I was told today that Karen, (beglet, Kmeb) died today.

Many of us have known her for many years. She was ill with very severe autonomic neuropathy, probably due to amyloid, for many years, and was attached to the world through her beloved cats and her computer, and friends she met here, and some in RL.

I met Karen here, and while I have never met her in person, I feel touched and upset by her passing. For many years we corresponded outside of the board, through emails and phone calls, and the support went both ways.

I learned of her life, and it was one where she had great zest, and thrilled with life energy, until cut down with immobility and gastroparesis, misunderstood by family, and an independent woman in a dependent body.

At one point she mailed me two motorcycle jackets for which she no longer had a use, thinking I could use them. They were a wonderful gift, the jackets of a tough woman, a size 2 (which I could never wear, but kept in my closet, nonetheless), who I could picture racing cars and bikes.

I was not in close touch with her recently, as I was doing so much better, and found myself back in the world of the "well", more active in RL, and less on the board. But I feel guilty about this, like I wasn't there for her when she needed it, at the end, because I'm doing so well just now.

I know that her life was painful and difficult, and that this was surely a blessing for her, to finally be released from the straitjacket in which she was living. But it is sad that an old friend is gone. I will miss knowing she is there, with her cats and her computer and her spunk, chatting up her doctors, getting in their face, or charming them, as she could, either way.

Dahlek was a great friend to her always, and I know she appreciated her support tremendously.