It was with great sadness that I learned Dr. Bruce Carruthers lovely wife Janella, had passed away in October in Vancouver.

Dr. Carruthers has long been a most vocal advocate for people suffering from ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Auto-immune Diseases and Pain Disorders. As a leading Internal Medicine Specialist and Researcher over several decades, Dr. Carruthers has published many papers and journal articles especially on ME/CFS. He was the Lead Author on what is now widely known as the Canadian Consensus Document on ME/CFS and was co-editor of the Canadian Consensus Document on Fibromyalgia. For almost two decades, he has been affiliated with the National ME/FM Action Network as a Medical Advisor.

Dr. Carruthers and Janella shared a great interest in their chosen medical professions in the care of people, he as a Doctor, and she as a Nurse. They also shared their love for Family, Travel, Art, and in researching their Genealogies.

I last saw Dr. and Mrs. Carruthers when attending the IACFS International Conference in Ottawa in September 2011, when Dr. Carruthers was a presenter. Janella as always; radiated her special warmth and charm to all she met. She had a special quality of wit, kindness, and compassion, which I’m very sure led her patients to feel that they were in very good care with her as their Nurse.

Janella certainly had a way of making one feel like an old friend, even though it might have been the first time you’d met her. Unfortunately, after a fall while out shopping, complications set in causing sepsis which overwhelmed her existing autoimmune precondition. She passed away in St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver on October 11th, with her beloved Bruce and family members around her.

On November 3^rd, I attended her Celebration for Life, along with her family, friends and many of Dr. Carruthers patients, coming to pay their respects as well. I know all who ever met her during her life time, will never forget this wonderful, genuine woman, whose love and care for people, always showed!

Respectfully submitted by:

Sherri Todd

BC Director