From: mprice@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Dr Dr)
Subject: Re: DIEING CHILD LAST WISH
Reply-To: mtpmd@uiuc.edu
Organization: Medical Scholars Program, U. of IL @ Urbana-Champaign
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 07:04:30 GMT

In article <721908627.0@iphase.infoserv.com> Jack.Johnson@iphase.infoserv.com (Jack Johnson) writes:
  "Craig Shergold is a seven year old who has a brain tumor and very
  "[.....]

The following is reposted from news.announce.important, FYI:
====================================
Newsgroups: news.announce.important
From: Gene Spafford <spaf@cs.purdue.edu>
Subject: DO NOT SENT ANY {GET WELL, POST, BUSINESS} CARDS TO CRAIG SHERGOLD!
Reply-To: spaf@cs.purdue.edu
Organization: SERC, Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue Univ.
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 1992 19:43:21 GMT

If you call the ``Children's Make a Wish'' foundation, you will find that they
are not soliciting any form of card for Craig Shergold or anyone else.  Better
yet, if you call the Guinness people (US publisher is "Facts on File" @
212-683--2244 ext. 336), you can get this same story confirmed.  You will also
find that they will no longer endorse or support any effort to break this
record.

Many years ago, Craig Shergold had a brain tumor, believed inoperable.  He
sought to set the Guinness record for get-well cards.  The call was
well-publicized, and he did, indeed set the record (consult a recent edition
of the book --- he has received in excess of 16 million cards to date; he
officially set the record as of 17 Nov 1989).

As part of this whole story, his plight caught the attention of John Kluge,
the US billionaire, who paid for Craig to come to the US and receive
specialized treatment.  As a result, Craig has recovered completely from his
tumor.  He is also no longer seven, but well into his teens (you can see how
out-of-date the request for cards is from this -- it's like circulating a
letter encouraging people to vote for Carter for President).

The problem is that the mimeographed sheets and letters seeking cards for
Craig have continued to be circulated.  As a result, cards continue to pour in
to the post office for Royal Marsden Hospital in England.  Worse, the appeal
has mutated into various other versions, such as an appeal for business cards,
one for postcards, and another version that appeals for holiday cards.

The Shergold family has publicly appealed many times that people cease to mail
them cards and letters, and that no more appeals be made on their behalf. One
easily accessible way to verify this is with the article on page 24 of the 19
July 1990 NY Times.  People Magazine wrote an article about it on June 1,
1991, page 63.  Even Ann Landers has carried an item on this [6/23/91], but
people still keep trying to send cards.  Both Guinness and Royal Marsden have
repeatedly issued press releases asking people to stop circulating requests
for cards, as they are creating an undue burden on both the hospital and the
postal service.

The Guinness people have discontinued the category to prevent this kind of
thing from ever happening again, and are doing their utmost to kill any
further mailings.  The Royal Marsden Hospital is at a loss what to do with the
cards that continue to arrive --- most are being sold to stamp collectors and
paper recyclers, and none go on to Craig.

This appeal for Craig, as well as many urban legends, regularly appear on
electronic bulletin boards around the world, and in many organizational
newsletters and bulletins.  It is both heartening and unfortunate that there
are so many well-meaning people who continue to propagate these stories.  It
is too bad that so many people are unwilling to verify their information
before passing such things along, especially when a simple phone call will
suffice to do so.  In this case, opening a recent copy of a book carried by
nearly every library and bookstore would illuminate the situation.

If you would still like to do something for a dying child, consider making a
donation to a charity such as UNICEF or to the International Red Cross (Red
Crescent, Red Magen David).  Many thousands of children are dying daily around
the world from disease and starvation, and countless millions more are
suffering from the ravages of war, famine, disease, and natural disaster.
Think how many of them might be helped by the millions of dollars in postage
spent on cards to Craig Shergold....  Addresses (in US) are:

	UNICEF               American National Red Cross       
	1 UN Plaza	     17th & D Streets                  
	New York, NY 10017   Washington, DC 20006              
			     Attn: international children's aid

[Also, I encourage you to save this announcement, in either electronic or hard
copy form, and to post it to any bulletin board you've seen the original plea
on.  If you see it in the future, as you probably will, you can attach a copy
of this announcement.  Wouldn't it be great to finally kill this story, which
spreads like a virus? - MRH]
	
-- 
Professor Gene Spafford
Dept. of Computer Sciences
Purdue University
W. Lafayette IN 47907-1398
spaf@cs.purdue.edu

====================================

-- 
Michael Price, M.D.   (mtpmd@uiuc.edu)

"I wonder, therefore I might be." -- Descartes before de hearse....

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