CarePages
There's no better use of the internet
"It's as though everyone is standing by your side, supporting, caring and listening," says Rob, a CarePages member. That is CarePages in a nutshell - it brings the support of family and friends to your side, from all over the world.
CarePages is an ingenious website designed for hospital patients to help keep family and friends informed of their progress. CarePages was invented by Eric and Sharon Langshur after their son received a diagnosis of a congenital heart defect. They created a simple website where they could update the progress of their son's condition and keep family members informed. This simple website soon developed into a large community of support that today allows those in need the ability to create their own free CarePage. CarePages is now home to over one million families who share their personal journeys with loved ones worldwide.
The CarePages online community is a collection of stories of hope and struggle. It features patients going through serious surgeries and those that are terminally ill. Patients and their families can post the progress of their surgeries and treatments, so that family and friends from far away can receive updates quickly and easily. If you've ever had a loved one in the hospital you know how expensive it can be to continually make long distance phone calls for updates, or how stressful it can be to have to wait to track down a family member in order to get word of a loved one's condition. Access to individual CarePage can be restricted solely to family and friends only. A password will protect your CarePage and it's up to you who you give the password out to. Of course you can also choose to make your CarePage public in order to share your personal stories with patients who may be going through the same experiences as you.
Creating your own personal CarePage only takes a few minutes. Simply sign-up to be a member and create your own profile. Then you can post progress updates, share stories, post photographs and make use of the message boards. You can update your CarePage as often as you like, and your close friends can sign-up to receive emails letting them know each time your CarePage has been updated - this way everyone stays connected and informed.
You can also view some of the CarePages in the "Profiles in Courage" section. These individuals have generously made their CarePages public in order to offer their inspirational stories of courage and hope to the world.
CarePages is a collection of stories from patients battling every illness imaginable - such as cancers, organ transplants, brain injuries, leukemia and spinal cord injuries. Rob is one such patient who is coping with the results of a spinal cord injury. In 2005, Rob (a former tri-athlete) was left paralyzed after a serious car accident. He was confined to a wheelchair and told he would never be able to move again. However thanks to therapy, Rob beat the odds and can now walk small distances with the help of a walker and leg braces. Today Rob believes that his ability to maintain a connection with family and friends using CarePages gave him the encouragement that he needed to walk again.
It is the loving, supportive online environment created by CarePages that encourages patients to never give up hope. After all, love and support really is the best medicine.
