In Memory of Rich Van Konynenburg.

[Mimi]

I am so sorry to hear that Diana. We share your loss. I was hoping to have the opportunity to meet him in person so I could thank him for saving my life. His protocol gave it back to me and I feel a profound sense of gratitude towards him. He was so generous and kind, devoting himself to helping everyone. I can't think of a nicer memorial to anyone.

Here's what I wrote to our group, BACFS, last week, after he posted another of his extremely gracious replies on PR:

Hi All – I believe everyone needs to make up their own minds about what treatment options work best for them. And we all have different ways of evaluating that, whether through personal experience, intuition, study, or recommendations from others.​

​

So while I don’t have any actual recommendations, I do like to share what looks hopeful or seems more likely to be helpful. So here is a note I just got from Rich Van Koynenenburg re: glutathione. Since he’s taken the time to really study our illness and helped so many with his simplified methylation protocol, I thought this well worth sharing. And I’d like to say, I have nothing but gratitude and respect for this wise, kind man, without whose generous donation of time and energy I would not now be well enough to start looking for work, instead of wondering what would happen to me when the money ran out and I had no place to live or ability to care for myself.​

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MM​

Hi, Mimi.

I very much appreciate your posting this report on your experience with S-acetyl glutathione and the less expensive source for it. It's great to hear that it has worked well for you. I think this is only the second report I've seen, the other one being from a person in Germany, who also had good results. I think the cost has prevented some people from trying it. I started suggesting it, as well as liposomal glutathione, some time back, as two possibilities for actually getting glutathione into the cells to help raise it faster on the methylation protocol. Most IV glutathione is taken out of the blood by the kidneys, which probably do benefit, but it isn't a very effective way to raise glutathione in other organs, tissues and cells, and especially not for the longer term. I'm glad to hear that Dr. Klinghardt is encouraging the use of S-acetyl glutathione, too.

Best regards,

Rich

 

[Hanna]

Diana, my heart goes to you. Rich was so smart, kind, helpful... A really great man!

 

[Marg]

Oh my, there are no words, such a shock.

Rich was a wonderfull caring man, thank you Diana for sharing Rich with all of us. He helped so many of us. I will miss reading posts, he was always there for us.

My thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad time.

 

[dmholmes]

:'-(

 

[learner2life]

I am stunned. I can't express enough gratitude for the help that he has given me. He was such a generous person, such a brilliant mind and one of the very few who gave me hope that I could get better. In my darkest hours of despair I know Rich was there for us. He has touched so many lives in a postive way. This world has lost one of it's most prized individuals. Thank You Rich!!!

 

[serg1942]

Hi everybody,

I am really shocked about Rich's death. I just wrote something in memorial of him. Below is the link to the whole text. Let me quote here my last phrase:

"Rich, you saved my life and gave sense to it. For this, and for much more, THANK YOU. We will never forget you"

Sergio

http://www.sfc-em-investigacion.com/viewtopic.php?p=11310#p11310

 

[Sushi]

with member Rivka

 

[grosolo]

Rich was a good man -- anyone who would devote such time and resources to such a hard-hit and long-ignored population is worthy of the highest praise. When I was at one of my lowest points about a year ago, I emailed Rich about his protocol and he responded to all of my questions and seemed open and even eager to help. I know he did the same for many others. We -- the hard hit people, the people whose live have been made miserable -- will never forget those who alleviated that burden even for a moment, or tried to.

I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you take some solace in knowing this community loved your husband -- that everyone here feels this and wants to comfort you. To, as a collective, hug you and hold you.

Rest in peace.

 

[snowathlete]

Sad sad news, he tried to help me when I had no one else to go to and I really respected him for that and feel very grateful. I'm so sorry to hear this. A good good man.

 

[LisaGoddard]

Dear Diana,
It was so very sad to hear that Rich had died. A few weeks ago I posted a message to him in which I said that he was one of the heroes for his professional and personal interest in ME sufferers. He was so helpful and kind.
You are in my prayers.
Lisa

 

[Cindi]

I am very sorry for your loss Diana. He was helpful to all of us. Great loss for us.Please accept my sincere condolences.

 

[Sallysblooms]

I made this a while ago.

 

[themjay]

Rich penetrated the darkness of M.E. with a clear mind and limitless compassion. We all owe him a great debt and he will be sorely missed.

 

[kday]

Rich has done a lot to help the community and myself. An amazing man. He helped so many patients without even asking for a penny.

I don't know what else to say. I am speechless.

http://www.gordonmedical.com/unrave...ness/rich-van-konnyenberg-died-early-tuesday/

 

[Sushi]

From Facebook

 

[Mimi]

 

[Sushi]

Hi everybody,

I am really shocked about Rich's death. I just wrote something in memorial of him. Below is the link to the whole text. Let me quote here my last phrase:

"Rich, you saved my life and gave sense to it. For this, and for much more, THANK YOU. We will never forget you"

Sergio

http://www.sfc-em-investigacion.com/viewtopic.php?p=11310#p11310

Here is the full text of what Sergio wrote:

Hi all,

First of all, I would like to give my condolences and best wishes to Rich's family. Please excuse my grammar mistakes.

I'm just shocked after hearing about his death. All of us know death, and we know it is unavoidable. But when we know someone like him, some part of us hopes he is going to be with us forever. A magic soul like his cannot just go. And I don't think he has.

I hope what I am going to say reaches Rich someway, somehow, somewhere:

I first knew of him I was 23, and bedridden 24/7. I had fallen sick 1.5 years ago. I barely could read English, but I struggled with it to translate his paper from 2007. He had just unraveled the disease I suffered from, Chronic fatigue Syndrome. My background in science was so limited then, but in spite of it, it became obvious to me that his explanation about the pathogenesis of CFS was brilliant, and for the first time, what he wrote made sense to me, after reading so many silly things about the subject.

I started to expend the little energy I had to study every single day, until I got to know, after a few years, enough science to fully understand his work. Again, it was brilliant.
I asked him for professional advice several times, and we corresponded both publicly and privately many times over the last years. I was also lucky enough to skype with him once --I could not believe it. I was finally talking with him and seeing him!--.

He definitely saved my life. He diagnosed a cyanide poisoning I was suffering from taking cyanocobalamine. I think very few people on the earth would have been able to arrive to that conclusion... I was astonished and followed his advice (supported by my Doctor), and I did overcome that acute situation. Again, brilliant; and not only that, but incredibly kind and altruist of him. Needless to say that he treated me as "one of his kind": not just a patient, but as a person. Of course he was at a much higher level, but this is what a humble man does, right? Well, he was this way.

Then he helped me to move to the States to follow a treatment. I could not have done it without his help (and the help of other doctors and patients to whom I'll be always grateful from the bottom of my heart).

In some way, following Rich's advice, I got to find my current treatment, which, so far, has improved me from being bed-bound to being at about my 60%. This allowed me to enroll in medical school last year.

Now I am studying the second year of medical school, and I am, more than ever, determined to become a Doctor, no matter what, in order to try to help people with these kinds of neuro-inmmune diseases.

Rich, as a scientific and as an exceptional person, not only gave me the strength and hopes to go on when life did not make any sense to me, but certainly guided my life and helped me to find a purpose, a goal, that I am going to pursue until we finally find out what's going on with these conditions.

In short, I can really say that the Rich's goal of helping us all, inundated and transformed me in such a way that now, I feel that the same goal gives sense to my life.

I wish I would have told him this in life... Well, there're always things left to say, right? But I am quite sure he knew enough things to know to what degree he got to help people and touched our hearts.

There's one thing I would have liked him to see, and it is of course the whole explanation of our disease, a goal he pursued for more than 17 years (if I get it right). Well, for all of us, and for Rich, we have to continue fighting until we find the final clue. I will certainly do.

Rich, you saved my life and gave sense to it. For this, and for much more, THANK YOU. We will never forget you.

Sergio

 

[Mark]

I'm so sorry to hear this Diana. I can't imagine how you must be feeling after such a sudden and unexpected loss, and all I can do is offer you my heartfelt condolences.

As Ema said, there are few people who are truly irreplaceable and Rich was definitely one. It's so sad that he won't live to see his methylation block theories vindicated, but I'm confident his contribution won't be lost and I believe he will eventually be shown to have been way ahead of his time.

I will remember Rich for the compassion, selflessness and dignity he showed on these forums when answering questions from patients. His principles and his character shone through in the way that he interacted here, and he will be sorely missed by us all.

 

[Wally]

Services at Rich's church in Northern California are currently being planned by his family and this information will be posted on-line as soon as all the arrangements are finalized.

 

[Mimi]

Thanks, Wally. Thanks to Rich, I might be able to go. If anyone else from the South Bay is heading up there, please PM me.