Lifegiver Badge

As I approach the third year anniversary of my mother's passing, I am reminded and comforted by the outpouring of positive energy and support I received from the Aelyria Community during those difficult days. I am pleased to re-introduce the Lifegiver Badge, a way for people to contribute to and support my mother's final wishes by providing a tax-deductible donation in her memory to the American Cancer Society. More details can be found on the Badges page.

On February 16, 2005, my mother, Georgina Gonzalez, passed away after a long and hard-fought battle with cancer. My father, two younger sisters, and I were by her side in her final moments, and despite the horrific torment of pain, anguish and agony that she had experienced for two years, we were blessed with the miracle that she was able to experience no pain and was at peace. How this event related to Aelyria was something that I took great care in explanation in the coming days during a series of public discussions with our community.

My mom was Aelyria's most devoted champion. She nurtured my dreams of creating Aelyria in the rainy Florida summer of 1989, encouraging and challenging me to think creatively and imaginatively about the worlds we would come to build. She personally funded our first Internet servers and empathized deeply with the passions and commitment of our Aelyria community members. When Aelyria went offline and Aelyria support groups formed around the Internet in 2001, my mother researched them feverishly and urgently pleaded with me to return to creative writing and restore Aelyria, which was done in 2002. For Aelyria, there has truly been no greater defender.

Cancer is an extremely sad and debilitating disease. When my mom was diagnosed with advanced stage four colorectal cancer, she was given only a couple of months to live. She beat the odds by struggling through two years of unbearable physical and emotional pain and suffering, but in her direst moments she always gave of herself, and this one-time high-powered telecommunications executive and mathematician turned to teaching children about faith and religion in the Roman Catholic Church and began her crusade to raise awareness about cancer. Her final wishes were that in lieu of flowers or other gifts at her funeral, people donate to the American Cancer Society. I have lifted up her fallen banner and led her crusade into Aelyria, the site that might have never been born without her encouragement.

Cancer is a disease that touches one out of every two American men and one out of every three American women (source). It does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity, and it can occur at any age. There are many organizations worldwide funding the search for a cure; in the United States, the American Cancer Society is leading the most comprehensive and multifacetted effort to defeat cancer, including lobbying, fundraising, research and development, and health care.

Over the years, the generous spirit of our Aelyria users has touched the lives of many community members who have felt a deep personal loss; when these losses have occurred, Aelyrians have rallied together as a community and we have established memorials, foundations, and scholarships in honor of those who have passed away. This simple badge for a tax-deductible donation is all that my mom would have requested, and it is in her memory that I dedicate it for our community.