Is it just me?

Cathy- I totally know what you mean.
 
Since we both live in the suburbs of Sacramento I had been watching the news and heard about Trever. I couldn't belive when I heard he had passed away.
 
I felt so sad, and I couldn't help but think that if everyone in Northern Ca had taken the test to see if they were a match, that maybe he would still be alive.
 
I think it's great that you want to get involved with helping. Just courious did you get the bone marrow test done to see if were a match?.
 
I did not but was going to and then I heard he was already gone[]

I did not but was going to and then I heard he was already gone

 
Ashley - I didn't either, and I so wish I had.  Even if it hadn't been a match, at least I'd have felt like I'd tried.  They're doing the testing again today down at the Capital (the mom and dad were going to be there).  The parent's wish is that the word gets out and more people get tested.  I don't know if you read this or not, but apparently they were leaving the hospital with Trevor when he was 2-3 days old thinking he was a perfectly healthy baby boy.  He was actually in his carseat and mom saw some red dots on his arms and asked the nurse about them.  She was concerned enough to draw some bloodwork, and they were then told he had a rare form of leukemia with only a 5% survival rate.   
 
Everytime I imagine what it must've been like holding him these last few days and knowing that the end was near, I want to cry.  So many of us have suffered through losses of a loved one, and it's always difficult.  It's beyond my comprehension how someone overcomes the grief of losing a baby or young child though. 
 

First of all, I had no idea that the words to that Pink Floyd song were so profound.  I recognized the opening phrases, so I knew the tune, which I sang in my head as I finished reading it.  It's beautiful.  I'm not a huge fan of theirs, so I've only heard the song on the radio occasionally and hadn't absorbed those incredible lyrics.  Thank you for posting them.
 
As for your original post, Cathy, I can totally relate to what you're saying.  I'm so affected by stories I see or read -- much more than I was as a younger adult.  Not that I was uncompassionate, but I didn't become enveloped in sadness over an image or story like  I do now.  I don't know what caused the change in me - it somewhat coincided with when we brought Tonka into our lives.  So, I wonder if it has to do with one's heart being opened to the needs of someone other than ourselves.  But it's also true that I have an incredibly wimpy heart - I get far more upset about a lot of things like the story of that little boy than some people do.  I think it's part of a melancholy personality -- I've never been a 100% upbeat, perky, optimistic person, so I have to be careful I don't drag myself too far into sad things (but it's a tough fight to avoid it).
 
It does help to get involved in something - the act of DOING feels good, and it channels the emotion that you feel about an issue or a group.   I'm not in a position to go to Africa or anything major, but we can all do something in our local schools, soup kitchens, animal shelters, etc.  In fact, I think it's necessary to give back somehow - we can't just "take" from society all the time.  And to help others who are facing hardships makes our own problems seem far less overwhelming.
 
What stuck with me about that footage on Idol last night was how many of those African children still had such bright smiles despite their situations.  That was deeply moving to me -- how just a visitor or a camera would make them beam.