Then my life changed. I received a call on Saturday, July 23, 2011 informing me that my son was injured in Afghanistan. I posted the tragic news on the Facebook pages to which I belonged, and the support I received was overwhelming. Within the first two weeks, my “friends” on Facebook jumped by over 100. All of the new additions were fellow military moms, members of Derek’s platoon, and people at Walter Reed Military Medical Center.
I was also contacted by a family member of a wounded warrior who recommended that I start a blog. She told me that the blog would serve two purposes. The first was that it would keep family members and friends up to date on Derek’s condition, and the second was that it would prove to be very therapeutic for me.
During the next year, my Facebook friends blossomed to over 600. Most of them, I do not know personally. Some of them are hospital staff, wounded warriors, and WW family members that I have met along the way. Many of them are military moms and others who reached out to me after reading Derek’s story on my blog, which was read by not only family and friends, but churches, schools, and so many others around the world. I found my voice.
The blog was extremely therapeutic. I was able to vent my frustrations so that I did not take them out on the medical staff. It also allowed everyone to follow Derek’s progress. Without the blog (and Facebook), I would have spent so much time on the phone trying to keep everyone in the loop. I also addressed problems that I encountered, and because it was on the blog, I got results. After one particularly bad weekend, my congressman, Rodney Frelinghuysen, showed up in the hospital to see what he could do to help. He had read my blog and was not happy about what I had been through.
I spent nine months at Walter Reed, and Facebook kept me connected. The cell service was sketchy, at best, on the Naval base, so phone calls were few and far between. If not for Facebook, I would have been completely disconnected. I kept up with friends and family, I kept them informed, and I was able to get the news. Through Facebook I have a strong support system of family, friends, fellow military Moms, etc. who have kept up with Derek’s story. I have been able to connect with so many others who have gone down the same path. They have given me support and encouragement, and now I am passing that along to people I have met.
Of course, some of the “relationships” are artificial. Some people just want the connection.
But I know that some of these relationships are genuine.
One military Mom set up Derek’s support page the day he was injured. She has kept up with me over the last year and a half. Another military Mom has held two fundraisers for Derek. This Christmas, I have already been contacted by about a dozen people asking what they can send Derek and Krystina for Christmas. This is in addition to the dozens of packages already received by them. People have gone out of their way to help.
When I am feeling down, I can reach out on Facebook and I am immediately built back up. When I am feeling frustrated, I post my frustration and in response I get a lot of good ideas to solve the problem, or I get people who empathize with my difficulty.
I do believe that without Facebook and my blog, the past year and a half would have been a lot more difficult. I don’t know if Facebook changed me, but I do know that it benefited me.
* you can visit Siobhan's blog here: http://www.walkingwithmywoundedwarrior.blogspot.com *
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