Emergency Care While Trans

[Strong trigger warning for transphobia]

A few days ago, Bilerico posted a [TW for discussions of transphobia in the post and problematic comments]disturbing interview with Erin Vaught, an Indiana woman who had the turpitude to go to the emergency room, on account of how she had "coughed up almost a cup of blood."

The woman in question is a trans woman, so her story takes a depressingly predictable turn:

On Sunday I coughed almost a cup of blood and decided to go to the E.R. The doc told me if I had to go to the E.R. to go to Muncie rather than New Castle, as they would be more tolerant being a bigger city and a university hospital.

Been there, done that. It our case, it's because the nearest hospital has repeatedly demonstrated its suckitude when it comes to treating lesbians (at least my partner and I) with health conditions. Thankfully, there are other options reasonably nearby. Such is the privilege of owning a car and living in a city of 150,000.

Sadly, going to Muncie didn't appear to help things for Ms. Vaught and her family. Believable but extraordinarily disturbing transphobia after the fold.

More from Ms. Vaught:

One nurse finally asked, "So is it a he or a she? Or a he-she?"

So my wife said to the nurse, "She is my wife, not an it."

To which the nurse replied with a chuckle, "Well, what do you want me to say? I can't tell. Until I know then he is an it. Now I know, and I know he is a he."

[The nurse later]...asked a series of bizarre questions. "Do you ever feel so angry you might lose control?" "Are you able to buy groceries every week?" "Do you ever feel overwhelmed?" "Have you ever thought about suicide?" We were confused and still are.

She said, "Well, we don't know how to go about treating someone with your condition."

I responded, "I don't even know my condition. That's why I'm here!"

She replied, "No. Your other condition. The transvestite thing."

Rage. Seethe. Smash.

If only this was a unique story. Robert Eads and Tyra Hunter are two trans people whose stories are widely told in trans circles, but only because they died as a result of transphobia. I pretty much expect medical providers [strong TW for transphobia and violence]to hesitate before giving me emergency treatment, should they discover I'm trans. It's something I'll try to block out of my mind tonight when I go to enjoy a dangerous hobby of mine in small town Upstate New York. Of course, it's something I always try to block out of my mind.

I really can't say anything else that hasn't been said a bazillion times before; it's just too tiring to keep addressing the issue of why people shouldn't kill my trans family. We don't have a choice on when and where we need medical care, and as long as incidents like this one are common, none of us is safe.

Via. Article from today's Muncie Star Press.