I know some of you have already heard about the loss of Shellie Ross’ son, Bryon, who was just 2 years old. He died in a tragic swimming pool accident. To even imagine losing a child is just heartbreaking.
Shellie has not asked for any help, but another mom blogger who was at the funeral knows that financial help is needed right now for the Ross family. A donation fund has been set up – 100% of the money will go to the Ross family. I’ve set up the #Bryson widget on my sidebar to the right, and you can go to TheOnlineMom site to read more about the donations.
One thing that is bothering me so much about all of this is that in the media Shellie is being bashed saying if she was not paying attention because she was twittering or that she was wrong to twitter after he was found, etc. I hate this type of attention on such sad stories. This was an accident – it could happen to any of our families. It is tragic and horrible. We all react differently at different stressful times in our life. Twitter, for some of us, is a real way to communicate with our online family and friends who we grow very close to. Shellie asked for everyone’s prayers and thoughts after her son was found via twitter. I don’t find this odd at all – I probably would have done the same myself. While not the same, when I was in the ER myself in May I sent tweets then. It was a way for me to express myself and get support. I’m sure Shellie was just reaching out to the caring people she knows are part of the online community.
Parents in situations like this already feel so much guilt – the media and others need to stop adding to that guilt. Stop judging them on such a tragedy that could really happen to any of us in the blink of an eye. Instead of spending time being critical, take that energy and send positive thoughts for the family and give them the love and support they need at a time like this. Put yourself in the shoes of them, or even someone in their extended family – how would you react then? Remember folks – spread love, not hate!
