Lori Day 4

Title: Friending people in the Facebook Rheumatoid Arthritis group/Nice Deed #4

Date: Started doing it in mid-January through first week of February, 2010

Sine I have been on disability retirement due to Rheumatoid Arthritis, I have been home a lot and on facebook a lot. I found several groups for people that suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis and they have been a godsend. You find out that there are many others suffering through the same things you are, meds are discussed and critiqued, and support is given. People from this group seem to need someone to be there for them, listen to them, and just give support. Some of them are newly diagnosed with RA and are angry, confused, scared, and looking for answers about meds, side effects, pain, etc.

Event: I sent 5 of the people in the group an email discussing my own experiences with RA and told them that I would be happy to “friend” them on facebook so that they always had someone to talk to that understood what they were going through.

Reaction: I got a quick response from all 5 people. They all thanked me for my email, friended me, and sent me an email telling me about their latest challenges living with a disease where you look perfectly normal to everyone on the outside, but suffer from terrible pain and inflammation on the inside. I have continued to chat with all of them at least once a week.

Would I do it again? Yes
Cost: Nothing
Effort: Writing the initial emails to each one
Time: About an hour to write to each one and tell them my story