Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#31

Post by AceJohnny2 » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 7:50 PM UTC

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #27

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #21

Wow, talk about curveballs. That's a terrifying prospect, and I wish Simone the best for her surgery. I'm glad to hear it's not malignant, and I hope that holds. I've seen cancer show up unexpectedly among two friends. One discovered she had leukemia, and underwent chemo and a bone marrow transplant. She died from a lung infection because of her weakened immune system after the transplant, not even a year after the i…

I've had the same experience. Multiple friends dying young of cancer, others to war and it shook my core beliefs about who and what is important. In almost every case, each of them were "the best of us" and were top performers destined for greatness. A philosophical nitpick too, you're likely describing absurdism, not nihilism. Nihilism doesn't accept the self-application of meaning/purpose. Whereas other forms of ex…

> A philosophical nitpick too, you're likely describing absurdism, not nihilism.

You're right, thanks for the clarification! I got confused between existentialism and nihilism, I admit I don't know the differences beyond what's infiltrated pop consciousness. You sent me on a wikibrowsing quest ;)

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#32

Post by mfoy_ » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 8:01 PM UTC

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #31

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had the same experience. Multiple friends dying young of cancer, others to war and it shook my core beliefs about who and what is important. In almost every case, each of them were "the best of us" and were top performers destined for greatness. A philosophical nitpick too, you're likely describing absurdism, not nihilism. Nihilism doesn't accept the self-application of meaning/purpose. Whereas other forms of ex…

> A philosophical nitpick too, you're likely describing absurdism, not nihilism. You're right, thanks for the clarification! I got confused between existentialism and nihilism, I admit I don't know the differences beyond what's infiltrated pop consciousness. You sent me on a wikibrowsing quest ;)

While you're going down that rabbit hole, check out Stoicism. The Enchiridion is pretty short and sweet.

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#33

Post by AndrewKemendo » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 8:19 PM UTC

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #31

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had the same experience. Multiple friends dying young of cancer, others to war and it shook my core beliefs about who and what is important. In almost every case, each of them were "the best of us" and were top performers destined for greatness. A philosophical nitpick too, you're likely describing absurdism, not nihilism. Nihilism doesn't accept the self-application of meaning/purpose. Whereas other forms of ex…

> A philosophical nitpick too, you're likely describing absurdism, not nihilism. You're right, thanks for the clarification! I got confused between existentialism and nihilism, I admit I don't know the differences beyond what's infiltrated pop consciousness. You sent me on a wikibrowsing quest ;)

Excellent! Casual philosophy is a pastime of mine so I think you'll find study of existentialism engaging.

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#34

Post by eigenvalue » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 8:36 PM UTC

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #21

Wow, talk about curveballs. That's a terrifying prospect, and I wish Simone the best for her surgery. I'm glad to hear it's not malignant, and I hope that holds. I've seen cancer show up unexpectedly among two friends. One discovered she had leukemia, and underwent chemo and a bone marrow transplant. She died from a lung infection because of her weakened immune system after the transplant, not even a year after the i…

I wonder if the mesothelioma could possibly be from repeated exposure to stone particulates that came off during rock climbing and were inhaled. I don't know much about climbing or cancer, but that was my immediate thought.

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#35

Post by codingdave » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 8:37 PM UTC

coupdejarnac wrote: post #19

It's good that her tumor isn't cancerous, but she's going to be out of action for at least a year. I see other people saying that she can make a full recovery, but this is not the type of thing you ever fully recover from. Two of my girlfriends had brain tumors, both in their 20s. It's life changing, if not life shattering.

> It's life changing, if not life shattering.

Yep, that is exactly it. Eventually, we all lose ability in our bodies, if not from illness or injury, simply due to aging. And dealing with those changes is part of life. I don't envy someone being thrown into those changes in their youth... but there is more to recovery than just gaining your physical state. Moving forward with your life, and finding happiness and joy wherever you end up is a far more important goal.

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#36

Post by astrodust » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 8:54 PM UTC

wanderfowl wrote: post #4

This makes me very sad, but I've also gotta highlight her skill at perfectly nailing the tone of that video. Humor, sadness, gratitude, and fear, in excellent measure. Plus, I'm thrilled to see somebody else with a nice sense of gallows humor. Sometimes, we have to laugh so we don't have to cry.

If you can't laugh at something, it owns you.

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#37

Post by petercooper » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 9:17 PM UTC

ngvrnd wrote: post #13

bobowzki wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While not exactly good news it's a huge relief it doesn't appear malignant. I have worked as an anesthesiologist in neurosurgery and these patients generally make a full recovery.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/193749.When_the_Air_Hits...

Fantastic book, and if anyone liked this, this one is also fantastic (though better in audiobook, I feel, as the narrator was so emotive): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21086818-do-no-harm

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#38

Post by crunchlibrarian » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 9:19 PM UTC

Dangeranger wrote: post #12

protomyth wrote: post #9

Well that blows. I guess it is a reminder to watch for the little things on your head and how you feel. My cousin is going through the same "not cancer" but problematic brain tumor problems. He was further hampered by the learning he had a brain tumor from the billing department as opposed to his (now former) doctor. His only warning was a stiff neck for days on end. Here's hoping that her Paetreon https://www.patreo…

This is a great time to become a patron. Simone and her team are going to be relying on the income from Patreon for at least the next several months. I'm so glad that Patreon exists for moments like this, when a person just needs some time to deal with a health or a family issue and cannot focus on creating new material to maintain their finances.

There's something deeply wrong with a society when everytime someone gets diagnosed there is a call for money to be sent via patreon/gofundme

I'm not opposed to the concept really but you get that dumping more money to a middleman is more of a symptom than a solution

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#39

Post by merb » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 9:53 PM UTC

zitterbewegung wrote: post #2

:-( I really hope Simone Giertz pulls through on this. I really like her videos and she has been an inspiration for me to make shitty arduino projects.

well I guess she does. non cancerous tumor. but it could probably have wierd side effects on her while removing it.

I just looked into her videos and some stuff is really funny. like where she had a robot that served her a soup. it also was an ad for google home and at the end she said, google home probably won't come with a robot that will serve soup, which is probably a good thing :D

Re: Simone Giertz on her brain tumour [video]

#40

Post by nodesocket » Mon, Apr 30, 2018, 10:16 PM UTC

Oh wow. Feel super bad for her and wish her the best of luck and speedy recovery.

At the same time this absolutely terrifies me and shows how fragile life is. Thankfully Simone is in Sweden so she does not have to worry about the financial impact (she has enough to worry about). I am self employed here in the US and pay for my insurance plan 100% out of pocket (don't qualify for any subsidies). The plan is frankly god-awful with something like an annual max out of pocket of $10,000 and $7,000 deductible. A cancer diagnosis would financially ruin me even though I pay nearly $400 a month in health insurance premiums. If I was diagnosed with cancer, the last thing I should have to worry about is how I am going to pay for it (especially seeing as I pay more than my fair share). The reality is I have way more of financial burden even though I am paying full price than somebody who get's their plan subsidized from Obama Care. They pay significantly less (sometimes nothing), yet have better care than me.

I can truthful say, I would fear the financial impact more than the cancer which is a scary reality.