Sharing the Good Stuff on Social Media

In 2016 (and probably before), many of my friends noticed that their Facebook Newsfeeds was being filled divisive, argumentative and rude comments.  Some decided to abandon social media or at least attempt to filter out the negative and return to the days of cat videos and food posts.

But despite all the noise, Facebook, (and other social media channels) is still being used to share Good Stuff.  I’ve been following the journey of a friend of mine in Indianapolis that has been through quite a trial.  The story of my friend Chris is really the story of his family and specifically his daughter Emme.

Emme and Chris from 2016

Over the weekend the Indianapolis Star newspaper shared a bit of their story which you can read here. Emme is just 4 years old and…

In her four years of life, Emme Theisen has known few days without pain. The pain exhausts her, nauseates her and all too often sends her to the hospital for stays that stretch days or weeks…. Emme’s family has traveled to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and elsewhere, searching for ways to ease this pain and find the cause behind it.

Turns out it was chronic pancreatitis.  This is rare for someone this young.  Nearly a dozen years ago, I was hospitalized and it was discovered I needed my gall bladder removed but first they needed to take care of my pancreatitis.  I was in my 40’s and miserable, not sure if I was going to survive.  I cannot imagine the life that 4 year old Emme has lived so far.

Tuesday 1/31/17 everything changed.  Emme underwent a surgery that was scheduled to last 18 hours.  I know this because of Facebook and the sharing that Chris and his wife have done on social media. Look for the hashtag #Emmesmiles to see this brave little girl.

Despite some complications during the surgery, recovery is going well as I type these words at 3:30pm on 2/1/17.  Keep them all in your hearts and prayers.