Help Nene Move To A New Home!

Dear friends, family and supporters,

I’m reaching out to all of you on behalf of my friend Maria “Nene” Blackmore; life has thrown her a few curveballs recently, and she could really use our help to move into her new home.

You might know Nene through one of the many conventions she has volunteered at or helped to run: Nine Worlds, Eastercon, Worldcon, and many others. You might know her through mutual friends, colleagues, or from Linuxchix, discord and other similar networks. However you know her, I’m sure you know how much she strives to help the people around her, and how much of her time she has dedicated to volunteering for other causes. Now, though, it’s our turn to help out.

Moving can be stressful even under the best of circumstances, but for Nene, this move is both a necessity and incredibly challenging- her current landlord is selling the wheelchair-adapted home that she has lived in for the past 8 years right as she is undergoing experimental and difficult treatment for her ongoing illness.

Since being diagnosed with Graves Disease in 2019, Nene has been completely unable to work, or to participate in the volunteering that she loves. At first, the plan was to start treatment and get her back into the office in around 6 months, but unfortunately it proved significantly harder than that, and then midway through treatment, covid put a pause on all but the most critical medical care. Earlier this year, Nene underwent radioiodine therapy, but unfortunately the recovery has been slow and difficult. As of now she’s on an experimental drug which is helping much more than any of the others are… but only when it’s reliably in supply and there is currently a global shortage. There is light at the end of the tunnel with this treatment, but it will be a lifelong therapy. We are very much hoping that Nene will be back to her old self sooner rather than later!

In the meantime, we’re hoping to raise around £10,000 to help Nene move, and to buy her the items that are necessary for her to live in her new home. Some of these items will replace items that Nene did once own, but which were destroyed when the roof of her current house fell in and ruined a huge number of possessions. Included in that cost are:

Movers and packers - Nene is currently without a vehicle, and has been a wheelchair user since 2012, so requires help with both of those things

A fridge freezer

A cooker/oven/hob

Curtains and blinds

Living room furniture (which was almost all destroyed by the roof leak and collapse)

A dishwasher

Air conditioning units - difficulties with temperature regulation are a pervasive and difficult symptom of Nene’s illness

A skip/people to remove rubbish

An end of tenancy clean

Simi (pictured) has also requested a new cat tree after hers was destroyed in the roof collapse.

Please consider donating whatever you can to help us achieve these goals: After the huge difficulties of the past few years, Nene really deserves to be able to live in a safe, secure and comfortable environment whilst she recovers. If you’re unable to contribute financially, please do share this fundraiser with your wider network of friends, or consider volunteering some time to help with the move. Even the tiniest contributions, when added together, will really help!

Thank you for your time, your kindness, and your generosity

Dee Midnight

On behalf of

Nene and Simi