Following the death of his infant daughter, a father reached out online, looking for help with altering a picture, and received back a huge outpouring of kindness and support.
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There are times when the internet is the WORST. When the anonymity mixes with toxic levels of snark and intolerance, creating a miasma that spreads into every tiny little corner of the web and makes the whole network feel like something cold and cruel and poisoned that, for some reason, everyone willingly invites into their homes and carries around in their pocket all day. BUT, in those horrible little moments, it’s important to remember that the internet CAN be a tool for grace and for good, that it can allow communities to form and for people all over the world to reach out to each other and show off the best parts of their humanity.
This is a story about one of those times.
A few days ago on Reddit, the social link sharing site often known for its notoriously rough user comments, a grieving father, Nathen Steffel, posted a request to the r/pics subreddit. The title was “Photoshop Request: My daughter recently passed away after a long battle in the children’s hospital. Since she was in the hospital her whole life we never were able to get a photo without all her tubes. Can someone remove the tubes from this photo?”
He went onto explain that his daughter, Sophia, “had a hepatic hemangioma in her liver. She was on the waiting list for her liver when she passed from complications involving the pressure on her abdomen due to the hemangioma. She was six weeks old.”
Steffel needed help altering the pictures, but couldn’t do the Photoshop work himself, so he turned to the picture community on Reddit and took a big chance. Putting yourself out there, wearing your heart on your sleeve on the internet can be a risky proposal, particularly about something as sensitive as losing a child. But, to their great credit, the Reddit community embraced Steffel and showed him how generous and kind an online community could be.
Redditors immediately stepped up and began contributing tasteful alterations of Steffel’s original pictures, allowing him to remember his daughter without the barrage of medical equipment she was forced to wear. Steffel soon found himself with several beautiful options to choose from and with thousands of positive comments, wishing him well and offering support. Here are some of the images Redditors created for him:
Steffel was overcome by the response he received. He told the Reddit thread: “This is really amazing. Everyone you have made my day. All I wanted was a nice picture. What I received was a lot of love and support from a bunch of strangers. A long with a lot of great photos, drawings, and paintings. Thanks everyone!”
The internet has many, many uses—from informational to downright sinister. But, if it can occasionally be used to send people in need “a lot of love and support from a bunch of strangers,” then perhaps all the cat videos and viagra ads are worth it.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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All images and comments taken from the original thread on Reddit.com
Feature photo credit: iStock
Wonderful heartwarming story. Interesting that that a site known for its “take no prisoner attitude” could share unconditional love and offer compassion for someone in need.
Social media can be used for good. I think we might want to pay attention to what the great humanitarian Albert Schweitzer once said, “Therefore search and see if there is not some place where you may invest your humanity.”
Very nice story.
WOW