Christmas cards for a little girl with cancer

December 20, 2008 9:31 AM

You know what to do. In case of doubt, click this link.
posted by jefeweiss (35 comments total)

Oh, that is absolutely heartbreaking. I lost a sister to a brain tumor a year ago.
posted by mecran01 at 9:40 AM on December 20, 2008

Yeah but screw that Craig Shergold kid.
posted by Nelson at 9:44 AM on December 20, 2008

When I saw this on Snopes yesterday, I didn't even look to see if it was true. I'm so used to seeing fake requests like this.
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 9:46 AM on December 20, 2008

Well, damn.
posted by Mojojojo at 9:53 AM on December 20, 2008

How about that! I have some Christmas cards leftover, so I'll send one her way!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:55 AM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

Merry freakin' Christmas.
posted by RussHy at 9:55 AM on December 20, 2008

I don't get it. The address to send cards to is not the same on both links.
posted by phaedon at 10:00 AM on December 20, 2008

I love sending cards, where else can I send holiday cards?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:05 AM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

That sucks.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:10 AM on December 20, 2008

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/231612From today's Lancaster New Era online.

I know they're not asking for money, but I suspect it couldn't hurt if you put a dollar or two in the card.
posted by anastasiav at 10:29 AM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

I love sending cards, where else can I send holiday cards?

"Any soldier" or whatever it's called?
posted by fixedgear at 10:35 AM on December 20, 2008

I love sending cards, where else can I send holiday cards?

I was gonna say Milly Del Rubio is still alive and would probably like cards again, but she must not be doing well. Her caretakers aren't posting her address and requesting mail to cheer her spirits this year. :(
posted by miss lynnster at 10:44 AM on December 20, 2008

Stylus Happenstance: You might want to checkout snopes on this one. It through me for a loop, too.
posted by niles at 11:01 AM on December 20, 2008

threw. Where's that edit feature?
posted by niles at 11:02 AM on December 20, 2008

Christmas cards, not holiday cards. Everyone only REALLLLY cares about Christmas deep down.. and I ain't talkin' the whole jesus part of it neither. Shop 'til you drop, people! Gotta do our part for the failing economy! C'mon, if we ALLLLL chip in and each buy 5 pieces of overpriced luxury retail items, then we'll survive. Hurry before the sales end! What's a CARD gonna do for someone anyway? You can't WEAR a card.. duh! And if you try to put a card in a stocking, it could folded and ruined. Cashmere SCARVES go in stockings.. duh. And by the way, if I get cancer, I'll be sure to self-link on metafilter so I can get all the sour patch kids and pizza coupons I can stand until I knock knock knock on that door.

(Ok, now I'll wait for all the negative comments from those who don't share my sense of humor)
posted by ChickenringNYC at 11:04 AM on December 20, 2008 [2 favorites]

I already got my Christmas card from ThePinkSuperhero. It is, by far, one of the best cards I've EVER gotten in my lifetime. That is not sarcasm.
posted by ColdChef at 11:06 AM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

Also: I bet this little girl's going to get really tired of opening cards.
posted by ColdChef at 11:07 AM on December 20, 2008

@phaedon: Looks like all addresses are valid. On her Caring Bridge web site, it says:

"I have been told there is some confusion over 3 addresses floating around. All 3 will get to Hannah. My house and dad's have been swamped so I gave out our work address to send to. That address is: 259 N Reading Rd Ephrata, Pa 17522"
posted by lovermont at 11:07 AM on December 20, 2008

I could've sworn that I saw this being debunked- that the family was getting buried in Christmas cards that they didn't want.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:20 AM on December 20, 2008

.

God I hate nature.
posted by Xezlec at 11:36 AM on December 20, 2008

I already got my Christmas card from ThePinkSuperhero. It is, by far, one of the best cards I've EVER gotten in my lifetime. That is not sarcasm.

Me too.
posted by jessamyn at 11:36 AM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

They're going to have to change the address of that house or something after the poor kid dies. Emails like that never stop going around.
posted by empath at 11:54 AM on December 20, 2008 [3 favorites]

I realize this makes me a huge asshole, but I hate stories like this. "All I want for Christmas is a bunch of cards from strangers?" Where does a 4-year-old kid even get this idea?
posted by graventy at 12:41 PM on December 20, 2008 [13 favorites]

Metafilter: Best of your inbox?
posted by longsleeves at 12:53 PM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

If she lives another year, her next last wish is going to be for everyone to stop sending her these fucking cards.

Anyways somebody post the address here so I don't have to go looking for it.
posted by Citizen Premier at 12:53 PM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

I realize this makes me a huge asshole, but I hate stories like this. "All I want for Christmas is a bunch of cards from strangers?" Where does a 4-year-old kid even get this idea?

My niece wanted cards when her mom was getting chemo. I don't know where the impulse comes from. Obviously, not from your frigid, tiny little heart.
posted by mecran01 at 1:12 PM on December 20, 2008 [6 favorites]

PinkSuperhero: followed the anysoldier link, and there are folks who just request "holiday cheer" (cards, for instance?) if they're well-stocked on personal items/about to leave in a few months... no really easy way to sort to find them, though. And I can't figure out how to link specific peeps (I think they sort of don't want you to...)
posted by NikitaNikita at 1:34 PM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

I realize this makes me a huge asshole

Yes, it does.
posted by crossoverman at 2:04 PM on December 20, 2008 [2 favorites]

I've sent stuff to soldiers using AnySoldier.com, but I know the APO/FPO mail can be slow- I got an e-mail this week from someone saying they just got a card I sent back in August. Wasn't sure if it was worth sending holiday cards overseas this late in the game.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:03 PM on December 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

If anyone wants to send a card (to whomever) but can't afford/access/whatever the actual card, John Coulthart made a very pretty baroque snowflake card available for free in hi-res PDF.
posted by carsonb at 3:27 PM on December 20, 2008

It's okay, graventy. I also don't care. I mean, she's four. She doesn't even know what she's missing.
posted by cmoj at 5:42 PM on December 20, 2008

I'm sure it's a sad story and the kid will be overwhelmed by all the wonderful cards she gets.

That said, this strikes me as a incredibly lazy media standby. "Cute dying white kid" is almost as popular as "cute missing white girl", just as easy to write copy for, and probably pulls in the same ratings.
posted by graventy at 9:47 PM on December 20, 2008 [2 favorites]

That said, this strikes me as a incredibly lazy media standby. "Cute dying white kid" is almost as popular as "cute missing white girl", just as easy to write copy for, and probably pulls in the same ratings.

You're right, it's almost as low as invoking racism to add a high-brow sparkle to one's poseur jaded commentary.
posted by XMLicious at 12:34 AM on December 21, 2008

You're right, it's almost as low as invoking racism to add a high-brow sparkle to one's poseur jaded commentary.

Just because it's worth being repeated.
posted by crossoverman at 1:47 AM on December 21, 2008

@graventy - yeah, what a cynical stunt! How convenient the kid happened to be "cute"! I wonder how many stories they turned down because the kid wasn't cute enough, or white enough, or possibly had a chance of NOT dying! Maybe they even paid the parents to withhold chemo just to make it less likely the kid will survive till Christmas day to boost their newspaper's circulation!
posted by kcds at 4:48 AM on December 21, 2008