The Friend I Never Met

The term friendship speaks to cooperation, good will, and support between two individuals. Can you befriend someone you’ve never met? I hope you will feel the same way as I do.

I don’t know Lori Hall Steele personally but feel linked to her in many ways. She is a freelance writer who has one son, a 7-year old named Jackson. Like me, she is a member of both the American Society of Journalists (ASJA) and Freelance Success. We have virtual friends in common with whom we’ve both connected on various forums.

I recently learned that Lori is battling for her life at the age of 44. The story is frightening because it could happen to any one of us. Almost a year ago, this otherwise healthy and vital young woman experienced a mysterious weakness in her feet. Then the paralysis spread to her arms and legs and she became wheel-chair bound. When she was no longer able to use her hands to write, Lori’s freelance career came to a screeching halt. Simultaneously, extraordinary medical bills started piling on. She received a modest emergency grant from the ASJA but it was insufficient to meet her accumulating debts.

In February, 2008, Lori’s mom, Shannon, moved from Florida to Traverse City, Michigan to care for her daughter and grandson. In the spring, Lori was finally diagnosed with a bad case of Lyme disease. But instead of bouncing back and recovering as everyone had hoped she would, her condition only worsened and the suspected diagnosis was a more ominous neurodegenerative disorder: Lou Gehrig’s disease (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS). Lori is now on a breathing machine in a hospital bed.

I feel very proud to be part of a writing community that has circled around a woman that many have only met once or twice, or like myself, only know virtually. Because of her deteriorating medical condition and dire financial circumstances, her home appears to be close to foreclosure. While we are impotent in fighting this devastating illness, we are embarking on an effort to preserve her home, which would afford some modicum of stability to her son, mother, and her new life today.

I hope you will be inspired to read more about Lori’s plight at either http://www.savelorishouse.com/ or http://hallsteele.blogspot.com/ and decide to contribute. A yellow button makes it easy to make a small donation through Paypal. If everyone who reads my blog and those of other writers contributes just $25, we can save Lori’s house and form a friendship circle around her. Please feel free to email this post to your friends and colleagues.

To learn more about ALS, go to the NIH Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Information Page.

Sadly, Lori Hall Steele passed away on November 19, 2008. Her friends and colleagues raised more than $70,000 for her mortgage and medical bills. She willl be sadly missed in the community of writers. Click here to read her obituary.