Sunday, January 02, 2011

Facebook alerts

Ms. Martyr commented that she found it strange we should find out about Cliff's brother's heart attack on Facebook, in this day of cell phones.  Actually if you know the time-line, it isn't so strange.  
Of course we would have eventually gotten a call from his wife or one of his kids after their whirlwind trip chasing the ambulance to a hospital forty miles away, followed by the emergency procedure to put the stints in place.  I'm sure they did contact all four of their kids by cell phone on the way to the hospital.  But what do you tell a man's siblings when you think your husband or father is dying, and what purpose would be served?  They were more interested in getting Phil through this alive than in making a bunch of phone calls.  
The message on Facebook was there as soon as Phil was in the ambulance, posted by a daughter-in-law who lives next door to them.  She simply asked for prayers for her father-in-law who was on the way to the hospital with chest pains.   
Cliff went to visit Phil yesterday, and he's doing great.  Good Lord willing, he'll be going home today.  
Phil said his energy level had been low for a couple of weeks; he'd practically had to force himself to get up and do anything.  
Now we know why.

4 comments:

  1. I think facebook is such a great communication device that we don't even think about it. Our trip down to see our son's ship at Norfolk was arranged completely on facebook between all of us- right down to the passes onto the base. My family is so scattered that we're on facebook all the time so we can "see" each other!

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  2. I think it certainly has its place and did here for sure.
    There are some who don't realize how rude it is to constantly check their phone while engaged in a face to face conversation.
    When someone sits in our audience, waiting to talk to our county board all the while 'somewhere else on their phone', I'm unlikely to give them a hearing, and if I do, I'll be checking what's left on the agenda while they pontificate. But I'm for sure not going to listen to them with my full attention. I reserve that for folks with some respect. These are often times salesmen who need us, we don't need them.

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  3. I think in times like that...getting the message out quickly for prayer is a wise idea and phone calls can be made later as one has time and sense to do it as the emergency unfolds.

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  4. I don't Facebook so if someone had posted a message there I would never see it. That's why I said what I did.
    I agree totally with Cliff about rude cell phone users. I have one for emergencies but it's never turned on and didn't do me any good at all the other day when I locked myself out of my truck with it inside.
    Glad Phil is doing better.

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