My name is Jeanine Baran. I am a long time friend of Patricia.
On Thursday night, July 23, I received a phone call from Eddie Wells that Patricia was found unresponsive in her apartment. I was also told that 911 was called and that she was pronounced dead.
Please share this very sad news with others you feel would appreciate knowing. This is the only information that I have been able to learn. Please also share any further information you might know.
I didn't know Pat all that well, but she was a rare person. Rare in the sense that there are few women who post on basketball forums and rare that there are few people who post on a forum based on arguments without ever saying an unkind word about anyone.
Every post she made, virtually without exception was a positive endorsement of someone. To the point where her positivity sometimes struck people as false which seems strangely cruel now. My last communication with her was an email about a month ago where I suggested that she see a certain type of specialist for chronic pain.
Several of the closest people in my life have chronic pain problems and recently had great results from seeing myofacial release doctors. She thanked me for the idea, never letting on how serious her condition was, but I assume she knew that there wasn't much time left. I say this because she sent me a note just wishing me the best about a week ago. A note which happened to come on a very hard day for me and cheered me up quite a bit. Just to have a bit of positive in an otherwise dreary day.
Just thinking of that story brings tears to my eyes, not so much because of how much she meant to me, but how much I know she had to mean to those around her. Unless you've been around people in chronic pain, you have no idea, no idea at all how difficult it is to cope with. How difficult it is to have a positive attitude about anything. For her to be so giving while going through so much defies all odds and reason.
My heart goes out to her family and friends.
