iChat to the rescue

Meet Christopher Laub, a 4th grader who suffers from Leukemia.  Like most children who are diagnosed with such a serious form of cancer, Christopher has to undergo chemotherapy which saps his immune system and forces him to stay home from school which, as we all know, is a petri dish of germs and bacteria.

Christopher had felt isolated and lonely as he wasn't able to see his classmates or his teacher very often which makes "learning" that much more difficult for a 9 year old boy.  Frustrated by Christopher's situation, his principal, Patti Purcell, did some creative thinking and coordinated with her district to bring Christopher back into the classroom.  The trick was to utilize Apple's iChat to allow Christopher to interact with his friends and teachers while he was at home. A laptop was set on Christopher's chair and through cameras on both ends, Christopher could participate with his classmates and truly be part of the classroom discussion. For Christopher Laub, technology and more specifically, Apple's iChat, has allowed him to resume some normalcy in his young life. 

I applaud Ms. Purcell for taking the time to come up with a solution for a child in a very unfortunate situation.  We need more people like her that are willing to go the extra mile to impact the lives of others.

As a final thought, I really wonder how long it will be before schools eliminate sick days altogether by just following this same sort of thinking?- John Herrington

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Comments

[Cam Beck]

Wow. That is very cool. I wonder if there is a news story (print or broadcast) about this somewhere... ?