Read on Twitter
When I took my medical leave for my eating disorder, my dietitian described me as "knocking on death's door" when I arrived for treatment.
10K+ of debt later, I'm grateful to have had my life saved, but deeply depressed at the financial wreckage that was left behind.
10K+ of debt later, I'm grateful to have had my life saved, but deeply depressed at the financial wreckage that was left behind.
I tried to apply for state benefits, but couldn't access them because I didn't have a state ID and couldn't go to the DMV to get one during a pandemic.
I tried to access the disability benefits I have through my job, but they continue to deny that I'm owed anything because the state "should have covered it."
"They" being the disability insurance provider, though I can't say my job has been much help in this process either.
When I wasn't working for three months, my partner was paying for treatment with the money they set aside for taxes (they were working contract at the time).
The problem is, that money is gone now, and we owe on our taxes.
The problem is, that money is gone now, and we owe on our taxes.
And what was I supposed to do, really? Let my anorexia kill me? I had to go to treatment but now I'm drowning in debt.
I can't even get a payment plan for my taxes because I was already on one when I was hospitalized and took leave a few years ago, and apparently the IRS doesn't allow you to get a second payment plan, even when there's a pandemic.
This system is so, so broken. And I'm supposed to be one of the "lucky" ones with a stable job and benefits, but that job has done little more than apologize and tell me to keep making phone calls.
It's heartbreaking. I don't know what I could have done differently. But it's hard to effectively be punished for having a deadly illness and not letting it kill me.
That's a very, very tough pill to swallow.
That's a very, very tough pill to swallow.
I've had to stop going to therapy and stop seeing a dietitian to save money with the hopes that I can dig my way out of this.
This is how people relapse despite accessing treatment before. It's not "treatment" if it leaves us vulnerable to the stressors that exacerbate illness.
This is how people relapse despite accessing treatment before. It's not "treatment" if it leaves us vulnerable to the stressors that exacerbate illness.
I've not said anything about this publicly because I really thought I'd figure out a way to fix all this. But I haven't.
And people need to know exactly how broken our for-profit health care system really is. You can do all the right things and it still wants you dead.
And people need to know exactly how broken our for-profit health care system really is. You can do all the right things and it still wants you dead.
Ahhhh folks are asking about my Venmo. 
It's SD-Finch.
It just feels surreal that this is the world we live in, you know? That we have to crowdfund to keep each other alive. It's just heartbreaking. And it's the *norm,* which makes me nauseous.
It's SD-Finch. It just feels surreal that this is the world we live in, you know? That we have to crowdfund to keep each other alive. It's just heartbreaking. And it's the *norm,* which makes me nauseous.
