A moment of silence

Constant readers, I am very sad to tell you that Lori Hall Steele, the writer and single mother afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, died Wednesday. As I told you back in September, she could no longer work, could not pay her mortgage or her medical bills, and was about to lose her house to foreclosure, leaving her 7-year-old son homeless at the same time that she was about to be hospitalized with what is inevitably a fatal disease. The news prompted a blogathon on her behalf by fellow freelancers around the country that raised almost $20,000 more than $30,000, enough to ensure that her house was safe for as long as necessary.

A heartbreaking essay that she wrote about her son, before she knew she was sick, is here.

Many of you told me privately how much this story touched you. (And readers outside the US expressed shock that the cost of healthcare could turf a dying young mother out of her home.)

I send sincere thanks to all of you who sent Lori (whom I never met) money, or prayers, or warm thoughts for her and for her son. I am confident that none of it was in vain.

UPDATE: Lori's obituary is here.