With online communities, you’re not alone—even in ‘the middle of nowhere’

Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri, is a little more than an hour from where I now live, and though it’s not a small town by many measures, it’s not large enough for someone with a rare medical condition to find others who deal day in and day out with issues and concerns specific to a particular health care issue.

That’s why Danielle Peterson says she is thankful for a community outside the one in which she resides on the banks of the Missouri River.

Peterson has a medical condition, which requires her to take nourishment using a feeding tube.

She told National Public Radio (NPR) she’s thankful for the online community Feeding Tube Awareness Foundation and for the organization’s Facebook page, where “tubies” can post questions and receive answers in real time.

Peterson’s post is one in a series on NPR about the good things Americans are doing to make their community a better place. Fortunately, the news source recognizes online forums such as this one as the communities they are.