Disqus - Latest Comments for Broce

Re: Tim Scott: I Don’t Believe Abortion Will Have Negative Impact on GOP in Midterms

Broce — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 05:44:38 -0000

The state of Louisiana has a list of “acceptable reasons” for abortion. Arcrania is not on the list, so the doctors there were afraid to do a D&C for the woman.

Re: Tim Scott: I Don’t Believe Abortion Will Have Negative Impact on GOP in Midterms

Broce — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 05:33:08 -0000

You don’t think the cost of an unplanned child figures into the family budget?

Re: Tim Scott: I Don’t Believe Abortion Will Have Negative Impact on GOP in Midterms

Broce — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 05:31:54 -0000

Because they know that an unexpected, unplanned child is way more expensive than inflation.

Re: Tim Scott: I Don’t Believe Abortion Will Have Negative Impact on GOP in Midterms

Broce — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 05:28:47 -0000

Abortion is an economic issue, too.

Re: Tim Scott: I Don’t Believe Abortion Will Have Negative Impact on GOP in Midterms

Broce — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 05:27:35 -0000

If you think inflation messes with your budget, try having an extra, unplanned, unexpected mouth to feed. Republicans & Democrats are both missing the tie between abortion & economics. Not being able to afford another child at that time is the #1 reason women give for having an abortion. (They may not want to be sterilized because they hope to have more children when their finances are more stable, but contraception isn’t 100% effective.)

Re: Tim Scott: I Don’t Believe Abortion Will Have Negative Impact on GOP in Midterms

Broce — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 05:23:29 -0000

I’m a 63 year old woman, registered as an Independent. It’s not just young women who are angry about the Dobbs devision. Even women my age have nieces, daughters, friends, granddaughters who are impacted by the laws some states are passing.

As for inflation, if you think that messes with your budget, imagine how much giving birth & raising an unplanned, accidental child will do to the family budget.

Unfortunately, contraception isn’t 100% reliable. 61% of women choosing abortion are already mothers, many of them married. Some of them are even in their 40s. I know several. (They thought they were starting menopause when they missed a period or two, until they started having other early pregnancy symptoms.)

I don’t think you can count on the only women voting D because of the Dobbs decision being young, liberal women.

Re: Serena Williams on Retiring: I Wouldn’t Have to ‘If I Were a Guy’

Broce — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 23:32:52 -0000

Serena nearly died after giving birth to her daughter. She had an emergency C section, followed by a pulmonary embolism. You’re welcome to dislike her all you like, of course, but there’s no denying that she is a biological woman.

Re: The End of This Road

Broce — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 05:49:38 -0000

Liss ~
I have not been by here in a very long time; I doubt you would even remember me now. But I heard elsewhere that you had closed the blog, and I just felt compelled to swing by and thank you for all the work you have done over the years, the community you created, and how much you have helped others through this space. You, and this community, gave me much needed support when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about 10-1/2 years ago.

It is because of that support that I am sticking my nose in here to tell you that the cluster headaches and the vertigo might be feeling better because of a reduction in stress - *but* - please, please do not just let this go. There are any number of things this could be, from Meniere's to MS and beyond. It is very hard to get a proper diagnosis when you are a woman, especially a large woman. Doctors dismiss things as being in our heads, or because of weight, or our "tiny lady brainz" or whatever bullsnot excuse they feel like giving us rather than going through the difficult process of diagnosing complex conditions. If you haven't yet, please see a neurologist, and if you haven't got the energy to argue with them, take your hubby with you. Insist on tests like an MRI, etc. Think of me as a cautionary tale - it turned out that I had been walking around with MS for at least 26 years before my diagnosis. I am now housebound with Secondary Progressive MS. I would not be in this shape had I thrown a few tantrums and insisted that doctors do something other than tossing anti-depressants at me and dismissing me with a pat on the head (the head they assumed all my symptoms were made up by).

My thoughts are with you - and if you do remember me and need an ear to listen, I can be found at my email, or on FB as Broceliand Forest. Take care of yourself, get your health sorted out, and then, when you are ready to move forward, know that whatever path you choose to walk, the love and support of this community will walk with you. You are not alone.

Love,
Broce

Re: Facebook down? Current status and problems

Broce — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 18:03:36 -0000

Colorado Springs, Co has been down since at least 11:00 am MDT.

Re: Police: Colorado Springs anesthesiologist illegally filled opioid prescriptions

Broce — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 17:57:44 -0000

Thank you, Catriona! I am sorry that you, too, deal with MS. But I'm really glad that your pain is well controlled on gabapentin and OTC meds. Gabapentin and Tegretol did nothing for my pain, but they increased my already bad fatigue so much I couldn't stay on them. My little sister has fibromyalgia, and like you, she found gabapentin helpful.

You are correct, a lot of doctors are frightened to prescribe. My pain doctor has told me that he has patients on ten times what I take, and he is afraid that, in his words, if they are forcibly tapered or their meds removed as the government wants, they will "go home and eat a gun" rather than live in the kind of pain they have when it is untreated.

Addiction is a terrible problem, but so is chronic pain, and I think as a society we need to draw clear lines between the two.

Re: Police: Colorado Springs anesthesiologist illegally filled opioid prescriptions

Broce — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 00:36:42 -0000

Chronic pain patients understand that well. With my meds, my pain stays at at 6-7 as a rule. Without them, my pain level hits 8-9 on the pain scale. I don't get high, or fuzzy from my meds, they simply turn down the volume on pain. I suspect people unused to being in pain have more trouble with the idea that they will need to experience some level of pain during their recovery from injury/surgery. Those with chronic pain have generally been in pain for some time before opioids are tried. Usually, physical therapy, steroid/lidocaine injections, meditation, and several other modalities are tried and failed before opioids enter the picture.

Re: Police: Colorado Springs anesthesiologist illegally filled opioid prescriptions

Broce — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 00:31:16 -0000

I was like you, Catriona. I had opioids many years ago after several surgeries and couldn't wait to get off them. But a decade ago I was diagnosed with MS! And since then several other painful conditions as well (degenerative disc disease, stenosis, sacroilitits to name a few).

After resisting my Neurologist's recommendation that I see a pain management doctors for several years, I finally gave in when I could no longer function, and had been forced by the progression of MS to retire early. I see my pain doctor at minimum six times a year. I've been on a stable dose of morphine (with oxycodone if needed for breakthrough pain) for several years. My pain doctor also prescribed medical marijuana. I discovered something kind of counter-intuitive: when you are on opioids long term, you do not get those fuzzy, weird sensations neither of us liked. If I skip a dose, all I notice is my pain coming back. You would never know to meet me that I am on morphine, because I only take what is prescribed. I don't get high, or fuzzy, or even remotely stoned. The medical marijuana though? Yuck. I end up stoned and stuck to my sofa. I reserve it for use at bedtime, as it really dose help me sleep. And when I say bedtime, I mean after I'm in bed, last thing before I turn out the lights.

My pain doctor is very conscientious - even though I've now been his patient for years and he trusts me, he does a urine check at every visit to ensure that I am taking my meds, and taking nothing for which I do not have a prescription. There's a database that doctors and pharmacies check to ensure that patients are not doctor shopping for drugs. The hysteria over opioids is really due to illegal fentanyl & heroin, not chronic pain patients, but many of us are being involuntarily tapered/taken off much needed pain medication because of governmental panic. Every single month, I have to argue with insurance and the pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled, even though the dose has not changed in years. It's really getting out of hand.

I'm not an addict - since I'm able to skip doses I would assume that my physical dependency is probably minimal at most. When I was debating whether to take these drugs, because I was scared of that, a friend said to me "Who cares if you become physically dependent? That is not the same thing as addiction, and besides - you will never not be in pain." She had a point. I believe that if someone is given opioids and becomes addicted, there was an underlying, pre-existing (perhaps genetic) problem unrelated to the condition for which the drugs were prescribed.

Re: Quote of the Day

Broce — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:17:59 -0000

Single mother with multiple sclerosis trying to handle a son who was by all reports, troubled in one way or another? Yeah, just dump all over her. That will solve the worlds problems :/

Re: Today in Rape Culture

Broce — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:15:16 -0000

All in. And angry

Re: Discussion Thread: Finding Women Likable

Broce — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:30:15 -0000

It's incredibly sad to me as a 54 year old that a 30 year old has to 'cope with aging' at all. We live in a really screwed up world.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:20:20 -0000

If you had read the details here, and the posts you would know exactly why I bailed Mr. Elmore out the first time - I had a message that morning stating that the people in CA were reporting the car stolen, so when Mr. Elmore told me that, I bailed him out because I was there when they gave him the car. As it turned out, he had apparently not been making payments as he had promised on the car, and they WERE going to report it stolen if he didn't do so by Thanksgiving - and he was re-arrested prior to that. I was not aware of that when I bailed him out the first time, I was made aware when I was able to finally contact the people in CA the day he was re-arrested.

Since I am a major Anglophile, I generally get my news from the BBC and other national or overseas sources, and did not know this had hit the news until shortly before he was re-arrested when a neighbor told me what was going on. That too can be checked out. As can my medical records for the time period when Mr. Elmore was staying here, showing that I had a major MS flare and was on IV steroids, that I then took a fall which put me on crutches, followed by pneumonia.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:15:41 -0000

Again, you have perverted the facts here because you are angry that DHS chose where to place the children. I don't have a boyfriend, and your implication that I do is silly, as it's a pretty easy thing to disprove. As for airline tickets, the first that I knew of them was when the police detective told me about them, and you are MORE than welcome to ask him about that.

And again, it was my legal obligation to follow the instructions of DHS. Take it up with them.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:55:15 -0000

The police are aware of the facts. YOU are not. Whether or not I am a mother has nothing whatsoever to so with anything. It was my LEGAL obligation to work with DHS, and follow their instructions. The right thing was to follow THEIR instructions, and that is precisely what I did. I didn't choose anyone - you're acting like it was up to me to pick who the children went to. It was none of my business; it was up to DHS to make that determination. You are making all sorts of accusations and statements which are both untrue, and slanderous. Should the children's mother have actual proof of custody, it's a simple matter for her to have this resolved. If she does not have custody, the appropriate venue is the courts. I have at no time had any influence whatsoever about who was to have custody of the children. What I did was entirely up to DHS. I suggest she take this up with them, as at no time did I have the right to determine the placement of the children. Mr. Elmore was simply a roommate, someone I thought I was helping out. I wasn't girlfriend or his partner - I didn't have that place in the children's lives, and did not seek to have it. The appropriate step for me to take when he was arrested was to work with DHS, and if that is troublesome to you, take it up with them. Threatening and harassing me is not going to resolve this situation - *I* do not have the children. I let her know that DHS had sent the children with their aunt and uncle the very first time I spoke to her after that happened. The children had been gone less than two hours, as I recall. I had no 'day before' warning that they were leaving. You energy is better directed towards someone who can help you resolve the situation, and that person is not me.

As for the personal insults - can it. You're embarrassingly off base, and know nothing of me or my personal life.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:05:03 -0000

DHS did not kidnap the children. The mother has supervised visitation only, and I was told by DHS she could not see them in Colorado. It was NOT up to me to break the law and allow the mother to take the children without legal documentation stating that she could. Of course I was taking Mr. Elmore's calls - his children were here and he had a right to talk with him. I did not TAKE the children. DHS did. When a custodial parent ends up in jail, and the other parent has no custodial rights, regardless of why, DHS is the appropriate agency to make the determination. If the mother wants to change custody, she has only to go through the legal process to do so.

I did not 'harbor' a kidnapper. He had custody. I know the mother was aware of where the children were for at least the last year, and could have gone to court at any time to petition for custody. Her issue is with the courts and DHS, not with me.

You might also note that you do the woman no favors in slandering me. It makes her look a bit unhinged, which won't help whatever custody suit she may have. It also won't go well for her if I am forced to file a restraining order, or take other legal action to protect myself and my good name. I would suggest you, and she, take your issue up with the proper authorities. I have already talked to DHS and they stated outright that her claims, and yours here which are a regurgitation of the vileness she spewed at me, are entirely without merit, and that in fact I went over and above what was legally required of me in caring for the children. For the record, anyone with the slightest knowledge of me and/or my involvement here would know that I am never called 'Pam.'

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:59:20 -0000

That is utter nonsense. DHS was involved here. Yes, I knew he was a recovering addict, and he brought be clean drug tests, which are now in the hands of the police as they were forged, DHS decided where the children should go - the mother has, apparently no custody rights.

I made no decisions about where the children went. And I purchased clothing for the children while they were here, you can ask anyone. It was NOT up to me to decide custody - I followed what DHS told me to do, and frankly, I'd have been in legal trouble if I hadn't. As for the mothers claim that I 'kidnapped' her children, nothing could be further from the truth, and that hysterical call I received from her threatening me has also been turned over to DHS. I am not an expert in child custody. DHS is. When they arrived at my home with the aunt and uncle and legal papers stating the children were to go with the aunt and uncle, what was I to do? Refuse to send them? They'd have been taken anyway. I could not let the children go with anyone who did not have the LEGAL documentation granting them guardianship or custody. I do things by the book. I suggest to you that is the correct way to get things done, and the mother should do so. She called me several times that week, never when she said she would call. I allowed her to talk to the children, but DHS disallowed visitation, and determined custody. Taking anger out on me is an easy target, I understand. But it's inappropriate and impotent. I could then, and can now, do nothing to sort out the custody of these children. That is up to the courts and the appropriate agencies.

The rest, I won't dignify with an answer.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 12:24:35 -0000

You just aren't getting it here. With all of the banks eating other banks, most people, including me, never opened an account where they bank now. I opened this account over 20 years ago with BankBoston, which was absorbed into FleetBank, which was bought by BoA. You're missing the point I'm trying to make. I'm not asking the bank to restore funds I lent the Theif. I'm asking them to do what they claim to - protect me from fraud. Had this been a credit card, they would have called me or flagged the account. Had it been an ATM, they would have flagged the account and contacted me. Why are checks treated as some exotic species of financial transaction. With credit cards, you are responsible for notifying the bank as soon as you discover the theft. And that's exactly what I did with the checks.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 23:12:26 -0000

They bear no responsibility for cashing checks I did not sign? What is the purpose of signature cards? They bear no responsibility for flagging unusual activity on the account. Why did we as taxpayers bail them out when they were 'conned' by sub-prime mortgages they willingly underwrote? Banks aren't ever responsible? Not for their own mistakes or anyone else's criminal actions? It seems just a bit one-sided.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 22:22:32 -0000

I was sick, and my mail was tampered with. No, I can't live without the money. It was all I had, and the medical bills from my own disease treatments and from my sons stroke are rolling in. I had copies of the job offer this man provided me with, as well as electronic copies of checks he had received and clean drug tests. All were forged. I am not naive, I ran into a serious con man who was exceptionally good at what he does. It astound me that anyone can think I would have the same means to go after the Theif that a bank the size of BoA has. They have insurance, and more lawyers than they can count. Who is more likely to be able to get, and enforce, a judgement against this man, Me or one of the largest banks in the world? I notified them as soon as the theft was discovered, and tried to provide them with the police report. They were not interested, because its a lot easier for them to stick it to the disabled lady than bother to Marshall their own resources to go after the Theif. I'm not asking the bank to make restitution for any funds I lent him (which were lent based on the forged documents) - just on what he outright stole from me.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:02:21 -0000

You would think since the Theif has been caught, that would make a difference. By the way, it wasnt three bank statements. It was two. The bank cashed a number of forged checks on an account that has very few checks ever written on it. They have told me the bank which cashed the checks should have checked my signature. Now how in the world could they do that, when I don't do business with them? Your tax money, and mine, went to bail out BoA when they were in trouble, but they can't help a customer who finds him or herself in this situation, especially when they have the power and the money to go after the perpetrator and I don't? Shouldn't they have noticed the unusual activity on the account? According to them, if it was a credit card or an ATM card, I would have been notified of the unusual activity, but for checks, you're on your own.

Re: | News - Home

Broce — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:47:01 -0000

Scott,
Thank you for updating the links and clarifying the story a bit.