At times like this, I appreciate social media even more than I did before.

People do have many legitimate complaints about the use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I spend a lot of time on Facebook. I have "met" many people from around the world on Facebook, and I have developed many real friendships there.

I started using Facebook as a means of showing my beads and jewelry. Now, I find I do that less and less. Instead,I join in a surprisingly long discussions about using avocados on a BLT sandwich or where to find the best toilet paper. These diversions are invaluable to me now.

I am sitting in Jenny's hospital room watching her sleep as she recovers from pneumonia and an intestinal bacteria she contracted while in the hospital. She's been so sick!

Without the use of social media, and the immense support I have found on these sites while I sit and wait for the doctors to go in and out, my days would have been spent in great sorrow passing the hours and counting the minutes.

Yes, there are legitimate concerns about the environments of some social media sites, but, now, to "know" the people that I know and have the friends I have, well, I'm not sure how well I could survive these crises of health. I'm grateful for places like Facebook. They really help!