Pokemon is inferior to Yu-Gi-Oh,  Nino is an awful unit, I ship Eliwood/Sonia, I like being delicate and submissive, Draco Malfoy is the hottest character in print, canon!Hermione/Ron is the best pairing ever, Bella Swan is a poor abused victim who is in no way responsible for what happens to her in any shape or form, OOTP is the best book in the Harry Potter series, HBP and DH have no redeeming features whatsoever, Shining Force sucks, Anita Blake is secretly asexual, Cassandra Claire is the best writer ever and Cori Falls handles her characters with unequaled grace and maturity, the HP interviews are the best thing ever, C!Syaoran/C!Sakura + R!Syaoran/R!Sakura doesn't make me worry at all about inbreeding, Fai is straight, Lucius is a lesbian, I'm secretly a goat, Joan Crawford has risen from the graaaaaaave...

[Copied over from the original friends-locked lumiere42  with permission]

Baggs, the nonverbal US autistic activist from "In My Language" and Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking, has long had medical issues with gastroparesis (stomach paralysis). It has progressed to the point where it forces her to live on an entirely liquid diet.  It also frequently causes her to aspirate fluid into her lungs, which has given her several recent life-threatening bouts with pneumonia.

The standard treatment for gastroparesis with these complications is having a feeding tube put in.

Baggs entered the hospital, Fletcher Allen Health Services, on Thursday. According to her and her DPA:

-FAHC attempted to deny Baggs entry unless she had an aide from developmental disability services with her there at all times (despite never having required this when Baggs was in that hospital before).

-FAHC tried to release Baggs the next morning, despite her clearly still being quite sick.

-Despite a feeding tube being standard best practice, FAHC staff have been continually delaying the procedure, with...interesting...excuses (i.e. saying they need to consult her old doctor when it's not necessary).

-Baggs says that, when she told a nurse she wants all measures necessary taken to save her life, the nurse responded by laughing (!)

-Baggs' advocate says personnel tried to claim Baggs was only having "sensations" of aspiration, despite CAT scans clearly showing aspirated crud in her lungs.

-Baggs and her advocate both say that, this morning, a staff member (med student) tried to talk them out of the feeding tube procedure (despite acknowledging that it's standard best practice).

As of Sunday afternoon, Baggs says the staff are discussing the feeding tube procedure again (mostly due to her advocate's pressure).

Baggs' account of these events:
http://youneedacat.tumblr.com/post/46772...henmorning

Her advocate's account:
http://webmuskie.tumblr.com/post/4675516...henmorning

Folks, it looks like they've been trying to avoid giving Baggs care she needs to not end up dying of starvation or aspiration pneumonia. This is TOTALLY unacceptable.

It'll probably really help Baggs' case if FAHC gets tons o' negative feedback about this:

Web contact form:
https://www.fletcherallen.org/about/news...ontact_us/

http://www.facebook.com/fletcherallenhealthcare

http://fletcherallenblog.wordpress.com/

Phone: 802-847-0000 (main) or 802-847-2000 (FAHC Clinical Ethics Office)

Anyone who wants to send Baggs supportive messages can reach her at http://youneedacat.tumblr.com

...@_@ Who needs hallucinogens when you have fandom...

[I am definitely not doing it this year - too many other things on my plate. If these predictions turns out to be accurate, I will pretend that I knew what I was doing from the start. :B]
My predictions for the hypothetical a_random_member:

Day 1: Yay! Everything is fresh and early, and I've got so many ideas! This is awesome!
Day 7: Blergh... Well, even if the plotbunnies are taking a rest, I can at least pad it out. Onto the next week!
Day 8: I'm seriously considering quitting...
Day 10: I have nothing to worry about! I'm a bit behind, but I can make it up later!
Day 14: Real life forced me to slow down... but I'll make it up! I'll have 46K more words before I know it!
Day 18: Awshootawshootawshoot only twelve days left awshoot
Day 20: GAAAAH 10 DAYS AND 38K WORDS HELP
Day 21: I... just have to use discipline, yeah...
Day 23: Can I give up on this for this year? No? ...D:
Day 25: I'M CONVERTING TO CATHOLICISM
Day 25.5: ISLAM
Day 25.75: JUDAISM
Day 25.90: BUDDHISM
Day 25.99: ANY RELIGION THAT WORKS!!!
Day 25.999: BADFICCERISM!
Day 26: Ahahaha... aha... aha... don't mind me. Just panicking there. But I still have a bit of time left, and I've freed up all my obligations. Time to bear down.
Day 27: Three days, 25K words, and a hell of a lot of caffeine. I can do this. *knocks back coffee*
Day 27.5: Need... to concentrate... need... more coffee...
Day 27.9: I AM FLOATING THROUGH TIME AND SPACE; EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL; I LIKE SEMICOLONS; DON'T YOU? 8DDDDDDDD
Day 28: ...Well, 20K words left and two days. And I only wrote 30 sentences during the last twenty-four hour interval. Holy crud, those were some impressive run-ons. *starts slurping caffeinated drinks with two straws*
Day 28.2: SAN levels dropping. Have not slept in two days. Pictures on wall beginning to move in my peripheral vision. Must focus.
Day 28.6: Debating as to whether "destruction of the rules of logic and causality" are really legitimate excuses for plot holes.
Day 28.61: Disregard that, I'm not CLAMP.
Day 28.62: But these voices in my head say they are. Hmm.
Day 28.9: Sleep is overrated. It is the poison keeping me from becoming a sky goddess. *buries face in cooled coffee pot*
Day 29: The doorknob has revealed itself to me as my main character. I have thanked it for its inspiration and guidance. I could never have made it this far without you, doorknob.
Day 29.4: Sex sells, right? Even if it's doorknob/slipper sex?
Day 29.5: For that extra daring edge, I've added bondage with earbud cords and a threesome with a hot water bottle. How very Fifty Shades of Grey.
Day 29.8929201: Wait, I was supposed to be writing high fantasy with an esoteric philosophical edge? ****!
Day 0rf3.eee: I HAVE TRANSCENDED TIME AND SPACE. I DENY YOUR MORTAL CONCEPTIONS OF TIME. I - ****, I'm out of caffeine?!
Day ??????: Just... finished... barely... b... efore... midnight... Must... sleep...
Hi, guys! :D Sorry about that, just got out of bed. How exciting! I feel really accomplished! How long was I out? Just a few hours, I bet. Anyway! Sorry about that, it's time to get back to work...  - May 3rd

Right here!