My mother has had a serious health issue for six months.

Nobody treated it.

It was in her chart. Six studies confirmed it. Ten doctors saw her this year, and every one of them told her to lose weight.

Here’s the thing. She wasn’t eating. Not “eating less” — not eating, for days at a time, and still gaining weight in places she had never gained weight before. Sleeping all day. Couldn’t walk the way she used to. Couldn’t breathe.

And every appointment ended the same way. Lose weight. Exercise more. You’re getting older.

She could have died. And it would not have been her body’s fault. It would have been someone’s.

I work in healthcare. I know what to look for, I speak the jargon, I know which doors to knock on and whose favour to call in. It still took six months and a twenty-dollar device from Walmart.

So what happens to the woman who doesn’t know any of that?

This one is angry. I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

And then Alison brings a Small Talk from Brianna, who wants to know whether her big, loud, takes-up-the-whole-room ADHD joy was ever actually the problem — or whether the problem was just people who couldn’t hold it. That one I had an answer for immediately.

🎧 Different, Not Broken — honest, funny, occasionally furious conversations about neurodivergence, mental health, healthcare and being a person - https://differentnotbrokenpodcast.com/

📞 Leave me a voicemail (small talk, brags, fights): https://differentnotbrokenpodcast.com/voicemail

💬 Come hang out with the rest of us in the Quirky community (it’s free): https://alwaysquirky.com

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