RIP, Erik Martin September 18, 2011 5:18 AM Subscribe
Seattle mourns the passing of Electron Boy, otherwise known as Erik Martin. Erik died at home on Friday, from a rare form of cancer called paraganglioma. He was 14. Previously on Metafilter. posted by Sublimity (34 comments total)
8 users marked this as a favorite
Ah, fuck. posted by vivelame at 5:24 AM on September 18, 2011
My (totally healthy) son is sitting in his room, playing Angry Birds.
This child, born with so many medical challenges. A foster child (with a family who has loved him his entire life). To then get cancer, on top of everything else?
Just due to sheer numbers, 99.9% of the stuff available/posted on the internet is pretty worthless and uninteresting, and, in the long run, doesn't give us much to think about, much to strive for. But, the story of "Electron Boy", was one of those very rare stories that inspired and touched our hearts (many of us, anyway) .
I wish his family peace and pleasant memories... posted by tomswift at 5:53 AM on September 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Oh, ugh. This little guy, as a case study, has taught me so much as a graduate student in peds. I hope my future practice honors that. posted by rumposinc at 6:14 AM on September 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
Hadn't heard of him, or any of this Make a Wish foundation.
posted by flapjax at midnite
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This little guy, as a case study, has taught me so much as a graduate student in peds.
posted by rumposinc
It strikes me that this, right here, is going to be Erik's legacy.
Erik had a really rare cancer, yes. But Erik also dreamed REALLY big, big enough to not just get the Make-a-Wish foundation involved in granting his wish, but big enough to get a city behind the GRANTING of that wish -- and then big enough to have the story OF that wish get national, and then international, news coverage.
And that news coverage taught people not only about the Make-a-Wish foundation but also about his illness, people who would never have heard of either one before, and those people are now getting involved in ways that will affect other children years in the future. All because Erik wished really big.
And so affecting the future turns out to have been Erik's REAL superpower.
DON'T GIVE HIS REAL NAME! Now the cast of Deadliest Catch can go after his family! posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 7:15 AM on September 18, 2011 [7 favorites]
. posted by Maias at 8:19 AM on September 18, 2011
.
Dammit, I got electrons in my eye. posted by Etrigan at 8:30 AM on September 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
Oh, damn it. I just read the other story now. That poor kid, with so much stacked against him. But he had a loving family and a hell of a lot of people who cared about him once they found out who he was. I wish he could have had a longer, pain-free time on this earth. posted by maudlin at 9:08 AM on September 18, 2011
Absolutely wonderful what all of those people did for him.
I like how coming across stories like this every so often put all of my personal hardships into perspective. Thanks for the post. posted by erstwhile at 9:46 AM on September 18, 2011
Wow....No words. Comic folk are awesome. This precious baby felt like a hero for a brief moment, in my eyes, he is the best kind of hero. Thank you Seattle. posted by pearlybob at 12:19 PM on September 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
This was one of the best stories I'd ever read on Metafilter when it first appeared. Sad to see it come to this. Even though we know what the Make A Wish Foundation is all about, it somehow seemed like his transformation into Electron Boy kinda made it seem like he was going to be OK after all. posted by ShutterBun at 1:02 PM on September 18, 2011
I loved the story of Electron Boy when it first came across my desk. I'm so glad that organizations like Make-a-Wish exist - I've had a lot of friends and worked with a lot of children who have been beneficiaries. I hope that when he closed his eyes, he went out knowing that he really was a superhero.
posted by vivelame at 5:24 AM on September 18, 2011