This Sunday, Nov 18: Memorial Teleconference for Rich Van Konynenburg

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This Sunday November 18th, members of the ME/CFS, Lyme and MCS communities are invited to join together in a teleconference to say "Thank you; We love you; Goodbye" to Rich Van Konynenburg.

All are invited to the​

ME/CFS, Lyme and MCS community's​

Memorial Service​

for​

Rich Van Konynenburg​

on​

November 18, 2012​

​

On Sunday, November 18, 2012, please join members of the ME/CFS, Lyme and MCS communities in saying "Thank you; We love you; Goodbye," to our beloved community leader, Rich Van Konynenburg.

We will be joined by Rich's wife, Diana; Dr. Neil Nathan, who worked with Rich on his Simplified Methylation Protocol; and Dr. Derek Enlander, who has known Rich for over a decade -- as have many of us.

Together, as a community, we will gather to grieve, mourn and begin to heal from this deeply felt loss. And the loss is substantial. Rich was a well-known community leader, a man who posted thousands of health and research related messages on the various ME/CFS, Lyme and MCS forums and listservs -- all about trying to help us, to alleviate our suffering, to make our lives better.

Rich was the most accessible researcher we ever had, unfailingly answering our thousands of questions and concerns, not just because this was an intriguing scientific puzzle but because he cared about us. His wife Diana recently described how his large office overflows with papers, spilling out into the next room. Many of those stacks of papers are our test results that he tirelessly analyzed for us, without asking for anything in return, just so he could help us understand complicated situations and decide complex next steps in recovering our health. Diana describes how Rich would come to the dinner table at night and talk about his research discoveries and understandings, and how he'd be so happy when he could make our lives a bit better -- and how he'd be deeply sad when he witnessed our suffering. He would weep when we wept, he would rejoice when he could help us. And there are many people he did help, both through his scientific analysis and his compassion.

Join us at this memorial service to tell us what Rich meant to you. Share your memories and personal stories of Rich, and read excerpts from emails/posts he sent you. This small act of sharing will help all of us grieve our loss and allow the healing to begin.

WHAT: Memorial Service for Rich Van Konynenburg, researcher and leader in the ME/CFS, Lyme and MCS communities.
WHEN: Sunday, November 18, 2012. At 2 pm EST USA; 11 am PST USA; 7 pm London/GMT. We'll end the memorial after everyone who wants to share has had a chance.
WHO: Especially welcome are those from the ME/CFS, Lyme and MCS communities. However, this is also open to anyone anywhere who wants to join us in remembering and honoring Rich.
WHERE: This memorial service will be held as a telephone conference call. Call in using a landline telephone, mobile phone or computer phone. So even if you are bedridden in California, the UK, Australia or anywhere, you should be able to join us if you can use a phone to call the USA.
HOW: The conference call dial-in phone number is: 805-399-1000. When prompted, key in the Participant Access Code: 997436#. The call will cost the normal fees associated with a long distance phone call to the USA, and no more.
INTERNATIONAL CALLERS: Consider using an international calling card. Or if you have Skype, go to your Skype account and click on "Call phones" and it will allow you to pay for the call. If you do not have Skype, you can download a free account at Skype.com. There, read how to buy Skype credit for making outgoing calls (that you would pay for). Or read how to buy Skype "Pay As You Go" minutes. Do all this prior to the day of the memorial service. After you select one of these options, on the day of the memorial service you will dial in to the conference call by using the same phone number (805-399-1000) and the same Participant Access Code (997436#) as listed above. NOTE: Calling from your mobile phone to join the USA conference call may be much more expensive for international Skype users than calling from a landline phone. Plan accordingly.
PLEASE SHARE: On the call, you will have an opportunity to "raise your hand" to indicate you wish to speak. Please keep your sharing to under two minutes, so all who wish to share can do so.
RSVP: There is no need to tell us you are attending, just come!
QUESTIONS: Contact Rivka(at)ThatTakesOvaries(dot)org

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Thank you Rivka and Sushi

For organising this tribute.

I was too sick to log in (tried to get out of bed but couldn't make it)

Rich was an incredible friend to PWCFS and missed badly

 

Many thanks to Rivka, Sushi, Diana and everyone who participated. I thought the memorial service was wonderful. It helped with some of the pain we have felt since losing such an amazing person.

 

I was stunned when I logged on to pr to hear of Rich's passing. I am deeply saddened. Like most of you..I never met him. But when I was new to pr and posted an uninformed question. He was right there to guide me thru the maize. I will forever be thankful. He gave me hope . Thank you Rich .

 

The recording of the memorial service is now available. I have it set up to be available for 3 months.

Let me know if you have trouble hearing it.

https://www.freeconferencing.com/playback_ow.html?cid=conferences/-17-65-6711140-17-65-6718-17-65-67114-17-65-6761-17-65-6714-17-65-6754-17-65-67-17-65-67.mp3&e=1361163600000&cn=94-43-28-63&option=private

 

Thanks Rivka.

I was thinking about Rich today, and came upon this beautiful image of a dove in flight.

 

Thank you so much Rivka and Sushi. I am grateful for your organising and will be listening to the recording as soon as possible. So pleased not to have missed out completely

 

Diana, Rich's lovely wife, asked me to post this. -- Rivka
______

I would like to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to Rivka, who organized the Rich Van Konynenburg memorial phone call, and who did an incredible job of keeping it running smoothly throughout the call. I would also like to express my thanks to Dr. Nathan, Dr. Enlander, Sergio and Sushi, who were featured speakers, and to Cecelia, who sang so beautifully at the opening and closing of the memorial.

To everyone else who participated, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your comments and for caring enough about Rich to be on the call, even though some of you are bed ridden and are suffering greatly. It must have required significant effort for many of you. To those who could not be on the call, and to those who continue to express your love and support for Rich and his work, I want to thank you as well.

This memorial was an incredible gift to us, Rich's family, and the added blessing of having the recording available is immeasurable, especially for those of us who were unable to attend in person. I have listened to the recording in it's entirety today, and to parts of it several times.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Diana Van Konynenburg

 

It was very special to hear some of our voices after all this time only in print. I felt as though we did manage to join "hands and hearts" in honor of Rich. Let's allow his faithful, generous spirit to continue to inspire and encourage us...

 

Thank you very much Rivka and everyone who participated in this. I listened to it yesterday and was profoundly moved by all the contributions.

Jenny

 

Thank you Rivka and Sushi, I just listened to the memorial for Rich and found it very moving. It was good to hear the voices of people whose posts I have read here and to hear Diana speak too. I felt such a strong sense of community and bonding - I was deeply moved by the words of respect and affection for Rich.

Do we have permission to post the link to the memorial elsewhere?

Rosie

 

RivkaRivka

Thank you Rivka and Sushi, I just listened to the memorial for Rich and found it very moving. It was good to hear the voices of people whose posts I have read here and to hear Diana speak too. I felt such a strong sense of community and bonding - I was deeply moved by the words of respect and affection for Rich.

Do we have permission to post the link to the memorial elsewhere?

Rosie

Bringing this to Rivka's attention.
Sushi