3 Benefits of Sharing Health Updates
Molly Sturgis said sharing health updates on her son’s website helped keep her connected to life outside the hospital.
Sharing health updates with family and friends can be enormously beneficial. CaringBridge users–the real experts–say that whether you write a little, or a lot, the act of “getting it out” can provide:
A Way to Stay Connected. Molly Sturgis of Minnesota said, “One thing that everyone needs is someone, or a group of people, to not forget about you.” When Molly’s son, Telly, was going through treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, diagnosed at 16 months, messages of love and support that came through CaringBridge helped keep the young mother connected to the world outside Telly’s hospital room. (Molly reports that Telly’s health is now stable and he is doing great.)
**Stress Relief. Laura Sobiech of Minnesota, whose son, Zach, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at age 14, said, “Writing became a way of reining in the wildness of the landscape of the cancer life, where monsters lurked around corners waiting to throw our lives into another tailspin, and somehow tame it and make it a little less scary.” Since losing Zach in 2013, Laura has continued to write, including on Zach’s CaringBridge website, and in her work with the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, a CaringBridge partner. Laura said, “I continue to share the triumphs and struggles, as our family progresses through the grief of loss and letting go.”
Opportunities to open your heart to healing. Karen Hohertz-Jacobs of Minnesota, who wrote on CaringBridge during the months her baby daughter, Kate, was being treated for stage IV neuroblastoma, said, “I did not start a website for Kate with the intention of healing. But that is what happened. It has been such a valuable life link.” Ten years have passed since Kate’s active treatment, and she remains healthy, happy and cancer-free.
Care to Share Your Own Experience?Everyone has a different experience; we’d love to hear yours. Please add your thoughts in the “Comment” section directly below.