Here's to you, Gary.

I've known Gary for quite a while, but met him for the first time today.  He had come up from his hometown of Melbourne to attend a wedding so we arranged to have coffee.

What Gary and I have in common is that we both have a ridiculously rare disease. Retroperitoneal fibrosis.
Generally the cause is unknown though it's possible that in my case it was caused by migraine medication taken many years ago.
As anybody with a rare disease would know, it's incredibly isolating.  There is very little reliable information and most doctors look at you blankly.  It's also very scary.

While I was trawling the net, and eight months after diagnosis, I happened upon an amazing site which is devoted to this disease, and is run by Gary and an American named Put.
What they have achieved is little short of amazing and the relief I felt when I discovered this site is hard to describe.
They have organised and catalogued case histories, files, relevant links, recommended doctors, information tables and polls.
Gary is the chief moderator of the members' forum and dispenses advice, guidance, encouragement and his amassed wisdom.  
Not for nothing is he referred to by us all as Obi Wan.
This is a huge amount of work and an incredible public service.  Apologies for all the adjectives, but in this instance they are warranted.

So it was lovely to meet up with him, and as he follows blip there was no problem getting one.  Indeed, he took direction very well.