I'm completely blown away as I've discovered how some people are using the Internet to communicate after a tragic accident in our community. One of our high school girls was in a very serious accident this week and was airlifted to a hospital after suffering burns on 70-90% of her body. Our community is devastated as they wait to hear about this teen who is in critical condition. So many kids, adults, friends, family members, coaches, teachers and community members just don't know what to do with thier grief and emotion around this horrible accident. I heard the family had set up a "CarePages" site which is an online service offered by the hospital provided by a company called carepages.com. The family has set up a CarePages website specifically for their daugher where they have posted updates, usually several times a day, with details of thier daughter's progress. This information has comforted so many of us at home who are anxious to hear about her progress. A person logging into CarePages can choose to receive email notification when the website gets updated. The constant communication from the family has also helped to quiet down rumors about her condition, which were upsetting to the family. The other incredible aspect of this website is that it will let anyone post a message which can be read by the family members and the community at large. The messages of love and support are so moving from these kids, teachers, coaches, and even the town librarian. The parents have been incredibly moved by the support, stories, encouragement, and love that show up in these posted messages. People feel that they are doing something constructive with their anxiety and using CarePages to send support and express thier feelings. Within a few days almost 5,000 visits to the site have been made. Incredible. Such a perfect use of the Internet.
