Featured Fridays: Caring Bridge
I posted the above letter to Macy on my Caring Bridge site in 2010 on her one year birthday. Though Macy's site there is a bit of a mess because I didn't bother updating the summary (how could I after she died?), at the time of my pregnancy with her, it was my lifeline to my supportive family and friends.
I wanted to share what was going on with us, but I did not want to have to say my story over and over again. So I did what I do best: I wrote about it. I wrote and wrote, and so many people sent me messages of support, either on Caring Bridge itself, or by email, or in person. Or even verbal messages through my sisters and parents.
If you don't know what Caring Bridge is, let me share. If you can imagine a world before Facebook and other social media platforms were so popular, Caring Bridge is a blog where someone could share their health journey with family and friends. With every post, a notice would come into a loved one's mailbox. And the site could be private. No medical details or personal details would have to be shared (or owned, in the case of photographs with Facebook).
I was technically on FB in 2009, but I had barely joined and only because my book club at the time wanted to make schedules through their site. But I didn't really feel comfortable sharing our journey with Macy with all the acquaintances and previous friends that I had on FB, not at the time. (I still am not frequently on there....) And sometimes not everyone you know wants to know what's going on with you, healthwise or otherwise. Caring Bridge is a fantastic and safe place to share your journey with those loved ones who want to be updated.
As an added bonus, there is also a 'task list' button to make helping out even easier by using a calendar to organize family meals or other such helpful tasks.
For more information on Caring Bridge or to donate, please click here.
In honor of Macy, I'm doing a Featured Fridays special to highlight non-profit organizations on the nine Fridays leading up to her ninth birthday. It's my countdown for the winter holidays as well as a way of hopefully fundraising a tiny bit for some wonderful organizations. It's the time of GIVING and these are some fantastic places to support.
Have you or a loved one used Caring Bridge? Let me know about your experience in the comments.
xo
