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Every Day is Precious: Web is filled with help resources
By ROB PAYNE
For Williamson A.M.
So, you love to surf the Internet?
But most of the time it is for recreation or entertainment. Sometimes it even feels like you are ''playing'' on the computer and wasting time. What if your entertainment could help a family in need?
I admit it, I think the Internet is an unbelievably great tool. I used to surf at work all the time for research, e-mail all my correspondence and open doors for new business right from my desk.
And since my wife, Marcy, was diagnosed three years ago with ALS, a disease with no known cause and no cure, my home Internet time has increased incredibly. I am a member of many Yahoo groups and read dozens of e-mails and articles on the Web. I am constantly searching for news and information that can help her.
I'm on the computer a lot, but no one can see or know everything (contrary to what I thought when I was 18.)
My parents (who, of course, knew me when I was 18) have shown concern throughout Marcy's illness and have helped in many ways we would have never thought to ask. But a few months ago they asked me if I knew about a $1,500 respite grant available from Ride for Life (www.rideforlife.com), an association created to help people with ALS.
Their question showed me that they think of us even when they are not talking with us they spend their entertainment time trying to find something that will help our situation.
Truth was, I had seen an e-mail indicating that the grant existed, but thought that the chance of reward wasn't worth the time to investigate and apply. And since the e-mail wasn't from a friend, I thought it had a high likelihood of being another of those e-mails selling something I don't need, like the opportunity to enhance body parts or the chance to visit a lonely housewife's Web cam site.
Once my parents knew I hadn't already applied for the grant, they downloaded and filled out the form. They brought the form to me in a hospital waiting room. All I had to do was sign it. They put the form in an envelope and mailed it for me.
A few weeks later, Ride for Life called and said we had been selected for the grant. The grant paid for six days of nursing care for Marcy, which I spread over seven weeks, allowing me to leave the house to do some of life's necessities that can't be done from home. The respite money is gone now, but the thought that went into it stays with me always.
If you know a family in need, consider finding resources that can help improve their situation. If you don't have the Internet access you want at home, you could find information at your local library.
It's true that you can't walk in their shoes, you can't spend the time that they spend or have their first-hand knowledge. But you may run across something they haven't seen or haven't given enough consideration. You may be able to see a tree that has gotten lost in their forest. It may be something they thought about and your note works as confirmation that they should do it.
You can share information without endorsing it, without pretending to be an expert, and without being nosey. Even if they have already seen the information and/or they don't take any advice you give, they will appreciate the love that you share.
A word of knowledge from your head may be a key to their heart.
Every Day Is Precious is a column to remind us to treat everyone we see today as if it could be the last time we see them. It is written by Rob Payne, whose wife, Marcy, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in August 2000. Now 40 years old, she has gone from winning 5 and 10K races to being quadriplegic and on a ventilator at home. For more ways to help others, to find more about Marcy, or to receive e-mail updates on her condition, visit www.everydayisprecious.com. Readers may contribute to her care by sending donations to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN 37069. If you have helped someone without being asked, or know of someone who has, share it with others. Send to rob@everydayisprecious.com or to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN 37069.
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