Ive just seen the news that Heather Askeland has died. I didnt know her well, because we met towards the end of her life when she was battling so desperately against the cruelties of Lyme disease. I saw a video she posted, pleading for someone to help her find treatment and a place to stay, so that she could go on living. She so desperately wanted to go on living. I had no money to offer her, and there was an ocean in the way, so I messaged her instead. I hoped to be there for her, and I hoped to witness her blossoming recovery. It is so hard to stop believing that good people will get the miracles they deserve. It is almost impossible to undersand that life doesnt play fair. It just is, and sometimes that is the saddest, saddest thing. She was clearly a lovely person. She was someone who should have been allowed to get better, and to fly on her own wings again. I wish I had known her properly, and my heart goes out to her loved ones. I know this will be a blow to so many, because it always is when one of our number leaves us. It is terrible that this world, and our closeknit community, keep losing beautiful and irreplaceable human beings! We have to keep holding onto each other, we have to remember that any day now there could be medical breakthroughs, or our own bodies could discover a way to at least heal enough to give us respite. We are a collective, and even when you feel alone, the loss of you would be utterly unbearable. Dont ever forget that. It is the saddest thing also, that you are in pain. As Amberlin Wu once put it This sort of thing shouldnt happen to angels, but it does. And the thing about angels is they know how to stand together and go on singing
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 09:48:35 +0000