Aston Martinez

RAM • 19th August 2022

The Impact of Healthcare Pricing & Transparency on the Rare Disease Community

Imagine this: you’ve just arrived back home from running errands and decide to check the mail, whereupon you find that you’ve received an outrageous bill for your brief visit to the ER recently. Sound familiar? Almost every adult has faced this at some point, whether it be for themselves or a family member, but it can be especially common and distressing among those in the rare disease community.

Why does this happen? What’s being done about it, and what more needs to be done?

RAM • 29th July 2022

Emergency Preparedness: Creating a Disability-Inclusive Emergency Plan

Emergency preparedness is an important topic for anyone - your average person should have a set plan as to what to do during a natural or manmade disaster, what to take if ordered to evacuate, and have a backup plan for sheltering in place. However, people with chronic health conditions need an emergency preparedness strategy that maps what to do during a flare, what to take to the emergency room, and where to store backup medication and an extra set of clothes just in case. The truth of the mat

RAM • 21st July 2022

The Specious Reason Behind the Lack of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training in the Workplace

In just the last few years, there’s been an increasing amount of attention drawn to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in workplaces and communities – or, more specifically, the lack of those initiatives.

Some of the most well-known examples include such corporations and organizations as Starbucks, Sephora, and even the City of Seattle. Much of this was exacerbated by the emergence of a global pandemic, forcing many to rethink work environments and completely audit their busines

RAM • 27th June 2022

The Disability Spectrum & Why It Matters

Disability is often seen as a binary “check yes or no” matter - either you’re disabled or you’re not. This simply isn’t the case, and recognizing that there are so many different variations of disabilities - even for one individual from day to day - is an important step toward cultivating a world with true inclusivity, equity, and accessibility.

Before we move on, I’d like to introduce you to the disability equation posed by Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery in their book, “A Web for Everyone

Humans • 23rd June 2022

The Lives You Save (Fiction)

The sun was sitting low, cresting atop the surrounding city buildings. The light it issued shone dimly through darkly tinted windows, creating an ambiance you could only find at a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop such as Allison’s Espresso Express. The small building smelled strongly of exotic coffee blends and a variety of toasted sandwiches. The few customers were either mumbling in hushed voices amongst each other or clicking away on cell phones and laptops. Colleen Caraway sipped a black coffee

Fiction • 23rd June 2022

Through the Eyes of the Owl (Fiction)

"Remind me again why I'm awake so early in the middle of nowhere?" Damon's grouchy voice cut through the thick darkness of the Airbnb cabin he and his wife, Avery, had rented for a week-long getaway. It was the third day of their trip, and Avery had insisted that they wake up before dawn to see the sunrise by the lake. He yawned, feeling the humid air coat his lungs as he ran his fingers through his thick blonde beard.

Habit Nest • 23rd June 2022

About Aston Martinez

I’m Aston Martinez. I just turned 26 in July, and I’m a writer for Habit Nest! I started with the team in June 2020 and I have loved every second of it already!

“It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.” You might recognize this quote often used in reference to the Butterfly Effect. So many things in life had to align to lead me to this moment.

It has been a wild ride, but I’m so thankful for it! Wher

The Phoenixes Lore • 23rd June 2022

https://phoenixes-habitnest.vercel.app/the-lore

You can feel it, can't you?

The pulse of energy deep in your core? The feeling that something inside you has long been caged and is ready to break free?

RAM • 24th May 2022

The Harms of Being Labeled a ‘Difficult’ Patient

Imagine you’ve just been handed a complete copy of your medical records. As you’re skimming it, you find that one of your physicians left a note in your chart stating that you were difficult and non-compliant during one of your appointments. “That can’t be right,” you think as you try to remember what might have gone wrong during that appointment. There was that one time you refused a medication you didn’t feel comfortable taking, or maybe it was the time that you cried because the doctor sugges