01/10/2025
𝙰 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙵𝚞𝚝𝚋𝚘𝚕 𝙲𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙
𝒜 𝓇𝒶𝓌, 𝒽ℯ𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒻ℯ𝓁𝓉 𝓅ℴ𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝓇ℴ𝓂 ℰ𝓁𝒾𝒶. 𝒯𝒾𝓂ℯ𝓈 𝒶𝓇ℯ 𝓉ℴ𝓊ℊ𝒽 𝒻ℴ𝓇 ℯ𝓋ℯ𝓇𝓎ℴ𝓃ℯ, 𝓈ℴ𝓂ℯ 𝓂ℴ𝓇ℯ 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 ℴ𝓉𝒽ℯ𝓇𝓈. ℐ𝒻 𝓎ℴ𝓊’𝓋ℯ 𝒹ℴ𝓃𝒶𝓉ℯ𝒹, 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓁𝓎. ℐ𝒻 𝓎ℴ𝓊’𝓇ℯ 𝒶𝒷𝓁ℯ, 𝒾𝓉’𝒹 𝒷ℯ 𝓌ℴ𝓃𝒹ℯ𝓇𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝓉ℴ 𝓈𝒽ℴ𝓌 𝓎ℴ𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓅ℴ𝓇𝓉 𝓉ℴ ℰ𝓁𝒾𝒶 𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 ℯ𝓍𝓉𝓇ℯ𝓂ℯ𝓁𝓎 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁ℯ𝓃ℊ𝒾𝓃ℊ 𝓉𝒾𝓂ℯ.
𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝗜’𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱 – 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗻!
After cancer and everything that’s followed in its wake, it feels like one infection after another has lined up for me: Covid, chest infections, throat infections, pneumonia. Now, a middle ear infection that’s been hanging around for a month. It got so bad that I ended up in an ambulance, rushed to hospital with suspected stroke symptoms. My right side was paralysed, the pressure in my head and neck unbearable, and I was terrified, alone, and praying for strength.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a stroke. Instead, I was diagnosed with a destructive mastoiditis and severe middle ear infection that caused facial nerve paralysis. The neurosurgeon handed me over to the ENT team, who decided full surgery was too risky with my low immunity. Instead, they did a partial procedure under local anaesthetic to drain fluid and relieve pressure.
I’ve been sent home to recover with strong antibiotics and ear drops. The facial paralysis could last weeks, months – or possibly be permanent. Add to that constant tinnitus, 20% hearing loss in one ear, and difficulty eating and drinking (straws and soft foods are my new best friends).
Through all this, my rheumatoid arthritis treatment is still on hold because of the constant infections. I’m exhausted – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Fourteen months of this, mostly on my own, has been relentless. I’m not going to sugarcoat it: I’m tired of being strong, tired of fighting, and I often ask, why me? But I know many of you who’ve faced your own struggles have felt the same, and I think it’s okay to admit we’re not always okay.
Still, through the hardship, there’s goodness. The kindness of strangers and friends has lifted me more than I can explain. Two weeks ago at RPA Hospital, after six hours of waiting with no chance to leave for food, a woman on crutches who I’d given my chair to earlier offered me her sandwich. She insisted I take it even though she later told me she was homeless. I cried. She was an angel sent at the right time, reminding me that there’s so much goodness even in people who have so little themselves.
To those who have reached out, checked in, or contributed financially – you’ve literally kept me alive. Your generosity and kindness have been my lifeline, and I’ll never stop being grateful.
Of course, there are also those who have tried to tear me down, including one troll who continues to hurl abuse and even celebrates the idea of my passing. To them I say: you will not win. I’m still here. I’m still standing. And, I will rise above it.
𝙈𝙮 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 “𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡” 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙. 𝘽𝙪𝙩, 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 – 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙡, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚, 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙟𝙤𝙮. 𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙡𝙞𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙄’𝙢 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧.
𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.
https://gofund.me/0020fac67
With gratitude,
Elia 🙏🏻❤️
Elia Santoro, a passionate community leader and advocate for … Anthony Siokos needs your support for Elia needs our help to fight Hodgkin lymphoma. Please donate
