By now you have all somewhat processed the shitty, awful, horrible news that Betty shared with us yesterday, and I am sure most of you are as gutted and pissed off and angry as I am. I am so sick and tired of cancer attacking the good people, I am so sick and tired of it attacking my friends, and I am sick and tired of our health care system being so fucking expensive and callous.
Having said that, I don’t want to feel impotent, and I am sure many of you do not, either, so we asked Betty if we could put up a gofundme to help her through this process. She’s been out of work for months with this horrible god damned disease, has had frequent hospitalizations because of it, and has a long road ahead of her, and I am going to try to help out and make it as easy as possible and chip in when I can. So here is a link to a gofundme.
We set the amount high for several reasons, mainly because we have no idea what the costs of her treatment will be, but also because I didn’t want to give what I can now and then not be able to give again when I get paid. And if you know ANYTHING about Betty, it’s that she will be a pain in the ass to get permission to help her more than once, just as she would be pissed off if people give money they can not really afford.
Having said all that, if, like me, you want to try to help out a dear friend in a tough time, here is a chance.
WaterGirl
I will chime in with a few details on the $60,000 goal. Between lost wages and out of pocket expenses with a crazy high deductible, Betty is already out more than $50,000. The last thing we want is for Betty to have to worry about finances while she fights this fight.
GoFundMe holds back 20% for taxes, so we figure that $60,000 would net Betty close to the $50,000.
Last week I told Betty she was the most beloved person on Balloon Juice (sorry John!) and she told me she thought I was wrong about that by an order of magnitude.
I haven’t asked, but after the outpouring of love and affection for Betty yesterday, I think she might just believe me now.
Rileys Enabler
Thank you for putting this up. 💜
WaterGirl
Oh, and I’d like to point you to this in the sidebar.
Betty Cracker’s Corner
Personal News: Valley of the Shadow
Balloon Juice Sponsored GoFundMe
Betty will post updates now and again, and the links will be added there.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/betty-cracker-could-use-our-support
We will also have a link in Betty Cracker’s Corner to a post where you can check in with Betty if you’re thinking of her, and she’ll check in on that post and add replies when she is up to it.
Betty will have more to say about that when she puts up that post in a day or two.
But in the meantime, that seems like a good way to keep Balloon Juice that one place for Betty where everything doesn’t have to be about this fight. This way we won’t leave landmines in various threads that Betty might stumble on in a day when she is leaving all that behind and just wants to feel normal.
stinger
i was hoping a venue like this would be available. I may have chipped in twice, because I’m sometimes stumped by technology. But that’s okay too!
David Anderson
Tell Betty to call me if she needs insurance help
laura
I’m in for a hundy and so very glad to have the opportunity to do so.
Lyrebird
Thanks so much for setting this up. I am right now in a difficult spot, but I was recently caring for a loved one with cancer, and based on that I can say that there are some folks out there, like private duty nurses/CNAs, who made a huge difference for our loved one’s comfort AND continued strength.
Wishing Betty all the supports!!!
greengoblin
I’m in. Thank you for the opportunity to help.
bbleh
ok done
stinger
@WaterGirl:
WaterGirl, the “Balloon Juice Sponsored GoFundMe” link in the side bar goes to the Personal News page, not the GoFundMe page.
Kay
Oh, yay. I wanted to get her something. Thank you for doing this.
wmd
My employer sponsored insurance had an out of pocket maximum of $2,000 when I had cancer 7 years ago. That got hit before I was fully diagnosed, which meant I didn’t have to think about money throughout treatment.
This was a very good thing – it let me concentrate on healing. No one should be thinking about money when they are fighting for their life.
I checked my explanation of benefits letters after I was done with treatment and mostly back to normal. My treatment was billed at a bit over $1 million; that was discounted to a bit over $500,000. Again I paid $2,000 total.
No one should be worried about money when they get a cancer diagnosis.
I’m currently on pretty low quality insurance through covered california exchange. $9000 out of pocket maximum, and none of my historical providers are in network. I need to get back to work and get decent insurance, but at least if I get hit by a bus or fall off the roof I have coverage.
Nancy
I’ve enjoyed reading Betty’s thoughts. I imagine I know everyone here personally because you all become so familiar. I don’t know you really, but I wish you well and I want to join the Fuck Cancer Brigade so I donated what I can.
Betty, I hope you can focus on your health while we help in the ways we can.
$8 blue check mistermix
Done. Thanks to John for setting this up and thanks to everyone who has and will contribute.
Percysowner
I’m in. I’ll go again next month as well, Just need to spread things out.
eponymous
In for a hundred. I was horrified and saddened by Betty’s news, but she has the love and well-wishes of myself and so many other people! I hope this buoys and strengthens her in the coming days!
I can also do a bit more next month.
Kevin the hen
Long time lurker, done! Go Betty, you can beat this!
comrade scotts agenda of rage
I hope everybody donates something. No matter how little.
Per above, BCrack is the most beloved person here. Best blogger since Steve Gilliard. One of our own.
WaterGirl
@stinger: Thanks, all fixed now!
wmd
Another thing from personal experience with cancer – your pets make a difference. After I met my team I asked for a psych referral – telling them I had a good mindset and anticipated challenges. I was asked about pets, and I had been rescued by my sweet Buzzy about 3 weeks before I was told to get that lump in my neck checked. Psych nurse said if they could issue a pet to every patient they would as better outcomes are clinically documented for pet owners. also some anodyne advice on framing the challenges – it’s not chemo is systemically attacking every cell – it’s chemo is attacking the cancer (side effects not withstanding).
I’m tight until the end of the month, but I definitely am in for a donation in June.
Wanderer
Grateful to be able to help.
Dagaetch
Contributed. Because fuck cancer, and fuck our systems that just add stress to an already horrible situation.
Jerry
I’m sorry that I couldn’t donate more than the $10 that I gave. I’ve been out of work since November, but if I do finally score a job while this is up and running still, I will donate more.
Sandia Blanca
Thank you John and WaterGirl for giving us this outlet for our collective outrage and grief! We’re in for $100, will repeat in a few weeks.
Gloria DryGarden
@WaterGirl: oh shit.
I just made a comment to Betty in the gilt edged thread. I don’t see a link yet to put that kind of comment in her corner. Let me know if I need to move it.
dexwood
Done, with love for Betty. Good deal, John, thanks.
WaterGirl
@Gloria DryGarden: That’s okay. With the news about Betty yesterday, it was hard to take everything in, and I bet a lot of people missed that part of what she wrote.
Going forward it will be good if that’s where folks ask after Betty, or want to express their concern or their good thoughts, or whatever.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
Grateful for the opportunity to help. I’m in for $125.
zhena gogolia
I’ll chip in tomorrow morning. Thanks for doing this.
Raoul Paste
I’m glad for this
DianeB
Done, and so glad to see this happening. Betty is a gem.
Chief Oshkosh
Just pitched in. Hope to send more next month.
arrieve
Thank you John and WaterGirl. I’m so happy to be able to do something.
stinger
@WaterGirl: 👍
Omnes Omnibus
Donated.
HinTN
John – This is a great thing for our beloved Ms Cracker (thanks for allowing Cole to share that wedding picture!).
tl;dr and TMI, too, but so it goes:
Cancer is insidious! On 7 March I was walking in the woods, working in the yard, doing whatever the hell I wanted to do. On 8 March the switch flipped and my body functions changed (and thank FSM for that unmistakable indicator). For two months the medical system fumbled around and finally yielded a diagnosis. I’m on Medicare with good supplemental so I’m covered. With all that and my income, Vanderbilt – Ingram Cancer Center has told me they will cover the rest, if any (I’ll have $100 out of pocket max for the whole shootin’ match). These disparities should not exist, but late stage capitalism is a cancer in and if itself.
Betty – be strong and of good cheer. Laughter is the best medicine and you are our queen-hell goddess when it comes to that. We’re holding you in the light
ETA – Of course I’ve donated!
Miss Bianca
I’m in. GO, CRACKER! SMASH CANCER!
SpaceUnit
I’m in. Love the photograph.
Good luck, Betty.
oldster
Sent what I could, and sending wishes for the rest.
Get better, Betty!
Joy in FL
I’m glad for a way to help and express my respect and co-jackel-ness.
After reading what WaterGirl wrote about the financial expense Betty has already paid, I would be fine if the goal were increased. (just a thought)
I can donate again at the end of the month
Oh, and that photo is perfect. The image of Betty that I have had in my mind is that crazy cartoon face she uses on social media; I love that crazy image. I hadn’t tried to imagine what the actual Betty might look like, but if I did, it would be that wedding photo. She looks like she writes– sharp and beautiful.
Westyny
In for a hundred later tonight. And because I’m secretly in love with her (unlike anyone else in this community!) I’m further charmed by that lovely picture.
WendyBinFL
Thanks to John and WaterGirl for the GoFundMe (and the priceless photo!), and to all the big-hearted members of this extraordinary community for their inspirational outpouring of love and support for Betty Cracker. Grateful to be able to contribute.
Memory Pallas
Glad for a way to help. And the lovely picture.
Sister Golden Bear
Thank you for setting this up, I just chipped in. Grateful for the opportunity to help.
RedDirtGirl
Happy to be able to contribute. Sorry to have to. If that makes sense.
Tom Levenson
Done, and happily (not happy about the occasion for doing so, happy to be able to chip in). And hey, Betty: if you do need more help, it is a kindness to allow us to do so. Don’t hesitate.
twbrandt
In. Thanks for giving us a way to help.
Barbara
Thanks for letting us help. I donated, and will donate further if needed.
Omnes Omnibus
@Sister Golden Bear: Seconded.
LifeInTheBonusRound
@Jerry: everything helps srsly. never feel guilty for being resource constrained. that’s just the bastids trying to keep you down. i’ll throw in some extra from you, ‘kay mate?
Kayla Rudbek
In for $25
Steeplejack
I’m in. Love that photo of young Betty and the mister!
goldengirl
Like others in this wonderful community, I’m happy to help and am very sorry that Betty is dealing with this. We hope this will lift her spirits and unburden her a bit, so she can focus on her treatment.
Sending healing energy.
J. Arthur Crank
I chipped in a Benjamin.
In addition to kicking cancer in the nuts, can someone also kick the U.S. healthcare system (as it is in practice for most people who are not rich) the nuts? Thanks in advance.
storm777
I am a long, long, long time lurker. This is Betty Cracker who has delighted me for years, along with the many regulars here. Fight the good fight, Betty!
Beavis C Dawg
@WaterGirl: Ill do what I can when I can. The youngest daughter is going through breast cancer now so yeah Fuck Cancer.
LifeInTheBonusRound
I’m in now. Next paycheck drops on the 31st and I’ll be in again. I’m mostly a lurker here, but also avidly appreciate the community and the support we can give each other. (As a gay man, I also think I’m kinda secretly in love with Betty tbh.)
JMG
Never been more eager to do something and felt more awful about it at the same time in my life.
wmd
I went ahead with a sawbuck today. Should be in for a Ulysses in June.
piratedan
are we allowed to expand this to places like Mastodon, BlueSky and CounterSocial?, i.e. post a link to the blog on this entry?
Omnes Omnibus
@piratedan: Satby has already hit Twitter with it.
Auntie Anne
I’m in, but boy do I echo what JMG said. Sending much love Betty Cracker’s way . . .
Maxim
Thanks for setting this up, John. Given what Betty’s out of pocket has already been, I second the notion of increasing the goal rather than having to do another one. I can chip in every month so long as this is active.
Barbara
@Beavis C Dawg: Wishing your family the best. I’m amazed at how well my sister has done two years after being treated for stage 3 bilateral breast cancer.
Hungry Joe
In for $50 … though if we’re keeping accounts I’m still WAY in Betty C.’s debt, for all the priceless laughs she’s given me.
WaterGirl
@Beavis C Dawg: No one should feel bad if it’s not a good time for them to give. And because of differences in disposable income at any given time, one person’s $10 can be more generous than another person’s $100.
I swear one summer I would have gone hungry if it hadn’t been for my neighbor who kept plying me with her home grown tomatoes! So we all get it, or at least most of us!
I was just trying to make it clear that we didn’t pull the dollar amount out of the air. :-)
Pete Downunder
I’m in. Good luck to Betty C from the land down under.
WaterGirl
@piratedan: Yes! I am pretty sure that folks on LGM and other progressive political blogs all know Betty Cracker, or at least her writing!
You can share the GoFundMe link directly.
I added the links in the sidebar so that people can easily see Betty’s original post, the GoFundMe, the updates when Betty posts them, etc. It’s up top, just after Recent Comments, so anyone coming to BJ can easily find them.
Betty Cracker’s Corner
Personal News: Valley of the Shadow
Balloon Juice Sponsored GoFundMe
Odie Hugh Manatee
In for a hunnert and more next month if it’s still up. We love ya, Bets! You’re in my thoughts.
cain
@David Anderson: oh yeah, that’s how to use that super power of yours :D
O. Felix Culpa
Done. With love to Ms. Cracker and Bill. Thank you, John, for organizing this.
seaboogie
@WaterGirl: What a great and thoughtful idea!
cain
@Jerry: Tell me how much you would have put down (up to $100) and I’ll match it.
ETA:
Fuck it – it’s $200 in yours and my name. :-)
WaterGirl
@WendyBinFL: Wait til you see the dog photos we’ve got lined up!
Badger is so photogenic, he could be a movie star! Pete is adorable, too, but damn, Badger apparently does not take a bad picture. My niece is like that and I really resent it. :-)
Another Scott
Thanks for doing this, JC. Thanks for the elaboration, WG.
Donated.
Let’s crush this thing while BC does her healing stuff.
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@seaboogie: Thank you!
raven
She’s the best even though she’s a Gator!
Kristine
I’m in.
espierce
I’m in and my appreciation to John for setting this up.
Mai Naem mobile
Donated. I hope we go way past the goal so that Ms Cracker at least doesn’t have to worry about the financial piece and just concentrate on kicking this.
Scout211
Donation made. Thank you for setting this up John.
BRyan
Anybody else having trouble getting payment via Venmo to respond/go through? Suggestions?
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: I tossed it into the fray at Bluesky.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Thank you!
jnfr
Sent the little bit I can today, will be happy to do it again later as needed.
Thinking of you always, and all best wishes 💜
WaterGirl
@BRyan: I don’t use Venmo, so I am not much help. Do you have Zelle or PayPal, by any chance?
Can someone who has Venmo try a $1 or $5 donation and let us know whether that works?
Wag
Done Glad to be able to help out
Nukular Biskits
Done.
ETA: And I almost forgot – FUCK CANCER!
espierce
@WaterGirl:
O/T but you might consider pinning this post at some point.
EarthWindFire
I’m in! Of course I’m in. I’ve been hoping for something to do for Betty since yesterday!
Cancer can fuck itself with a rusty pitchfork.
Thinking of you, Betty, and cherishing every post.
knittingbull
I’m in, also gave extra for the goddamned taxes. Fuck cancer. My brother just got through with chemo/radiation treatment and can actually eat again. Up the Crackers!
sxjames
Just donated $125. Its the least I can do for all the joy BCs writing has given me over the years. (‘m still chuckling over her comparison of Ron Desantis’s warmth and charm to “a concrete toilet seat in a Siberian outhouse”).
Hang in there!!1!
Joy in FL
@BRyan: At WaterGirl’s suggestion, I made a small (second) donation using Venmo. I did it on my iPhone, where I routinely use Venmo. The donation went through.
Beavis C Dawg
@WaterGirl: No problems we are on fixed incomes was my only point. We know what its like to be staring down this barrel.
Joy in FL
@WaterGirl: I made a small donation using Venmo, and it went through. I replied to BRyan separately to say the donation worked.
Beavis C Dawg
@Barbara: Thanks, two rounds of chemo and last week a lumpectomy and lymph node removal. No guarantees of course but hoping for the best is all we can do.
EarthWindFire
@Beavis C Dawg: I’m so sorry. I hope you all take comfort in all the new treatments and the each other.
There go two miscreants
Just plunked a bit in the kitty. Thanks for setting it up John! It is a consolation to be able to help some.
jackmac
Betty Cracker is a treasure and I’ll be happy to contribute when some money hits my bank on Wednesday.
Super Dave
Done. Love you, Betty!
mrmoshpotato
@Hungry Joe:
Totally agree! Catching up on the comments, then gonna go donate.
BenInNM
So happy to be able to help. Thanks for setting this up.
Hope for peace and healing for you Betty.
pat
Western Wisconsin, power out, so I am trying type this on a phone. I hate the hunt and peck. How on earth do people do this???
I prefer touch typing on my keypad.
Might have to move up into the 21st century. Sigh..
Sent some dough. Thanks for the opportunity.
p.a.
Done.
justanotherboomer
Just a lurker, but I’m in. Thanks for setting this up.
MazeDancer
Thanks for letting us do something, dear Betty.
Chat Noir
I’m in!
Lumpy
Made a small donation, because I appreciate Betty Cracker’s posts!
Spanish Moss
Donated, so glad to have a small way to help. Love you Betty!
DanielsBob
Donated in memory of my Mother who died from a brain tumor on her 64th birthday and her Mother who died from her third stroke three months earlier, three days after her 86th birthday. Both loved by nearly everyone they knew.
BRyan
@Joy in FL: Thank you! It looks like Venmo needed me to update the app before the donation would go through, but everything seems to be working now. Appreciate your help.
scribbler
Donated. Glad to have some small way to help.
BRyan
@WaterGirl: thanks to you and Joy in FL, the Venmo glitch I encountered seems to have been resolved. Appreciated your putting the issue out there, and I let Joy in FL know it’s worked out. Happy to be able to join the effort in support of Betty C; thank you to John C and you and the wonderful BJ community.
Joy in FL
@BRyan: Good. I’m glad it worked for you. Thanks for letting me know : )
StringOnAStick
Thanks for letting us do this for Betty.
dexwood
This should be pinned at the top until the goal is met maybe?
Sphex
I mostly lurk, but do so almost daily (since 2007, I think!!), and I truly love so many of the contributors here- both front pagers and folks in the comments. Fuck cancer. Thank you, John, for giving us a space and place to show our deep appreciation for Betty Cracker through support. Thank you, WaterGirl, for ensuring that BJ remains a “safe space” for BC. Thank you everyone here, for creating and maintaining a community that reminds me of the best of what humans can be and do. Donated, and will do so again after the first of next month. Betty Cracker’s genius and humorous perspective had been a life-line for me at times, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to at least partially reciprocate.
cain
$30k is 3 hours??! Come on we can do better than that!
Brachiator
Thanks for the opportunity to help.
WaterGirl
@Joy in FL: Thank you for doing that and for following up!
WaterGirl
@dexwood: I plan to put up a fresh post tomorrow for the day shift.
Lynn Dee
I’m in too. Looks like we could hit $60,000 fairly soonish? Maybe it should be higher!
I love that photo too. Makes me think of a reminiscence Betty once shared about her and her husband that I think of from time to time and figure others will enjoy too, and maybe even remember reading! Anyway, Betty had refined the skill of taking off her bra without removing her top, when she got home from work. She’d end up pulling the bra out through her sleeve or something. Her husband referred to this as “Boob-a-dini.”
Ta-da!
WaterGirl
@cain: hahaha!
Aziz, light!
Of the eleventy zillion voices I have encountered on the information superhighway, none has made my day as often as Betty C, thanks to her amazing wit and warmth and wisdom. Although I don’t tend to be a hopeful person, I will hope with all my heart that the reaper loses her address and can’t find her rural hideaway. That she gets many more trips around the sun watching cranes on the water.
Thanks for posting the GoFundMe link.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Lynn Dee:
The pic is much like my wife’s and mine after our wedding oh so many years ago. I look at it like I look at ours, with an eye to what was and what it has become over the years and what a nice trip that it’s been.
My thoughts are with Mr. Cracker, too. That’s the love of his life in that photo.
Lily
What a relief to see this. Was in a pickle all day worrying about the best way to not-annoy JGC but still send a check he would hate frigging around with.
Whew. (thanks John)
EighthCousin
Donated!
…Get well soon!
OlFroth
Chipped in. Wish I could give a bit more.
Ksmiami
I’m beat from yard work but will donate in am.
chbnna
@wmd: The billing amount vs actual amount is insane, i have used insurance extensively and I still don’t understand how it works. My breast cancer treatment 6 yrs ago was about $250k, with surgery, radiation and medicines, thankfully no chemo, otherwise that bill would have been higher I’m sure. I paid my out of pocket , which was mercifully low, and everything else was paid but insurance but my mind can’t comprehend what people without good insurance do…i know the pain is real and the anxiety over healthcare is real but i can’t understand how we have such a broken system. :(
karen marie
I’m grateful for the opportunity to send some love in the form of a wee bit of cash. Thanks, kids.
Wishing Betty Cracker all the best in the circumstances.
Glidwrith
Donated
Suzanne
Thanks for setting this up. Very pleased to contribute. If there’s anyone who deserves a crazy-great beat-the-odds outcome, it’s our Betty.
Layer8Problem
I just threw in some and am gobsmacked at how this place turns out when someone needs a hand. Balloon Juice is the best and that is such a lovely, sweet picture on the GoFundMe.
Sfinny
As a lurker, late to the party as usual. Happy to donate as I know there are so many additional costs to cancer treatment outside of medical bills.
munira
Happy to give what I can. Good luck, Betty.
thruppence
@dexwood: I agree, dex, keep it pinned at the top for a while. Meantime, I’m in for another 100
munira
@WaterGirl: I used Venmo and it worked fine.
SFAW
Gave what I can for now, will give more later.Haven’t read the comments, so I don’t know if this has already been answered/discussed, or if it’s even possible with GoFundMe: I would appreciate it if there’s no cap on the goal amount. That way, when I can get more money to send, I don’t get a “Sorry, donations are closed” message.[Frankly, I would be surprised if we were NOT able to raise a ton more more than $60K.]
ETA:And who woulda guessed that such a sweet-looking bride would write any of the fire-and-brimstone that I love from Betty?
RandomMonster
In with deep gratitude for Betty’s talent and generosity to us all.
hedgehog mobile
Donated. Thanks for setting this up.
Sfinny
Forgot to add that if you want to talk about anything let me know.
Cowgirl in the Sandi
It’s amazing and wonderful how supportive this place is. Get well soon Betty. Hope my donation helps.
frosty
I am so happy there is a way to donate to help Betty C out and I’ve just done so. Thanks JGC and WG!
Andrya
I’m in. I’m grateful that there’s something we can do.
And please consider raising the limit.
Lynn Dee
@Odie Hugh Manatee: Yes, I thought of that too when I looked at that pic today, their lives just starting out and now, their long lives together. The love of each other’s lives.
Congrats to you and your wife too. :)
Almost Retired
I feel like this is the best gofundme dollars I’ve ever spent.
Soderbee
Happy to join in with everyone else to let Betty know how much she means to us. Money should be the least of her worries right now.
Origuy
Donated, I’ll likely add more later. Cancer is a capricious devil. I have a friend, Nancy, a member of the orienteering club, who was diagnosed five years ago with a brain tumor. She was in her 70s then; we had a party for her with her family because she wasn’t expected to be around very long. She and her sister Kathy travelled all over the world, dancing and going to concerts as much as they could. Kathy always was the strong one. A few months ago, they were on a cruise to Hawaii when Kathy felt sick. A doctor in Honolulu diagnosed cancer that had spread throughout her abdomen. Kathy only lived a few weeks longer, but Nancy is hanging on and still doing some courses. Hopefully, Betty will be like Nancy.
Annonymous
I’ve been a lurker here for way too many years. I’m not going to lie, I don’t come as often as I used to, but I’ve always enjoyed Betty’s work here, and am happy to do my part.
Quinerly
Donated. So glad this was set up.
TEL
Donated. I’m happy to be able to help! I’ll be in for more at the start of the next month also if the gofundme is still open.
Gloria DryGarden
@WaterGirl: since 80% of 60k is only 48 k, and she’s already out 50k, plus lost income, does the go fund me end at the 60, or can it keep going above that?
I see in just 6 hrs you’re up to 42k, awesome. Do you have to reset the bar to let donations go higher? Sorry, I’m still new, I don’t know much about go fund me vs your regular fundraisers. It seems she’ll need more, if you can talk her into receiving the help.
Madeleine
Donated. Thank you John and WaterGirl for setting this up so we can help Betty.
PatrickG
Donated. Betty Cracker, you’re a treasure and you’ve brought me so much joy in dark times with your exquisite wordsmithing and relentless eye for bullshit. Not to mention your incredible compassion, intelligence, experience… shit, I could be here all day extolling your virtues!
Instead, I’ll go try to figure out how to continue learning from your inimitable style so I can maybe make a similar impact on others’ lives.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Origuy:
We just had the service for a good friend of ours who was taken by cancer in a similar way. Just retired with her husband at 60 after closing their appliance business, ready to have some fun. A few months later she was complaining that her back hurt and then one day she broke her arm just putting pressure on it to stand up. A trip to the doc and next thing she knows it’s off to hospice as it was in to her bones.
I’m the last man standing in my high school ‘gang’ of five guys, two of them from cancer. Fuck cancer.
way2blue
This post is making my eyes sting. I’ve envied Betty’s life along a Florida backwater with all the wildlife on her doorstep. And now she’s facing such a dire future with amazing stoicism. I so wish it weren’t so. Sigh.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Donated, and thanks so much for setting this up. We all want to do something to help Betty. I love all her writing, and especially love her photos of the birds in her swamp. And that wedding photo is wonderful.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan):
I also like Betty’s artwork and of course, the Butter Lamb! I never heard of one until she posted about her tradition of making one every year.
Manyakitty
@Omnes Omnibus: thirded. I’d also be glad to contribute for meal deliveries, house cleaning, or any of the other mundane obligations.
Argiope
Hell, yes, thank you for giving all of us a way to support our beloved B-Crack. Will this be re-upped/pinned at the top today for the tardy people like me? Many of us want to be able to do something concrete to help Betty get through this arduous shitty thing that shouldn’t be happening, and I almost missed this because I’m perpetually late to threads. Grateful you put this together, front-pagers.
Eyeroller
I lost my husband to cancer so this is gut-wrenching for me. Betty’s writing is witty and evocative and pithy. And we all love her spoonbills!
ETA and I am also angry at fate or whatever that so many good people are taken early, while bad people just keep living. I know plenty of good people live to an advanced age, but it still seems so unfair for those who don’t. But I also know that we have no reason to expect that fate should be fair.
Miki
Gave what I could today. More to come later.
Fuck cancer.
Anyway
Added my bit. Thanks for setting this up. What an adorable picture of BC, love it – hugs and best mojo to you and the fam.
Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
I added some too. Get well Betty, we need your reports from the swamp!
narya
I’m in. Would also be willing to set up some kind of regular thing through Patreon or something like that. Fuck cancer.
Caroline
Agreed that Betty is a treasure and I was so happy to donate this morning, it feels great to help out. Normally a lurker but had to come forward to express support.
OldDave
Donation made, glad to help.
Coyoteville
$55 donation made.
SkyBluePink
It is a privilege to donate to Betty Cracker’s well being.
KBS
Thank you so much for giving us a way to help! Betty Cracker has given us all so much; I’m grateful to be able to donate.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
My mom got a fatal hit of fucking cancer when she was 58. There weren’t many treatments back then, but at least our society had the decency not to bankrupt my parents in the process. My dad’s federal employee insurance paid for most everything. Such was life pre-Reagan. All this to say, I’m in for $200 now, and whatever I can in the future.
I didn’t get a chance to post in the thread the other day. (Fucking cancer is trying to take our cat, too, and we spent the day at the oncologist. He’s lost 20% of his weight in the last month, so they did a LOT of extra tests, but he’s still in remission. He’s just grieving the loss of the kitty friend he’s had for all his 13 years.) What I wanted to say is, Betty is one of the toughest, truest voices on this goddam internet, and we need her to continue a good long run, so yes. Fuck cancer. We love you Betty. Jesus Christ, we love you Betty.
PAM Dirac
Threw in my share. Fuck cancer. I had a nearly 50 year career in cancer research and while I’m proud of my contributions it’s hard to feel too good about it when crap like this happens. All you can say, again, is Fuck cancer.
Alce _e_ardillo
Money is tight right now but I was able to chip in a little.
sending blessings her way.
banditqueen
I hope every little bit helps in a big way.
bjacques
Done!
karen marie
Geez, you kids! Nice job!
PapDad/TadoDad
Donated, will again when finances allow.
Ruckus
Donated.