Feminist Artist Sini Anderson in Late-stage Lyme Disease

first and foremost, thank you for writing this article. and thank you to sini for being brave enough to ask for help (i know how difficult that is) and to her community for coming through in such a miraculous way. thanks also to both of you for raising awareness about the devastation lyme can cause.

i have late-stage lyme, too. i've had it most of my life, was bedridden for about a year or more seven years ago. the disease nearly killed me. it's a miracle i'm alive at all, and i try to remember to be grateful to my body each and every day i wake up. my story is heartbreaking, as are the stories of so many with this disease. i have no family support, and no partner. i can barely afford rent and food, let alone treatment. i am at serious risk for homelessness in the near future if things don't change, and fast. i, too, started an indiegogo site for myself. the difference? i've raised $2600 in about 1.5 months' time. please don't get me wrong -- i am so, so thankful for every single person who's donated and/or shared the link. words can't express my gratitude, in fact. but the fact is that i'm just some no-name queer woman fighting for her life. i'm not famous. i'm an artist, too - a poet, musician, visual artist - but i've been so sick for so long that there's been no hope of getting my work out there, and very little opportunity for even developing that work in the first place. because of the fact that no one knows my name, there is no way on earth i could ever hope to raise even a fraction of what sini's partner and friend raised for her. so as i watched the money pour into sini's campaign, my heart both rejoiced and hurt in ways too complex to put to words. i am happy for sini. she deserves every penny. but i deserve to live, too, and i am tired of the culture of fame that pervades every aspect of our lives, even within the most progressive of queer communities. in fact, my fundraiser has been extremely successful when compared to those of other non-famous folks with lyme who've launched campaigns -- i don't know a single one that has raised over $2000. i'll link you to a campaign that touches my heart deeply; like me, this man is alone. like me and sini, he has late-stage lyme. unlike sini, he is not well-known. he needs help, and what's come through for him so far is not near enough: http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?url=supportralphhendersoninf... .. the difference in the response to ordinary folks' medical fundraisers and the fundraisers of folks with any amount of cultural recognition/fame is staggering. so many people are suffering. so many desperate and dying with this illness. please don't let one successful campaign prevent you from seeing the rest of us.

sini has given so much to the queer community and the world at large. i'm happy she's being supported through this awful disease. but the truth of it is this: the queer community (or any community at all; ours certainly isn't rare when it comes to this) doesn't rally in this way for folks who are not well-known within our community. i believe that everyone, regardless of how famous their name/work/art, deserves that same beautiful outpouring of support. we all give in the ways we're able. this illness robs lives, it forcibly isolates you from your community, and if you're sick for long enough it robs creativity and possibility as well.

blessings of health to all of you,

heather.

ps. i feel strange linking to my fundraiser here, so i won't. but my lyme story is at the following URL, in case anyone would like to read it: http://lymenaide.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/my-lyme-disease-is-not-the-ids...

edit: this was really hard for me to write and i'm saddened it has gotten zero responses. i'd like to see discussion around these issues. if not here, then please feel free to email me: violinexplosion@yahoo.com. take care.