Steven Spohn @stevenspohn
On June 11th, Michael Hickson, a quadriplegic black man with COVID-19 was killed by a hospital in Austin Texas.
Doctors decided he had "no quality of life" an was not worth spending the resources to save.
The conversation between his doctor and his wife was caught on audio 1/?
[description of image: a photo of Hickson, lying in a hospital bed and smiling for the camera /description]
Doctor: So as of right now, his quality of life -- he doesn't have much of one.
Melissa: What do you mean? Because he's paralyzed with a brain injury he doesnât have quality of life?
Doctor: Correct.
--
Hickson was refused food or treatment for 6 days
In the YouTube video, the doctor can be heard saying "he will have lines and tubes coming out of his body... That's not quality-of-life"
I have tubes coming out of my body. I happen to like my life. Without those tubes I'd be dead
Our definition of quality is vastly different
So, when you see me repeatedly yelling about masks, paying attention to disabled people, and you don't understand why I tweet with passion, remember this.
I'm fighting to change culture that doesn't see disabled life as quality. many of us are afraid and rightly so.
LaBlaq @LoveAndShalom
Please, please, please don't sweep this under the rug. Your disabled friends are in danger.
We must unite and fight this!
disabled black lives matter too!!! I need able bodied ppl to make some noise about this!!!! learn your state, counties and local hospitals eugenist and racist polices, be active about trying to change them. this shit has been black & brown & disabled ppl before covid19
i know lots of other disabled ppl of color who know how unsafe and abusive the medical field is, we are given subpar care that could and has killed countless disabled black and brown folks, we are put on DNRâs (do not revive) against our wishes, we are told were liars and faking, we cant treat our disorders like adhd and chronic pain without medical staff think we are drug seeking
Mr. Hickson is a drop in the bucket of the systematic medical racism and ableism that kills us. now more than ever i need yall to be advocates for your disabled members of your community, Mrs. Hickson was her husbands voice in the hospital, and they took that away, covid cant be an excuse to rip disabled ppls advocates awayÂ
Arizona is coming our with score cards to triage covid patients to decide who really should get medical treatment, older folks and ppl with pre existing conditions immediately placed into a lower rank of priority due to how long we may life after coronavirus. In the Uk and probably here too drs and nurses are ASSUMING disabled ppl automatically want DNRâs which is mad illegal. Wait times for treatment for poc and disabled ppl are longer than white and able folks, nurses have exposed that people of color are dying, disabled ppl are dying not just from covid but medical racist/ableist neglect from staff
Racism and ableism play a mixed up dance that kills us, via cops &or medical staff the same forces that killed Mr. Hickson is the same that killed Kayla Moore, a black disabled trans woman who died in police custodyÂ
Charleena Lyles, a black mentally ill mother who was killed by police
Regis Korchinski-Paquet, black indigenous and mentally ill person who died durring a âwellness checkâ
Elija McClain, a black anemic person, who died bc of the cops and emts
Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Tanisha Anderson and so many more blk ppl killed by police violence are disabled
