To the inventor of blogs: Thank You!

I've got a friend with Hepatitis C. It developed/manifested in the years since I've last seen her, although she would have had the virus at that time. I knew virtually nothing about HepC and when I first heard that she had it I was really scared for her.

At the beginning of this year I heard from her that she was going to start treatment for it, and was going to write a blog. So I started reading it, and following along with her ups and downs. I discovered there is a whole blogging community of people with HepC, giving each other the personal support and advice (from people who've been there and done that) that they could never have gotten before the days of blogs.

It has been so inspiring to read these blogs. Everyday people facing and dealing with a life-changing/threatening disease. Having to self-inject, self-treat with chemotherapy (pills) ... and go through all the side-effects of the medication.

She has now done her last injection, and either today or tomorrow is the last day she has to take the pills. I'm so proud of her, the strength she has found to get through this. And I'm so grateful to whoever it was (Dave Winer?) who invented the original blogging software. This has been one of those inventions that has really changed lives. I love reading all the ashtanga blogs (and the cricket ones and the techie ones!) - but for people who need support and don't necessarily have a community of people in the same situation around them, it really has made a difference ... :)