<div>It has been nearly six years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and as many as 400 million people worldwide never fully recovered from their infections [1]. Many of these patients are eventually diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (often called ME/CFS) [2], a complex, chronic, neuroimmune disease that is life-altering even in its mildest form.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>ME/CFS is not a new condition. For centuries, this disease, often triggered by infection, has disabled millions—an estimated 25% of patients are so severely affected that they are confined to their homes or beds [3]. It has no known cure, no FDA approved treatments, and full recovery is rare [4].
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>One would assume that a condition so catastrophically disruptive—affecting millions of people worldwide and robbing many of the ability to work, learn, socialize, or even perform basic daily tasks—would be widely understood, urgently researched, and recognized as a serious neuroimmune disease, but that is not the reality.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Instead, decades of medical misinformation, healthcare system failures, outdated psychosomatic theories, and systemic gender bias have meant that ME/CFS is dismissed, misclassified, and criminally under researched. Despite currently disabling more people than multiple sclerosis, lupus, and HIV/AIDS combined, research investment has remained amongst the lowest of any similarly burdensome disease [5].
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>The marginalization of ME/CFS patients stands as one of the most consequential public health failures of our time. </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This neglect has left patients in a devastating limbo. They are often disbelieved by clinicians, denied adequate care, and forced to navigate a life-altering disease largely on their own. We’ve abandoned them to states of extreme physical suffering, social isolation, and financial ruin—circumstances that can lead to death by malnutrition, cardiovascular disease, infection, suicide, and other preventable ends [6].
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In "What Doesn't Kill You" we ask viewers to confront a disease that defies our most basic cultural and biological assumptions about an illness: the belief that pushing through, exercising, and “toughing it out” may aid in recovery. For people with ME/CFS, the opposite is true. Exertion of any kind—physical, mental or emotional—can trigger a profound worsening of symptoms (called post exertional malaise, or PEM) [7].
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>This documentary aims to initiate a social reframing of ME/CFS and Long COVID that earns patients the recognition and support they deserve. </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Furthermore, we hope to drive an increase in research funding, advance medical professional awareness, and in doing so, help reduce the diagnostic delay that prevents patients from accessing timely treatment.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>OUR FUNDRAISER</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Your tax-deductible donation will help us produce the first feature-length documentary on ME/CFS and Long COVID. We’re grateful to have raised $26,800 to date and captured 45+ hours of footage. This final push for an additional $50,000 will flesh out our small but ambitious production budget. If the film turns a profit in any way, 100% of funds will be reinvested in research and advocacy via New Pace, our 501(c)3 nonprofit.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Whether you can afford to donate or not, please help us make a difference by sharing this page and our message with others.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>OUR STORY</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In 2015 Becca Fortuna was living in Hong Kong participating in philanthropic work when a series of infections triggered a decade-long health nightmare. By the time she was finally diagnosed with ME/CFS in 2023, the disease had progressed to its most severe form, leaving her confined to bed in a dark and soundproof room, largely unable to speak, and in near-constant physical agony. Her husband, Stephen Fortuna, left his job to become her full-time caregiver.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When Stephen shared Becca’s story online, Jane, a fellow ME/CFS sufferer, understood it immediately. Trent, a local filmmaker, was shocked. The three soon began working together on a documentary they hoped could bridge the gap between what patients endure and what the world has been allowed to see.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Trent Eliason / Filmmaker </strong>
</div>
<div>Trent is a young filmmaker who cares about digital representation for hidden voices. He works full time in film and video to support his beautiful wife and three young daughters.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Stephen Fortuna / Producer</strong>
</div>
<div>Stephen is a former marketing professional who now serves as the full-time caregiver for his wife, Becca, who has severe ME/CFS and has been in a coma-like state since 2023. Together, they have two young children and hold onto the hope of a recovery that will bring her back to them.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Jane Horwitz / Producer</strong>
</div>
<div>Jane is a Physician Assistant (PA-C), ME/CFS patient, and advocate for those with chronic illness. She brings both medical insight and lived experience to her work, having lived with ME/CFS for over five years, including two years spent in a severe, bedbound, homebound state. She and her husband Austin live in New England with their two children.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>PROGRESS TO DATE</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We have captured over 45 hours of footage, including interviews with patients, patient families, medical professionals, researchers, and the general public. Our media has garnered well over a million views across our social media platforms!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://whatdoesntkillyou.movie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch two additional film trailer here</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://whatdoesntkillyou.movie/#progress" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">See detailed information on film participants here</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>GET INVOLVED</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>There are so many incredible people in the ME/CFS and Long COVID communities that we would love to work with. If you're interested in being involved in the film, <a href="https://whatdoesntkillyou.movie/get-involved" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">please reach out here</a>.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>CITATIONS</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>[1] <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03173-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">400 million have Long Covid</a>
</div>
<div>[2] <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163445324002317" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">51 percent of people with Long COVID</a> meet the diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS
</div>
<div>[3] <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27127189/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">25 percent of people with ME/CFS</a> are home or bedbound
</div>
<div>[4] <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15699087/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">5 percent of people with ME/CFS recover</a>
</div>
<div>[5] <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32568148/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ME/CFS receives 7 percent of the funding</a> it should be receiving
</div>
<div>[6] <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5218818/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Causes of death for people with ME/CFS</a>
</div>
<div>[7] <a href="https://me-pedia.org/wiki/Exercise" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Exertion of any kind makes patients sicker</a>
</div>

Rachael Hartley

Christine ONeill

Machteld Vonk

Julie Flindt

Martina Arévalo

Mary Ion

Phoebe Howlett

Anonymous

Nadia Witte

April Thompson

Zina Kaleniuk

Daisy Ellery Thornley

Kamilla Andersen

Sophie Neuberg

Tahirih Walsh

Cathy SUTTER

Denyse Hilsby

The First Feature-Length Documentary on ME CFS & Long COVID

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

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

unclaimed charities

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

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

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

The First Feature-Length Documentary on ME CFS & Long COVID

Still $8,359 to go. Help us build momentum.