Social Media Shows Angels Do Exist

I would like to dedicate this article to a very special person. Someone who has reinstated my faith in human kind, a true angel. Her name is Laura Mendez and she is a Nurse Practitioner at Optimal Health of Houston.

Laura has done something for me today that has not only made a huge difference to my health, but made me realise no matter where you are in the world, an angel could appear in any shape or form. In my case, she was a Nurse from Houston, Texas.

A few days ago I was at my wits end. You see, like millions of women around the globe, I suffer from frustrating hormone issues. I wont enter the exact details of my condition, I will say that I had some tests taken by an independent laboratory yet no-one could interpret the results or advise whether I should seek medical attention. Apparently hormone specialists are hard to find.

Believe me, I tried getting an appointment with local physicians - to no avail. Terrible customer service, no appointments for months, now retired. So deflating.

Now, being a social media manager I spend the majority of my time on social networks, one being Linkedin. It suddenly occurred to me that I could (for once) use social media for personal, rather than professional purposes. Therefore I joined a Linkedin Group on Bio-Identical Hormones. The Group is open to practitioners and the general public, so I posted a question asking if anyone could spend 5 minutes interpreting my results and telling me if I should seek specialist attention.

The tactic certainly worked, however, as I suspected, most of the comments were people offering me appointments at their clinic. That would have been fabulous, except I live in Australia and they all resided in the United States (except for one lady in the UK).

I had given up hope, until Laura. Finally someone got it. All I required was a quick 5 minute glance and a yes or no as to whether I should get further treatment. I did not ask for a solution or ongoing appointments, just an expert opinion. Laura actually read my post, did not think of what was in it for herself, and asked me to contact her for help. Laura also asked for a quick rundown of my medical history.

So what happened? Laura was incredible. She came back to me very quickly with so much detail on exactly what the results could indicate. She offered complete honesty and outstanding advice on the best medical specialist to treat my issue. Laura did not want payment, she was simply offering her expertise on her own time. I offered to pay however she did not invoice me, she stated this was her passion and she wanted to help if she could. I had never heard of the type of doctor she recommended I see, and after researching the medical field myself have now found the perfect arm of medicine for my condition. I design websites and am a social media strategist, I will return the favour anytime. Of all the professional connections I have via social media, this is the first time I have felt so humbled and so thankful that social networking exists.

Why the article? I am not at all suggesting that we all go out and offer our expertise for free each day. What I am highlighting is the existence of truly amazing people on this earth who can help us when we really need just 5 minutes of their time. Social media has made this possible on a global scale. How truly fantastic.

Take time out of your busy schedule this week and see if you can offer your assistance to someone via social media. It may take just 2 minutes but could solve a major dilemma for them. Pay it forward.

I found my angel on Linkedin, I suggest there are many more waiting to be found. Where will you find your social media angel, or will you be one.