Announcing: The Brain Candy Retreat in Second Life

Imagine yourself confined to a hospital, cramped up in an uncomfortable chair (or worse) for weeks beside your child who is fighting for her or his life. Hundreds of parents are there right now. No where to turn for support. No other parents to turn to who know what you are going through. You are a butterfly in a box. Nowhere to escape... until now.

Isolated parents need to find peer support with others who have been or are going through a similar pediatric health concern or loss of a child. Doing so can educate, comfort, and build a healing support network and community. Due to privacy laws, it is near impossible to do so while living in the hospital with one's child. To remedy this problem, The Brain Candy Project has developed a virtual retreat in the Nonprofit Commons (NPC) of Second Life (www.secondlife.com), as a way for parents to virtually escape the confines of hospital walls.

In the wee hours of the morning when you can't sleep, or if you need to get away for a spell while your child sleeps, or if you are ever feeling lost and alone, come watch the sun set by the sea, talk to a friend or professional counselor, sit quietly in our meditation house on the mountain, or visit the beautiful Forever Love garden with an eternal flame memorial in honor of our deceased children. Joining Second Life is FREE and quite easy once you get the hang of it. There are wonderful tutorials on the Second Life website and YouTube to help you get comfortable in this cutting-edge, fantastical place where your only limit is your imagination. (Did we mention you can fly?)