Is it just me, or does it seem that everyone has a close friend or family member who is ill or in the hospital? It could be the time of year. Or it could just be life.
It used to be that computers and social networking (Facebook, email, texting) were seen as intrusions into our privacy. However, I want to share a short email I received last week from a dear lifelong friend who is stuck in a Pittsburgh hospital.
My friend Jan lives in Chicago. She was diagnosed with an illness and it turns out that the best treatment was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So she and her husband Tim, relocated temporarily so she could get treatment.
I’ve been very worried about Jan, and of course did not want to burden her husband with phone calls. I took a chance and sent an email to Jan, hoping that someone was checking her email.
Within a day, I got an email response from Jan herself! All that worry I was harboring subsided. It was as if I could hear Jan’s cheerful, measured voice each time I read her emails.
Now I am getting an email update daily from her husband and it feels like I am right there as Jan gets better. Occasionally, Jan sends me a personal email. This is what she wrote to me last week:
Thanks for all the kind words and prayers. I’m keeping current on what’s happening on “Karen’s Plate” and enjoying that. I do think computers are one of the most under-recognized medicinal treatments. Once I was hooked in, I definitely had a lift in my spirits.
Love,
Jan
Hmmm…Computers as medicinal treatment. What a concept!
Next time your kid is home sick from school, you or your spouse is home ill from work, or if you have a loved one in the hospital, make sure they have access to a computer (a net book or iPad works just fine and is so much more portable) and their email. I bet they would get well quicker because they can feel connected to their friends, family and the world!
Stay connected!
Karen
