Laptops for the Wounded

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I haven’t posted in a week, and I plan a longer post on immigration issues, but I just came accross this site and I think the message they are trying to send and the good they are doing needs to be publishe far and wide.

Laptops for the Wounded is a charity started by the mother of a soldier who served in Iraq but came home safely. The primary mission of Laptops for the Wounded is to provide a mode of communication for the brave men and women who are wounded and whose family cannot come and see them, a way to communicate.

From the site:

OrganizationMission :
We are non-profit organization whose goal is to provide laptops for the wounded military personnel in hospitals, so wounded soldiers can have access to their family and friends when they cannot be there with them. The laptops will stay at the participating hospitals and can be used by wounded soldiers in those hospitals.

Background:
Imagine your day starting like this. You’re going about your morning routine chores and breakfast when a big shiny government Yukon pulls up in front of your house. You have a loved one at war. Your heart simply comes to a halt. Your breathing stops. You are frozen where you stand. You know it is bad news, but how bad? OK, you got lucky. Your warrior is seriously injured and on his way to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany for stabilization and any emergent surgery before being transported to a facility in the USA; probably Walter Reed in Washington DC or Brooks Army Medical Center in Texas. Your life has just been turned upside down. You are terrified because nothing is more frightening than the unknown. You HAVE to find a way to see your beloved son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, brother or sister. But the closest they might get to your home is MAYBE 1500 miles away – if you are lucky. You have minimal savings, if any, living paycheck to paycheck, like most Americans anymore. Worse, you have none or not much paid time off available. And the mortgage is due next week.

Your helplessness mounts by the second. What can you do to see him when he arrives in the USA even for a couple of days? And how are you EVER going to be able to leave him behind when you must return to your own jobs and bills? How will you pay the mortgage if you have to suddenly use that money for one or two plane tickets at FULL price (war injuries do not give you a two week notice to get more affordable rates). You will find a way – somehow – but then your fears mount with not knowing how your warrior will do, mounting financial hardships, fears of how you will manage your own emotional stability – and theirs – when you have to leave him behind to go home? We very fortunately now have tools available, such as internet and instant messaging with webcams and microphones. Our beloved troops are AMAZINGLY courageous and hearing them tell you over the phone they are fine and not to worry, you just not sure if they are being straight up with you. They’ve learned to be very stoic. But being able to SEE your soldier by webcam can really help the whole family spend true quality time together face to face, if you can’t be skin-to-skin. In many facilities these amenities are not necessary as available as you might think. Seeing their faces while they are talking to you can provide the chance for the soldier and family to feel more involved, comfortable, and allow life to continue as normally as possible considering the circumstances. Think about it – that ability could actually provide the chance for a soldier to see face-to-face their own newborn baby.

Laptops for the Wounded is a non-profit organization developed by one woman in Cody, Wyoming to help make this possible through donations. Laura Brown was blessed to have her own son return from Iraq following the first year of the war and this provides her with a measure by which she can help those not so fortunate. But it takes a lot of dedication and assistance to make this work. Please close your eyes and really try to put yourself in that scenario. Please contact her for further information.

Hospitals Participating:
Walter Reed Medical Center
Brooke Army Medical Center
Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego

Telephone and Voice Mail: 307-587-9371

E-Mail: Laura Brown

Checks made out to: Laptops for the Wounded

Address: 1526 19th St., Cody, WY, 82414

Spread the word and donate if you can. This is a worthy cause!

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