Safety in Numbers

My mother always told me there was safety in numbers. I just thought she was trying to redirect me. The events of the last couple of months have proven her wisdom. With the help of social media, communication has reached a whole new level.

Lesson learned: If you find yourself in the driver seat: get organized, recruit passengers, welcome new ideas and learn to say “Thank You”. 

Since I don't live next door and knew I would be unable to meet all of my sister and her families needs, I began looking for a way to get information quickly to our family, her neighbors and friends. So I found a private chat room with the groupme app.

 

"Hello family and friends of Tonia. Just to get everyone up to speed.

I have been with Tonia this past week. She has been diagnosed with

Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and began chemotherapy yesterday.

She is feeling quite overwhelmed. It was suggested that with the

intensive treatment she will go through that a central person

be an information contact. I think it will be me.

With that in mind I have invited you to share in this group."

Groceries, meals and rides for the kids appeared in minutes. Updates were relayed without the need of lengthy phone calls and overburdening Tonia. What a relief she had so many friends. I wondered if in the event I needed a friend, if I would be so lucky.

Religious organizations are always a great support and that is just what we needed. Members of the LDS Ward provided rides and have kept meals coming for weeks now. In addition family weekly visits keep us all in tune with each other.

A Facebook group was created by a friend in her support and in just a couple weeks has reached over 120 members. This outlet for friends and family is a continual reminder of well wishes which can be accessed at her leisure. Tonia’s CrossFit friends workout in her stead giving her strength anxiously waiting for her return to the gym.

Tonia and her daughter needed an outlet for her story to be told, hence the blog you are now reading. Coming soon is a new website created by a family member which will serve as a jumping off point for all things Tonia.

Medical bills and living expenses are a major concern when the breadwinner in the family is unable to work. With this in mind her employers sponsored donation sites and a fundraising dinner with a raffle and silent auction. I look forward to see in person all the great items that community businesses have donated and a yummy meal.

Speaking of piling up, the amount of resource information, prescription labels, discharge papers and bills are overwhelming. In order to keep it all in perspective a file was created in Google Docs to house the “stuff”. One invaluable tool is the log which can be accessed by anyone who has permission to track what is going on during medical visits.

 

It wasn't long ago that I joined the realms of smart phones and social media. I always thought, “Why would I need to text when I could just pick up the phone?” Now I question if all this would have been possible in such a short time without the help of technology.

For anyone out there facing a journey of your own remember you are not alone. With all this support I am sure we can all withstand the test of time it takes to recover.

Yes Mom, you were right, there is “ Safety in Numbers”!