Eric, I am so very sorry

I’ve known about it some time, and Eric has been writing and sharing what has been happening along the way. I’ve been wanting to say things, have felt so sad for him and his entire family, have wanted to find a way to just make it go away.

This is about Eric Meyer, and about the terrible situation with his daughter Rebecca, who has cancer – tumors in her head and it seems to be terminal.

Now they have had to tell Rebecca about the current state, outlined in the excruciating post The Truth.

As a father myself, as a human, as a living being, this is so extremely sad, so wrong. No one would ever deserve to go through something like this; nor parents, nor child.

Trembling

My hands are trembling as I type this, I’m crying. And me shaking reminds me of the first time I met Eric. It was at SXSW in 2006, the first major international conference I attended. Eric was a role model for me, already famous in the Internet industry for his knowledge about CSS. And to me, he always seemed to have the time to help people out, to discuss, to support. A kind and good person.

And when I met him – just after a presentation he had given there – I walked up to him. Not to have a question for him about the talk, but just to let him know how much his knowledge and him sharing it had meant to me. And when I did, my voice wavered, my hands actually trembled a bit.

And it was silly, right? Although he was a great person, it was just about web development. But looking back at it now, I don’t think it was the starstruck thing of meeting an idol, it was more about me and being nervous about my abilities – or lack thereof – of how to express how much his work had meant to me, and me just really wanting him to know that what he was doing really mattered so much.

And if it can ever be any sort of consolation, Eric, I want you to carry with you how much you and your actions have meant, both to me and many others.

Life

I am so very sad for you and your entire family. Heartbroken that Rebecca has to go through this. It feels so unfair, so wrong. And I feel we are so very helpless, and I can’t even begin to fathom what it is like for you.

I just want you to know that we are out here for you and your family. For whatever good we can do.

My thoughts are with you.