Dearest Lynne, I too lost my Sister to ALS. It is a horrible thing to witness I know. When I say "I feel your pain" I truely do. She was my mentor, my confidant, and also best friend. She was young too just 46 when she was finally released from the bondage of a nonfunctioning body. We last communicated with her only being able to blink her eyes. I think of her daily though she has been gone for nearly 18 years. She is in my heart and my thoughts and my prayers. There is little that I can say to comfort you as I am the worst with knowing just the right thing to say. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers and find comfort in the happy memories of better days with her and knowing that she is not suffering. How wonderful that you came to be with her and I am sure you were a huge comfort. May God bless you and your family. Welcome to the GW you are among friends here. Kat

I hope she gets the care she needs. It's very scary as a parent to hear these stories. Even if your kid isn't on the social media, the other kids are and "talking" behind her back and she knows something is going on. Schools need to stiffen the penalties for cyber-bullying as much as physical bullying - I don't know, maybe the state has to get involved, if it takes charging kids with a misdemeanor, or issuing restraining orders to prevent driving another kid to suicide then that's what it takes! DS is 15, has always been a thoughtful, sensitive, private kid with a few close friends, not into the "popular" activities but seems to be happy, is definitely busy with Scouts, track, and church. I don't know what other kids may be saying about him, but at least he doesn't know either - or doesn't care. He is going to camp counselor training in a few weeks, and then to National Youth Leadership training for Scouts, hopefully next summer he will get a job at the Scout camp. OK, I'm bragging I guess but I think he's a good role model, and I *think* he's not at risk for depression. DD is 5 years younger and starting puberty - she has 2 very close friends, and watching others coming up to her after school concert she seems to be "popular" but again doesn't have the same interests as many her age (she's also almost a year older than everyone else in her grade, both kids are Nov birthdays and we decided to start DD later than DS since he had been in daycare/preschool and was an early reader, she was a late talker/potty trainer). She's more sensitive to peer pressure - I suppose girls usually are? I wouldn't pull her out to HS unless I thought there was a serious problem, I want to wait to see if she keeps/makes friends in middle school. I hope that keeping her in Scouts will help - if the leaders can keep a group of girls aware of the problems that bullying can cause, and keep them believing in their own value in spite of other people (peers, even some siblings and parents I know of) telling them otherwise. Girl Scouts just doesn't seem to be as organized as Boy Scouts though, and not too many girls seem to keep up with it through middle and high school, from what I can tell by the size of the troops in our town. But "mean girls" start early - DD ran into one her first day of kindergarten. Add a mean teacher, and in 1st grade she was begging me to HS her! At least 2nd - 4th she has regained her love of school, is actually disappointed to have only a few days left this year.

It's hard to imagine how this could have happened and the aftermath looked horrific. Such a sweet-looking town.

Affairs like you were involved in usually end up this way. I hope you can find someone who lives closer and is available.