The Nie Nie Dialogues: How Stephanie Nielson and Other Bloggers Have Become Part of Our Family

While making my morning coffee and watching the Today Show this morning, my heart actually lept up to my throat when I heard the announcement that a famous Internet blogger had been critically injured in a plane accident.

The blogger that was injured, Stephanie Nielson, writes a popular blog called the Nie Nie Dialogues on Blogspot.com. She and her husband, Christian, of Mesa, Arizona were injured August 16th in a private plane crash. Christian's flight instructor, Doug Kinneard, passed away at the hospital after the crash. According to interviews with the family this morning on the Today Show, Christian was burned on over 30% of his body. Stephanie sustained even more serious burns - over 80% of her body. The couple has four children ages 6, 5, 3, and 1.

Her fans love the Nie Nie Dialogues for Stephanie's fun, family-oriented perspective and her positive attitude on life. Her family exhibited this same positive attitude in their interview with Matt Lauer. The family's story has also been covered in the New York Times. According to the New York Times, visitors to the Nie Nie Dialogues blog have increased from 1,000 to well over 20,000 a day.

Courtney Kendrick, Stephanie's sister, has become the primary source of news on Stephanie and Christian through her own blog cjanerun. She continues to update Stephanie's blog in addition to caring for three of Stephanie and Christian's children. The youngest child is being cared for by another family member.

Medical bills for the couple are expected to reach into the millions and four young children must be cared for during this time as well. To donate visit nierecovery.com.

Bloggers - Our New Friends and Neighbors

Unfortunately, I had never heard of Stephanie Nielson's blog, the Nie Nie Dialogues until this morning. When I heard the news on the Today Show that a famous female blogger had been injured, the first person I thought of was my favorite female blogger, The Pioneer Woman. While I was glad to know the story wasn't about my favorite Pioneer Woman, Ree, it was no less distressing to hear that another blogger - another young mother with children - had been very seriously injured.

The Today Show interview lasted several minutes and during that time, I was struck by the impact that blogging and bloggers now have on our lives. The Today Show took time to cover this story and to discuss Stephanie Nielson and the Nie Nie Dialogues story for that very reason.

If you read blogs, you will soon realize that the world is really a very small place. Although I don't read many blogs, this isn't the first time I have come across a situation in the blogging world like Stephanie Nielson and the Nie Nie Dialogues.

Spend any time with bloggers who bring their personal lives to the blog and you will soon realize that they have become your friends. As an animal lover, my heart ached recently along with The Pioneer Woman when her dog disappeared overnight and never returned. I was also shocked and saddened when the author of a cooking blog I had just discovered died suddenly.

As a youngster in Sunday School Class, I learned the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Back then we were told that everyone was our "neighbor." My mind then was able to encompass the idea that my neighbor lived - not just next door to me - but also across town, in the next town, and maybe in the next state.

It was as difficult to comprehend then as it is now that my neighbor could live very far away - maybe even across the country or even in another country. I would have never guessed that I could learn so much and care so much about a person that I would never meet. That I could invest enough time in an online relationship that this person behind a blog post would begin to feel - not like a neighbor - but instead, like a friend.

Lost among the commonplace gossip, snarkiness, and greed that permeates the Internet - this most fascinating of communication mediums - is the possibility of kindness, friendship, caring, and compassion.

If you haven't thanked the bloggers you read daily, send some positive thoughts their way today. And send a few positive thoughts to Stephanie Nielson and her family, too.

Sources:

Alex Williams, After Blogger's Plane Crash, Virtual Becomes Personal, The New York Times

Randall Jeppesen and Lori Prichard, Bloggers from around the world help plane crash victims, ksl.com