Several times on this blog—particularly as my weekdaily posting schedule slackened in 2016 and
Several times on this blog—particularly as my weekdaily posting schedule slackened in 2016 and 2017 and fell off to almost nothing in 2018 and 2019—I’ve mentioned changes to my life that have drawn me away from the computer: new radio show time slots, more work/life balance, more time at the gym, and even professional freelancing.And somewhere in that list, you probably caught mentions of caregiving, and ambulance rides, and ERs, and long, long hospital stays.I met @artisticlicensetokill—Katerina—at a radio station party in late spring of 2013. We were almost immediately inseparable, and spent that summer and fall going on road trips, playing games, and generally falling head over heels for each other. And then one weekend in early 2014, she called me from Katsucon and told me she was having trouble walking and that she’d needed to borrow a hotel wheelchair.This was our first brush with mitochondrial disease. I met her down at the convention and pushed her for the rest of the con. By the next week, she’d ordered her own wheelchair. And I spent the next five and a half years helping to take care of her and preserve her independence in the face of—once we’d gotten a diagnosis, which in itself took two or three years—a degenerative disease she knew would kill her. Some people get a manageable version of mitochondrial disease. Kat got the version with gastroparesis, progressive organ failure, and profound muscle and nerve pain that left her in such daily agony she qualified for palliative care. None of which stopped her from loving life, traveling when she could, creating art, playing games, and making plans for a bright future.Katerina passed away the morning of August 24. We laid her to rest in accordance with her Jewish faith on August 29. She was this blog’s biggest fan. And I was—and still am—hers.To support people still living with mitochondrial disease and to support disabled gamers in general, please consider a gift to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and Able Gamers, two organizations Kat was devoted to. Thanks. -- source link
#pathfinder#pathfinder 2e#dungeons dragons#mitochondrial disease