Caring: One Page at a Time

Coping with the physical and emotional toll of your own or a loved one's serious medical condition is difficult enough. But add to this the social aspect of trying to keep family and friends up-to-date -- and it can be overwhelming. Most people who suffer from a serious illness want family and friends to be informed, and appreciate the support from others -- from offers of help, to words of encouragement. However, oftentimes they just don't have the time or the energy for phone conversations and visits.

Enter CarePages, free self-created web pages that allow you to connect with friends, relatives and other supporters to share news about your own or a loved one's health condition.

CarePages is one way that three and one-half million people are gaining support and strength to help them navigate in difficult times.

Users simply visit CarePages.com and register to create their own personal page for themselves or loved one. The creator of the page then invites people that they would like to have access to the information by including their email addresses. Each time the page is updated, these people receive a message notifying them that new information is available to view.

"I'm so surprised at how much people really care," says Jill Pugh, 29, a Leechburg, Pa. resident and CarePages member. "There's a message board and people can post words of encouragement, concern and praise that work wonders to lift your spirits."

Jill and her husband Jason have three young children. Their daughter, Makayla, was four years old when diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) last year. Jill created the page to help communicate Makayla's progress. CarePages allows her to post information, photos and short videos of Makayla.

"You can choose from different levels of security with CarePages, and I opened up the communications to include many members of CarePages I used the search directory on the site and connected with other families with children who have ALL. We compare stories and support each other. Through CarePages we have publicized a blood drive for Makayla and friends have held fundraisers to help defray costs for our hospital trips.

When Makayla fell ill and we thought we may not be able to make a planned trip to the beach, two CarePages members offered us their week at a timeshare. It ended up that we were able to make our scheduled trip, but it's wonderful to know that people truly care."

Fortunately Makayla is responding to the treatments. "The type of leukemia that she has can be highly curable, particularly in pre-school children," says Jill. Makayla has another year of treatments ahead of her, and the Pughs remain optimistic.

CarePages was founded by Eric and Dr. Sharon Langshur. In 1998, their son, Matthew, was born without a left ventricle in his heart and needed surgery. They struggled with the news of their infant son's condition and found it difficult to keep in touch with family, friends and colleagues across the U.S. and Canada. A web page was created, which they called a care page, to help communicate with others. By the time Matthew was 18 months old, he had undergone three open heart surgeries and his care page was receiving over 2,000 visits per day.

The couple was so touched by the power of the web page and the people that had supported and encouraged them without ever making them feel intruded upon. They recognized the need that other families may have for this type of emotional support and founded the company in 2000 so that CarePages would be available to anyone. Happily, their son Matthew is an energetic and healthy 10 year–old today.

Six months after giving birth to twin girls, Angela Mandell of Fox Chapel found out she had breast cancer. She and her husband Michael had two infant daughters and a three year old to manage at the time of the diagnosis.

"It was a difficult time," says Angela, 38, who joined CarePages when a friend emailed her the web link and suggested she try it.

"Initially, I joined CarePages simply for the time factor of communicating more quickly and easily. You can write as much or as little as you want," explained Angela. "Then, I was overwhelmed by the responses, kind words of support, offers of babysitting, rides to the hospital and support group meetings."

Angela found that writing her CarePage was therapeutic and helped her to understand her condition better.
And while illness can often make one feel isolated and alone, Angela said she and her husband found comfort in the connections that CarePages provided.

Through genetic testing, Angela found out that she carries the breast cancer gene and elected to undergo a double mastectomy. Today, she is cancer-free and completing reconstruction surgery. When she closes her care page, Angela intends to use the additional service CarePages offers by having all of her information and replies organized into a keepsake book.

At its very basic level, CarePages makes it easy to keep your family and friends up-to-date on new developments without repetitive phone calls or emails. "But it's so much more," says Amy Berger of Chicago-based HLB Communications, the public relations firm for CarePages.

"It's an online community and guide for people sharing information and seeking connections and emotional support during health challenges.

Today, over 700 healthcare facilities now offer versions of CarePages to their patient families because they recognize its contribution to the emotional healing of the patient and their caregivers."