Maybe There Is Hope For Us All

Something this week has kind of given me a renewed hope that there is still good in humanity.  I have to thank my friend Emily Suess for this.  Emily and I have been friends forever.  We were catching up on our lives when I told her about my sister, Cheryl.  She was touched.

A couple of days before Christmas, my sister had a stroke. It was her second one.  It was a perfect cap of one lousy year - a year that included the passing of our mother. This stroke has really been something else.  It took most of her eye sight and caused a great deal of confusion.  I won't get into too much of the details, but you will have access to get some more later in this post.  Just know that she has been placed away from the family.  If her condition wasn't scary enough, she has to do it without as much family presence.  She is alone, probably scared, confused and undoubtedly depressed.

Emily was so touched that it motivated her to action.  As fate would have it, this week happens to be Random Acts of Kindness Week. She started a campaign to get people to participate in sending her cards, little gifts, and words of encouragement.  She wanted Cheryl to know that despite her current situation, she has worth and she has a lot of friends supporting her - even if she has never met a lot of them.

I am dedicating this post to my sister, but also to Emily who has shown me that people still care about each other in the age of smart phones and selfies.  Please read Emily's post and do what you can to help out, if this story touches you, too.  Even if it is just to pass on the story to your friends and followers, every little bit helps to put a smile on my sister's face.

Read all about it:  THIS YEAR SEND A VALENTINE TO A STRANGER