2:56am October 31, 2014

Thank you to everyone who contacted the hospital on Laura’s behalf. You may have saved her life.

Her cancer doctors are suddenly deciding she’s healthy enough to be worth treating.

If you remember, they were finding ways to tell her she wasn’t healthy enough for surgery or radiation or chemo because she’s fat. Even though she didn’t have any of the health problems they kept bringing up as excuses not to treat her. She even brought dumbells into the doctor’s office to demonstrate her level of fitness and her strength and cardio, then she passed her pulmonary tests with flying colors, she had no sign of any of the diseases they said she must have because she was fat, but still they refused to treat her because fat people always have those diseases.

They’ve had a major change of heart. I doubt they’ll ever admit it, but Laura and I are certain y'all had something to do with it, especially given that y'all saved my life too with the feeding tube debacle a couple years back.

It’s not over (till the fat lady sings, heh – yes Laura appreciates that kind of humor at least from other fat people). But it looks like maybe she’ll be able to get her eminently treatable endometrial cancer treated, before it gets too ugly. Well cancer is always ugly. I already bought Laura a Cancer Sucks bracelet. But Laura has a chance to live a long life and beat this. My dad doesn’t. That’s the kind of ugly we don’t want Laura reaching.

So thank you everyone. You have no idea the power you have in numbers, to put businesses (including hospitals) on notice that you’re watching them. I only fear for those who don’t have gigantic social networks,or connections to such, who can’t draw on this power in times of need. And for those in situations where even the pressure we put on people isn’t enough.

All I know is that Laura is my second mom, I owe her my life a hundred times over, and they will kill her by neglect over my dead body. Fat shamers will be insta-blocked, this is a human being’s life we are talking about here, not whether people ought to lose weight in the abstract. Take your debates somewhere more respectful than a plea for a close friend who could die.

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