In July of 2022, a woman we’ll call F. logged onto Instagram and posted a selfie from the hospital. “Just been told I’m on life support for my blood pressure,” she wrote, tagging the post with various medical terms and conditions: #gastroparesis, #addisonsdisease, #pancreatitis, #fullbowelobstruction, and even #lifesupport. Three days later, she said she was out of the I.C.U. but still struggling. By September, she was dead.
A scroll through F.’s Instagram profile reveals a mix of selfies, dog pictures, and inspirational quotes. She was alternately crushed and defiant. “Chronic pancreatitis you have taken so much from me these last months and there have been moments that I have no longer wanted to live but I will be not let you win even with pain and tears in my eyes I still want my life,” she wrote in April 2022. A few days later, she had taken a turn for the worse: “I really don’t know how much longer I can hold on anymore.” Like a lot of sick people, she apparently used Instagram as a way of connecting with others in her situation, building a virtual community of fellow sufferers who commented things like “stay strong” and offered their prayers.
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