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Rev. Hal-loween Daze 🎃

@facilitatrix.babalon.io

Hal, ey/em/eir, 3 aeons in a trenchcoat. Accused of the Devil's work & praised for the LORD's work with roughly equal frequency; for legal & safety reasons it's just me on the business cards. Hedge priest, raconteur, bioethicist, part-time psychopomp. 🔞

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Rev. Hal-loween Daze 🎃@facilitatrix.babalon.io · last yr.

(Part 4 of 4) Sit down with your chosen family, have these conversations, fill these out, and file them. Giving people an idea of how to help you when you can't help yourself and being able to advocate for your loved ones when they can't are *extremely pragmatic and extremely powerful acts of love.*

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY COMPLETED ADVANCE DIRECTIVES? Your advance directives need to travel with you as you receive medical care in different settings. After you have completed a living will and/or health care proxy form, you should make several copies. Give a copy to your health care proxy, to your primary care provider, and to close family members or friends. Keep the original in a safe place at home where it can be easily found, and make sure to let people know where it is located. If you do not have any close family members or friends, it is important that you share your advance directives with your primary care provider. You should also find out if you can file your advance directives at your local hospital in case you are admitted there in the future. Give your health care team a copy of your advance directives so that they can include them as part of your medical record. The development of online registries of advance directives may make accessing these documents easier in the future for patients, families, and health care providers. Although there are still concerns about the security and privacy of cloud-based services, being able to leverage technology in this fashion to help preserve patients’ wishes is promising.CAN I CHANGE MY ADVANCE DIRECTIVES? You can cancel or change anything in your advance directives at any time for any reason. Different states have different rules about how to do this. Find out what is needed in your state to properly make changes. Remember, there are no right or wrong choices when it comes to advance directives, only choices that are right or wrong for you. Please take the time to start thinking about these issues now.This guide can’t possibly address all of the different issues that might come up during these discussions, and it is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have a specific question or problem, please talk to a medical or legal professional for guidance. For more information, visit the National Institute of Health and the National Institute of Nursing Research.
Rev. Hal-loween Daze 🎃@facilitatrix.babalon.io · last yr.

(Part 3 of 4) And here's why I give a shit: every state has a fairly consistent chain-of-command for who makes decisions on your behalf in the event of an emergency. If you aren't married & are estranged from your biological family, *your friends can't help you without legal paperwork*

HOW DO I CHOOSE A HEALTH CARE PROXY? 1. Make sure your health care proxy understands your values and wishes. It’s important that you choose someone who will make decisions that you are comfortable with. Make sure that this person knows you well, understands what is important to you, and could handle the responsibility of making medical decisions for you. Take the time to talk about these sensitive issues. This may be uncomfortable at first, but it’s important that your spokesperson be able to make decisions that honor you and your wishes. 2. Make sure your health care proxy will act on your wishes. It’s important to pick someone who will follow your wishes and is able to separate their feelings from yours. You might find out that your health care proxy has different views about treatment choices. Ask them “Will you be able to respect my wishes even if you may not agree with them?” A health care proxy needs to be a strong advocate on your behalf. They may need to be persistent and forceful and ask questions in order to get the information needed to make decisions. Even though your proxy has the legal right to make decisions about your medical care, it may be difficult for them to do so if your family members are not in agreement. It is important that you ask your proxy whether they could handle a situation in which there might be conflicting opinions between loved ones and/or medical personnel. Make sure your proxy feels comfortable accepting this sort of responsibility.3. Make sure your health care proxy is available when you need them. Although having a family member as a health care proxy is often a good choice, it is not always the best choice. A friend who knows you well and lives in the same city as you might be a better choice than a family member you see rarely or who lives far away. Pick someone who is close to you and who you can easily get in contact with to talk about your decisions. Your wishes and values might change over time, especially after experiences in the hospital. It’s important that your spokesperson be available to discuss these issues on a periodic basis and as often as you need to. Bild
Rev. Hal-loween Daze 🎃@facilitatrix.babalon.io · last yr.

(Part 2 of 4) Advance directives & living wills vary from state-to-state, largely in terms of who needs to sign them. The Order of the Good Death has some additional considerations specifically for trans folks, and Compassion & Choices will link you to broader considerations for queer families.

WHAT IS A LIVING WILL? A living will is a document that explains what medical treatments you would want if you become very sick and are unable to speak for yourself. It may be called something else depending on what state you live in. It may be a standard form, and there are different kinds of living wills that you can download from the internet. For example, in a living will you can provide instructions about CPR, breathing machines, and other medical treatments. If you have any questions about what treatments you may or may not want, you should talk to your primary care doctor. You do not need a lawyer to make a living will. There are, however, certain rules that must be followed to make the living will valid. If you feel that your wishes cannot be expressed to your satisfaction by a standard form, then you might want to have a lawyer help you create a document specifically for you.NOTE BENE It’s important to understand that a living will is different from a will and testament. It does not deal with the handling of your finances or property. It deals only with medical issues while you are alive. A will and testament is for your estate. A living will is for your medical decisions. WHAT IS A HEALTH CARE PROXY? The term health care proxy might have a different name in your state, such as health care surrogate, health care agent, or durable power of attorney for health care. Your health care proxy is your spokesperson and is designated on a health care proxy form, which both the patient and the proxy have to sign. * Your proxy must follow your oral and written instructions, and they can make medical decisions for you if you are too ill or injured to speak for yourself. You can also delegate decision-making to your proxy even if you are able to make your own decisions. Some people want their proxy to speak for them even when they still have the ability to speak for themselves. Simply naming someone to be your health care proxy is not enough. It’s important that you have a real conversation about your values and priorities. Your health care proxy may have to make important medical decisions. Take the time to make sure they are prepared. Your proxy deserves to understand and know what is important to you and how you think about the use of medical treatments at the end of life. * Some forms also include signatures for witnesses.
Rev. Hal-loween Daze 🎃@facilitatrix.babalon.io · last yr.

For October 29th, a topic really near and dear to my heart. If I'm wearing my fancy bioethics hat, yes, duh, everyone should have an advance directive, but *I genuinely believe* that if you are trans this should be some of the first paperwork you file with your doctor or make accessible to friends.

[Note: The images in this presentation are unrelated. Abstract art and geometric cutouts.] Taking Control: Completing Your Advance Directives Taken from "The Conversation" by Dr. Angelo Volandes, Transcribed by S. Euphemeo for DIYandDie 2025INTRODUCTION Over the course of your life, you’ have been able to make many important choices. Being able to make these choices has been a basic part of who you are as a person. Many of us take for granted that we will always be able to make our own decisions. But in life there are things that we may not be able to control—like getting sick. And sometimes, when people are very sick, they are not able to make decisions about medical care. Advance directives are documents that can help make sure that you get the medical care you desire.You might not be facing any serious medical issues right now. Maybe you haven’t thought much about what might happen if you become very sick. But, in some ways, our health is a lot like the weather. You might not know a storm is brewing or when it might hit. And once it hits, it’s too late to get ready. Advance planning helps you—and your family and friends—weather the storm. That’s why it’s important to talk to your loved ones and health care provider about the type of medical care you would want before the storm hits. These plans assure everyone that the care you receive would be the care that you want.WHAT IS AN ADVANCE DIRECTIVE? An advance directive is a legal document. It explains what type of medical care you would want in the event you are unable to speak for yourself. It can also say who would speak for you if this happened. Advance directives generally come in two variants. A living will is a written document that explains what your wishes are for medical care. A health care proxy form says who you want to have the authority to make medical decisions for you. Sometimes, these documents are combined into one form. Although a living will can help reduce confusion about your treatment choices, it is still only a guide. It cannot predict every possible circumstance in which a medical decision may need to be made. Having an informed health care proxy can help make sure that your wishes are being honored. If you decide to have both documents, you should make sure that they don’t conflict.
An Anarchist Who Tried Her Best@nataliereed84.bsky.social · 23h ago

It’s why they love phrases like “your truth” and “gender journey” so much. To them it’s just like going vegan, or converting to Americanized “Buddhism”, or wintering in Amalfi, or some other meaningless Self Discovery bullshit.

Shelly Frankenstein 🇵🇸🏳️‍⚧️@shellyfrankenstein.bsky.social · yesterday

dead on balls accurate liberals generally see our identities, our health care, as some sort of elaborate costume, and their allyship is audience participation in our "performance"; which is why they turn so viciously when their "playing the part" is not adequately rewarded.

Rev. Hal-loween Daze 🎃@facilitatrix.babalon.io · 23h ago

Not mine, but one of my brother’s fraternity brothers got an absolutely GNARLY cut to his eyeball from a *hamburger bun* being frisbeed to him. Apparently the sesame seeds were unusually sharp!

Nick (derogatory) ✨@slothropsmap.bsky.social · 24h ago

I appear to have created a permission structure for posting your most horrible accidents. Whatever, go crazy. Let’s hear it. In what obscene ways have you maimed and impaled yourselves?

Taco Bell Quarterly@tacobellquarterly.org · 24h ago

I completely transitioned during the writing of this, starting hormones, getting top, and socially transitioning, choosing a name! It was the hardest thing I've ever done, set on turbo speed run. Live más