I’ve been waiting until I felt well enough to post about my breast cancer surgery and recovery, about the treatment I will begin in January. I have words to say about experiencing the healthcare system as a person with cancer versus a person with ME. And maybe I will write those words at some point.
But none of that matters to me tonight because my friend Beth Mazur is dead. Beth was a co-founder of #MEAction, a data scientist turned advocate by necessity. She was also a shining example of the very best, the best ME advocates and the most wonderful people. To me, Beth was always rock steady, a woman who protected her limits when necessary and who was fiercely committed to our community. And she was a good friend, to me and to so many others.
So very many people are hurting right now, mourning Beth. I’m sending my love and strength to everyone in our community, whether you had the good fortune to know Beth or not. If you are experiencing trauma, grief, or suicidal thoughts from this news, please reach out. Some resources are collected here, and in the United States you can call 988 to connect with someone who can help.
The only words I have tonight are that I want this disease to stop killing any of us.
Sending love back to you 🫂
Be careful. Trying to find out a bit more information produced a listing of normal-looking sites which may have downloaded viruses to my system.
I Restarted – hope they weren’t Mac specific – but it scared the heck out of me.
I’m so sorry about Beth.
Alicia
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜
So very sorry to hear of this loss. I don’t even know what to say except I love you and wishing you some comfort in the wake of this horrible news
Enough. Says it all.
Lost a MEep in November, then this.
I can’t bear it.
So sorry to hear about what happened to Beth Mazur. I didn’t know her, but she made a huge contribution to the ME?CFS community.
And I’m sorry to hear of your own loss, too.
This is a terrible disease and everyone who deals with it is heroic.
Best wishes in the new year in your cancer treatment.
Beautifully said. Enough, indeed. Sending so much love back to you too ❤️
I think so highly of you too, Jennie, and all your helpful communications to our ME community over the years. In fact it is due to efforts like yours that we can feel like a community with this isolating illness.
There is such an enormous difference between how people are treated with an accepted serious illness vs an unaccepted one which is not considered serious, if even an illness at all, while its difficulties and depredations exceed those of most other illnesses until their end. ME is not a terminal illness, but it is a lifelong one for most, and if it begins in early or middle life, that is a lot of years.
My sincere condolences to you Jen and her famiky. It’s a tremendous loss to those inthe MECFS community. I’m so grateful for her life and contributions to our cause. May those mourning her loss find comfort in remembering her devotion to helping others and the kindness her life represented. 🙏🏻❤️😢. Take care of yourself 🙏🏻
This is so sad. Yes, enough! Condolences to all who knew and loved Beth.
❤️♥️❤️