Hoax

So, the little girl who got “kicked out” of KFC for having a face too scarred to let others enjoy their 11 herbs and spices has been deemed a hoax. The little girl does, indeed, have a legitimate medical issue – she was attacked by dogs that took her eye and left her precious face severely scarred – but KFC did NOT throw her out for being too scary. That was made up by one of her family members in order to get some cash.

Gross.

When I first read this story, my heart went out to this little girl. There is absolutely no doubt that she has been through hell. Getting attacked by dogs is some seriously scary stuff! Then, to be kicked out of a freaking fast food restaurant was beyond my comprehension, but there are truckloads of idiots existing out there who might have lost all compassion and forced her to leave. This scenario broke my heart. Evidently, it broke many other hearts, too. The family raked in over $100,000 PLUS the $30K that KFC pledged to help with medical bills. I’m not against this little girl getting money for her legitimate medical need, but the way they did it was deplorable. Despite the new evidence that this was a hoax, KFC is going to make good on their donation, which I applaud.

Now, I know that these large companies have strong legal teams that sort through stuff like this. Slip and falls at Walmart, fingers in Wendy’s chili, a real battered chicken head in your pile of McNuggets… these legal teams sort through the nonsense claims. I used to work for Ricart Automotive (a very large car dealership in Ohio) answering phones and the majority of the calls were pissed off customers wanting to speak to the legal department. I’m sure some were legitimate claims, but many were just looking for a settlement. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, I guess. Whatever. Many people make a good living off their frivolous lawsuit lifestyles while showing no remorse.

So, why am I bothered? Because these people really hurt those who have a legitimate need. There was a woman here in my hometown of Aurora, CO who shaved her child’s head and led everyone to believe that this child had cancer. The little boy – age six – totally believed that he was dying. She received over 25K in donations. So, she didn’t just take advantage of the generosity of others, she tortured her own child into believing he was going to die. Unfortunately, this scenario isn’t uncommon. She wasn’t the first person to think of such a scam.

Gross.

So, we’ve been at this for 10 years. We’ve received thousands of dollars from gracious donors. With that, we’ve paid medical bills. We’ve paid for travel to NYC and KC. We bought food and paid utility bills. We bought medications. And, admittedly, we bought toys and treats and clothes. For all of us. There were a few of you who gave us some money labeled solely with “Go have some fun with this.” So we did. Those fun things got us through the tough times. Video games for Ben (and Matt), toys for Madeline, crafts for me. A road trip to forget about cancer. Little things that got us through the nonsense and brought us some much needed joy.

Okay, so here’s what pisses me off about all of this. These parasites find a way to make their stories go viral. And then when it turns out to be a hoax, all the lovely and generous people get deflated over helping these idiots fund their lies. I’ve been taken twice by internet ding-dongs. One lady started her Facebook page at the same time I started Ben’s. She was able to garner over 5,000 “likes” in just a few weeks, whereas Ben’s page has steadily grown to 1,600+ over the last couple of years. She kept pushing the issue of sharing her page (a share for a share is what it’s called… she’d share your page on hers if you’d share hers on yours…) Well, she turned out to be a big fraud. She had people all over the world sending her stuff (she liked owls) and always talked about how happy it made her to receive a package from someone new. It made her forget her illness. All true statements that she stole from real people who are truly hurting. And then once she was found out… “POOF!” She disappeared.

So, now I really don’t “share for a share” anymore unless I directly know them. And this is what I’m afraid of. People will get so cynical (like me) and stop supporting those who truly need it. Who need the donations to survive. To live. Or to enjoy fleeting moments in between medical treatments. Damn these people!

And then there’s the person who stole my son’s identity to support her own weird needs. She never took money, but she garnered a lot of attention. Know this: I know who you are and I’m watching you carefully. If you “POOF” from my view now, you’ll only prove who you truly are, which I will then share with the rest of my world. You wanted attention, right? I’ll be happy to give that to you but I guarantee this is the type of attention that you will not like. Hopefully the slap on the wrist you got from authorities has turned you away from screwing with others emotions. Our very real hell afforded you the attention you so desperately desired… hope it was worth it.

I’m to the point where I wouldn’t be offended if someone wanted proof of my son’s illness. Many charities require a doctor to fill out a form stating that the medical need is real. I think that’s acceptable. Because there are so many turds out there abusing the system. A little due diligence never hurt anyone, and people who are truly fighting for their child’s life won’t be offended to give you their doctor’s name or the actual details of their child’s diagnosis. The frauds can rip off words from the rest of us on our blogs that talk about throwing up and hair loss and all that… those details can be faked. But take the extra step to make sure you’re not getting screwed.

Better yet, why don’t these frauds just simply get their own life? I mean, if they really and truly want to trade their health for my son’s illness, let’s find a way to make that transfer happen. Otherwise, just STOP!

Please. Stop.