Scott Widak, a forty-seven year old with Down syndrome who is now terminally-ill with liver disease, recently received a lot of encouragement from the Reddit community. Widak, who got tons of letters after a blog post, lives at home with his 85-year-old mother, who helps provide hospice care.
His nephew, Sean O’Connor, reached out to the Reddit community in a blog post that asked people to send his uncle letters. One of Widak’s favorite things is opening mail, and O’Connor thought opening a lot of it would cheer him up.
The post recieved over 1,300 comments in three hours, most of them stating they would love to send mail. O’Connor then included a link to a story The Sun Chronicle did on Widnak and his artwork. He also included some of his uncle’s interests, like Johnny Cash and art.
Reddit soon removed the post for including personal information, but not before it had drawn enough attention that Widnak began receiving tons of letters from all over the world. Some of the mail he received included hand written letters, custom artwork, art supplies, CDs and DVDs, and personal keepsakes. They came pouring in from The U.S., Sweden, Finland, Australia, Japan, and the U.K.
“The mail that’s arrived has all been extremely positive and thoughtful,” said O’Connor, in an interview with Mashable. “My family and I are amazed at how so many strangers could come together for a random act of kindness.”
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O’Connor and family shared these photos with Mashable, and they are starting to circulate among blogs.
[Source: Mashable]