Antivaxxing discussion aside, Marley's points are spot on. I've seen it myself:

Antivaxxing discussion aside, Marley's points are spot on. I've seen it myself:

I had necrotizing pancreatitis in 2011/2012. I went into multiorgan failure and spent three months in the hospital. Then I spent an entire year with an open wound living the life of what seemed to be an 80 year old man, meaning I was going to the ER a lot as well as too many appointments with too many specialists. It's remarkable what you see if you just observe.

I sat with many families at a wound doctor and talked to the regulars. Most people end up in wound clinics because of type 2 diabetes, which for other systemic reasons is higher in BIPOC communities.

I learned bariatric chamber treatment was off-limits to those who needed it most. For healing wounds, this could be life-saving.

Even more importantly, I noticed how much more readily Black people were being amputated than others. I also noticed their amputations were far more extreme than the white diabetics. This is anecdotal. But I'm a researcher and writer so I got curious.

I found many studies showing more lower extremity amputations among Hispanics and Blacks than compared to whites. Looking again today as I write this lead me to this: "Notable Racial and Ethnic Disparities Persist in Lower Extremity Amputations for Critical Limb Ischemia and Infection (see https://journals.lww.com/jaaos/Abstract/2020/11010/Notable_Racial_and_Ethnic_Disparities_Persist_in.5.aspx).

This was published just last month.

I learned the hard way to become my own health advocate. This is especially true if you have a disability or you are not white. The medical system is fucked up enough without the layer of racism applied. You have to watch out for yourself. Ask questions. Don't let your doctor leave the room to hurry off to another patient if they are not done with you. Read labels and the documentation for anything you put in your body. Make your specialists talk to each other. Follow up on everything by tracking questions and worries you have. Talk to your family and friends about your care. This is the only way you can use the American medical system without becoming lost in the shuffle.

I may be white, but I know what I saw and experienced. If you are passive, you will receive bad care by bad doctors. If you pick up racists vibes from your doctor, call them on it. My girlfriend lost two family members in Flynt, MI in the same week because white people were prioritized with covid in the ER. Her uncle was sent home with the same symptoms (see https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2020/04/five-flint-coronavirus-deaths-linked-by-church-and-family.html).

If any other white people complain about this article, then they haven't been paying attention.

Again, I can't emphasize this enough: own what you put in your bodies. Become your own health advocate because nobody is going to take that role, including your primary doctor. Marley is right, the healthcare system doesn't deserve your unchecked, unresearched trust.