Leukemia Has Won

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Despite my best efforts over the past two and a half years, the leukemia has won. Due to liver inflammation and GvHD, the liver is too damaged to continue with treatment and there are no further options. I don’t want to spend the rest of my time in the hospital so I am choosing to remain at home where I can be comfortable with family and friends. If you want to read more about my journey through all of this, here are all of my posts with the cancer tag.

Since all of my plugins are open-source, they are free to be forked by reputable authors in the WordPress community. It would mean a lot to have my legacy go on.

I want to thank everyone who has given me moral support through these difficult times. It has meant a lot hearing all of the love and support pour in from my friends and colleagues from around the world. I have been so grateful for all of the opportunities that have been given to me in my life, professionally and personally. Automatticians have really helped me grow professionally by giving me an amazing career for the past nine years. My car friends have helped me grow socially and provided me so many good memories and life experiences. The people that I have gotten to know in the WordPress community have been very supportive as well. I am amazed by how many friends I have made and how much they have been there for me. They all have enriched my life and helped me grow as a person.

Thank you, everyone.


310 thoughts on “Leukemia Has Won”

  2. I’ve used your regenerate thumbnails plugin regularly for years. Just the small convenience of that plugin, added up over thousands of people, is hugely impactful. Thank you for the work you did.

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  5. Thank you for your immense contribution to the open source and WordPress community, you will be missed. You may be gone but your legacy lives on.

  6. I am so very sorry to hear this, Alex.

    You were a welcoming part of my introduction to the WordPress community at my first WordCamp (Portland, 2011). So many of your contributions have made an impact—regenerating thumbnails, syntax highlighting, excellent date arguments in WP_Query, the prod to remove extract from core… the list goes on. And even though I’m not a huge car fan, I’ve loved following your Viper related fun over the years.

    Thank you for everything you’ve done and for being the kind, friendly, and excellent person that you are.

  8. Alex-

    I have met and spent time with you only a handful of times. You have always been someone who I looked up to because you were one of the first people in the community that I met in my formidable WordPress years.

    I am not particularly religious but I am spiritual and my heart and soul is with you and your family. Just typing this is surreal.

    I love you, brother. I’ll see you on the other side. ♥️

  11. I’m really sorry to hear this. We never met or interact but i use your regenerate thumbnails way too many times and i’m so grateful that you made it. Thank you for contribution for the world, Alex. What you have made impacted on my life.

    Thank you, Alex.

  12. I don’t know you, but I’ve used your plugins for years. After reading all your posts on this subject, I’m humbled by your strength and your attitude. You must be a very special person and I’m a better man for having stumbled on this crushing, but inspiring story. Safe travels.

  14. Alex, first of all, you still here and will always be here and that’s what matters. Your contributions are carved in the WP community. Me personally I never had the chance to thank you for your plugins that saved my day. The battle never ends. I’ll pray for you. In kaaba soon Let me know if I can do more I will be more than happy.

  15. Alex, we don’t know each other but I wish you comfort and peace. Thanks a lot for being here and for all you have done. You will be remembered.

  16. Pingback: Alex Mills Ends His Battle With Leukemia – WordPress Tavern

  18. Alex, the best you, your family and friends. I hope your remaining time is happy and as comfortable as possible.

    I sure don’t have your courage.

  21. We never met, but I wish we had because your work has be a part of every. Single. Site. I’ve built since I started using WordPress over a decade ago. Your work has inspired and enriched the world. Thank you.

  22. You fought “The Good Fight”, and we all hope to approach such battles with similar grace and fortitude.

    Thanks for sharing your journey.

  24. Have used your work and will continue to use your creative genius. Thank you for using your skills to contribute positively to millions of lives and helping people like me to earn a living since without your contributions, simple tasks would eat up all our time. Nothing ever dies. We are all star dust and part of us is beyond the physical. Rest and live to the max the remaining time knowing what a success you had been before your next adventure hereafter. We are all reaching that side and what mattered was we were here before we get to explore the other reality.

    Am sad you could not heal from this. So, I hope this message reminds you that you won’t be forgotten and your work impacted a ton of lives many of whom never spoke up before like me. Rest well and enjoy with family and friends.

    Best and love.

    Your user and well-wisher and sad fellow IT manager

  25. Hi Alex.

    Sorry to hear the news.

    I can’t do much to help, but I’m running a small design company in Japan, so, if you like, I can try and keep some of the plugins going with updates or just fixes as you like.

    Last year in March, my dad found out he had double myeloma so your messages have helped me understand a lot.

    Thank you for that.

    Thank you for helping all of us not just with the plugins but useful info.

    Bug hugs from Japan.

    Regards,

    Glen Rowell

  27. Hey Alex—

    We talked a few days ago, but I figured I’d leave a note here, just to tell the world a bit about how it’s been better having you in it.

    You have a kindness and generosity of spirit that’s rare. From giving out rides in your Viper free for the asking (but never, ever letting anyone else drive it) to sharing your knowledge and experience to anyone who needs it, to always approaching situations from an honest and humble place. When I stopped in to see you in Portland back in 2017, even as you were exhausted from a round of chemo and drugs and all of it, you were excited about learning new JS tech, rewriting your plugins, and coming back to work— you had that hunger you always have— to spend your time making other people’s lives better.

    I’ll always fondly remember sitting on the patio in Belize with you, talking about life, focus, work, balance and how we were just a couple of imperfect people trying to make it all come together. The passion you have for all of it has always made an impact on me, and it’s going to be a long time before someone asks me a question about Windows or Cars or PHP Storm or plugins and my first response isn’t “oh, you should talk to Viper!”

    Wishing you all strength and love for the final gear,
    Sam

    PS: This sucks. Fuck cancer.

  28. Thank you for everything you’ve done for the WordPress community. Your strength throughout this has been inspiring.

    Best regards,

    Michael

  30. Very best wishes, Alex. May your days be full of friends, family, stories, laughter, love and the knowledge that you helped many, many people express themselves across the Web – this weird place that we nerdy folk sort of call home and find our community.

    I work at the Canadian university, McMaster, and we use your plugin there. I’ve worked at a Boys & Girls Club in an underserved community in Toronto and used your plugin there. You’ve built software that makes it easier for regular folks who are trying to make the world a slightly better place to do their jobs – youth programs, research institutions, and I’m sure so much more. Open Source stalwarts like yourself make _so_ much possible that would otherwise be impossible, and every commit by you and folks like you may seem small on its own but adds up to a huge, amazing, world-changing body of work.

    Anyway, don’t want to take up much of your time. Please enjoy it! The WP community has your back and will keep your work going and, I would bet, will rally around the causes that matter to you if you wanted to channel the love towards this cause or that. Be well, my dude.

  31. Hello Alex, when I started working with WordPress, your Plugins helped me a lot and really made things easier for me. Long story short: I just wanted to let you know that you made an impact on my professional life. Thanks for this! You make a difference!

    Thanks for being a part of the WP community and for sharing your knowledge.
    Thomas

  32. I’ve been a regular user of Regenerate Thumbnails both personally and professionally. I’m saddened to hear of your battles, but wanted to share another comment of love to fill your inbox with heartfelt good wishes 🙂

  35. Thank you for everything you have done for the world, Viper. I didn’t have the opportunity to meet you, but I followed your work for years, and for me, you were like a mentor.

    May the road rise to meet you;
    May the wind be always at your back;
    May the sun shine warm upon your face;
    May the rains fall softly upon your fields.
    Until we meet again,
    May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

    Godspeed. ❤️

  36. Alex – I don’t know you personally but I have used your plugins (thank you). I am also had Leukemia (ALL funny enough…PH- though) and am an analogous stem cell transplant recipient. I see your first post is from October 21, 2016. I have to say I got chills when I saw that. I was in the hospital exactly one year earlier to the day getting my first blood transfusion, feeling exactly the same way you did with fatigue and thinking I just had the flu. My life was turned completely upside down and I continue to deal with symptoms from chemo and chronic GvHD. It is a seemingly never ending game of whack a mole. One thing gets better and another pops up. Luckily, my transplant has been successful in keeping the cancer at bay. Reading your blog posts reminds me how lucky I am to have made it this far and have remained in remission. There are no words I can write here to express how I am feeling (I think you know more than most how I feel) but know that I am thinking of you and hoping that you find peace and comfort in the company of family and friends. Don’t forget to laugh and love every minute you spend with them. Be proud of the legacy of giving freely of yourself and helping others. It’s important and it matters. I don’t know how to end this so I’ll just say thank you and god bless.

  37. I’m sad to hear this, I used your plug ins for years before finding out about Final Gear where I spent some time enjoying Top Gear. I wish you the best.

  39. Nothing but love for you. When I first started with WordPress, I kept running into issues and finding a plugin you made to handle it. Your impact on my goals led me to figuring out how to extend WordPress too, which set the course for my professional life.

    Love you brother.

  40. Like most here, we’ve never met. I’ve used your work on countless sites throughout the world during my tenure at some of the largest agencies. You sir, are a legend among developers. I really don’t know what else to say, times like this are hard, even though I don’t personally know you I still can’t find the words to make everything go away.

    I only hope that you are comfortable and take solace in the fact that you will live on forever in the digital realm! Godspeed sir!

  42. It’s very sad to hear. I have never you but wanted to because of the Viper, 007, Bond in your username. I use plug-ins created by you on a daily basis especially Regenerate Thumbnails. I wish you a happy time with your friends and family.

  43. I’ve never heard of you before today, but I am a leukemia survivor – over 11 years now (they gave me a 20% chance.) Those of us who remain will remember those of you who went on. Happy travels, friend 🙂

  44. Oh, wow, Alex! So many emotions all at once: Sadness at losing such a great guy, anger at cancer (my mom died from it,) such gratefulness at having had a chance to work on the WordPress project with you, however peripherally…

    I wish you peace and that you’ll be surrounded with love for what time you have. You already know that as long as WordPress is out there, you’re immortal.

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  50. Thank you so much Alex. I host and maintain several websites for non-profits in my spare time, and I use your regenerate thumbnails plugin on every one. Your work has helped my community collect food, clothing, and diapers for the most needy. It has helped give free music lessons to kids in areas with no funding for music education. It has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars at silent auctions and fundraising events. Your work will continue to help people forever.

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