My mom showed me a great website today that has helped her keep appraised of the treatment of two people very dear to her. CaringBridge.org provides a free, easy-to-use service that allows users to maintain a journal, similar to a blog, and to receive messages of support from family and friends.
From the website:
A CaringBridge website helps keep loved ones informed during difficult times. In return, family and friends give patient and caregiver support through guestbook messages.
Every free, personalized CaringBridge website includes:
- Patient care journal to update family and friends
- Guestbook for messages of love
- Photo gallery
- Free online support for using the service
A dear friend of my mother has twin grandsons, one of whom is being treated for leukemia. The site has helped them in many ways. It provides a fun place for them to share photographs and daily stories with family and prevents his parents from making or taking dozens of calls a day spreading the same news, sometimes difficult to say even once. Family and friends can signup for automatic email delivery of updates which makes following things much easier. The ease of setup is perfect for families lacking someone high-tech enough to fearlessly procure a domain and create a stand-alone blog.
They claim on their site that 15 million users each year use CaringBridge which is an impressive crowd. They also point out that their service is appropriate for “life-changing events” other than illnesses and their treatment, for example military deployment. It’s a great example of a beneficial use of the internet to help keep people together.