<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/72760881_1686019428177483_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
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<div>Regardless of where or when you met her... at Lake Wallenpaupack as a sassy child
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<div>and teenager, at Penn State as a rebellious college student, or in Florida as
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<div>a successful woman and insanely devoted mother to Emma and Nathan... you were blessed with a friend who would always have a kind word to say and a helping
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<div>hand to lend. I met Vanessa on a school bus when we were eight years old. She is my
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<div>lifetime best friend, my soul sister, and my reminder of who I am and where we came
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<div>from.
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</div>
<div>There are no words or explanations for why life has handed her an unfathomable and
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<div>heartbreaking journey. I hope one day we can make sense of it and see a greater
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<div>purpose. For now, I ask whoever can help, to do so. The funds will be used
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<div>for in-home care, occupational/physical therapy, alternative therapies, medical
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<div>equipment, and anything else to ease her pain and difficulties. Any and all gifts are
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<div>received with immense gratitude and love.
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<div>In her own words...
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<div>I recently turned 52. I was ever more grateful than I thought I would be. Not only
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<div>because my thoughtful daughter planned a little party, and my amazing son baked a
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<div>pie… but because I made it. Amazing how life’s perspective can change in an instant. I
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<div>had always envisioned myself easily making it to at least 80 with my healthy lifestyle,
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<div>and excitement to watch my kids grow up. Of course, I knew I had to see how these
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<div>beautiful children would change the world.
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<div>So, I chose to eat well, exercise, love my people, meditate, create my art, use fewer
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<div>chemicals, and otherwise try to live healthily. At the end of 2019, I was the most
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<div>physically fit in my life. Then the dreaded COVID changed the world. The medical
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<div>anxiety I had been experiencing since my early 40s exploded. My mind told me I could
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<div>get this virus and either die or possibly kill someone by giving it to them. Weird things
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<div>started happening with my body. I went from kickboxing and being on the go all day to
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<div>needing a cane, then a walker and then a wheelchair. Passing out several times a
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<div>week. My general doctor, a cardiologist, a neurologist and several internists threw their
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<div>hands up and proposed it to be anxiety. I knew from experience what anxiety felt like in
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<div>my body. This was not it. I took a chance and called the Mayo Clinic, then traveled the
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<div>700-mile round trip three times. There was extensive testing, more vials of blood than
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<div>I’ve ever given in my lifetime. Multiple scans, MRI, lumbar puncture, EEG, and more.
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<div><br />
</div>
<div>And ultimately, an answer.
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<div><br />
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<div>I spent over a year in pure denial, only telling a few people. My mind was
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<div>just not equipped to handle it anymore. A lot of you know I have been ill or have noticed my non-presence. It feels embarrassingly well past time to rip off the band-aid and be true to all of my family and friends.
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<div>So here I am, feeling very vulnerable and scared. In April of 2021, after more than a
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<div>year of symptoms, I was diagnosed with MSA. Multiple System Atrophy is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that has no cure and disables people in the prime of life (50-60 years of age). This is a disorder that affects the whole body; with the usual exception of cognitive impacts. I am all too aware of what is happening. MSA is attacking my neurons which signal movement, and autonomic nervous systems such as breathing, blood pressure, digestion, vision, speech and more. It also affects sleep through discomfort and REM sleep disorder... and mood with apathy, depression and anxiety. And the prognosis sucks. Not only do symptoms progress rapidly, but people typically only live about 6 to 9 years after symptoms first appear. Truly overwhelming physically, mentally, and spiritually.
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<div>I ask that you please forgive my timing and delivery... this is surely not how I wished to
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<div>tell you. I carry family and friends so close in my heart, and I didn’t want to “harm”
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<div>anyone. Plus, as many of you know, I don’t like the spotlight or asking for help. I do
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<div>need you to know that one of my blessings is the peace and smiles I get while
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<div>wandering through my memories.
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<div>It is ever so poignantly true that you do not always know what someone else is facing.
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<div>So, I encourage you to … Be kind. Stay present. Find joy. Love hard. And in situations where you do not know what to say... it may feel awkward... but make that call... write that message... mail that card. Even if the person is not quite ready to receive it on that day or at that moment, it can mean the world to know that you are not alone. Because I can attest that being this ill can feel very lonely indeed.
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<div>Blessings and love,
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<div>Vanessa
</div>

Pete Stirn

Norah Parkinson

Tina Mitschele

Gebhart Julie

Lori Ann Purnell

Carrie Daniels

sheila coyle

Amy McCormish

sean mcmahon

William Cranford

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Kathleen Quigley

Jennifer Grimley

Jean Paskalides

Tim Huntoon

Bernadetta Petrone

Anna B

Anonymous

Sarah Ashby

Therese Corsones

Our Sweet Vanessa Needs Our Help

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

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AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

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shouldBucketIntoExperiment

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npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Our Sweet Vanessa Needs Our Help

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