» personal stories http://blog.caringbridge.org Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:14:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 “Hope Conquers All” Reveals CaringBridge Founder’s Motivation With Inspiring Stories. http://blog.caringbridge.org/hope-conquers-all/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hope-conquers-all http://blog.caringbridge.org/hope-conquers-all/#comments Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:34:52 +0000 Melissa Maggio http://blog.caringbridge.org/?p=1377 In her new book “Hope Conquers All” (Center Street/Hachette Book Group, August 2013), Sona Mehring reveals that the illness and death of her friends’ infant in 1997 was the catalyst for the very first CaringBridge Site. Today, her nonprofit organization enables millions of people each year to share information during health events, streamlining communication between countless family members and friends. “When that precious little girl lost her battle for life, I knew I couldn’t let the concept die along with Brighid,” writes Mehring. “To my surprise, dozens of people thanked me directly for keeping them informed and giving them the [...]

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]]> http://blog.caringbridge.org/hope-conquers-all/feed/ 0 Power to the Patient http://blog.caringbridge.org/power-to-the-patient/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=power-to-the-patient http://blog.caringbridge.org/power-to-the-patient/#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 19:25:46 +0000 Amy Levine http://blog.caringbridge.org/?p=1227 As a patient coping with a health event, you have to deal not only with your body changing drastically — sometimes suddenly and sometimes gradually — but also with a significant loss of self. Your independence is often compromised, and family members cluck and fret and frequently talk over you to your doctors. They mean well, but sometimes your caregiving team may be hindering you more than helping. Maintaining Your Sense of Self. Despite the circumstances and stress of being ill, it is vital that as a patient, you maintain your sense of self. You are not helpless. You are [...]

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]]> http://blog.caringbridge.org/power-to-the-patient/feed/ 1 Book review: Bloom by Kelle Hampton http://blog.caringbridge.org/book-review-bloom-by-kelle-hampton/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=book-review-bloom-by-kelle-hampton http://blog.caringbridge.org/book-review-bloom-by-kelle-hampton/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:47:02 +0000 Liz DeKlavon http://blog.caringbridge.org/?p=490 This week, we feature our very first book review. At CaringBridge, we’re all about finding ways to care for and support each other, both at CaringBridge.org and on our Amplifier Hub, our online volunteer community. And we know that support can come in many forms — including the recommendation of a thoughtful, inspiring book. CaringBridge volunteer Liz DeKlavon recently finished Bloom by Kelle Hampton and found that the author’s depiction of her family’s health journey, and the important role her personal network played throughout it, reflected what many have experienced through CaringBridge. This is why we chose to share it [...]

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]]> http://blog.caringbridge.org/book-review-bloom-by-kelle-hampton/feed/ 1 Stories of illness and the capacity to empower, inspire, and heal http://blog.caringbridge.org/stories-of-illness-and-the-capacity-to-empower-inspire-and-heal/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stories-of-illness-and-the-capacity-to-empower-inspire-and-heal http://blog.caringbridge.org/stories-of-illness-and-the-capacity-to-empower-inspire-and-heal/#comments Fri, 26 Oct 2012 02:57:50 +0000 Darci Schummer http://blog.devsvd.cbeagan.org/?p=51 I am a fiction writer and educator living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I teach at the Loft Literary Center, a nonprofit organization offering writing classes. I first became interested in the topic of healing when I heard an interview with Siddhartha Mukherjee. He commented on the relationship between narrative and illness. In his book The Emperor of All Maladies, he writes, “A patient, long before he becomes the subject of medical scrutiny, is, at first, simply a storyteller, a narrator of suffering—a traveler who has visited the kingdom of the ill.” Dealing with health conditions is often compared to a [...]

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