Linda's post today made a very good point and made me think about the
conversation I had with the woman in Patient Services yesterday.  I've
decided to share it with you.
 
I told her I was calling from Canada and that I belong to a ferret
mailing list that includes members from around the world, and how some
had expressed an interest in sending him cards and/or financial donations
for his hospital bill.  I needed to contact his family somehow regarding
the financial side and where checks should be sent.  This woman was
literally speechless.  The line was silent for a good minute.  She then
blurted out how happy she was to hear this, and couldn't believe how
total strangers would want to do something like that.  She was
dumbfounded.  In the end, due to the circumstances surrounding WHY (among
other things) Mr. Serrano was in the hospital, she couldn't divulge any
information or pass along a message to his family for them to contact me.
I told her I understood, and thanked her for her time.  She wished me
luck in finding his brother and thanked **US**, the FML, for our efforts
to help this man.
 
Hmmm.....I don't think it's because she lives in New York.  This would
blow people away in Toronto, or San Francisco, or Washington, etc.
Unless you live in a teeny-tiny town, no one seems to care much about
people they don't know personally.
 
I obviously can't speak for anyone else here, but when I read about Mr.
Serrano and what he did to try and "save" his little Mico, I saw myself.
That is EXACTLY what I would have done if it were one of my fur-kids.
Foolish?  Perhaps.  There are those out there who would put themselves at
risk for the sake of their children.  Mine aren't human, but that's how
much I love them.
[Posted in FML issue 5197]