Save a Siren! (updated with donation link now)
UPDATE: Paypal donation info from Sede below!
Beltana of SONA, Bellawyck, and Wolvenwold has fallen seriously ill and could use your assistance. She has contracted Guillain Barre Syndrome which is an illness that attacks the central nervous system. Beltana's prognosis is good but it will likely be quite some time before she is well. We, her friends and family, have this opportunity to band together and show her just how much we honor her committment and all that she has given to our community over the years. This is the time to show our support. Anything that you could spare would be of tremendous value in ensuring that Beltana's family has what they need during this difficult time. Remember the circle is always completed in time... the love you show will be with us all, always. :) Click here so that you can show your love... all funds will be deposited directly into Beltana's PayPal acount.
There's no better network for feeling like a close-knit family, in spite of its vast range and thousands of members, than the Pagan community. Time and time again, wherever I go, I see those who walk the path aiding each other and receiving aid from friends they may only have known for an hour or two in real time. The fact is that the strong connections we make with each other at festivals, at workshops, in ritual, and, if we're lucky, in class or at work do not fade when a dire need arises, when loved ones are lost, when the cat needs feeding, etc. I have countless friends that I've made on the road, at a festival or around a sacred fire, who I trust with my life, who I know would drop everything to come to my aid if I needed help--whether or not I thought to ask for it. One of those friends is Bernadette Holzer, also known as Beltana, the lovely voice of SoNa and one of the siren-singers in the new vocal group BellaWyck.
I've known Bel since I was twenty-two, and I'm a better person for having such an amazing Valkyrie Faery sister. I met her at my first-ever Pagan event, which was Dragondance 2002, out on the land at Wolvenwold--Bel's home. Since meeting her, I have sung with her, sat up around the fire all night with her in all sorts of weather, chased her around the country a bit, as she has me, danced with her, laughed with her, proudly done ritual with her, and more. A short while ago, she asked me to be her beautiful daughter's Goddess-mother. (Fairy-godmother, she later named me, when I started walking on stilts!) Of course, I said yes.
I'm a little sick of bad news today, as I've found out within the past 24 hours that a dear and close friend (
perchike) lost his father this morning and the world lost George Carlin yesterday (those two are now kickin' it with Bill Hicks and my grandfather, while my dad laughs at their shenanigans from a safe distance, or so I prefer to believe). There's a third whammy in the mix, as these things do so often love to come in threes--at least it feels that way from here. Brother Sede called me while
omnisti and I were driving across Kansas this morning, en route to Colorado Springs, to tell me that Bel has been hospitalized--she's experiencing paralysis from the neck down.
Updated information from Kittin, Bel's sister, via
mamaduckers:
Thankyou for all the love and energy sent out for Bel....
It really is helping.
She's in Springfield at St. Johns.
She'll be there till at least the end of next week.
She's got Guillain Barre disease ,Hard to explain , It's very rare ,it's on the web.
Still keep you posted of whats happening.
I love you all !!
God we have a wonderful friends/family among this crowd!
Peace,
Kittin
Bel is young and brave, but I am having difficulty not worrying about her, her husband and her daughter, her sister and her mother, and her brother-in-law (my Mandolin Holy Man, incidentally), who are all dear to me. She is currently being cared for by hospital staff in Springfield, MO, with regular checks by a respiratory therapist to make sure she's still able to breathe on her own (thanks for the post, Duckee). You can imagine the financial hell of medical bills which are already stacking up. This is what's really got me worried.
For now, I'd like to ask that any of you who have energy to spare please send it in Beltana's direction. I am doing the same, since I cannot be there in person to kiss my friend's cheek, play her a song, brush her lovely hair, or distract her toddler. Bel herself is a Reiki practitioner, and I know that she welcomes any love and healing that comes her way in this freaky, frightening time.
Sede is working on getting a PayPal link set up for donations to go toward financial relief from Bel's medical expenses. The moment he passes the information along to me, I will plaster it to the top of this entry. For the moment, please send love to Beltana and her immediate family. She's not out of the woods yet, but we can show her the way. Thanks.
Beltana in her natural habitat