't have a room, I sleep in the drawing room on a deewan (bed) right infront of the main door. He watches TV all day and couldn't care less on what is happening elsewhere in the house.To cope with this and the guests, relatives and visits of my siblings (both elder sissy and brother), I started studying at night.In the morning, he could hardly care on how loud he is moving things around, arranging utensils or so. I am trying to get a job again to get my own place. I don't know how I managed this long at home with such things. 3. Brother : He is so self - righteous.Initially, he and I shared rooms. And he was always on the phone. One time I asked him to go to the balcony and talk or the other room and he said it was not convenient for him. I told him I am preparing for my government exam and what do you know? It turns into an altercation. My mother asked me to leave the room, being all about solutions. When I told her it's impacting my preparation and I have to give the exam, she said ' everyday is an exam' (seriously?) I cried a lot that day after I settled in my father's room.To make it seem like she was trying to help me, she asked my father to let me study for 2 hours each day. (Really? 2 hours?),which was not okay by him. He loves his TV and so.Oh well. He never apologized and still, till date, never apologizes even when he is in the wrong. He does apologize to my sister. It's all about the money she earns now. Because he often makes note of it and always looks at her salary. So I think that way, he is inclined to say sorry to her. He did not say sorry to her too before she was earning well. 4. My Mother: I think the person I had most issues with throughout my life is my mother. I love her for the being that resides in her but I oh so fucking hate her for how she treats me directly/ indirectly. She projects her limitations on me, always remarking 'oh you can't do that'.She has always wanted me to be less than my sister. How do I know this? She oftens pointed out in a derogatory way whenever I did well in life. I was the first in this family to get a well paid job and she was not happy about it, at all. When I was in the process of giving interview, I remember she remarked says 'That is, if you get this job, you will go there'. I was taken aback but I mean, what else did I expect. When I was earning well, these guys were all about me, asking me for gifts and things, which I was happy to oblige to. Now, she always ALWAYS like a speaker on the top of my head, speaks about how wonderful of a jobmy sister has, her salary, the new flat she is buying and how richlyand royally our new dog is living with her, something which he was not living like before, when he was living with her. About the government exams I am preparing for, she always talks about how less of a salary the posts have. I really don't have any idea about why she says these things. When I try to confront her, she takes it in a very defensive way and I'd not say anything to her at all. Now that my brother is in another city because of his job, she has taken the room.I had an interview yesterday and I asked her for the room (there is always someone coming and going in the drawing room) and the energy got so dull as if I was not entitled to it. How do you think would be the best way to navigate through these emotions and incidences?

Hi, I am here to represent some of the aspects of the dysfunctional family of my parents. I have made peace with the past but there have been a few recent events with each family member that are bothering me lately. I am working on myself, reminding myself that although some of it is affecting me now, it does not really matter. Its the logical mind though which needs convincing. What should I do here? Any help is appreciated 1. My Elder Sister (her and I have an age gap of almost 2 years):There was an incident that happened when we were teens, affecting her and me both. I lost my connection with friends little by little. Life became a mess really. She chose to bring this up and how it affected her, (years later) when she introduced me to her - to be fiancee - FOR THE FIRST TIME, trying to pick up a fight then and there. She was 28F (in2020) at the time. I am not sure what she expected out of it and why she did that. When I brought incidences on how she had literally been an asshole to me all her life, she tried to justify herself looking at him as if the only person there purer than the purest water on earth was her. (Really?) I did not storm out or anything like that but handled it like a more mature person than her. It really made me think later though on how far she could go to paint a picture about me to someone who was going to be a part of the family. It also made me realize that I was right to think that she and mum had many conversations belittling me (which was obvious infront but not it was obvious behind my back too), My mother is a narcissist btw. She asked me one time this year if I wanted to stay at her house for a week since she and her now husband would be out there would be no one at home, I said okay. Now when I was leaving her house, since the door had automatic lock, I did not do the manual lock (from outside). I was on my way to the airport when she showed her disapproval on this. So I went back, but there was a malfunction on the door, it was not opening at all for me to even lock it. She was literally screaming on the phone over the video call. I could see my parents sitting behind in the video call, watching this whole ordeal, I tried opening this giant door, slamming myself to it but it did not budge. I eventually had to take help of the neighbour. He was a physically bigger person than me. And he too had trouble opening the door but with effort, he pushed it open. I was then able to lock the door automatically +manually.Later I noticed I had big blood clots (three) covering my right thigh, the side from which I was slamming myself on to the door. Even when she visits home, she tries to degrade my choices, my weight, anything related to me. I told her I like myself and how I do things.There was one time, when during our conversation she asked me what I wanted to eat (for the first time). I said no, she insisted. When I told her and it was a pretty cheap order, her reaction and the entire demeanor changed. She booked the order but was so agitated, didn't continue the call and I never said yes to any of her questions after. 2. Father : I took a break from my corporate career in 2021 to pursue a career in government. I asked my father if he was okay with me being at home to prepare. Initially, he said okay but it was clear later on that he really did not care on if I had my own space to prepare or the privacy. And no I don't have a room, I sleep in the drawing room on a deewan (bed) right infront of the main door. He watches TV all day and couldn't care less on what is happening elsewhere in the house.To cope with this and the guests, relatives and visits of my siblings (both elder sissy and brother), I started studying at night.In the morning, he could hardly care on how loud he is moving things around, arranging utensils or so. I am trying to get a job again to get my own place. I don't know how I managed this long at home with such things. 3. Brother : He is so self - righteous.Initially, he and I shared rooms. And he was always on the phone. One time I asked him to go to the balcony and talk or the other room and he said it was not convenient for him. I told him I am preparing for my government exam and what do you know? It turns into an altercation. My mother asked me to leave the room, being all about solutions. When I told her it's impacting my preparation and I have to give the exam, she said ' everyday is an exam' (seriously?) I cried a lot that day after I settled in my father's room.To make it seem like she was trying to help me, she asked my father to let me study for 2 hours each day. (Really? 2 hours?),which was not okay by him. He loves his TV and so.Oh well. He never apologized and still, till date, never apologizes even when he is in the wrong. He does apologize to my sister. It's all about the money she earns now. Because he often makes note of it and always looks at her salary. So I think that way, he is inclined to say sorry to her. He did not say sorry to her too before she was earning well. 4. My Mother: I think the person I had most issues with throughout my life is my mother. I love her for the being that resides in her but I oh so fucking hate her for how she treats me directly/ indirectly. She projects her limitations on me, always remarking 'oh you can't do that'.She has always wanted me to be less than my sister. How do I know this? She oftens pointed out in a derogatory way whenever I did well in life. I was the first in this family to get a well paid job and she was not happy about it, at all. When I was in the process of giving interview, I remember she remarked says 'That is, if you get this job, you will go there'. I was taken aback but I mean, what else did I expect. When I was earning well, these guys were all about me, asking me for gifts and things, which I was happy to oblige to. Now, she always ALWAYS like a speaker on the top of my head, speaks about how wonderful of a jobmy sister has, her salary, the new flat she is buying and how richlyand royally our new dog is living with her, something which he was not living like before, when he was living with her. About the government exams I am preparing for, she always talks about how less of a salary the posts have. I really don't have any idea about why she says these things. When I try to confront her, she takes it in a very defensive way and I'd not say anything to her at all. Now that my brother is in another city because of his job, she has taken the room.I had an interview yesterday and I asked her for the room (there is always someone coming and going in the drawing room) and the energy got so dull as if I was not entitled to it. How do you think would be the best way to navigate through these emotions and incidences?

Hi, I am here to represent some of the aspects of the dysfunctional family of my parents. I have made peace with the past but there have been a few recent events with each family member that are bothering me lately. I am working on myself, reminding myself that although some of it is affecting me now, it does not really matter. Its the logical mind though which needs convincing. What should I do here? Any help is appreciated

1. My Elder Sister (her and I have an age gap of almost 2 years):There was an incident that happened when we were teens, affecting her and me both. I lost my connection with friends little by little. Life became a mess really. She chose to bring this up and how it affected her, (years later) when she introduced me to her - to be fiancee - FOR THE FIRST TIME, trying to pick up a fight then and there. She was 28F (in2020) at the time. I am not sure what she expected out of it and why she did that. When I brought incidences on how she had literally been an asshole to me all her life, she tried to justify herself looking at him as if the only person there purer than the purest water on earth was her. (Really?) I did not storm out or anything like that but handled it like a more mature person than her.

It really made me think later though on how far she could go to paint a picture about me to someone who was going to be a part of the family. It also made me realize that I was right to think that she and mum had many conversations belittling me (which was obvious infront but not it was obvious behind my back too), My mother is a narcissist btw.
She asked me one time this year if I wanted to stay at her house for a week since she and her now husband would be out there would be no one at home, I said okay. Now when I was leaving her house, since the door had automatic lock, I did not do the manual lock (from outside). I was on my way to the airport when she showed her disapproval on this. So I went back, but there was a malfunction on the door, it was not opening at all for me to even lock it. She was literally screaming on the phone over the video call. I could see my parents sitting behind in the video call, watching this whole ordeal, I tried opening this giant door, slamming myself to it but it did not budge. I eventually had to take help of the neighbour. He was a bigger person than me. And he too had trouble opening the door but with effort, he pushed it open. I was then able to lock the door automatically +manually.Later I noticed I had big blood clots (three) covering my right thigh, the side from which I was slamming myself on to the door.
Even when she visits home, she tries to degrade my choices, my weight, anything related to me. I told her I like myself and how I do things.There was one time, when during our conversation she asked me what I wanted to eat (for the first time). I said no, she insisted. When I told her and it was a pretty cheap order, her reaction and the entire demeanor changed. She booked the order but was so agitated, didn't continue the call and I never said yes to any of her questions after.

1. Father : I took a break from my corporate career in 2021 to pursue a career in government. I asked my father if he was okay with me being at home to prepare. Initially, he said okay but it was clear later on that he really did not care on if I had my own space to prepare or the privacy. And no I don't have a room, I sleep in the drawing room on a deewan.

He watches TV all day and couldn't care less on what is happening elsewhere in the house.To cope with this and the guests, relatives and visits of my siblings (both elder sissy and brother), I started studying at night.In the morning, he could hardly care on how loud he is moving things around, arranging utensils or so. I am trying to get a job again to get my own place. I don't know how I managed this long at home with such things.

1. Brother : He is so self - righteous.Initially, he and I shared rooms. And he was always on the phone. One time I asked him to go to the balcony and talk or the other room and he said it was not convenient for him. I told him I am preparing for my government exam and what do you know? It turns into an altercation. My mother asked me to leave the room, being all about solutions. When I told her it's impacting my preparation and I have to give the exam, she said ' everyday is an exam' (seriously?)

I cried a lot that day after I settled in my father's room.To make it seem like she was trying to help me, she asked my father to let me study for 2 hours each day. (Really? 2 hours?),which was not okay by him. He loves his TV and so.Oh well.
He never apologized and still, till date, never apologizes even when he is in the wrong. He does apologize to my sister. It's all about the money she earns now. Because he often makes note of it and always looks at her salary. So I think that way, he is inclined to say sorry to her. He did not say sorry to her too before she was earning well.

1. My Mother: I think the person I had most issues with throughout my life is my mother. I love her for the being that resides in her but I oh so fucking hate her for how she treats me directly/ indirectly.

She projects her limitations on me, always remarking 'oh you can't do that'.She has always wanted me to be less than my sister. How do I know this? She oftens pointed out in a derogatory way whenever I did well in life.
I was the first in this family to get a well paid job and she was not happy about it, at all. When I was in the process of giving interview, I remember she remarked says 'That is, if you get this job, you will go there'. I was taken aback but I mean, what else did I expect.
When I was earning well, these guys were all about me, asking me for gifts and things, which I was happy to oblige to.
Now, she always ALWAYS like a speaker on the top of my head, speaks about how wonderful of a jobmy sister has, her salary, the new flat she is buying and how richlyand royally our new dog is living with her, something which he was not living like before, when he was living with her.
About the government exams I am preparing for, she always talks about how less of a salary the posts have. I really don't have any idea about why she says these things. When I try to confront her, she takes it in a very defensive way and I'd not say anything to her at all.
Now that my brother is in another city because of his job, she has taken the room.I had an interview yesterday and I asked her for the room (there is always someone coming and going in the drawing room) and the energy got so dull as if I was not entitled to it.
How do you think would be the best way to navigate through these emotions and incidences?

First- Previous
The planetary alarms sounded again, waking me up from a deep sleep as dawn approached. It was likely warning of another solar assault on our planet. I thought myself lucky that Op'olat and his brothers had rescued us from the cave system before it flooded.
But now I wondered if that was really such a good thing. The mountain would have easily protected us from the massive radiation storm heading towards us now. The solid stone construction of the ancient town hall would provide some protection, but will it be enough?
“Reilla!” I could hear the fear in Ael’la’s voice. The woman had been helpful since we were rescued. Even with her infant, she had taken on the care of all the orphaned children, giving them hope and comfort. But she was full of fear, even if the little ones never noticed.
“Reilla? What is happening now? Why are the sirens going off again?”
“I know as much you, but it must be another radiation storm. Get the children into the basement. Get them settled in. Sing them songs. Keep them calm and quiet.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.”
While she got the little ones into the shelter, I went searching for D’rylla. If anyone would know what is happening, it would be our grumpy little radio operator. She knew more than anyone about everything.
The alarms cut off abruptly before I found her.
“D’rylla? What is happening?”
“Oh, there’s just too much. There is a huge solar storm heading towards us with a radiation count high enough to kill anything caught on the surface. But the humans placed their fleet between the us and the sun. Their shields took the brunt of it.”
The tiny woman ran outside, surely an insane thing to do with a radiation storm hitting the planet.
“What are you doing? Get back in here!” I raced after her to stop her from committing suicide.
“No, you don’t understand. The humans stopped it. They said the energized particles are causing rivers of light in the sky and the humans say it is safe to go watch.”
The humans have proven themselves to be competent. If they say it is safe, then I believe them. So it was with only a little trepidation that I stepped outside.
The predawn sky was filled with magic. I had heard of auroras at the poles, but never this far south. It was glorious to behold. In the sky, I could see the rivers of red, purple, green, and gold light running from the far north to the equator and further out, and in space I could see bubbles of light with colors dancing wildly across the spectrum.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered in awe.
“That must be the human’s ships,” D’rylla whispered back. “There’s at least three hundred or more.”
“If they can protect the planet from the radiation storms, then maybe our planet will survive.”
I found myself believing in the possibility. I am bitterly aware of how little the Confederation had done to help juxtaposed with what the humans had done out of their innate kindness. There is no way we can ever repay them for the gift of life, the survival of our people. And to simply say thanks seemed inadequate.
I’d spoken to one of the human search and rescue teams during a meal. Yrsa Hellström told me that just our simple survival was not good enough. She wanted our people to thrive and if we did so, then that was thanks enough for her. The concept was alien to me. In Confederation society, such acts incur debts that last generations.
“Oh! I forgot about Ael’la and the children.”
“I need to get back inside to the radios. I will tell her it is safe to come out. You stay here and enjoy the show.”
I don’t know how long I stood there, gazing at the brightening skies. Even as the sun peaked over the horizon, I could still see the rivers of light. I was so engrossed with the spectacle I did not realize I was no longer alone until I heard someone speak my name.
“Good morning, Reilla.” I recognized Op'olat’s voice right away. He’d spent quite a bit of his free time with me. I did not know if he was wanting friendship or something more. And if he wanted something more, I did not know how I felt about that just yet. So many people had lost their mates in the past weeks. I was not one of them, but I had lost the one I’d planned on marrying in the first few days. I’d not had much time to think of Hav’ed lately. I’d only had time to survive until our rescue. And after that, I’d been busy here, helping those less fortunate.
“Good morning, Op'olat.” His name meant ‘generous laughter’ in the old tongue. He lived up to the name. He was both generous and funny, even amongst all of this. He never missed the opportunity to make others laugh and was an endless source of humorous stories. The children adored him. Even the most withdrawn came out of their shells around him.
“The human Ejvar Sivarsson informed me that a Confederation naval force dropped out of hyperspace and threatened their cargo fleet, thinking to force them to leave.”
I shook my head in disgust. “The Confederation could not be bothered to send help, but they could send ships to chase off those that did come to help. Typical Confederation shit. When are the humans leaving?”
“They are not leaving. Apparently, an even larger human naval force had been waiting in hyperspace. Ejvar called them wolfhounds guarding the flock. Whatever that means.”
“Probably something like huuda guarding the atu.” I’d not seen any huuda since the storms hit. The domesticated guard beasts protect the atu flocks from predators. With atu wool being the main source of soft um’idar cloth and our main textile trade product, protecting them was important.
“Hmm. Makes sense,” he replied absently. “But the Confederation fleet thought better of it and left. When the humans detected the radiation storm, they moved all their ships to block it. They had no idea if it would work, but they put themselves in harm's way for us. It was fun to watch, though.”
“It would not have been so if it didn’t work.”
“Lek told me they were ‘in for a penny, in for a pound.’ Humans have a lot of sayings that I do not quite understand. But I looked that one up on their datanet. It means that humans should finish what they started, even though it may be difficult or expensive.”
“Their help has been truly both.”
“I wanted to tell you that the last time I went out foraging, I found some canned ippa fruit and ground multda. I saved a bit for you,” he told me.
Ippa fruit is an expensive delicacy. One that I rarely could afford when fresh. Canned was not as good, but still a rare and delicious treat. Ground multda when steeped in hot water made a wonderful savory drink that is mildly addictive. I’d not had any in weeks. It was just another in a long line of small things he’d done for me. But he did not pry, did not press me.
“Here.” He handed me a pack loaded with the foods. “There’s also some f’lad bread and rivi sweet beans you can share with the children. The should make them happy. I’d give it to them myself, but I’m going out on another mission soon. We got word of some survivors holed up in an abandoned copper mine in the Wyst’adt mountains. They have been drinking contaminated water and have some really sick kids. I should be back by dinner. I’ll see you then.”
“Thank you. I will see you when you get back, I guess.” I did not know what else to say as I watched him head to the human rescue ship.
Less than a minute later, the ship lifted off, heading south. Watching him leave left me with a hollow feeling. I knew enough about trauma to know that it caused people to feel vulnerable and confused. I knew I would eventually have to figure out how I feel about him.

I 22F finally decided that it was time to get an IUD after years of terrible birth control pill side effects and contemplation. I finally have insurance from my job and it was the perfect time to get it.
When I told my friend my story as we are avid listeners of THT, we just knew Morgan needed to hear it.
A lot of my friends have IUDs and I heard that the procedure is painful but I thought I had a high pain tolerance and it would be fine. I brought my mom with me for support and to be my ride home. Mistake or blessing...
I made sure to drink a lot of water, ate a good breakfast, got a good night sleep, took my ibuprofen and did everything they asked of me.
I got to my appointment and was quickly ushered into the exam room. I was told to put the gown on and lay on the table. My feet were up in the stirrups and I was thinking I was ready for what was about to come.
When the time came for the insertion I was met with the most intense wave of pain I have every experienced in my life. I was used to having really bad period cramps but this was next level. I laid there squeezing my moms hand as it felt like my insides were being ripped apart and at that moment I knew it was bad when my doctor said "this is what it feels like to have a baby". Near the end of it, I started to feel like I was going to pass out. I was fanning myself aggressively. My doctor then says "its normal to feel a little light headed". NO BABE I'M ABOUT LITERALLY PASS OUT. As the torture was finally over (or so I thought) she proceeds to tell me post procedure instructions, but honestly I couldn't even hear her because I thought I was going to pass out, throw up and shit while simultaneously having the worst cramps of my whole life. As the doctor was leaving I asked her if she could get me a bucket because thought I was going to throw up. The doctor returns with a super small basin the size of my two hands. She leaves the room again and I'm just there with my mom and the basin and at this point I turn onto my side thinking im going to be sick but nothing came out. I just continue to lay there for about 10 minutes... until I get the urge that I REALLY need to shit. So, the goal here was to get up, remove my gown, put my clothes back on and go to the bathroom. When I attempted that, I instantly threw myself back on the bed because I really thought I was going to pass out. Announcing to my mom "Holy shit I'm going to pass out". The urge to shit now has me with my elbows on the bed unable to stand up straight, clenching my cheeks together so I do not shit. Keeping in mind that I am still wearing a patient gown with my whole ass out. I knew that I needed to make some moves here, somehow I needed to get to a toilet. As I try to stand up again, I realize there is no way I am getting my clothes back on. So I think, fuck it, I will just walk down the hallway to the bathroom in my gown. All I cared about in this moment was getting this demon out of me. Thinking back on this now.. I wish I tried a lot harder to make it to the bathroom.
"Mom, hand my that basin. I need to shit.. now"
In my state of debilitating pain, I full on squated on the floor like a cave man holding the basin under me and my mom steadying it with her foot as I proceeded to release the most enormous shit I have ever taken. it did. not. stop. Every time I thought it was going to stop more just kept coming. The only thing I could say as it kept pouring out of me was "I'm so sorry" and "oh wow" on repeat. The basin quickly filled and I had no choice but to continuing shitting on the floor. Bless her heart, my mom kept trying to tell me it was okay and grabbed some paper towels and started cleaning the mess I had made. You think in this moment I would be humiliated after shitting on the floor like a dog and releasing the most vile smell into the atmosphere but I did not care. I only felt relief.
As my mom is trying to wipe my ass because I literally did not have the capability, my doctor walks in and my mom announces:
"She had an accident. She crapped".
Eventually after having a sip of water I was able to leave the clinic. Leaving behind most of my dignity, a soiled gown and an exam room that needed a complete sterilization. Needless to say, I am forever indebted to my mom and I will never be returning to that doctors office.
If you're looking for some advice about getting an IUD, please remember this post and please consider having it done under sedation.

Hello everyone this week has been quite a roller coaster for me. This Monday Memorial Day I took 2 pregnancy tests that were both positive. I was so excited its all I could think about. Then this morning I started cramping really bad and I started bleeding. I was freaking out couldn’t stop crying so confused as to what was happening. I called my OB and they said to go to the ER just in case. So after blood work, 2 ultrasounds and a urine test they told me I was not pregnant. I am so heartbroken and confused and the doctor told me he had “no idea” why I have positive tests. I know I’m not crazy and they did say I was pregnant, but after reading some posts on here I think it might have been a chemical pregnancy? This is my first time trying for a baby so this is all very new to me but I’m just looking for some guidance and advice. Has anyone had an experience like this they could share with me to assure me I’m not crazy?

I’ve had a read of the rules in depth and I believe this is allowed but I am very sorry if I misinterpreted the rules. (TW: neglect)
I’m looking for advice on whether or not I should intervene. I apologise in advance if this is wrong of me to ask.
I (f20) left my family home 5 years ago and ran to my bio fathers house with no warning. My older siblings had already ran from the house years before to go to many different places (other cities, countries or living with partners) and we all left as teens. This was easy for us as our parents were divorced, but my mother had remarried and had two children with her now husband. We left these children behind. I feel guilty about it today, but feel there was nothing I could do without taking adverse action.
Our mother is abusive, didn’t feed us, didn’t let us shower, hoarded objects and cats, the house was toxic, I got sick often, the ammonia was terrible, and I often had to walk or call police to get a ride to school when she had a breakdown. She claimed often to have aneurisms or strokes whenever anybody challenged her on anything. She wouldn’t let us see a doctor and used crystals to “heal” us. Every single child developed severe mental health disorders and even chronic disorders caused by trauma. I struggle every day to function from the fallout of living with her.
My two younger sisters I thought would be ok with their dad who would hopefully intervene, and he has in small ways. He got rid of the 23 cats, cleans often, and works overtime every week to give them food, clothes and shoes. However, my mother had another mental breakdown recently and would only allow organic/vegan food in the house, which is normally fine, but she has reduced it to only condiments, legumes, nuts and seeds.
My two younger sisters are extremely active and are supported by my family who send them money to do extra curricular so they have some sense of normalcy. Because of this, my youngest sister (13) has not been eating enough to support her growing body. 3 years ago she had appendicitis, and my mother left her in bed for 3 weeks in pain before her appendix burst and my stepdad called an ambulance. They were unable to perform surgery as she was malnourished and they had to wait for the fluid to drain. Today, she has been in and out of hospital for 4 weeks. Her school has been calling ambulances as she continually faints from not eating enough. They have found she is anorexic and has not been eating enough for so long she now refuses to eat.
I am not looking for advice on her medically or legally, only giving background.
Advice on this only: Should I intervene? Should I go back into this traumatic part of my life and call CPS (child protective services)? if I do this every single member of my family will face trauma and hardship for at least a year as everything this woman has done in 31 years to her children is revealed. I don’t want to relive it or even have contact with her. But I cant bear to watch my youngest sister suffer like this.
I apologise again for asking about this situation but I don’t know what to do.

I have an hmo plan that I got through the marketplace with aetna CVS health. I have tried a few times to set a certain PCP near me, and it is the same PCP that shows up on my I surface card, but on my account online it shows my provider as the office or practice that particular doctor is a part of. Every time i change the PCP as the petson, it defaults to making the provider the entire practive with an incorrect phone number. Is my PCP still considered that particular doctor? Do I just need to call thr office and request an appointment with that doctor specifically?
Thanks!

(this is sorta a long post I’m so sorry)
I fr haven’t posted here in months 🥹 I really miss being on here. Now that school is coming to an end soon (in 2 weeks) I really wanna make some cool new friends to become close with!!! Especially someone to hang out with, play games, voice call etc etc [all over the summer of course]
Sooooo wassupppp my name is Naomi, I’m a 17 year old girl from The East Coast of the Usa, my birthday is in 2 months and I’m a Leo (if that matters) I would describe myself as sweet, open minded, quiet but talkative [with the right people] I’m a bit nerdy, I’m kinda soft spoken, I love holding deep conversations, flirting a bit and I like making jokes to make others laugh (I’ll probably bully you tho ahah)

• I’m a huge music lover who def enjoys most music genres (I truly need music friends because I have so much random music in my playlists but no one to share it with)
  
  • I have weird sense of humor, I’m the type to laugh at a picture of a random object with the bass boosted, I also love memes, I save a lot of them on my phone and have lots of funny videos to share! I tend to save random TikToks/YouTube videos
  • I like anime and tv series, I watch mostly shounens and some romance animes , I also watch action and drama shows for example Wednesday and game of thrones
• I love fashion, once I get money and lose lots more weight I’ll be dressing in Alt/Y2K/coquette fashion, I love fishnets, chokers , skirts, crop tops, thigh highs etc. I will definitely do fit checks when the time comes
  
  • I play video games, although I’m not good at them I do like playing games from time to time to chill and maybe make some acquaintances. Sadly I haven’t found permanent teams to play with yet. I play on PS4 if it matters. I want a pc tho tbh and I definitely see myself saving up for one

And last but not least My dms are ALWAYS open 🤠✌️ sooooo dmmmmm meeeeee. I promise I don’t bite + I don’t really care who messages me [as long as you’re not a creep we’re Gucci]

I 21 F started a dating this guy 21 M, which lasted a year. I’m going to make this short because there are a lot of details. Our relationship screamed bf/gf, but we knew we weren’t ready for a serious commit to each other. We laid out ground rules one of which being “you can’t be intimate with someone else. If you are you have to let the other person know”. I created this rule to obviously protect myself from possible STDs. The beginning was the best (I guess the honeymoon stage). At this point we only knew each other for 2 weeks, but we were so close. He needed a place to stay before his new lease started, so I offered he could stay with me. So he did for about 2 weeks.
One night, my friend was having a birthday party. There I ran into one of my friends and she told me she hooked up with him a couple of times, while him and I were still together. One of those times being on my birthday, another was while he stayed with me for a couple of weeks. He’s the one that asked to be exclusive but still continued to flirt and hook up with other girls.
Another terrible thing he did was not caring when I was deleting our fetus. Yea he took me to the doctor appointments, but he left as soon as my pain from the pills started. He told me he would call to check up on me after, but he did not. The next day he apologized for not checking up on me. As he took an edible and knocked out. Then went to a party, while I was struck dealing with the aftermath of the procedure. He got me pregnant a 2nd time and didn’t even help to pay for deleting the fetus.
There’s more but you get the point. Over the span of our relationship I just got sadder and sadder. I had to make the final decision to end our relationship because of the toll it took on me. Being around him hurt but learning to be without him hurt even more. After things ended I almost didn’t recognize myself. I lost 20lbs, I started therapy, and started seeing a psychiatrist. Anytime I saw him on at school, I would have panic attacks.
We don’t communicate and I don’t care for a response, but I just wanted to give myself closure. It’s not fair that he’s able to go off and not suffer the consequences of our actions, but I do. It’s not fair that he got to speak how he felt about us, but blocked me before I even got the chance. I feel like if I tell him how I felt, I can start my healing process.
Should I write him a letter?

I have been inundated with advertisements for Mint Mobile. I don’t mind because Ryan Reynolds is a cutie pie. I was hoping to save quite a bit over my usual $120 monthly bill with Verizon, the trick is Mint wants you to prepay like 3 months at a time. Whatever, if it comes to like $20 a month and I can use my existing phone and phone number, great.
I input my info and address and phone info for me and my husband, all was okay, didn’t need to buy new phones we couldn’t afford. I got my SIM cards in the mail and…nothing. I knew we lived in a bit of a rural cell tower Dead Zone and Verizon coverage could get spotty, but the only time I could get a signal on Mint’s network was when I drove out to the main road from our subdivision. Texts were getting sent/received hours late, all my phone calls were going to voice mail. I had to call Customer Service and my doctor’s office via Skype on my IPad because the phones just could not connect to Mint’s network. It worked fine while I was out and about, but not at home, so it turned out to be a false economy. I went back to Verizon and was charged a $30 reconnection fee. Great.
Just a little cautious tale if you are tempted to change accounts as well. Unless you live in a really urban area with an abundance of cell towers, Mint might not be so minty.

WILD MAN: Saint or Sinner Posted on May 2, 2021by Dana Rehn The Representation of Wild Folk During the German Renaissance The wild man was inspired in part by pagan hybrid woodland creatures like the satyr, however, much of the mythology of the wild man stems from barbarians of Europe.[i] For much of the Middle Ages, they were considered the antithesis of the civilised Christian society. They were cannibalistic, sexually deviant predators whose many characteristics were related to monstrous races as well as the insane. Despite the wild folk’s outsider status and the antithesis of Christian morality, the wild man and woman nevertheless became an icon of German nationalism. The image of the wild man and woman became a pervasive figure throughout the German Renaissance, depicted on a vast range of media from stained glass, woolen tapestry, playing cards (fig. 3), and ordinary household objects. The wild man and woman transitioned from a demonic brute beast to a romanticised image of the noble savage. They recall a simpler time in German history and became a part of the image of a united and strong German people. They also posed as an affront to the court culture of Rome and became associated with the virtues of the natural wilderness. Cleric, Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg, associated them with the image of the hairy saints who found redemption in the wilderness by categorising them as a type of wild man in Die Emeis.[ii] The German forests that the Wild Man was thought to reside were starting to be romanticised. Geographer, Johannes Rauw, praised the ancient forests that had long been demonised by Italians as a place of barbarians.[iii] From rapists of damsels, wild men were depicted with the virtues of the nuclear family in the Garden of Eden before ‘The Fall’ (Genesis 3). In this way, the wild man and woman became increasingly mythologised, merged with ancient Germans, ascetic saints as well as Adam and Eve. Although there were a growing number of romanticised images of the wild man and woman during the sixteenth century, negative representations persisted. Their depiction was not a simple shift from demonic woodland creature to the image of holy saints; many possessed both contradictory notions of sinner and sainthood. The multifaceted representation of wild folk reflected many of the contradictions of German Renaissance society. Man or Animal The reputation of the wild man stems from antiquity. Aristotle believed that people who lived outside the civilising influence of the urban city lacked the ability to reason.[iv] In this way, they were considered closer to animal than man, subjected to their impulses.[v] The wild man and woman were also believed to lack speech, used primitive tools such as the club, and lived away from civilisation.[vi] Even the food that the wild folk would eat – berries and uncooked food – was a mark of uncivilisation and thus associated them more with animals than man.[vii] Many were also thought to crawl on all fours, which is illustrated by the often bare knees of wild men and women.[viii] The wild man as well as the woman were characterised for their violence and unhinged rage. They both shared a love of combat and have even been depicted jousting against one another.[ix] It is not just appearance, but also behaviour that made someone bestial like peasants who were described with animal qualities. The wild man has also been associated with bears and mythology exists with bears who were able to transform into wild men.[x] Their unbridled sexuality was also more associated with animals. Wild men were thought to abduct pretty maidens, while the wild woman would transform herself into a beautiful woman and attempt to seduce men with her true ugliness only to be revealed during intercourse.[xi] In this way, they were also associated with other pagan and hairy woodland hybrid creatures from antiquity including satyrs and centaurs, who were also known for their immoral behaviour and insatiable sexual appetite.[xii] Albrecht Dürer combined classical mythology with German folklore in the engraving of the Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn (1516) (Fig. 1). The print recounts the mythology of the abduction of the goddess of fertility by Pluto (Hades), God of the underworld – the pagan equivalent to the Devil.[xiii] In place of the classical god is a wild man on the back of a unicorn. Although this wild man is not covered in think body hair, he has wild hair on top of his head and a large bushy beard. He is identified as a wild man by his riding of a unicorn where the wild man was believed to be the only creature strong enough to overpower it by force.[xiv] Unicorns were originally regarded as ferocious beasts who used their horn as a weapon.[xv] Tales and visual art from the fourteenth century tell of wild men who become tamed by love after abducting a woman.[xvi] Yet this print illustrates man’s sexuality was thought to reduce them to a brute beast. Fig 1. Albrecht Dürer, Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn, 1516, Etching, 30.8 x 21.3cm, The Institute, Chicago. During the Middle Ages, many people concluded that wild man and woman were degenerative humans. They became an irrational beast in the same way that the insane were believed to be a form of wild people. Medieval romances frequently described people who suffered a crisis and lost their mind and ran into the forest living as semi-human wild people.[xvii] In Hartmann von Aue’s (c. 1160/70- c. 1210/20) Iwein, the protagonist who has broken a promise to his wife and is rejected, roams around in the forest until he is discovered by a lady who saves him from his insanity.[xviii] The wilderness in part created the state for wildness as it was away from civilisation and rationality.[xix] Like many monsters during the period, the wild man and woman were defined by their nudity. In this way, they were symbolically outside civilisation – both physically and behaviourally.[xx] Even those who have become temporary wild men through madness and fled into the forest shed their clothes and only returned to civilisation by again putting their garments back on. While in the forest they begin to grow hair all over their body to signify their move away from the human realm and into the animal one.[xxi] The wild man and woman encapsulated the fears of Europeans and what happens to one if they abandon civilisation.[xxii] The theme of civilising the wild man was popular during the Middle Ages. It was knowledge and acceptance of the one true faith that inevitably brought the wild man back to civilisation.[xxiii] In a thirteenth-century Bavarian epic poem, republished in the sixteenth-century German collection of stories, Das Heldenbuch mit synen figuren (‘The Book of Heroes’), recounts a wild woman called Raue Else (‘Rough Else’). The woman who was hairy all over and walked on all fours approached the knight, Wolfdietrich, who questioned if she was an animal. [xxiv] The wild woman demanded the love of the knight and upon his refusal turned him into a crazed wild man who crawled on all fours for half a year until God commanded her to disenchant him. In return, Wolfdietrich offered to marry the wild woman so long as she was baptised. She took him back to her kingdom at Troy and after bathing in the fountain of youth she was transformed into her former self, the beautiful princess, Sigeminne (‘Love’s victory’).[xxv] Wild Man as Noble Savage Although the wild man and woman were frequently represented in literature during the Middle Ages, they were rarely depicted in visual art until the fifteenth century.[xxvi] Therefore, their most ferocious reputation left little mark in visual culture. Instead, the wild man and woman were frequently represented in Renaissance art as the image of purity, with their family representing the virtues of parenthood and a companion or as a saint. Lynn Frier Kaufmann argues that the idea of chivalry and courtly love during the Middle Ages influenced the way wild men and women were depicted during the Renaissance.[xxvii] Larry Silver on the other hand interpreted their new role as cultural emblems brought by the rise in Germanic nationalism, which inspired the new translation of Tacitus’s Germania, describing wild people who only wore a cape of animal’s hide, as the first proud inhabitants of the Germanic lands (for example, fig. 2) .[xxviii] In this way, Tacitus’s Germania transformed the wild man into the romanticised version of the noble savage during the German Renaissance.[xxix] They lived a simple and virtuous life. They needed no written laws because they had good morals and rejected the habits of outsiders.[xxx] The nobility and urban elite began to romanticise the wild man for their strength and freedom from the rules of society.[xxxi] Conrad Celtis described a counterpart to early Germans in the Lapps. He described them as speechless but also that they had not been corrupted with luxury, fame, or wine. ‘Here no jurist twists the law, no doctor accumulates his blood money, and no tonsured man plagues the people’.[xxxii] Fig. 2. Nicolaes van Geelkerken after Clüver in Philipp Clüver, Germaniae antiquae libri tres, Leiden: Louis Elzevir, 1616, Engraving, London, The Wellcome Library. Source: archive.org On a playing card by Master ES printed in c. 1461, a wild woman is depicted with a unicorn (fig. 3). While wild men overpower the unicorn with their bold ferocity, it was the wild woman’s sexual purity that allowed her to get close to the unicorn. A tale of the unicorn captured only by pure virgin maidens arose during the Middle Ages. This led to the unicorn being represented as a sign of purity and thus underscores the image of the wild woman as epitome of the noble savage.[xxxiii] A sense of innocence accompanies their ignorance of the civilized world. Playing cards usually consisted of four suits with illustrations of plants, animals, and heraldic symbols. The wild woman with the unicorn is one of four cards surviving in the animal suit by Master ES.[xxxiv] Richard Bernheimer suggests that the images on the cards represent a hierarchy.[xxxv] Therefore, it places the wild man and woman in the realm of animals.[xxxvi] This is plausible since this wild woman represents the Queen of the Animals. However, her clasping grip of the unicorn who is dwarfed by the wild woman shows her dominate position in nature. Fig. 3. Master ES, Wild Woman and Unicorn (Queen of Animals from the Small Playing) c. 1461, Engraving on Playing Card, 10.5 x 7.3cm (Sheet); 9.8 x 6.cm (Plate), New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. The wild man also featured in more than 200 coat-of-arms across Europe, most of which were in German lands.[xxxvii] They were particularly popular during the second-half of the fifteenth century.[xxxviii] Interestingly, the wild man was illustrated beside coats-of-arms of popes and kings as their protector or guardian of the coat-of-arms despite the wild man’s history as a heretical being.[xxxix] Roundel prints of coat-of-arms were likely used as templates for goldsmiths or glassmakers who would fill in the family crest.[xl] It has also been suggested that these roundels were used by the middle class to emulate the coat-of-arms of the nobility. The templates were used as a substitute for commissioned coat-of-arms.[xli] In Wild Woman and Heraldic Shield, c. 1490 (fig. 4), a wild woman suckling her baby is reminiscent of the Madonna and child. This image reveals the redemption of women through childbirth for their responsibility for Original Sin (Genesis 3.16). She also serves as an emblem for fertility for the family whose shield she holds to ensure the family line. Fig. 4. Martin Schongauer, Wild Woman and Heraldic Shield, Colmar, c. 1490, Engraving, 7.7 diam. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Return to the Garden of Eden The image of the noble savage in turn influenced the idyllic images of the wild family. Master bxg’s Wild Folk Family (c. 1475) parallel Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve who were portrayed in animal skins after ‘The Fall’ are akin to the hairiness of the wild family.[xlii] In Master bxg’s print stands the tree of knowledge, overlooked by an owl in the background, symbolising potential danger as owls served as a symbol for evil.[xliii] A rabbit bounds towards a forest in the top left. Rabbits were used as a symbol for fertility and has been depicted in images of Adam and Eve during ‘The Fall’ and thus can symbolise carnal knowledge. The wild woman’s long hair symbolises her fertility and thus her unbridled sexuality and parallels with the depiction of Eve in the Garden of Eden with long, loose flowing hair.[xliv] Although the representation of the wild family references Original Sin, they are still in a state of nature and innocence and their ignorance of God therefore cannot constitute sin.[xlv] However, it also provides a mirror of the tensions between good and evil within German Renaissance society – between temptation and godliness.[xlvi] The wild family not only recall Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but also the image of the Holy Family who were often represented against the backdrop of the wilderness.[xlvii] In a comparative print in Hans Leonhart Schäufelein’s, Wild Man and Wild Woman originally printed in c.1520 (fig.5), the wild family are still hairy and naked, although they wear fig leaves to help preserve their modesty. The fig leaves allude to after ‘The Fall’ in the Garden of Eden once they have eaten from the tree of knowledge and realise their nakedness and feel shame. In this way, the sins of the past are not completely forgotten. However, the image lies in opposite to the unbridled sexuality of the earlier idea of the wild man and woman. One son attempts to place a leash around a domesticated dog, which further symbolises a new domesticity to the wild family.[xlviii] Despite its clear reference to Original Sin, it illustrates an idyllic family scene, away from the corrupting influences of ‘civilised life’.[xlix] Fig. 5. After Hans Schäufelein, Klag der wilden Holtzleüt, uber die ugetrewen Welt, verse by Hans Sachs, printed by Hans Guldenmundt, Augsburg, 1560 Coloured woodcut, 20.2 x 24.2cm (sheet), 20.2 x 15.2 cm (borderline) The British Museum, London. This image was later copied with an addition of a poem written by Hans Sachs in 1530. In the poem the wild folk lament against the corruption and evils of society such as the lust for wealth, flesh, and violence. The wild folk in Sachs’ verse have chosen to discard worldly pleasures to live the simple and pure life in nature. The verse ends with the wild folk declaring that they will be happy to return to civilisation once the world ‘see the light’.[l] This verse parallels the wild man with ascetic monks whose wildness is a temporary state and who seek redemption away from civilisation. Wild Man as Saints The tales of saints who found redemption in the wilderness by discarding worldly pleasures, growing hair on their body and then returning to civilization and shedding their hair once more became co-opted with the image of wild men and women during the Renaissance. Many stories of anchorites parallel with others, to the point that they can become indistinguishable.[li] Onuphrius is one of the better-known ascetic saints who lived during the fourth century. Paying penance, he lived in a cave for sixty years, as wild men and women were thought to do. His clothes wore away and he grew a thick coat of hair to protect his body against the elements (fig. 6).[lii] Saint John Chrysostom similarly went into the wilderness to pay penance and vowed to crawl on all fours until he found favour with God.[liii] Ascetic saints were similarly depicted with bare knees as wild men and women were also believed to crawl on all fours like an animal, wearing away the hair. In Leben der Heiligen (1499), where Saint John Chrysostom is depicted as covered in thick hair and crawling on all fours in the forest is described as an ‘abominable animal,’ despite being depicted with a halo around his head.[liv] Ascetic saints were therefore reduced to a beast just as the wild men and women had traditionally been as they are seen as degenerating into an animal who grow hair on their body and ate raw food.[lv] In this way, the figure of the hairy monstrosity was able to find redemption, at least in part, cast as the model of repentance. Fig. 6. Anonymous, Saint Onuphrius, c. 1480-1500, woodcut, 14.6 x 11.4cm, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the German Renaissance, Saint Mary Magdalene, who was regarded for her beauty,[lvi] was frequently represented covered in hair like a wild woman. Her hairy image found wide devotion through the southern Germanic region.[lvii] In a tale originating in the tenth century, Mary was set adrift by non-believers and by divine guidance found her way to the south of France where she preached and converted the locals. She lived in a cave in Saint-Baume, Provence, paying penance for her former sinful life.[lviii] The name Magdalene means manens rea or ‘remaining in guilt’.[lix] She grew hair all over her body in the same way as a wild woman. In her cave she remained silent and when a hermit approached her, she had trouble speaking after being secluded for so long, not unlike the wild man and woman.[lx] Every hour, angels would ascent her to the heavens where she would gain nourishment as she was so remote that there was no food or water.[lxi] Mary’s ascension into the heavens as a hairy wild woman was a theme in German Renaissance prints and is illustrated in a print by Hans Baldung Grien (c.1484-1545) in c.1512 (fig. 7 ).[lxii] Her ascent represents her body’s transcendence from both worldly pleasures and the wilderness. Fig. 7. Hans Baldung Grien, St Mary Magdalen, c.1512, Woodcut, Sheet: 13 × 8.7 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The image and identity of Mary Magdalene during the Renaissance is believed to be conflated with the story of Saint Mary of Egypt who lived in the fifth century. Mary has long been thought to be a prostitute. She travelled to Jerusalem where she became aware of her sins when she could not enter a Church as she was held back by a spiritual ‘force’. She saw the image of the Virgin Mary staring back at her and realised why she could not enter. Mary of Egypt, the antithesis to the Virgin prayed to her for forgiveness and renounced her life of sin.[lxiii] Mary went to live alone in the desert to repent for forty-seven years.[lxiv] The desert was a place to be tested against sins, for punishment, but also for contemplation and redemption.[lxv] Both Mary of Egypt and Mary Magdalene have both similarly been depicted covered by hair that represents their place outside of civilization and discarding worldly possessions. It was also used to provide modesty to discern from their previous occupation of the flesh.[lxvi] As seen in the print by Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Ecstasy of St. Mary of Egypt (1506) (fig. 8) who was thought to levitate in prayer,[lxvii] is similar to the composition of prints of Mary Magdalene being accented by angels. The naked saints signified the return to nature before ‘The Fall’ in the Garden of Eden.[lxviii] Despite this earlier legend, Mary Magdalene was not depicted in art as covered in hair until the mid-fifteenth century but was rather naked with her long hair covering her modesty. The image of the hairy Mary Magdalene was therefore believed to originate in fifteenth-century Germany.[lxix] The detail of the hairy Mary Magdalene was also not included in the popular thirteenth century The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine (c.1230-1298) that combined the tales of Magdalene. Her nudity was implied as the hermit who visited her passed her a garment to wear.[lxx] The hair covering Mary of Egypt was also a later addition to the story and also does not appear in The Golden Legend.[lxxi] She similarly does not seem to appear in art until the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries.[lxxii] The same can be said of other saints who turn into a wild man, at least temporarily such as Saint John Chrysostom.[lxxiii] This suggests ascetic saints who grew hair over their body was a contemporary idea that arose at the same time that the wild man and woman were popular in Renaissance prints. However, as Bartra notes, the idea of the hairy ascetic saint derived from Ancient Egypt when long haired hermits sought solitude in the desert.[lxxiv] Fig. 8. Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Ecstasy of St. Mary of Egypt, 1506 Woodcut, 24.4 × 14.2 cm, The Met, New York, Wild Man in Reformation Propaganda The image of the wild man was also co-opted into the Protestant Reformation in Germany and has been used by both Protestants and Catholics in contradictory ways. The engraving of The Pope as a Wild Man was created by Melchior Lorck (c.1526/7-1583) in 1545. This wild man with characteristic thick body hair with bare knees is a hybrid with long rat-like tail. Perched on top of his head is the three-tiered crown of the pope, but the last tier is a tower of excrement. Beneath his crown are ass ears, which represent folly and dishonesty. The ass’s ears allude to the myth of Apollo who made Midas grow the ears of a donkey to tag him for his dishonesty.[lxxv] On his back appears to be a bat with stretched out wings, which is a symbol for the Devil.[lxxvi] The wild man carries his characteristic wooden club, but this one has three cross branches at the end to represent the papal cross. He holds onto the papal key that is shattered at the end, which is a sign that the temporal powers of the papacy have been broken.[lxxvii] From his mouth pours a stream of toads and reptiles. This appears to reference the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet who release four foul spirits. A version of this image was discovered cast on a canon of Protestant troops captured during the Schmalkaldic War.[lxxviii] Melchior Lorck, The Pope as Wild Man, c. 1545, Etching, 22.9 × 19.4 cm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett Conclusion In Renaissance Germany, complexity existed in people’s relationship with the wilderness. It both conjured up images of the Garden of Eden before ‘The Fall’ as well as the dangers that may lurk beyond. The wild man and woman were just as complex and represented sinfulness, but also redemption and innocence. As Merry Wiesner-Hanks concludes ‘beast, saint, or hero? the wild man was all three’.[lxxix] A closer look at images of the wild man reveals their complexity. There was not a simple evolution between a demonised creature associated with cannibalism and rape to the holy saint. In the age of the apocalypse, the wild man and woman provide a reminder of Original Sin and the need for repentance at a time of social reform. In this way, the hairy woodland creature is not entirely absolved. Further Reading: Abulafia, David, The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008 Bartra, Roger, Wild Men in the Looking Glass: The Mythic Origins of European Otherness, trans. Carl T. Berrisford, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1994. Bernheimer, Richard, Wild Men in the Middle Ages: A Study in Art, Sentiment, and Demonology, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952. Colin, Susi, ‘The Wild Man and the Indian in Early 16th Century Book Illustration,’ in Christian F. Feest (eds.), Indians and Europe: An Interdisciplinary Collection, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999, pp. 5-37. Husband, Timothy, The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism, exh. cat., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. Kaufmann, Lynn Frier, The Nobel Savage: Satyrs and Satyr Families in Renaissance Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1984. Moseley-Christian, Michelle, ‘From Page to Print: The Transformation of the “Wild Woman” in Early Modern Northern Engravings’, Word & Image: A Journal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry, vol. 27, no. 4, 2012, pp.429-442. Schama, Simon, Landscape and Memory, London: HarperCollins, 1995. Wiesner-Hanks, Merry, The Marvelous Hairy Girls: The Gonzales Sisters and their Worlds, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. [ii] Simon Schama, Landscape and Memory, London: HarperCollins, 1995, p. 97; Timothy Husband, The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism, exh. cat., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980, p. 12. [i] Bartra, Roger, Wild Men in the Looking Glass: The Mythic Origins of European Otherness, trans. Carl T. Berrisford, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1994, p. 79. [iii] Schama, 1995, pp. 95-6. [iv] Bartra, 1994, p. 9. [v] Richard Bernheimer, Wild Men in the Middle Ages: A Study in Art, Sentiment, and Demonology, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952, p. 11. [vi] Joyce E. Salisbury, The Beast Within: Animals in the Middle Ages, New York: Routledge, 1994, p. 151; David Abulafia, The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008, pp.16-7. [vii] Susi Colin, ‘The Wild Man and the Indian in Early 16th Century Book Illustration,’ in Christian F. Feest (eds.), Indians and Europe: An Interdisciplinary Collection, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999, p.8. [viii] Abulafia, 2008, pp.16-7. [ix] Colin, 1999, p.6 [x] Bernheimer, 1952, pp.165, 59. [xi] Colin, 1999, p.8. [xii] Husband, 1980, p. 11. [xiii] Walter L. Strauss (ed.), The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Dürer, Courier Dover, 2013, p. 178. [xiv] Bernheimer, 1952, p. 135. [xv] Anne Clark, Beasts and Bawdy, London: Dent, 1975, p. 46 [xvi] Lynn Frier Kaufmann, The Nobel Savage: Satyrs and Satyr Families in Renaissance Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1984, p. 34. [xvii] Salisbury, 1994, p. 152. [xviii] Classen, Albrecht (ed.), Meeting the Foreign in the Middle Ages, New York: Routledge, 2002, p. xx. [xix] Colin, 1999, p. 9. [xx] Danielle Régnier-Bohler, ‘Imagining the Self’, in Georges Duby (ed.), A History of Private Life: vol. II Revelations of the Medieval World, trans. Arthur Goldhammer, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988, p. 368. [xxi] Régnier-Bohler, 1988, p. 369. [xxii] Colin, 1999, p. 9. [xxiii] Colin, 1999, p.6. [xxiv] Husband, 1980, p. 62; Merry Wiesner-Hanks, The Marvelous Hairy Girls: The Gonzales Sisters and their Worlds, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009, p. 42. [xxv] Husband, 1980, p. 64; Bartra, 1994, p. 101; Bernheimer, 1970, p. 37. [xxvi] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 139. [xxvii] Kaufmann, 1984, pp.32-4. [xxviii] Michelle Moseley-Christian, ‘From Page to Print: The Transformation of the “Wild Woman” in Early Modern Northern Engravings’, Word & Image: A Journal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry, vol. 27, no. 4, 2012, p. 431; Tacitus, Cornelius, Agricola and Germany, trans. Anthony Birley, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 46. [xxix] Schama, 1995, p. 96. [xxx] Caspar Hirschi, The Origins of Nationalism: An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 169. [xxxi] Colin, 1999, p. 23-4. [xxxii] Lewis W. Spitz, Conrad Celtis: The German Arch-Humanist, Cambridge: Harvard Universtiy Press, 1957, p. 100-101. [xxxiii] Anne Clark, 1975, p. 46. [xxxiv] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 168. [xxxv] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 167. [xxxvi] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 168. [xxxvii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 35. [xxxviii] Bernheimer, 1952, p. 180. [xxxix] Husband, 1980, p. 4. [xl] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 44. [xli] Husband, 1980, p. 187. [xlii] Moseley-Christian, 2012, p. 438. [xliii] George Ferguson, Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959, p. 22. [xliv] Christa Grössinger, Picturing Women in Late Medieval and Renaissance Art, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997, p. 82. [xlv] Husband, 1980, p. 15. [xlvi] Husband, 1980, p. 17. [xlvii] Kaufmann, 1984, pp. 36-7. [xlviii] Schama, 1995, pp. 97-8. [xlix] Colin, 1999, pp. 23-4. [l] Husband, 1980, p. 133. The full translation is found in Appendix B of Husband, 1980, pp. 202-4. [li] Husband, 1980, p. 97. [lii] Husband, 1980, p. 95. [liii] Husband, 1980, p. 102. [liv] Husband, 1980, p. 105. [lv] Bartra, 1994, pp. 83-4. [lvi] Roberta Milliken, Ambiguous Locks: An Iconology of Hair in Medieval Art and Literature, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2012, p. 189. [lvii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 41. [lviii] Joana Antunes, ‘The Late-Medieval Mary Magdalene: Sacredness, Otherness, and Wildness’, in Peter Loewen and Robin Waugh (eds.), Mary Magdalene in Medieval Culture: Conflicted Roles, New York: Routledge, 2014, p. 117; Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 38; Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lix] Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lx] Antunes, 2014, p. 118. [lxi] Milliken, 2012, p. 189. [lxii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 38; Husband, 1980, p. 100; Milliken, 2012, p. 189. [lxiii] Michelle Erhardt and Amy Morris, ‘Introduction’ in Michelle Erhardt and Amy Morris (eds.), Mary Magdalene: Iconographic Studies from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, Leiden: Brill, 2012, p. 9; Else E. Friesen, ‘Saints as Helpers in Dying: The Hairy Holy Women Mary Magdalene, Mary of Egypt, and Wilgefortist in the Iconography of the Late Middle Ages,’ in E.E. DuBruck and B.I. Gusick, Death and Dying in the Middle Ages, New York: Peter Lang, 1999, pp. 240, 242; Milliken, 2012, p. 204. [lxiv] Erhardt and Morris, 2012, p. 9; Friesen, 1999, pp. 240, 242. [lxv] Bartra, 1994, pp.47-8. [lxvi] Erhardt and Morris, 2012, p. 9; Friesen, 1999, pp. 240, 242. [lxvii] Milliken, 2012, p. 206. [lxviii] Friesen, 1999, p. 242 [lxix] Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lxx] Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints (c.1260), ed. Eamon Duffy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, p. 381. [lxxi] Virginia Burrus, The Sex Lives of Saints: An Erotics of Ancient Hagiography, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011, p. 149. [lxxii] Voragine, 2012, p. 228; Milliken, 2012, p. 205. [lxxiii] Husband, 1980, p. 102. [lxxiv] Bartra, 1994, pp. 74-5. [lxxv] Hélène A. Guerber, The Myths of Greece and Rome, New York: Cosimo, Inc., 2007, p. 57. [lxxvi] Russell, 1986, p. 232. [lxxvii] Robert W. Scribner, For the Sake of Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 135, 80 [lxxviii] Scribner, 1981, pp. 163, 164. [lxxix] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 35. Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Related Wild Men and Heraldry February 20, 2022 In "wild folk" Representations of Monsters in German Renaissance Prints September 5, 2021 In "cynocephali" Monstrous Women: Hair, Gender, and Sexuality in Early Modern German Prints June 6, 2021 In "Human-Animal Relations"

[warning ESL- English as a second language] I’m sorry I have no one to share this with but I’ve been talking to a guy that I met at the dog park 6 months ago at first we were talking as friends then we became really close in a short period of time he texts me ALL the time, calls me at least 5-7 times a day for no reason like he asks me to stay on the phone with him while he’s driving, working, cleaning, etc., he then told me that I “appealed to his senses” I was like wym and he refused to explain. He started flirting with me and so I asked him if he was single and he was very vague about it and so I just assumed that he was which is my fault. I really liked him so I started flirting back and he continued to be the biggest part of my day for the past 3 months like not only were we flirting with each other he was my best friend! Today he was on the phone with me, you know like he always is and he was like oh $hit I forgot to go to the store I went what do you need from the store he goes oh just some groceries for the homies I was like what homies lol are you married or something (in a sarcastic manner) and he goes umm yes. I laughed because I was sure he was joking but no he fu*ing wasn’t! I was like are you serious I was so angry he goes yea I know I’m a piece of shi I’m sorry. I hung up and now he’s calling and texting and freaking out but Idk what to do I’m so heartbroken this is so sad he was my best friend and I felt so attached to him like this is so sad I’m crying and don’t know how to move forward from this point on. I’m gonna miss the calls and the texts and just the feeling that somebody cares about me and my day. I’m so introverted and don’t have friends that I can trust (well I had one) thus sharing this here. Thanks for listening

Hi everyone,
I am looking for my option for the above mentioned topic. If anyone can point me to a right kind of lawyer to discuss this issue around Chicago area then it'd be really helpful, if at all this needs a legal representation, Below is the detailed story:
I have been visiting a chiropractor (well known large Midwest (IL) franchise, ChiroOne) since February and doing well. However, I had some issues with payment and their billing practices. I will detail them here and try to explain, however, my biggest concern is the issue #3.
Issue 1: At first they charged me $1000 for 24 visits and during the initial checkup, the doctor told me that she'd take lumbar x-rays for free as I was going to get services for cervical issues. Few weeks later I received EOB from my insurance, I realized that I am only responsible for $15 copay each visit which comes to $360 for 24 visits plan and I am due a refund of $640. After couple of calls I was able to get them issue a refund, however, they said I am responsible for those two extra x-rays that costs me $75.
Issue 2: Based on the above, I explained them the scenario and they said they will follow up with the doctor to confirm my story. I talked to my doctor as well and she re-affirmed that those should be free and should be refunded and she assured me she'll talk to them when she gets a call from Admin office. It's been 4 weeks since then and I didn't hear anything solid from them, they don't even pick up the call so I am still looking for that $75 refund.
Issue 3: In between of these things, my doctor gave me a orthotic device (back brace), which was shown as $975 (which btw, costs $180 online - exact same thing) and I didn't even need but my doctor insisted on it and said it will help me. At first I refused to take it but doctor said I won't be responsible for that amount as she checked my insurance and it will cover the full cost. Today I received an EOB from my insurance and it says I am responsible for $600 for that brace. I called my insurance and they said no one called us to make sure if this is covered or not.
So, basically, now I am left with a bill of those $75 x-rays and this new unnecessary thing which I hardly used worth of $600.
My question is, what can I do / what are my options to dispute this whole situation. I was told and was assured that both of those things wouldn't cost me anything. Since this was a private conversation within the walls of doctor's office and it was all verbal. My insurance company is saying it was billed and processed correctly but I wouldn't have taken those services if I had known it would cost me. Is there anything at all I can do here? I feel like I got scammed and left with a bill of $675 without knowing. Any and every help is appreciated.
Thank you!

Sorry if I make any mistake, using an old phone. I dislike my grandma, uncle, and aunt. They have never been there for me. There has been multiple times where they were in the wrong but two times they over stepped. This was this yealast year. I had asked for nana to come up for my B-day and asked my uncle to drive her LESS THEN half way WITH US PAYING FOR THE HOTEL AND GAS/FOOD. They refused. The excuses were, "My knees are bothering me." Week later and you said you were working in your yard. "I don't want to spend my time off in a car!" We spend money and time to see you when we have school/work. So I got to spend that birthday with my friends family. Not mine. This year, nana asked when my birthday was, and Ofc my mom gave it to her. A little time later, mom was on a call with nana, "Yeah! Also aunt has a doctor appointment, on the day after of your daughters bday!" That was not a coincidence, we believe that they did that so they really could have an exuse for not coming up here, which shocker I didn't even care about it. I refused to believe it was an accident. For now i haven't talked to them at all but I am starting to hate the holidays and my own bday because of them. Don't get me wrong, my mom is amazing but it suck to see all the other happy families when your doesn't care about you. But at the same time I want to let go of it. Maybe I'm overreacting because they are my family? I honestly don't know. one last note, me and my mom don't like them but I say it's harder for her because well they raised her. I just need some advice.