Mortality

A double post today. Lucky you, you who are bored enough to come here. :)

Around two weeks ago, I received news that a teenager with the same Condition as I had had died. His Condition was caught very early and treatment seemed to be going well. Suddenly, he just...passed on. I'm not going to repeat the details here out of respect for his family but it was very sudden and shocking.

In this year alone, I have seen no less than 8 people with my Condition whom I know in one way or another pass on for various reasons, none of them natural causes. Counting my support groupss, I'd guess that cumulatively, we're talking about 20-30+ folks dying this year. Given that this Condition is rare, it means that the survivability rate is dropping this year as 20-30 people is a *huge* chunk of our community.

This makes me sad. I'd say that even though my symptoms intensified slower than others, I have been fortunate to retain that which I still have. I know that others have not been so fortunate and I try my best to help them where I can.

But...this young man had every advantage too, more than I have. He was farther along in his treatment and seemed to be responding better too. But he is no longer with us.

It took me a while to come to terms with this. I'm not sure I totally grok my feelings about this yet. I'm certainly scared and demoralized. I'm not sure if all of this is going to be for naught in the end and if I will just end up being yet another statistic. Given that I very nearly was a couple of years ago, this is something that I am actively trying to prevent, for whatever good it does. However, I have reconfirmed that the treatment path I'm on is the right one and that I should continue. In this, I have the full support of my family, for which I am thankful for - family should never be taken for granted.