The Best News of Last Week - September 11, 2023

Sorry for not sending last week's issue as I got covid again :/ I passed it, so here's the best things that happened last week :)

1. The IRS plans to crack down on 1,600 millionaires to collect millions of dollars in back taxes

The IRS announced on Friday it is launching an effort to aggressively pursue 1,600 millionaires and 75 large business partnerships that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in past due taxes. The newly announced tax collection effort will begin as soon as October. “We have more hiring to do,” Werfel said. “It’s going to be a very busy fall for us.”

2. The NGO African Parks announced it would purchase the world’s largest population of privately owned white rhinos

Africa’s beleaguered rhinos have been thrown a significant lifeline with the announcement that nearly 2,000 semi-wild rhinos owned by South African rhino breeder John Hume will be “rewilded” into reserves across South Africa and other parts of the continent over the next 10 years.

3. Mexico supreme court decriminalizes abortion across country

Mexico’s supreme court has unanimously ruled that state laws prohibiting abortion are unconstitutional and violate women’s rights, in the latest in a series of victories for reproductive rights activists across Latin America.

Wednesday’s ruling came two years after the court ordered the northern state of Coahuila to remove sanctions for abortion from its criminal code, a decision which prompted a tortuous state-by-state process of legal battles. So far 12 of Mexico’s 31 states have decriminalized the procedure.

4. The first human organ created inside an animal opens the door to manufacturing ‘spare parts’ for people

It is a historic image. A team of researchers in China has successfully generated a blueprint of a human organ in another animal for the first time. The experiment, conducted with humanized kidneys in pig embryos, represents a step toward the still-distant dream of using other mammals as source of organs for transplants.

5. Study Shows a Single Dose of Psilocybin's Astonishing Impact on Depression and Could Change Medical Treatments of Mental Health Forever

Psychedelics are making a comeback, and this time, they're dressed in the respectable garb of clinical research. Recent studies have reignited interest in these substances, particularly psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, as a potent treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD).

6. Missing cat reunited with owner after it disappeared during Alaska flooding

Twenty-six days after he went missing, an adorable black and white cat named Leo has been reunited with his family. Brave Leo went missing after historic glacial flooding swept away his home and all his owner's belongings.

7. Dogs perform Mozart with orchestra in Denmark

A classical music festival in Copenhagen, Denmark, has opened with some canine additions to the orchestra.

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That's it for this week :)

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"For the first time, genetically modified pig kidneys provided “life-sustaining kidney function” during the course of a planned seven-day clinical study—a first step in addressing the critical crisis worldwide of kidney donor organ shortage.

The University of Alabama’s pre-clinical human study at Birmingham also advances the science and promise of xenotransplantation as a therapy to potentially cure end-stage kidney disease—just as a human-to-human transplants can.

“It has been truly extraordinary to see the first-ever preclinical demonstration that appropriately modified pig kidneys can provide normal, life-sustaining kidney function in a human safely and be achieved using a standard immunosuppression regimen,” said UAB transplant surgeon scientist Jayme Locke, M.D., director of UAB’s Comprehensive Transplant Institute and lead author of the paper...

The peer-reviewed findings published last month in JAMA Surgery describes the pioneering pre-clinical human research performed on a recipient experiencing brain death...

The pre-clinical human brain death model developed at UAB can evaluate the safety and feasibility of pig-to-human kidney xenografts, or transplants, without risk to a living human. It is named for transplant pioneer Jim Parsons, an organ donor whose family generously donated his body to advance xenotransplant kidney research, like the latest patient did.

A Critical Need

Kidney disease kills more people each year than breast or prostate cancer, while more than 90,000 people are on the transplant waiting list. More than 800,000 Americans are living with kidney failure and 240 Americans on dialysis die every day. The wait for a deceased donor kidney can be as long as five to 10 years, and almost 5,000 people per year die waiting for a kidney transplant.

Groundbreaking Study Details

The 52-year-old study subject for this research lived with hypertension and stage 2 chronic kidney disease, which affects more than one in seven U.S. adults, or an estimated 37 million Americans. As part of this study, the subject had both of his native kidneys removed and dialysis stopped, followed by a crossmatch-compatible xenotransplant with two 10 gene-edited pig kidneys, or UKidney.

The transplanted pig kidneys made urine within four minutes of re-perfusion and produced more than 37 liters of urine in the first 24 hours. The pig kidneys continued to function as they would in a living human for the entirety of the seven-day study. Also, the kidneys were still viable at the time the study was concluded.

“In the first 24 hours these kidneys made over 37 liters of urine,” said Dr. Locke. “It was really a remarkable thing to see.” ...

Gene editing in pigs to reduce immune rejection has made organ transplants from pigs to humans possible. The natural lifespan of a pig is 30 years, they are easily bred, and they have organs of similar size to humans. Genetically modified pig kidneys have been extensively tested in non-human primates, and the addition of UAB’s preclinical human research model—the Parsons Model—now provides important information about the safety and efficacy of kidneys in human transplant recipients."

-via Good News Network, September 17, 2023

I don't like conservative "news" media like fox and this site but no one else is talking about how surrogacy gives pedos access to kids.

The fertility industry is handing designer babies over to men with zero vetting or scrutiny of their mental fitness or criminal history.

By KATY FAUST

Surrogacy is risky for children. Not just the risk of a primal wound via intentional birth mother separation. Not just the risk of identity struggles if their genetic mother is purchased from a catalog. Not just the risk of mother-hunger if they are raised in a home absent maternal love. 

Surrogacy puts children at risk for the worst kinds of abuse. 

That became glaringly obvious last month when YouTubers Shane Dawson and partner Ryan Adams announced the birth of twin boys. Dawson’s long history of sexualizing children is well-known and well-documented. Evie magazine detailed concerning incidents including Dawson pretending to masturbate while watching 11-year-old Willow Smith’s music video, referring to a 6-year-old fan as “kind of sexy,” justifying pedophilia as a mere “fetish,” typing “naked baby” in a child pornography search and remarking that the returns were “sexy,” and proclaiming, “I would rape all of you” when viewing a series of photos featuring young girls wearing his merchandise.

In one show, he instructed a 12-year-old to eat a “cocktail weenie” with the recognition that child molesters comprise a significant portion of his audience. Dawson and Adam have another 10 embryos in frozen storage should they decide they want a few more children around the house.

We hope no harm comes to the boys to whom Dawson and Adams have been granted (via surrogacy contract) parental rights. But other surrogate-born children were not so fortunate.

Contrary to what you may think, surrogacy isn’t just about helping infertile couples have babies. When we look at how surrogacy is actually practiced and promoted, we see surrogacy isn’t about babies, it’s about on-demand, designer babies shipped worldwide. And sometimes, those babies are shipped directly to child abusers.

We don’t know the raw numbers because, unlike organ donation, the medical wing of #BigFertility requires no tracking or follow-up of those who avail themselves of their services. (Apparently, there’s more concern about the survival of a kidney than a child.) And unlike adoption, which heavily vets and screens prospective parents and monitors the child post-placement, surrogate-born children are not known to social workers and often disappear across international borders.

Even when safeguards are in place, predators often go to great lengths to acquire children to abuse. In 2022, the country was horrified by the story of a suburban pedophile ring set up by two married men who raped and pimped out their adopted sons. 

That children created by a fertility industry with no mechanism (and no desire) to scrutinize intended parents for things like mental fitness, criminal records, or predatory history end up in the homes of dangerous adults should surprise no one.

Absent any kind of record-keeping or follow-up on these children, those of us who reject surrogacy on the grounds that it violates the rights of children, must piece together the risks when stories of child victimization emerge. 

These 5 Pedophiles Mail-Ordered Babies

Psychiatrist Jo Erik Brøyn held a high position in Norwegian social services responsible for child protection and was involved in several high-profile cases of child removal. He also acquired two boys through an Indian surrogate. In 2018, police discovered 20 years’ worth of child pornography in his possession — more than 20,000 images and 4,000 hours of videos — depicting child sexual abuse including “boys masturbating each other, fixed/sexualized violence against children, anal sex by men with boys or oral sex of children (including toddlers) on grown men.” He was sentenced to less than two years in prison. Some sources report that the boys have been returned to his care.

An unnamed German pedophile hired a Russian surrogate for €60,000 who birthed the baby in Greece. He then flew the child back to Germany. In 2020, a regional court found him guilty of child abuse and producing and possessing child pornography. His child was a subject of 16 of those cases between the ages of 2 and 3, and the defendant was in possession of 175,000 images of child pornography. He was sentenced to five years in prison. The child was removed from his custody. 

In 2013, Mark Newton and Peter Truong were convicted of subjecting their surrogate-born son to “the worst [pedophile] rings … if not the worst ring I’ve ever heard of,” according to one investigator. After paying a Russian surrogate $8,000 to carry the child, the pair began to violate the boy as a newborn.

“The abuse began just days after his birth and over six years the couple traveled the world, offering him up for sex with at least eight men, recording the abuse and uploading the footage to an international syndicate known as the Boy Lovers Network.” Police believe the pair created the boy through surrogacy “for the sole purpose of exploitation.” The child was removed from their custody, and the men are serving decades-long sentences.

During the height of the Indian surrogacy boom, it was revealed that an Israeli sex offender had procured a little girl via surrogacy. Had #BigFertility had any kind of vetting in place or required fingerprinting or simply character references, it would likely have been discovered that the man had spent 18 months in jail for sexually abusing young children under his supervision. The discovery shocked authorities in both India and Israel, but because they couldn’t prove that abuse had yet taken place, there was no ground to remove the girl from his custody. It did however validate India’s decision to ban single men and gay couples, who composed 30-50 percent of intended parents, from the Indian surrogacy market.

In 2014, intended parents Wendy and David Farnell commissioned twin surrogate children in Thailand, then a global hotspot for surrogacy. The little girl, Pipah, was healthy, but the little boy, Gammy, had serious medical issues as well as Down Syndrome. A scandal erupted when the couple took the little girl back to Australia but abandoned Gammy to be raised by the Thai surrogate.

It was then discovered that David had been jailed in the late 1990s for sexually molesting two girls under the age of 10, and was charged, convicted, and sentenced again in 1998 on six counts of indecently dealing with a child under the age of 13. When his criminal record was revealed and investigated, a judge determined there was “a low risk of harm if Pipah stays in that home,” and she remained in the care of Wendy and David until his death in 2020. The “Baby Gammy” case was one of several scandals that prompted the Thai government to ban commercial surrogacy altogether. 

Many of the above cases are older, the results of contracts that were drawn up when surrogacy was less common. Since then, the surrogacy industry has grown exponentially with a projected 1,000 percent increase by 2032. In addition, there are entire organizations devoted to delivering custom-ordered babies to men, none of which will have to submit to background checks or fingerprinting. So expect more cases of surrogate-born child exploitation in the coming years. 

Whether or not the child ends up abused, whether it’s paid or altruistic, whether it’s traditional or gestational, and regardless of the intended parent’s household composition, surrogacy always violates the rights of the child. It is not a problem that can be solved through regulation. The only way to protect children is to ban surrogacy worldwide.

Hello, I'm from Gaza City because of the war,my house was destroyed. We lost everything,my family and I did not have anything left. We left our homes in search of a safe place and we were displaced three  times to different places to survive, but unfortunately there's no safe place in Gaza. My mother is very sick and she's a kidney failure patient in need of treatment outside. She suffers from LS. Help me and my family to survive. Please, your small donation can make a huge difference. A friend outside Gaza has come in to help me run the donation program so that my mother can be evacuated. My friend Mr. Fred Odhiambo is receiving the donations on our behalf to help us organise how to evaluate Gaza in the next four days

i’m posting this ask instead of just deleting it like i normally would with these kinds just so everyone else can see and be aware: this is almost certainty fake, and you should watch for similar frauds

how do i know? this account is about 13 hours old. there’s maybe 10-20 posts on it, all reblogged today—enough it looks like a real account at a glance, but so few that you can scroll to the bottom and see the age of the oldest post in less than a minute. this person also followed me immediately after sending me the ask

this is exactly what any scam account ever looks like. the people who send asks for help with their “sick pets” look exactly the same—relatively new accounts you can scroll to the bottom of on maybe five minutes max, pinned donation posts, following you immediately after begging you for money. the advice for those scam pet donation questions is always “there is no cat,” and i’m inclined to assume the same of this

the link in this asker’s pinned post links directly to some guy’s paypal, not a gofundme or similar, and this person claims to have raised hundreds of dollars and to be so close to their goal despite the post having, at the time i looked at it, only 18 notes. donation posts don’t work like that, no donation post gains donations that quickly

there are a lot of people who need help in gaza, with a lot of reputable campaigns and charities and aid groups. but when people need help and money, you’re always going to get scams. people like this are hoping you want to help—we all do, right now—and are also hoping you’ll be moved do so without checking too hard. trying to profit off of a genocide through low effort tumblr scams like this is fucking vile, but use this as a reminder to check your facts before you send your money anywhere. and, if someone sends you, as a random fandom blogger without much wide-reaching influence, an ask begging for money, remember: nine times out of ten, there is no cat

On October 6th we venerate Elevated Ancestor Fanny Lou Hamer on her 106th birthday 🎉

A sharecropper turned activist, we owe a great sum of our political power, self-determination, & civil rights to the powerhouse that was Miss Fanny Lou Hamer .

Fanny Lou Hamer was was born to sharecroppers east of the Mississippi Delta. Though having completed her elementary education, Miss Fanny was picking cotton hundreds of pounds of cotton per day in her family's cotton fields. Later as a young woman, her skills in knowing how to read and write earned her a more elevated position within the sharecropping system- as a timekeeper.

Two deliberately cruel and inhumane acts would set Miss Fanny on course to a lifetime of service as a prominent figure and voice of the First Civil Rights Movement.

Unfortunately, Miss Fanny would become a victim of medical apartheid as she, among countless nameless other Black Women, were sterilized without consent via hysterectomy during her hospital day for a routine procedure. This form of medical malpractice was so gruesomely common that, in the Delta, they called it the, "Mississippi appendectomy,” as 6/10 Black Women would be surely sterilized if admitted to the county hospital. Forcibly rendered uable to have any children of her own, Miss Fanny & her husband adopted two baby girls and, later, their eldest's children. From here on out, Miss Fanny spoke out against medical apartheid and for women's reproductive rights.

What molded her into becoming a civil rights leader was the plight of the Mississippi's suppression of voting rights. Miss Fanny attended voting rights meetings and joined 17 of her neighbors on a bus ride to submit applications to register to vote. Their bus was pulled over by police on the way back & the driver was arrested. In that moment, Miss Fanny sang spirituals, particular, “This Little Light of Mine” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain". This and her willingness to challenge the County voting registrar drew the notice of local organizers and the field secretary of the SNCC, Bob Moses.

Singing Negro spirituals became a defining characteristic of Miss Fanny's activism. For two years, she continued her field work for voter registration, desegregation in, and relief work via clothing and food donation/distribution.

Her 1963 arrest in Mississippi en route from a training seminar in S.C. - which was a result of act of protest in such she and other fellow activists sat at the bus station’s Whites-only lunch counter - resulted in her beating by White officers and Black inmates, the arrests of more of their peers, and the assassination of their field secretary. The beating caused permanent damage to her eyes, legs, & kidneys that would impact her capacity for service for the rest of her life. Yet it didn't break her stride toward challenging the dominant Mississippi politics as founding member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. While she did not win office, their audacity & courage drew the nation's eye as one of numerous pivotal steps taken toward achieving Civil Rights.

“ You can pray until you faint, but if you don't get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap. ” - Fanny Lou Hamer

Offering suggestions: libations of water, sing/play African-American spirituals, & flowers

‼️Note: offering suggestions are just that & strictly for veneration purposes only. Never attempt to conjure up any spirit or entity without proper divination/Mediumship counsel.‼️

Mica's Vet Fund

TL;DR: My cat, Mica, is in the hospital due to kidney failure and I need help paying the bill.

This is Mica, one of my older cats. He is 10 years old and today he wasn't feeling great. He threw up foamy bile, wasn't eating, and was very lethargic. This docile, soft cat wasn't feeling good, enough to meow in protest when we pet him and to growl at my other cats when they attempted to investigate.

We immediately rushed him to the vet, where they discovered that he had a urinary tract obstruction and would have to stay there so the obstruction could be cleared and the cause investigated. When we got his blood tests back, it was confirmed that he is suffering from renal failure and got very close to getting dangerous potassium levels in his blood. Urine tests also indicated possible infection.

Long story short, he has to stay 3 days at the hospital, where they will medicate him and do tests to figure out what caused this whole thing.

The budget they gave us was 400€. That is already a little steep, but we have had financial issues lately, with multiple things piling up, which put us in a tough financial situation.

If you can help, I would very much appreciate it. Please donate at the following link or, if you can't, please reblog for reach. Thank you 💙

Current funds: 355/400 € (09/05/2023 @ 1:05pm)

latina lesbian artist in need of money to pay for vet expenses

hi everyone. i usually don't make long posts like these here but since oct. 31st, my cat has been hospitalized because she had a stone in one ureter. she has battled and gone through many exams and long stays at the vet, up until this point we spent 3000 reais (~$600 usd). the veredict was she had to have the surgery to get the stone removed so her kidney could work properly again.

(picture of the recently removed stone next to a needle for size)

we agreed, and the surgery costed 5000 reais (around $1000 usd) and her situation is dire. it's very likely she will not make it. the vet she is in has awful service, and up to this point we have exhausted all our means and money to keep her alive. we have spent roughly 10,000 reais (~$2000 usd), which is double of my mother's monthly income, and eight times of my own salary.

she is coming home on 11th whether she makes it or not. it's likely she will pass away.

the money situation

unfortunately, i need money to pay mine and all the other expenses. my bank doesn't allow screenshots for security reasons, but here's the gist: i had to take a loan of r$2000 (~$400 usd) and i'll be paying it monthly until march. but unfortunately my credit card debt is around r$400, and i have a planned trip to see my girlfriend, which i would like to have some money for since we will probably need a hotel to stay + money for emergencies. i currently have r$800, but i need around r$1300 (~$260 usd) to cover these expenses.

currently, my mother has been paying for a lot of it, and so am i, but our credit score is not looking so good after all that money spent. so, to help ourselves, im opening commissions.

there will be 7 spots for commissions in this vectorized style, each for $40 usd. (payment after sketch ONLY, through paypal. so i wont slack off!) style can very from simple to complex, i'm sure i can adapt any character to this style, but i have the right to refuse any requests. dm me for any other inquiries.

or, if you'd like to donate without expecting anything in return, you can donate through ko-fi:

pictures of my cat before she was hospitalized. she's a tortie named peepy. she is currently 10 years old. i don't think she will make it, nothing breaks my heart more than thinking that she will be gone. but there is truly nothing more that we can do. thank you for taking your time to read through my post, and a special thank you if you consider donating or take a commission. i'm incredibly thankful.

Back with my: "Brassius had a kidney failure when he was younger" bullshit.

Consider that:

Hassel was the person that donated the kidney that saved him.

The twist is that neither of them know.

Hassel is part of an "world wide organ donation group" and donated it for money to start his career.

(Its legal in the pokemon world and done under the eyes of human rights activists. )

Anyway, 10 years later and Brassius has the chance to meet his savior whilst Hassel gets the chance to meet the person he saved out of his own selfish reasons.

They both decide to take the chance and the meeting point is a high end restaurant.

Hassel and brassius have known each other for 7 years at that point.

Both of them have a mental breakdown about it

Brassius: my god. This man saved me twice. Twice he pulled me from the grasps of death into his warm and loving embrace!

Hassel: God, I could have lost him. I could have never met him. Never would I have seen his masterful skills, those shiny eyes and these delicate Hands

(They also weren't dating at that point)

Need IMMEDIATE Help To Afford Life Saving Second Dose of Renal Failure Treatment

$250/500

(Hi, this is Maddie, Mia typed almost all of this one for me again because my coordination problems are getting worse. This is why I haven't been online lately.)

Unfortunately Wesonga Yazid, the owner of the God Provides Ministry and Orphanage (the nonprofit we have been working with the last two years, and are opening a neighboring chapter of), has been struggling with the complications and after effects of kidney failure for a long time now, after he's gone into failure twice. This is something my Mom almost passed from, so I know firsthand how serious it can be. He didn't bring it up for a year because he didn't want to draw attention or worry us, but he's too sick to be able to hide it anymore. We were able to get him his first dose of medicine but now he desperately needs the next one by this Saturday, something his doctor emphasized. He's doing very poorly and the medication needs to be taken within a certain time frame to work effectively. Yazid is my best friend, to the point we plan on him coming to live with me for a while someday so we can work more together. I can't bear to see anything bad happening to him.

We've been able to scrape together half of it after Yazid sold his bike, but we still have half left to save! That's still really possible!!! If you are able to donate anything at all it would be incredibly appreciated and would go towards saving a man’s life, if you can’t then please please please reblog! No matter how many followers you have. Even if you have one, that might be the one who gets it seen by someone who can help. Reblogging and sharing is seriously what makes the biggest difference, it's the PRIMARY thing you can do to change this.

If 25 people donated $10 we would have the amount and if 100 people donated just $2.50 we would also reach our goal! These numbers are hard to reach. But, sharing the post and getting it traction makes it entirely possible, as we've absolutely had luck like that. So please

(If you are able to donate, if you are all can please do it somewhere besides GoFundMe! GoFundMe takes 4-7 days to process a donation, and we only have two days to raise this. If you're worried about the safety of your donation and how reputable it is I can also send you Yazid's mobile banking information.)

You can read the recent GoFundMe update for a more detailed version of what’s going on. Yazid also has an account at @yazid007, and you can get more information on our (under construction) landing website here. If you want to write him directly, he is frequently active on Discord wesonga01#0356 to write or call.

Cash//app

Ven//mo

Payp/al

GoFund//Me

The Other Shoe, Part 10

***

Deeks was puttering around in the back yard (yep, he’d been reduced to a putter) when someone tapped at the gate, and Sam let himself through. He looked around at the garden which Deeks had devoted significant amount of spare time to, just for something to do.

“Looks good. The cucumbers are coming along,” he observed.

“Thanks. I finally got rid of the powdery mildew so they’re flourishing.” Deeks set his hoe to the side, pausing a beat before he asked, “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I took a half day.”

“Sam Hanna taking time off? I would ask if someone’s dying, but that,uh, seems in poor taste.”

Sam shook his head. “Only you Deeks.”

“So, what’s going on?” Deeks pressed. “Cause I’m pretty sure you’re not here for some heirloom tomatoes.”

“No, I’m not.” He gestured to the patio. “Let’s have a seat. I got something we gotta talk about.”

Deeks set the gardening tools to the side, following after Sam reluctantly. He supposed he should have expected another lecture since it had only been a few days since the last one. Though at this point, he wasn’t sure what the topic would revolve around. As much as it annoyed him, he’d behaved himself recently, though that was mostly due to necessity.

Deeks eased himself into a chair, ruffling his sweat-matted hair. “So let me guess. It’s reckless to keep pushing myself so hard. I need to focus on getting better and let the rest of you pick up the slack,” he rattled off on a slightly sing-song way.

“That’s all good advice,” Sam said calmly. “But not what I was going to say.” He leaned forward, rubbing his hands together in an uncharacteristically uncertain gesture. “I got a call from the Living Donor Advocate today.” He spread his hands wide. “I’m a match.”

“What?” Deeks breathed.

Sam grinned, shaking his head like he knew what Deeks was thinking. “Surprised me too. Who’d have thought I’d be a good organ match for a self-described descendent of Vikings?”

“Sam, that’s, that’s…” Deeks broke off, completely speechless. Seeing his struggle, Sam reached over and squeezed his knee. When Deeks looked up, his expression was sympathetic.

“Hey, you ok? I know it’s a lot to take in.”

“That’s for sure. I’d didn’t really think anyone would be a match. Um…what did Kensi say?” He imagined her relief at the news.

“I didn’t tell her yet. I wanted to tell you first. Figured you could have the honor of telling Kensi,” Sam said.

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to give you time to think about all of this. I know you have reservations about accepting a donation from one of us—”

“Yeah, because it has the potential to affect the rest of your life,” Deeks interrupted. It was infuriating how everyone dismissed his concerns so easily. “Donating a kidney almost certainly means no more fieldwork, complications during the surgery, not to mention short and long term health risks. Do you really think I feel comfortable asking that of any of you?”

“I’d do it for you in a heart beat,” Sam responded without pause. “I know any of us would if we could.”

“So you’d be ok with an early retirement as a field agent and months of down time while you recuperate? Maybe more.” He’d promised Kensi he would consider any viable matches, but it went against his very core to accept such a huge sacrifice.

“Yes. As soon as a transplant was put on the table, I started thinking about what I would do. I’ve made my peace with it. Now it’s your turn to do the same,” Sam told him, no judgment in his voice. “I can’t begin to know what you’ve gone through during all this, but I think we all consider one less kidney a small sacrifice to keep you with us longer.”

Deeks inhaled heavily, emotions suddenly at the forefront again. He blamed the damn medications for making him cry at the drop of a hat.

“We’ve lost enough people, brother.”

“Damn it,” Deeks whispered, tears suddenly pricking against his eyes. Sam leaned forward, wrapping Deeks in a comforting hug.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright. We got this,” he murmured in Deeks ear. “And you’re going to be a lot more awesome because you’ll have a little piece of Sam Hanna floating around inside you.”

Deeks snorted at that, squeezing back as Sam ruffled his hair affectionately.

“Thanks, man.”

“Any time.” Standing up from the table, Sam gestured to the gate. “I’ll let you think this over before Kensi gets home.”

***

A/N: So, did I surprise any of you with Sam being the match? I don’t know why, but it just seemed right.

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Aaliyah's father, Michael Haughton.

January 10, 1951 - November 08, 2012.

Michael was of Jamaican heritage. It's said that his cause of death was due to a battle with Kidney disease. He is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery & Mausoleum in New York alongside his daughter, Aaliyah.

The Aaliyah Memorial Fund helps raise money for many cancer related charities including the 'National Kidney Foundation'. Please donate to the memorial fund if you would like to help a cause.

Please also keep Rashad and Diane in your thoughts and prayers today.

Michael Miguel Haughton | Aaliyah grave photo from Vee @TheBest.Aaliyah dated July 16, 2021

Important! Please look if you can!

Hey guys, I dont normally ask of this or make these kinda posts but I'm going through a bit of a tough time right now.

Essentially, a couple days ago my cat Finn had a urinary obstruction, meaning that he couldn't pee and his bladder was full, putting him in a life threatening risk of bladder rupture, kidney failure, and likely, death.

We got him to the ER in time, however things have gotten worse as he had another urinary blockage. The vet recommended we could do surgery to help increase his likelihood of survival, however it (and his current commendations) are extremely costly. In fact, 9 out of 10 people chose to put their cat down instead of proceed with the surgery.

There's more information on the gofundme page, if you could look that would be extremely appreciated, but essentially, we need your help in assisting in funding for my cat's life.

Finn means a lot to me and I love him so so much. I don't want him to die, and if you could share, or maybe even donate just a little bit, it would be really really appreciated, thanks for reading if you did :o)

Headcanons I have for my trans child Rob 😔👊

- He'd actually punch a terf with no hesitation.

- He still wants to be like his old self, so it's normal he wears blue bandages, tries to make his hair quite short, still has some old school books in his backpack, etc.

- If he ever fell in love, he'd act sick and think it's one of the worst sickness he ever had since his 10s, and probably would exagerate the smallest feeling of love.He'd then start questioning everything about this new feeling and try to see and prove (stalk) the person he's fallen for is not a potential organ dealer or something.Then he'd accept.

- Friends with Penny, since she actually remembers him.

- Rob tends to be busy most of the time, too busy he forgets to buy new clothes, and so his skin's literally ice when you touch him.Being an (possibly) orphan, having to look hours and hours for a place to rest and/or sleep, trying to come up with new anti-gumball plans ; it completely makes him forget about himself sometimes.

- Doesn't want to go to an orphanage or something like that, he insists he can take care of himself.

- That one tall kid who looks that can kill you, but is actually a nice (and criminal) person.

- He feeds and helps stray/injured animals, and many times some of them follow him everywhere he goes (rats and birds included).

- Insect lover.

- Most likely a Cottagecore and Dark academia person.

- Has never fallen in love with anyone, before and after void.

- Dreams of actually getting a plushie just for himself.

- Mother Mother, Cavetown, Dear Hunter, Lemon Demon, The Crane Wives, Surf Curse and other bands/singers fanatic.

- Unconditionally wanted to be a vampire as a child (around his 4s)

- Will possibly be adopted by Mr. Small in a (not so far) future.

- His favourite songs HAVE to be Great Vacation by Dirty Poor Robins and I Can't Decide by Scissors Sisters.He even whispers the lyrics under his breath whenever he plans a new trap for Gumball.

- Most of his clothes were ripped apart or just dirty af, so he improvised and covered most of his skin with bandages, and yes, he changes them time to time.

- He blue screens when frightened.Literally.

- Some people think he's 18 when they see him walking by.They shock when he tells them he's 13.

- Ate a flower at the age of 3.

- Dramatic af.

- If he ever finds out there ARE people who are willing to donate him their kidneys (or love him, to be less exagerated) he'd feel...surprised, then cry of happiness and relief, knowing people love him and undertand his reasons and his character itself is one of the best things he could have ever wished for.

Please help Rowan

https://www.gofundme.com/f/hp3x4-help-me-not-lose-my-home?member=17624197&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

I know their go fund me looks fully funded but it’s not, that’s the goal that was set back in december and they haven’t updated it. They still need help.

Rowan was kicked from their house in their teens (I’m sorry I’m using they/them because I’m not entirely sure on their pronouns I think it might be he/him but I don’t want to assume) for being queer. They spent some time being homeless and then finally got out of that and went back to school to become a mortician when they got diagnosed with cancer

Since 2020 I’ve been posting in a PMF thread called Passing Time In Chemotherapy: A Diary, which has been equal parts me talking about fighting Stage Four Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and being given two months to live, and equal parts screaming about how horrible the American Healthcare System is and trying to make a case for universal healthcare. Briefly I went into remission and then my cancer returned. I also have Stage 1 breast cancer. These last two weeks I have been in the hospital with a kidney disease likely brought on by my chemotherapy treatments, and a lung disease which I need tests to rule out that it’s lung cancer. The problem is I need $4500 to continue receiving care because I am am several hundred thousands dollars in debt due to my chemotherapy. Each chemo treatment cost me $50k after insurance, which no sane person has, so the debt has built up to the point where I am being held hostage for micropayments in the thousands of dollars range in order to receive life saving treatments. I received mod approval to post a GoFundMe I set up in order to pay just for December healthcare bills. I will either lose treatment or lose my home, and I was recently homeless over a year a few years ago and would not like to repeat the experience. My wife is permanently disabled after her battle with Ovarian Cancer (and needs another $800 down payment foe a surgery but that’s ANOTHER can of worms). Basically, without goon help, I am fucked. I have zero plans for Christmas or any holidays this season because I’m too busy fighting to keep my home and my health. My GFM is nearly halfway funded as it is, and on the off chance that it gets overfunded the excess will go towards my wife’s surgery. Both my GFM page and my PMF thread show I am very transparent with where the money goes and what it’s spent on, so no worries there. You can find my GoFundMe here! I intent to post an update to it this evening to keep everyone up to date with health stuff. If you would rather donate something other than money, which I totally get, I have an Amazon wishlist here which is mostly household things we need and food for the cats. I will happily post pictures of them in the thread. They are very sweet baby who cry if a stranger comes to the apartment and doesn’t pick them up. I’ll try to stay on top of removing items from the wishlist as they get bought. I’m not very good with signing off posts, but if anyone has any questions about Lymphona or chemo or the american healthcare system (or just want to see cat photos!) please feel free to ask and I’ll answer as best I can! Thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness. Bless. Edit 12/10: It was suggested that I throw my Venmo in the OP for those who would rather donate that way! Venmo: @moringottos Paypal (please ignore my deadname it’s a nightmare to change): paypal.me/necromancermoons

This is their update today, May 25 2022:

The minimum payments for my medical bills in arrears (mostly chemo) comes out of my bank account automatically to prevent them from suing me over it. I’ve already used my one (1) free grace period of “please give me a few more days before you take my money” according to the lady on the phone, so I’m left with $0.11 in my bank account with several bills, including rent, looming on the horizon. The electric company has already made it very clear they will not hesitate to cut off my power if I even act like I’m going to be late. What do you even do when faced with this level of “fuck you entirely”? I keep telling myself that people are inherently good, but between this and the news and the man at the insurance company writing me a polite email that says “if you have another cancer, try dying this time”, I’m starting to have a hard time with it.

May 18, 2022 7:32 PM

Due to some concerning test results my oncologist is now pushing for testing for multiple myeloma. MM killed my birth dad. I think I may have sorta blacked out during half of what she said. I asked her if it was usual to have this sort of insane cancerous comorbidity, she said it’s not impossible. The imagining center got back to me FINALLY. They said even though my insurance is up in the air and they usually require payment at time of service, my doctors have been hounding them enough that they will let me have a payment plan for x-rays and scans costs. I’ve had enough biopsies that the MM tests don’t scare me like they would have two years ago. Immediately after my lung biopsy I threw up a ton of blackish blood so I feel inoculated to the trauma. Anyways at this point it feels silly, like my body is throwing this massive temper tantrum that it doesn’t want to be here anymore and it’s like “understandable, but consider: we can’t let capitalism win”. Also god won’t let me die because then I’ll be his problem.

the threads: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3987338&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 I believe this one isn’t paywalled

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3916924 but this one might be, this is their diary of day to days of discovering the cancer (they went to the hospital for covid originally). warning: this thread might be very upsetting and hard to read if you have hospital or cancer trauma. or even without

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

I wanted to post something about it sooner but I decided to wait till we had all mom's blood work results and her CT scan results.

This morning my mom had her post scan appointment with her main surgeon.

A bit about my mom's journey. She got her colon cancer diagnosis in November 2018, went through radiation and chemo pills (10 a day) and then had her surgery on the 2nd of April 2019.

Long story short, she had to lose her bladder and a piece of her colon. She has a colostomy and urostomy. Due to attachment issues at the surgical site, they had to do two emergency surgeries, with the second one leading to a temporary ileostomy.

Ever since then, it has been constant trips to the hospital and long stays as well. She had been over a month in ICU when she had her surgery.

Anyways, fast forward to last year January, my mom ended up in ICU with septic shock and she came as close to dying as one can without actually dying. She was REALLY sick. The doctor did not think my mom was going to survive.

All we did was pray. Soooo many people prayed!

My mom got better and stronger. There were talks that she was going to have to get dialysis her whole life but till this day no dialysis needed!

And today she heard that she is still cancer free!!!!

Going on towards 4 years now. She may also finally be able to get the temporary ileostomy reversed but that will depend on how her kidneys are doing.

God has been so great to us!

I would like to thank everyone that has supported us and to those that donated to my mom's medical bills fundraiser. You have no idea how grateful we still are. Even those that signal boosted!! Thank you so much as well.

Please, if you ever feel like something is wrong get it checked out. Rather be safe than sorry. Get second, third or even more opinions if you need to! Four GPs missed my mom's cancer. If they had caught it sooner she may not have had to deal with so much these 4 years.

You know your body. Take care of it and seek help if you need to.

Much love and kindness to you all.

List 5 facts about a favorite sim of yours, and send this to 10 simblrs whose sims you adore ♥♥♥

thank you so much for the ask!! 💜

there's a sim i totally have in mind that i'd love to talk about but they're a huge story spoiler and they haven't even been featured on here so i can't dhsjdsjks 😭 instead i'm actually going to be different and do this for päivi

is this a farewell? maybe, maybe not. she's sticking around for a bit longer in the story and i'll always have her available for asks or for posting...but it's kind of a farewell LMAO

she speaks like five or six languages and she actively keeps up with all of them 😭 her native language is finnish, she kinda knows swedish through school, she's fluent in english, and her mother is russian jewish, so she's also fluent in russian and yiddish. and that's not even including that she is capable of reading hebrew

she actually had a kidney transplant when she was a kid! she was born with one kidney that didn't form properly and she ended up getting deathly ill when the other one failed. her older sister was a match and was willing to donate

päivi is a natural blonde and she has complex feelings about it. one, she's sick of the comments made about it in connection to her religious beliefs. two, she's sick of people ALWAYS asking if it's real. three, she has a bit of a "not like other girls" complex. four, she has spent most of her life dyeing it black or some funky color but then she fiercely defends her real hair color within an inch of her life if someone asks if it's real or not. she can't make up her mind whether she likes it or not but she takes the whole thing so seriously

she's actually quite fond of writing and reading love poetry. she may not be super into romantic stuff but she is a sucker for a good love poem. if she really loves you, she'll write you a really pretty one. (rip grant i'm so sorry, you might wanna throw those out...maybe...)

okay here's some past story content to give her a bit of redemption. this is something päivi has never told grant the truth about canonically BUT she quit an entire job because of him (and it's actually a good reason!!) i can't spoil all the details because it's story related but let's just say päivi's coworkers/friends judged grant severely for being diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disorder. like we're talking legit bullying in the realm of "lmao why would you stay with someone who's going to be sick forever, he can't be a good partner." and that pissed her off because ableism is garbage. päivi defended his honor on his behalf (of course they were also talking about him behind his back), threw a few drinks in a few people's faces during this incident, and then quit her job when they wouldn't stop harassing her about it. they were willing to forgive her for the fight but wouldn't drop the original topic. so päivi just quit LMAO. she put in her two weeks notice and let her former friends know she was leaving to move in with him. it was a lie at first but they did actually end up moving in together a while after that