You are here:   oxygen > Oprah Goes Online > Meet > Pamela Thompson

	I'm forty years old, live in Memphis, and for the last twenty-two years of my life I have suffered from agoraphobia (the fear of crowds). Basically, I have become a prisoner in my own home, never leaving save to walk my dog a few yards. My mother, with whom I lived for many years, died six years ago. After her death I became severely depressed. My life felt so empty. A dear friend of mine gave me his old computer to help me take my mind off of being so sad and lonesome. By his giving me this computer he opened up a whole new, and wonderful world to me. The Internet has become my mental salvation in more ways than I could have ever imagined. When I first started using it I was so intimidated I was afraid to even touch the mouse. I had no idea what I was doing. Then, after a short period of time it soon became my window to the world. With a click of the mouse I can go anywhere I want to go. I'd always longed to visit Italy. Now I could. I also made many wonderful friends online. Through a chat room for Seniors I met a Pat in Wisconsin. She's a special woman with whom I have become very close and she has become like a mother to me. She comes to visit me a couple of times a year and we chat online and also on the phone. We are as close as any mother and daughter ever could be. I would have never had the opportunity to have met so many wonderful people if not for the Internet. It has taken me beyond my very limited world. I cannot think of a better gift to be given than the opportunity to learn things I have always wanted to learn, see things I would have never been able to see, and venture out to meet people that I could have never met any other way. Select another story: Send us your story Name E-mail