Breaking the isolation of chronic illness: Anna’s story
The moment that Anna walked up to the Support Wall, she was clearly captivated.
Anna (a pseudonym) was an attendee at Furnace Fest, one of HeartSupport’s festival activations in 2025. She carefully studied the red tiles (where music fans open up about their lives) and the gray tiles (where other music fans respond with support and solidarity).
“Anna came up to the wall with her partner and was immediately looking at it intently,” HeartSupport’s Bryce Maopolski remembers. “After speaking with her and explaining the wall, she asked to write a red tile.”
Here is what Anna wrote:
“I’ve had health issues (cancer, etc) since I was 13 and have lost every ‘friend’ I’ve ever had. Now I struggle trusting others because everyone always ends up leaving me…”
Once she’d written those words, she put the tile on the Support Wall. In tears, she hugged the HeartSupport team, already moved just by the opportunity to open up.
Anna’s experience, sadly, is not abnormal. Many people who struggle with chronic health problems can’t participate in social settings in the way that healthy people expect or are used to. That often leads to an intense isolation that can cause mental health challenges on top of the physical health struggles. The CDC has published data showing an increase in risk for mental health struggles correlated with all major chronic physical illnesses.
But fortunately, that day at Furnace Fest, Anna was far from alone.
Person after person stopped by the Support Wall and left replies for her:
“Words can’t fully express how hard that fear and mistreatment must cut. When those you trust leave you, it’s easy to feel doomed and hopeless about the future. Even if your friends couldn’t see it, I see so much worth, value, and strength in you. I am truly grateful you are here in this world.”
“It can be hard to trust people at times. However, closing yourself off does not help. The right people will find you and I know it’ll happen. Keep your trust and let people in. <3”
“Not all friends are forever. Time, distance, and life sometimes leaves no choice. If you have found friends before, you can again, even if it takes a while. Relationships do not have to last forever to be important and meaningful. Much love, friends are hard.”
“I have gone through similar chronic health issues and it’s terrible. You will find the right people who love and support you, I promise. It’s hard, but even here you have so much support and strength!”
At the end of the day, Anna came by the wall to see all of those replies to her original confession. She took them all in.
“She came back while we had 1 tile remaining, picked up a marker without any of us talking to her, and filled the Support Wall!” Bryce shares. “She felt the love poured out to her and immediately wanted to turn it back around and support another fan who was in search of support.”
That’s the incredible sort of exchange that the Support Wall facilitates so well: it’s so often a two-way street of support.
Knowing she was surrounded and supported brought Anna into the Furnace Fest community at a deeper level than would have been possible otherwise. She embraced the festival fully, knowing from day one that she was surrounded by friends.
Bryce continues, “It felt like every band I saw at the festival, I’d turn around and see her at the edge of the mosh pit with a huge smile on her face. For almost every set I saw, I walked out of the stage area with her and her partner, talking about the power of the music and how insane the pit was: true music and mental health connection happening over and over throughout the entire weekend.”
By the end of the festival, the impact was cemented for Anna. She knew she wasn’t alone.
“Leaving Knocked Loose’s headlining set on Sunday, she called Reece and I down and thanked us so much for our hearts and for HeartSupport’s presence,” Bryce says.
Moments like that are why we’re committed to bringing the Support Wall to more places than ever before in 2026. More people like Anna need to know they’re not alone, whether they’re facing cancer, isolation, or any other curveball life can throw our way.
Are you ready to help us be there for more fans like her? We can only activate at festivals with the support of generous donors who believe in healing the scene!
