Erin Gilmer

 My late friend, Erin Gilmer (1982 – 2021). She was amazing. She was a lawyer and a patient advocate, a US citizen in Colorado. She had multiple health issues, unserved by the American healthcare system for the most part. She didn't have enough money to meet her needs, food stamps were difficult especially during the pandemic. I'd sent her some things from time-to-time, to ease her burden. 

She was in agony from various diseases and disorders. She faced mental as well as physical health issues, but spent her time advocating for others, as much as herself. Going to a doctor can be traumatic for some. 

The 2010 car incident, where she was struck in her car (head on) by someone known to have seizures, which gave her more health issues. For someone without health insurance it was horrific. She had to fight for healthcare in the US.

One of her two cats was dying, and her cats were her friends and support animals. This was breaking her heart. She could not go on.

I used to post drawings and tag her as she enjoyed my curious art.  I'd try respond with positive affirmations.

I suddenly received a message Sept. 27th, that Erin had posted an article: Bearing Witness. She'd left this realm July 7th. It was confusing, but someone else has taken over her account. It was a shock to me. This was her last Tweet, which I failed to understand at the time.

Her obituary was in the NYTimes (as well as many other places):

“She expected the system to fail her,” said Dr. Victor Montori, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and a founder of the Patient Revolution, an organization that supports patient-centered care. “But she tried to make it so the system didn’t fail other people.”