u/bachelorsinlurking

After a couple years of starting and stopping and getting nervous and starting etc etc I finally got up the courage to talk to my local Rabbi about conversion! I grew up in a weird sort of mishmash of catholic and evangelical churches, and only found out after I went out on my own that my grandparents on my father's side were ethnically Jewish and that my grandpa was raised religious as well. He stopped practicing after ww2 and my grandmother was never really aware of her roots because her family was part of the many groups that were forced to convert to catholicism in southern Italy. It was just kind of a big family secret no one knew what to do with, and I happened to be the first in a long time to have an interest in untangling the thread and decide to follow it.

I'm in my 30s, and married to a very nice guy- he's not Jewish and not converting with me, but he's very supportive of me in this and he's cheering me on. I spent the majority of my life (ironically) studying Egyptology and archaeology, until I had to leave Cairo when covid hit and I ended up leaving my career behind when my health got worse. So, I guess what they say about plagues in Egypt was true! I grew up around a lot of family friends who were conservative Jewish, so I'm pretty familiar with cultural stuff, but much less familiar with the religious side of it. I'm a huge nerd when it comes to academics and one of my favorite activities is to just read on a topic until I run out of material, so I've been assured that I'm in good company.

I am friends with the Rabbi at our local reform synagogue, and I recently got in contact with a coordinator for community events, so once said Rabbi is back from his family vacation with his grandkids we'll begin meeting and studying! I am kind of unsure where exactly to start, but I am happy to be beginning this journey and I'm excited to learn. Nice to meet you all!

I have heat sensitivity because of a couple meds I’m on plus existing disabilities that make heat more dangerous. It’s gonna be 98 degrees Fahrenheit for at least a few days and 70% humidity, and I live in an area of the US where that’s extremely uncommon. We have AC and it’s barely getting us down to 75 F. I have my neurologist on call in case I have a seizure and I’m rotating ice packs out constantly and I’m so fucking pissy. I hate it so much!!! I hate summer and I hate not being able to go outside!

I switched to protonmail a while back, but I still have a gmail account that I use for some stuff. I recently got on the reservation queue for steam machine and my gmail is the account that the reservation notice went to- I noticed there's a new label called purchases in Gmail but even though the notification says I should have 4 messages/emails in that tab, when I click on it the section is empty. I've tried using in:purchases but it comes up exactly the same. I'm worried that the confirmation email may have gotten sorted in there somehow where I can't approve and pay for the purchase, and I would hate to miss out on it because there's a 3 day window to pay from when the email arrives.

Hi! I recently learned my hearing was not as good as I thought it was and that I am a good fit for hearing aids (sensorineural, low frequency hearing loss and some really loud tinnitus). I just turned 30 and my father was about my age when he started losing his hearing, and he's now half deaf on one side and deaf on the other but he just WOULD NOT wear his hearing aids. I want to go into this prepared, and I'm wondering if any of y'all have wisdom to share!

I came up with a list of priorities for aids based on my needs to share with the audiologist when I have my consult this week- durability, rechargable, and comfortable is my main concern, and I'd like them to be easy on the hands because I have chronic nerve and joint pain so my hands aren't super coordinated. I have insurance and have already met my maximum, and I don't mind if they're visible. I honestly would like some colorful ones to match my colorful rollator, but I don't know if they make colorful ones for adults.

Basically, any advice about daily living with hearing aids would be a huge help, especially anything related to maintenance and figuring out the right pair for me! Thank you!

I am so stressed out about an appointment I have tomorrow with my pulmonologist. For some context, I grew up in a very unstable family situation with a multiply disabled abusive parent so my health wasn't a priority until my mom and I were able to get out of there when I was 24. Around that time I started trying to put together some more information and after a couple years I learned I have epilepsy, asthma, chronic nerve pain that's caused peripheral neuropathy, some mild hearing loss on one side, and most recently rheumatoid arthritis. I did know that I had beta thalassemia minor (non infusion dependent) but there's nothing much that can be done since the symptoms I do have are milder.

I started seeing a pulmonologist after I had a surgery in january because I had a complication. It was unrelated to the surgery itself- laryngeospasm and pulmonary edema that turned my outpatient surgery into a 4 night stay and respiratory failure. My white blood cell count was through the roof, and it's still higher than it's supposed to be. It took all 4 days to wean me from 16 L of o2 down to 9, then to 6, then 2, then off the oxygen. It's been around half a year since the surgery, so the pulmonologist ordered a follow up CT, some bloodwork, X rays, and pulmonary lung function tests. Tomorrow I have the followup for that appointment and I'm so terrified. The doc said he was concerned because after the surgery the x rays they did for diagnostics found that I had scarring on my lungs- I thought my wheezing was just asthma, but he seems concerned about interstitial lung disease or something that might eventually progress to pulmonary fibrosis. He is a very kind and good doctor, and I'm lucky to be working with him, but he was honest with me and said he'd never seen anything like what I went through, and he didn't really know what to expect when it came to prognosis because my situation is so unique and because I went so long without treatment for my existing issues.

I JUST started getting my health in order. I'm five years out from where I was before, I have a good team of doctors, a great support system- I'm married to my best friend. I don't know what I'll do if tomorrow I find out that my lungs are damaged beyond repair- I lost multiple loved ones to pneumonia, COPD, and other lung issues, and my grandfather had tuberculosis shortly before he died when I was in high school. I've had covid 7 times despite being fully vaxxed and boosted because of the autoimmune issues we didn't know I had until this year. It feels like I've spent a lifetime trying to get people to treat my health as if it were important, and now that people are listening I keep hearing 'why didn't you say anything sooner?' I'm 30 now and I have been using a rollator for two years now. I don't want to be hauling around an oxygen tank as well- I remember how hard it was with my aunt and how frustrating it was for her. At night, I do my breathing exercises and wonder if it's doing anything or if it's just to make me feel better. I'm scared and I'm tired and if anyone can give me any words of wisdom I would appreciate it so so so much.