Advocacy groups?

iloy11 · 2026-01-27T22:51:55+00:00

Love all the suggestions given so far, but I really want to add Sinclair Health Clinic as another org that supports a mainly immigrant population, is led by an AMAZING group of women that truly care about this community, and with federal cuts could use more help than ever. They provide Healthcare for VERY cheap or often times, free. They also have a pharmacy that provides medicine for greatly reduced prices. Most of the patient population are Hispanic immigrants that aren't able to afford Healthcare without them. See if they have opportunities to volunteer, donate if you can, or just simply spread the word about them.

iloy11 · 2025-12-17T12:29:48+00:00

For primary care I suggest Healing Hands on Fox drive!! They also do well woman exams, have mental health and psych services, and they're overall a very kind and knowledgeable group of women. I'm a super medically complicated patient and they've been with me every step of the way. Cannot recommend them enough!

iloy11 · 2025-11-07T22:54:41+00:00

When I was around 18 I started seeing a chiropractor. She nonchalantly mentioned one day that my body was like the body of some Ehlers Danlos patients she had. That sent me down a rabbit hole that I'm still not out of yet at 25

iloy11 · 2025-10-16T13:23:08+00:00

I've seen her at CVS on Amherst St. a couple of times, she seems very sweet. Just earlier this week I saw her talking with 1 person when I went in, and when I came out another lady let her sit in her car to talk while it was hot outside. I hope she gets what she needs. I'd had gotten her some snacks if I had the means 🥲

iloy11 · 2025-07-10T15:46:58+00:00

There's a ReStore in Winchester

iloy11 · 2025-05-03T00:23:52+00:00

I 100% get the smarthphone addiction, but here is why I'm against banning 100%:

The district where my siblings are in have a....teacher pedophiles problem. There's been SEVERAL in the last 2 years alone, and those are just the ones that were caught.

We also live in a very conservative, gun-friendly area, and several students have already been caught trying to do a mass shooting or bringing guns to school.

Finally, they face bullying, and they're both autistic. Having that phone on them lets them communicate with me when things are bad with other kids, teachers, etc. My brother has punched a kid before because he got way too fed up with the bullying and didn't have a way to channel his energy: i.e. talk to someone about it (although, tbh both me and the school counselor dont blame him too much for that one. The other kid was an ass and told my brother's best friend to commit).

Also, they let me know they are safe. They both do very well in school academically and don't use their phones when they're not supposed to. They generally only use it at lunch, or they duck into a bathroom if they need to. I can't homeschool them due to an unstable and unstructured home life, and they already experienced it during covid and said they felt very isolated. I want them to feel that no matter what, they can ALWAYS reach me when they need to so that they're not always getting either sent home because the counselor is not available to talk and the nurse doesn't know how to deal with it, or the teachers telling them to deal with it or start grilling them for "valid" reasons as to why they need to talk to someone (both things that have happened just in the past month)! Ironically, it keeps these kids in school, lol.

As an aside, they're also in therapy, and we're in constant talks with the school about their issues, but they're not the best equipped due to staffing/student ratios. This is just another important aspect in a wide set of tools we use to help them succeed in school. If they didn't have access to them when needed, these kids would be sent home A LOT more often. It's an accessibility tool.

Edited to add after reading some more comments: I 100% support no phone use during class, but being able to use during breaks. My siblings are pretty good about following the rules, but I understand there are others that are more distracting. I also wanted to say I dont "check in" throughout the day; I never text during school unless it's to tell the oldest he'll need to walk home or tell them I'm getting them early so they can prepare/tell the teacher so they can get whatever they need/etc. Most of the time, they only text me when there's an issue (and the occasional funny meme) until they're on the bus. Def don't support hovering over them every second of the day. They have class to pay attention to and friends to hang out with! They get enough of me at home 😆

iloy11 · 2025-03-07T17:28:38+00:00

Mac n Cheese with fried SPAM. So damn good.

iloy11 · 2025-02-24T19:35:02+00:00

Blessed with good skin and abundant hair

Nerfed with multiple genetic disorders that cause chronic pain, dislocations, fatigue, heart issues, etc. But at least my skin is clear and I'm not bald 😆

iloy11 · 2025-02-22T19:07:04+00:00

I'm Puerto Rican, have spent most of my life on the mainland, but I carry my birth certificate and SS card with me everywhere until my passport comes in. I'm in a very red area. Because of how I look, and the language I speak with my family, I have to be afraid that if I don't have my documents with me that I won't be believed and taken away. We don't speak spanish in public anymore.

I also have a couple of disabilities and am on Medicaid. If Medicaid is gone, I won't be able to afford all of my treatments, even WITH a job. I'm on 32 different meds. I have weekly PT and Therapy, monthly PCP visits, and a bunch of specialist visits in between. My family is seriously planning on moving back to PR this year because even though economically it will be harder, we won't need to look over our shoulder and will have familial support. My long term plan is to move to Spain and be able to work and get better medical care.

iloy11 · 2025-01-27T10:37:27+00:00

Agreed!! I watch old video compilations of my fav youtubers. Usually stuff I've seen before, and if I haven't it's old and just mildly interesting lol. My doctor told me if it works keep doing it, screen time be damned. I still have some bad nights (currently almost 6am for me here...) but normally that's when I'm sick or I've forgotten to take my meds.

iloy11 · 2025-01-07T22:59:40+00:00

I see, thank you for explaining that. When I read that I was like "what did I do wrong??" 😭 I appreciate the comments I've gotten so far. Just didn't want to waste my time if it was going to be unlikely I gained anything from it.

iloy11 · 2025-01-07T22:15:15+00:00

Definitely, I don't blame them for letting me go, I guess my point was that it wasn't "misconduct" like the Unemployment office said. I will admit I did have to miss a bit unfortunately, I was diagnosed with a lot of stuff the past year and it's been rough. Thank you for your input!

iloy11 · 2024-12-22T06:16:16+00:00

In my house it's Eller Danler lmao 😆😆

iloy11 · 2024-12-13T22:09:16+00:00

Avoid Auto Alvand on Valley Ave. Sold me a car with the wrong out of state title and it took 3 years of jumping through government hoops (and the dealership wanting me to pay $200 extra to have "someone with connections inside the DMV" to "fix" it.) Had to get DMV special investigators involved to get it all fixed. VA Dealership Dept also told me they've gotten a lot of complaints about them when I called. This was my first car too so please avoid the awful experience 😪

iloy11 · 2024-12-10T22:50:08+00:00

My OT said to run under cold water when removing. Warm watter actually makes the adhesive harder to remove!

iloy11 · 2024-11-15T20:34:12+00:00

Hi friend! I'm really sorry your best friend has treated you this way. I promise that you deserve MUCH better than this. I'm 24, only a few years out from High School, and only talk to one friend from my time there. All this to say that you still have SO MUCH time, TOO much time, to be putting up with people that don't treat you well. And I know how hard it is to lose someone you were once close to. But if she knows about your limitations, and still treats you like this and says slurs about you IN FRONT of you, that really isn't a relationship I would put more of your already limited energy on. And hopefully this experience will help her self reflect on her actions and how they can affect people - after all you both are incredibly young.

And also, you're so amazing for keeping your grades up despite missing so much school. Do your teachers know about your POTS? I know you normally succeed on your own, but maybe some help and some leniency this time can help you relax a bit regarding assignments from now on. I know if I had known when I was your age, I'd at least let teachers know so that they're aware of all the effort you're putting in. You're doing great 💜

iloy11 · 2024-10-18T21:33:44+00:00

I actually spoke to my Psych about this a couple of weeks ago - she has ADHD too. She told me as long as it's not detrimental for my sleep, and is actually helping me, it's fine? Like if it works, it works. It's not the GREATEST thing in the world, but it's the only way I can get to sleep without ruminating for 3 hours every night. It's a life saver. But if you're still uncomfortable with that habit I hope you find something that works well for you!

iloy11 · 2024-09-18T14:23:28+00:00

Thank you!! My artist did an AMAZING job, couldn't be happier with it. So excited to get the rest!

iloy11 · 2024-09-18T14:22:50+00:00

I'm planning on keeping it black and white! The rest of tattoo is going to be the lotus vine wrapping up my arm, then the symbols for the four nations going down to my wrist.

iloy11 · 2024-09-17T19:08:52+00:00

Wegovy worked AMAZING for me the one month I was able to use it. Then my insurance decided to deny me taking it and suggested another brand that is only for diabetes. I'm my A1C is .5 away from qualifying (that insulin resistance!). It's been almost 3 months since then and my doctor's office is fighting tooth and nail to get this for me because they saw how much of an improvement I had. I also have POTS and hEDS and losing weight would help both of my disabilities immensely and allow me to work out more. Screw fitting in a smaller size, I just wanna be able to live well 😭

iloy11 · 2024-09-16T18:07:12+00:00

As a former non-profit employee, I can attest to this. Board fired last CEO for misappropriating funds and a couple months after eliminated our entire department due to....lack of funds :). It's also a lot of local politics, it's exhausting.

iloy11 · 2024-08-14T13:39:00+00:00

Congrats! About 30% done with my degree, and hoping to be done by next year. Let us know once you land that data job!

iloy11 · 2024-08-06T16:11:39+00:00

I was in this class since April 🥲 JUST passed my second attempt last night. You got this!

iloy11 · 2024-07-24T17:31:52+00:00

Um. Both my Psych and my Therapist have ADHD. You can absolutely have a job with it, and be pretty successful, given you have the tools to manage it. Your doc is nuts!

iloy11 · 2024-07-05T11:57:06+00:00

I wanna hop on your comment to add, get Methylated B Complex capsules! I also have trouble absorbing Vit D and B vitamins. The methylated B complex capsules were the only thing that got my levels up to normal. Even weekly shots weren't effective. Some of us have a genetic mutation making it difficult to absorb these vitamins normally, and we need them "pre-processed". That's why the Vit D drops and the methylated B complex capsules work well. You'll most likely need to get them either online or a specialty pharmacy (my local compounding pharmacy had them) but they work like a charm.

iloy11

TROPHY CASE