MeDoGood.com believes in our military troops and the sacrifice they make every day for our freedom. We invite you to show our Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed and Brooke Army Medical Centers how much we appreciate their sacrifice! There are approximately 1,100 of our heroes at these two hospitals. It would be wonderful if we could get a shirt and card to each and every one of the soldiers. WE CAN do this!!

Please order one or two or more of the shirts. They will be sent to the soldiers before Christmas along with a card telling them that they are truly our heroes!! Shirts are only $10! (MeDoGood.com will pay for shipping and handling and the Thank You cards).

One shirt and one card will be given to each wounded soldier returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and the soldiers that are still receiving ongoing treatment for injuries suffered while in battle. Please help MeDoGood.com show our men and women how much they mean to us!

We will be encouraging the soldiers to correspond with those of you who do include your address. It will be nice to hear from them and allow us to keep in contact with them too.

Interested in participating? Click here for all the information, I’m going to do it right now!

That sentence above is a true statement, but unlike most character flaws admitting it doesn’t change anything. I can’t recall any event in my recent history where my impulsiveness  had the side effect where I became part of a scam (knock on wood) but I have seen way too many victims telling their personal stories on the nightly news in hopes of preventing others from suffering the same fate.

I’ve been given an opportunity to pass along a 10 online fraud awareness tips to keep in mind when shopping online for any item. These tips are generated by AutoTrader.com, the largest online automotive marketplace, in consultation with renowned fraud prevention expert Sid Kirchheimer.

• Research Prices. When researching cars and other big-ticket items for sale online, similar items typically fall into a general price range. If one falls way below that range, be suspicious. Scammers use ridiculously low prices to lure consumers to their ads. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

• Don’t Fall For Sob Stories. Beware of “act now” low-ball price offers accompanied with a story that speak of some hardship on the seller’s part – such as a soldier needing to sell a car quickly before being deploying to Iraq, or a recent divorcee wanting to sell her husband’s belongings. These bogus ruses usually just empty your wallet, as the items typically don’t exist.

• Don’t Rush. A seller pushing to rush a transaction could be trying to prey on a consumer’s desire for the item.

• Watch for “Scammer Grammar.” Many scammers posting fraudulent ads are based overseas, and English is not their native tongue. In online ads or in email correspondence, watch for frequent misspellings, misused words or other errors not likely to be made by someone fluent in English.

• Make Phone Contact. Be suspicious of sellers who only want to correspond by email – and are not willing to provide a telephone contact number.

• No Wire Transfers! A wire transfer is the quickest way to lose money – especially if it’s sent overseas, outside the jurisdiction of U.S. officials. If buying a car or another large item locally, make an in-person transaction with cash, money order or another method sanctioned by a bank. If buying from a more distant seller, talk to a bank or reputable escrow service about ways to safely conduct this transaction.

• Never Go Alone. When meeting a seller to look at a car or other big-ticket items or to conclude the transaction, always go with a friend and, if possible, meet in a public place during the day.

• Don’t Go Off-Site. Many scammers cruise reputable online auction sites, but may entice you to go offline for a similar item. Others will email a link to another site, claiming that it is helping with the transaction. But once you leave a reputable site, your vulnerability to a financial swindle or identity theft increases.

• See the Product. Many scammers post ads for cars and other items that don’t even exist – they simply steal the pictures and descriptions from other sources.  When buying any high-ticket item, insist that you see it in person, get proof it is owned by the seller and be able to have it inspected before any money is exchanged.

• Use Common Sense. If a shopping experience does not feel right, pay attention to the warning signs and verify that the site and seller are safe before proceeding with the transaction.

Kmart LayAway Quick Facts

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Our pediatrician admitted it early on.

The rash on our 2-year-old daughter’s cheeks, joints and legs was something he’d never seen before.

The next doctor wouldn’t admit to not knowing.

He rattled off the names of several skins conditions — none of them seemingly worth his time or bedside manner — then quickly prescribed antibiotics and showed us the door.

The third doctor admitted she didn’t know much.

The biopsy of the chunk of skin she had removed from our daughter’s knee showed signs of an “allergic reaction” even though we had ruled out every allergy source — obvious and otherwise — that we could.

The fourth doctor had barely closed the door behind her when, looking at the limp blonde cherub in my lap, she admitted she had seen this before. At least one too many times before.

She brought in a gaggle of med students. She pointed out each of the physical symptoms in our daughter:

The rash across her face and temples resembling the silhouette of a butterfly.

The purple-brown spots and smears, called heliotrope, on her eyelids.

The reddish alligator-like skin, known as Gottron papules, covering the knuckles of her hands.

The onset of crippling muscle weakness in her legs and upper body.

She then had an assistant bring in a handful of pages photocopied from an old medical textbook. She handed them to my wife, whose birthday it happened to be that day.

This was her gift — a diagnosis for her little girl.

That was seven years ago — Oct. 2, 2002 — the day our daughter was found to have juvenile dermatomyositis, one of a family of rare autoimmune diseases that can have debilitating and even fatal consequences when not treated quickly and effectively.

Our daughter’s first year with the disease consisted of surgical procedures, intravenous infusions, staph infections, pulmonary treatments and worry. Her muscles were too weak for her to walk or swallow solid food for several months. When not in the hospital, she sat on our living room couch, propped up by pillows so she wouldn’t tip over, as medicine or nourishment dripped from a bag into her body.

Our daughter, Thing 1, Megan, now age 9, remembers little of that today when she dances or sings or plays soccer. All that remain with her are scars, six to be exact, and the array of pills she takes twice a day to help keep the disease at bay.

What would have happened if it took us more than two months and four doctors before we lucked into someone who could piece all the symptoms together? I don’t know.

I do know that the fourth doctor, the one who brought in others to see our daughter’s condition so they could easily recognize it if they ever had the misfortune to be presented with it again, was a step toward making sure other parents also never have to find out.

That, too, is my purpose today.

It is also my birthday gift to my wife, My Love, Rhonda, for all you have done these past seven years to make others aware of juvenile myositis diseases and help find a cure for them once and for all.

To read more about children and families affected by juvenile myositis diseases, visit Cure JM Foundation at www.curejm.org.

To make a tax-deductible donation toward JM research, go to www.firstgiving.com/rhondaandkevinmckeever or www.curejm.com/team/donations.htm.

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