This is from my friend, Mary Beth Williams, because frankly, I’m a little embarrassed to be doing this :

“Two months ago, Susie Madrak, my dear friend of over 20 years, called me with news you never want to hear: “I have pancreatic cancer.” A scary thing, especially since her father died of the same horrible disease.

“During the testing process, she also learned that the unrelenting back pain that confined her to her chair after she fell down concrete steps in November was an exploded vertebra, missed by the ER x-ray taken at the time.

“Her medical team pushed for an immediate Whipple, but she insisted that the chronic pain left her in poor shape for such major surgery.

“Two weeks ago, she finally had spinal surgery, and will now begin chemo, radiation, and eventually the Whipple surgery. It will be a long, rough long road to recovery.

“Although there are some new treatments for this, there is no cure.

“One of the original progressive bloggers, she’s been blogging for the past 20 years, and that means no paid sick leave, no retirement plan — and no savings. (She’s also had Long Covid since 2021, with chronic fatigue that limits her to a few functional hours a day.)

“Her family members all live at least an hour away. They do as much as they can, but she will still need in-home help, only some of it covered by Medicare.

“My goal is to raise enough for Susie to survive the next year without worrying too much about money. She has championed the helpless for years, and I hope we can do the same for her while goes through this fight.”

I would love to have your help, but I also know how many people are hurting this year. And because I’m a blogger, I know why. But if you can spare a few bucks to help me through this all-too-common American nightmare, I’d really appreciate it.

Susie

P.S. I gotta tell you, this is really uncomfortable for me. I don’t mind asking for help with my car, but health care is a bottomless pit.