Emma S., Gilchrist County
I am 20 years old. I do not have a job currently and I am uninsured. Around September or October 2021, I applied for Medicaid, but I have not heard back from them. I do not have a general practitioner, so I haven’t been getting checkups.
I have experienced some emergencies in my life, including a couple of suicide attempts that I had to go to the hospital for. When I was being admitted to the psychiatric ward after my second attempt, I experienced something horrible. The EMTs that took me to the hospital went on about how I was wasting resources and that I should have killed myself if I wanted to die. I guess they were mad that I wasn’t worshiping them for saving me. I couldn’t believe what they said so I just told them off.
Every time I’ve been to a psychiatric ward, or whenever I see any kind of doctor, I immediately ask about whether they could help me access Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). I went to the Equal Access Clinic because it was recommended to me while I was at the psychiatric ward at Shands Hospital. I found out about it in January 2022, but appointments are on a first-come, first-served basis and there were no times available for me to be seen until April 2022. Although I had to go through a bunch of hoops to get there because of the small window of available scheduling times, I was finally able to go to the Equal Access Clinic. We discussed a treatment plan for HRT during my first appointment, as well as my plan to go back to the clinic for checkups every now and then during regular clinic hours once I start my treatment. In addition, I was receiving mental health counseling services from a therapist at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare up until she left the agency a few months ago. However, I am planning on calling the agency to start services with a new therapist soon.
On a different note, spontaneous blackouts are a health concern I have been facing for the last couple of months. On some days I don’t black out at all, while I’m not even able to count the number of times I black out on other days. I recently consulted with a neurologist at the Equal Access Clinic about this and was told that the blackouts might actually be seizures. I am grateful to the team at the Equal Access Clinic because they are helping me get to the bottom of this health concern. I am thankful for all the ways they have helped me.
Comentarios