Lovebombed with Online Care

This week my partner and I have been love bombed. We have experienced what love, support and pastoral care looks like in the digital age, as Karl has had his chest surgery. In this brief post I want to make comment on what our experience has been because I think it shows the benefits of the digital age in providing pastoral care and the way in which the on line / off line divide is to some extent irrelevant.

To give some context Karl has been in St. Georges, London receiving outstanding care. The surgery he has had is reconstructive chest surgery (involving a double mastectomy and nipple graft as part of his female to male gender reassignment). Whilst he has been undergoing this I have been the proverbial blue ended fly shuttling between the hospital and my job in Milton Keynes and have been trying to get my marking done in between.

My mobile has been the main source of interaction with the outside world. Whilst sitting on trains between the marking I have been able to pick up messages and comments of support and love. Over the last couple of days there has been a stream of love flowing over us via FB and I have been able to tap into that at the times which have suited me. I have been able to access the messages and comments and respond to them without having to use too much energy engaging in proper conversation or feeling guilty about taking up other people's times. Also it has enabled us to receive support from people all over the country (and indeed from people around the world). As people who have moved around a lot and know people all over the place this has been particularly important.  

Karl and I have also been able to keep people updated via Facebook and give mass thanks in a way which has worked for us.

In terms of how this has worked with relation to traditional forms of pastoral care it has been interesting. Facebook and email have both been used effectively meaning I have not had to field phone calls when that would have actually been more of a stress on me. We have known there is physical support there and it will kick in more when Karl comes home this weekend but it has not felt overwhelming.

What I want to draw from this is the way in which social media and the internet really can be a useful tool for pastoral care and support when used well. It won't be the right way to support everybody but for us it has been amazing this week. So thank you to all of you who have supported us this week and liked, commented, or messaged. Taking the time to press that button, give a few words or send a specific message has really made a huge difference to us and the love and support was felt in a very real way.