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25-Year-Old Blogs About Her Death, Helps Others Cope
<p><img class="alignright" src="//images.tonic.com/legacy_variable/83246-360-eva-markvoort.jpg" alt="Eva Markvoort" />Older generations in our society tend to keep death and dying intimate subject matter. Today, thanks to blogs, video and social media, those who have a terminal illness have started publicizing their trials and tribulations. It may seem morbid to some, but providing access to one's soul during the final stages of life has proven to be beneficial to all.</p><p>At the tender age of 25, Eva Markvoort succumbed to her battle with <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tonic.com/news/cystic-fibrosis-foundation/" target="_blank">cystic fibrosis</a> on March 27. Her life may have ended, but her words remain. Through her <a rel="nofollow" href="http://65redroses.livejournal.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>, her story is still being told, she is still helping others cope with their terminal illness or that of a loved one.</p><p>Markvoort started her blog in 2006 and displayed her struggles publicly, without holding back. She unveiled the good and the bad, not keeping any secrets in order to help ease people's fears.</p><p>The trend in public displays of death are not scaring people, in fact, they have the opposite effect. They are opening up dialogue and paving the way for others who will eventually walk the same road.</p><p>"They're not just about hope but also about despair. That is, they're telling us not just what we want to hear but also what we need to hear," Dr. David Cassarett, author of the book <em>Last Acts</em>, according to <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/27/blog.terminal.illness/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p><p>Dying at 25 cannot be easy. Surely there is a lot of anger and sadness, but Markvoort chose to embrace her time left on earth. In a video blog she said, "I think I'm very lucky, because I've loved more than you could possibly think, could possibly imagine. So I'm celebrating that: celebrating my life."</p><p>Though brave, Markvoort is not the first to offer her tale to the world. Made famous in on YouTube in 2007 was Carnegie Melon professor Randy Pausch's<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo" target="_blank"> last lecture</a>, and blogs telling personal stories of death have been written by children and <a rel="nofollow" href="http://diaryofadyingmom.blogspot.com/2008/10/michelles-obituary.html" target="_blank">parents</a>, alike.</p><p>Although not pleased at first, her parents have come around to the idea of their daughter describing her fight for life over the last four years, but have come to understand and appreciate what her online community meant to her. They will be streaming live a memorial for their daughter via her blog on Friday, 7 p.m. EST.</p><p>Markvoort helped break down boundaries by talking so candidly about death. She had come to terms with her fate, but through her words she is helping others deal with their life. In another video she said, "This is the end of my life, but it's not the end of my love."</p><p> </p><p><em><br /></em></p><p><em>Photo courtesy of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://65redroses.livejournal.com/" target="_blank">65 Red Roses</a>.</em></p>
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