Has anyone a few moments to spare?

[0ctavias0fferings]

This was posted in the Pheebay forums by Ronny and is a very simple request on behalf of the parents of a terminally ill boy.

Quote:
Hi All... I've mulled over posting this then figured sh*t or bust...

As most of you know... My lad Chris been a tad ill lately... After a few really rotten weeks he's more comfortable than he's ever been which is really good and a blessing to see... But there's little doubt he's on the home stretch now and we are just going day by day...

Thing is, it's his birthday on the 20th... He's focused on that when he's 'with it' but I don't know if he'll be able to hang on in there the way his body is letting him down at the moment... Although, knowing my boy he could throw a curve ball and see Christmas through as well... It would surprise me, but at the same time it wouldn't... He still doesn't know himself just quite how things are - and some of the drugs he's on now are quite disassociative and interfere with memory a little so he's in a fairly comfy, lazy, hazy place when he's awake...

Anyway - with his birthday brewing so close and him being a tad fixed on it - well, I kinda thought it might be nice if he had a shedload of cards that might put a smile on his face... We've moved his bed into the lounge so he can be right by me all the time and I've kinda got a picture in my mind of lots of birthday cards hanging off it...lol

I don't like asking, but I don't quite know what else to do really... So was just wondering... If anyone had a moment and had a spare birthday card hanging around, I'd like to ask a huge favour and see if you'd mind sending him one in the post... Just so that this year he has more cards than he's ever had - and if he's seeing them in the run up to his birthday rather than just waiting for his birthday then perhaps it'll just make him feel good and I can't explain it very well but seeing a grin right now is worth everything...

I know it's a terribly busy and expensive time of the year for everyone and we've all got a little chaos going on in our lives and the timing's not the greatest... So please, don't anyone feel obligated at all and don't anyone worry about going out and buying a card... Just if you have one hanging around and are heading to the post office I would be soooooooooo grateful if he received a few extra this year...

Anyway, if anyone has the time, and is in the position to help out, his address is:

Master CeeJay Williams
118 Dan y Cribyn
Ynysybwl
Pontypridd
CF37 3EU

That's Wales, United Kingdom for anyone who is not familiar with this type of address.

I'm sure what Mum would really like is a real miracle ... a few extra birthday cards isn't much to ask for really. So if anyone has a spare birthday card they could send to CeeJay, I'm sure it will be more than appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Katherine

[bykimbo]

Sorry to ask... but do you know the poster personally, or at least well enough online to know this is genuine? Believe it or not, this sort of thing is the subject of hoaxes.

[cmjewels925]

Yes, Ronnie's genuine.

Card on way.

[bykimbo]

Ronnie? Is that Mum?

[damian_steele]

Much as I would like this message to be genuine - especially as the fake ones seem so nasty a thing to do - we need to be careful with these sort of messages. Whilst in the past there have been genuine examples, the majority of these are not. This one makes me wonder as the content seems very close to one I've seen before. In addition, the post code doesn't give the address as shown.

I think it would be nice if someone could try and track down the original poster on t'other side to see what they know about this.

Meanwhile, you can also see what Snopes has to say on the matter.

If it is genuine, you might want to include a date when people should stop sending cards. See the Snopes page for why.

[0ctavias0fferings]

Doubt the authenticity if you like, I will be sending a card.

[moonwitch]

Can anyone verify that the child actually exists before the mail system gets swamped by birthday mail when the system is going to be extra busy during the Christmas season.

Lots of similar requests are posted regularly - I tend to ignore them unless the child's identity can be verified.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/bernier.asp

[moonwitch]

Yes, Ronnie's genuine.

Card on way.

Ronnie is genuine - but the story was found on a forum for candlemakers

[ejean9]

Yes, Ronnie's genuine.

Card on way.

Ill take your word for it...card on way...

[bykimbo]

Doubt the authenticity if you like, I will be sending a card.

Please don't take offence - as I said, there *are* fakes of this sort of thing, a sad symptom of our age. I'm not sure why Damian thinks the postcode doesn't match, it works perfectly for me, but he's right to be cautious and to warn of the dangers. If this *wasn't* from a genuine person and some poor woman received a bunch of hoax cards, how would she feel? For a child who wasn't sick, or didn't exist, or had already died... can you imagine the distress? I simply asked for some confirmation before risking making somebody's burden far, far worse... a perfectly sensible precaution.