I have some things to say. I hope you'll take the time to read them, and if profanity bothers you - I'm sorry. Please read it anyway, because it's important and if there was EVER a time for curses, it's RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW.

This is my sister's story. That’s  her in the picture above, in all of her kick-ass, take-no-prisoners-but-you-wouldn’t-mind-if-she-did glory.

It is her struggle, her pain, and I am just someone that just has to sit impotently by as she is killed. If you spend any time on social media, you can find some of her story, in her much more eloquent words, written clearly and concisely, with all the grace, intelligence, research, sometimes humor, and straightforwardness that she is known for by everyone who loves her.

But I am SO MAD. And hurt. And disbelieving.

And I want to hurl all the truth with all the fury that she is too classy to display in a public forum, because I'm NOT classy, and in a kinda-super fucked up way, this is my love letter to her - my furious, profanity-littered, macabre but well-intentioned love letter and grab for hope.

Please remember this term: RK-33.

RK-33.

RK-33.

I'm so angry. Yeah, I said that already, I know. If you looked through my Twitter (because I refuse to call it fucking X; what a ridiculous name) or Threads, you'll see it in most of my posts and replies, because this insane clown show we call a presidency and its inexplicably stupid new cult have not only impacted the rights of our fellow humans, but have now started to murder my sister by inches.

It's visceral, this need to let these vile, uncaring people know that their actions and loud, proud support is literally killing people.

I love my sister. I want you to know that SHE EXISTS. She is beautiful. She is the absolute coolest. She is the cool girl everyone wanted to be like in high school, even as a fully adult woman. I wish I could include a photo of her, because she also happens to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous, a blonde, 6-foot Amazonian warrior with the widest smile you've ever seen. 

 

 

She is an artist that climbs mountains and travels the world and loves punk and classic rock and everything in between. Her photography has been displayed in an art gallery in Chicago. She just casually spends the day hanging out with Damien Mitchell learning stenciling techniques and meeting his parents.

She dresses in bunny costumes and makes music videos on Lake Michigan for the fuck of it. She photographs street art in every country she visits and at home. When she rents a car, she gets the cherry red Beetle convertible, because OF COURSE SHE DOES.

She lives life so hard, as hard and harder than we all WISH we lived. She has a loving, supportive, kick-ass partner in life who is with her every step of the way. She has friends who love her and surround her, because she draws people to her in every corner of the world.

And because of some malignant narcissist and his cult of worshippers, SHE MAY CEASE TO EXIST long before her time, after years and years of fighting SO FUCKING HARD to live.

I want you to SEE what an amazing light in this shitty world is being extinguished by a ridiculous, greedy, smelly, power-mad toddler. Can you see her in your mind's eye? Can you see her crack that famous grin, throw her head back and laugh and feel privileged to have amused this goddess?

 

 

I'm paraphrasing from some of her posts here, because she is, of course, the most knowledgeable person when it comes to her situation:

John Hopkins has an application pending with the FDA to begin human trials THIS YEAR of a new medication that SPECIFICALLY targets her breast cancer that has metastasized to her bones.

Quiz time: Can you guess the name of this medication?

CORRECT! RK-33.

Because of Trump's heartless, selfish, self-interested cut to cancer research funding, she will likely no longer be able to participate in this life-saving trial. Instead, she will be put on a harsh, likely ineffective chemo. She is out of options.

This is cold blooded murder, with the most common motive: Money. 

 

 

Specifically, stealing money that WE PAID to the government for the sustainment and betterment of our society and giving it to billionaires and huge corporations (that already have the rest of our money) in the form of tax cuts and bailouts.

I consider this murder, by the Merriam-Webster definition pictured above.

So. Here we are. What can we do about this? I've taken to social media, and have written to my Senators and Representative, but that's not enough. As much as it pains me to say so, I'm not enough. I need help. I need help in the tens and hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands.

So I'm asking you, dear, empathetic stranger, to take a few minutes out of your day and help out a fellow human that (as do we all) deserves SO MUCH BETTER than this government is giving her.

Below I have included a form letter; you may use that or write your own to email or call or text or snail mail or carrier fucking pigeon this demand (yes, DEMAND! They work for US!) that funding for medical research be restored right. Goddamn. NOW.

Your contributions can make a difference to countless lives, presenting them with a chance to fight their battles. Please sign this petition and contact your representatives to translate your concern into a life-changing act. 

Below this form letter is a link to quickly and easily look up your representatives. I am begging you, as one member of a family to another member of another family, to take the five minutes needed out of your day (10, if you include reading this novel) to speak up.

Do it for my sister, do it for a friend or family member with a medical condition, or do it for a loved one that could be diagnosed in the future. But please, for all that is sacred, DO SOMETHING.

RK-33.

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FORM LETTER

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John Hopkins has an application pending with the FDA to begin human trials THIS YEAR of a new medication, RK-33, that SPECIFICALLY targets breast cancer that has metastasized to the bones.

Because of Trump's cut to cancer research funding, people with this cancer will likely no longer be able to participate in this life-saving trial. Instead, they will be put on a harsh, likely ineffective chemo. And they will die.

This is cold blooded murder, with the most common motive: Money. 

Specifically, stealing money that WE PAID to the government for the sustainment and betterment of our society and giving it to billionaires and huge corporations (that already have the rest of our money) in the form of tax cuts and bailouts.

As your constituent and with all respect, I DEMAND that you recognize the primacy of this issue and actively advocate for the reinstatement of adequate funding, including and especially for life-saving trials like RK-33. Do it for those that will be saved by this trial, do it for a friend or family member with a medical condition, or do it for a loved one that could be diagnosed in the future. But please, for all that is sacred, DO SOMETHING.

RK-33.

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To find your representatives, just go to:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

You put in your address, and it spits out a list of all your elected officials, with links to their website (which will have an email contact form), phone number, and their TWITTER and Facebook profiles. It's super quick, super easy. 

And if you want to @ that piece of shit ironically sitting on his golden toilet in the White House, I will NOT stop you.

If you got this far, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS. I love you for that alone, but I will be your forever fan if you help my sister. If you would like to hear a little bit more about her, check out trumpismurderingmysister.com.

Your bold, hopeless, hopeful and soon-to-be-forever fan,

Crystal