MPNforum Magazine

It only takes one hour..

 If we had an MPN Community Fund,  volunteer patients  handling requests for help, for cash and referrals —  All of us would have a single place to start looking for relief.so we could focus on treatment and recovery

In time of sickness, when we are least able to help ourselves, our need for money and friendship is often greatest.  Money for travel, for co-pays and meds, for home care, pet care, nursing support, and the laundry of life itself.  Moral support, cheering  visits, research.   Some of us can rely on family and friends to some extent, turn to non-profits,  government agencies, even drug companies for relief.

That’s the pitch.  We need volunteers to make it happen and to make it work. And we need a way to express our support of our MPN friends in pain and joy.

We’ve all had the sinking feeling of helplessness. Joe is back in the hospital, numbers falling.  Beatrice is facing an imminent stem cell transplant. Karen’s second round of chemo failed.

In times of crisis, those of us who pray, pray.  The rest of us send thoughts, support, postings of concern.  In times of great joy, we all post a happy dance for our friends’ recoveries.  None of it feels adequate.

The pushke in a digital age

There’s another way. When I was a kid, most homes in our South Brooklyn neighborhood had a tin blue box, a pushke,  for donations. Tzedakah it was called, a requirement to be righteous and support people and causes with a coin, celebrate joys and pray for relief with a small bribe.  My Italian friends had piggy banks, depositing coins for the Church’s collection plate, atoning for sins, hoping for success. Pushke and piggy bank, a way to express sympathy and joy, a helping hand for those in need.

Now in the time of Internet and globalization, we find ourselves in an alternate universe, a world with no use for coins or boxes or piggy banks.

The need is great.  And so are our numbers. 

More than 12,000 people read MPNforum.  An equal number or more of us participate in Facebook pages and email support lists.  Several thousand more are part of the vast MPN Research Foundation and MPD Voice communities.  If we come together in our Internet World, we can make a difference in the lives of our friends in the flesh and blood world.

The MPN Community Fund

To volunteer,  email ourMPNforum@gmail.com and type PUSHKE in the subject line.

Your first step is to organize a leadership group and draft a mission statement.  One on-line meeting, one hour.

We can do it.  We all need a hand sometime. We can all lend a hand.

Volunteer for one hour just to get things started:  ourMPNforum@gmail.com.