Showboating? Nie

It may seem funny but I now have a multitude of amazing friends I have never met mainly through facebook. It is because of these friends that I haven't been sectioned lol. I am not saying for one second that the friends I can converse with face to face aren't amazing, because they are. I don't think they would be pleased if I called at 2am or whatever crazy time I need to just get it off my chest or am feeling particularly vulnerable. Facebook people are awake 24hrs and for a person in my position that is immensely comforting. There is a group of people who would advocate privacy and do wonder why people post things about their life on facebook. What's wrong with keeping it private? What's wrong with picking up the phone to a select few? I think I answered the latter and here is my response to the first. I have a complex needs child and unlike 'normal' children we don't all live on the same street or estate. There are 800,000 disabled children in the UK, that's 6% of all children in the UK. (http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/disabledchildren/children-with-disabilities-statistics_wda102831.html) Facebook helps me to connect with these families. We laugh, cry, celebrate, complain and together try to make sense of what happened to our child and how to improve our given lot. These families 'get it' they 'get me'. I know there are a lot of people out there who will see me as a showboater and attention seeker, but thats not who I am or what I am doing. Facebook is my therapy, my place to share, my sanity and at times my insanity. I genuinely don't post for likes I post to let people know how my little family are doing since our catastrophic event on 22nd Nov 2010. Ava has a huge amount of support from our community and we post to keep them up to date with her progress and as a thank you for their continued support. We also have the 'traditional' face to face friends all over the country and several across the world. Call me a cheap skate but its cheaper to keep in touch this way - quite helpful when you go from a 2 income household to your income literally being slashed in half overnight. I do know that facebook has its downside and can cause problems but for the most part it does me more good than harm and will remain my therapy for a good while to come.