In the spirit of giving...

UPDATE: After you read this post, please note my most recent post on this thread, and please consider sending a few dollars to this family.

I purchased a set of little Shrek toys for my son through eBay, and the package hasn't arrived.

On Monday, I sent an e-mail to the seller.

The reply I got says she is sorry.

She said her son is having a heart transplant, or had one, and she's been away from home.

I thought she might be lying, but I was curious enough to do a google search. I put in her last name and "heart transplant" and came up with this story.

http://www.oakridger.com/stories/072099/stt_0720990041.html

It seems to match up. Her eBay profile says she lives in Tennessee. I guess this would make her son 10. I'm trying to verify that she's not lying.

Does anyone know if a Peyton Boling from Tennessee is back in the hospital for another transplant? I haven't found any recent newspaper stories.

It's Christmas, and I'd like to send her some extra cash through Paypal. If I can get some confirmation, I'll also post her Paypal address for the rest of you teddy bears. But I might never learn anything.

 

Re: Strange eBay Transaction

Yup, I got one of those stories over the summer, but it was her uncle not her son. Luckily, PayPal reversed the transaction and I wasn't out anything but the frustration. Her account has since been suspended.

 

Re: Strange eBay Transaction

But did you check on it? I mean, she might be using this story from two years ago as a crutch for the reason she's late sending the gifts, but he tried to check it out and at least something popped up.

 

Re: Strange eBay Transaction

With eBay, getting to the bottom of whether she is lying or not can get real simple in a hurry....

What is her feedback rating and percentage?

 

Re: Strange eBay Transaction

She has 314 transactions with no negative feedback. She said they have been at a hospital four hours from their house. She says her son "has a heart transplant." That could mean that he's not receiving a new heart. But he might just be sick.

Actually, I just did another search after noticing a city listed on the eBay profile. It lists Mascot, Tenn. I found a message board posting on a site for families dealing with the disease that Peyton Boling has.

I found this:

Brent and Melody Boling bolingmel@aol.com
Mascot, TN
Peyton: January 14, 1998 at 8 months old
Peyton was initially admitted to the hospital with suspected Urinary Tract Infection or possibly Spinal Meningitis. By the next morning it was evident that something more was involved when Peyton's symptoms got more complex. On day 4 our Pediatric Pulmonologist and our Pediatrician believed Peyton had KD and brought in an Infectious Disease Specialist. After meeting with us, she determined that Peyton did not have KD due to his fever not lasting long enough. We were released from the hospital on day 7. Two days later we were readmitted with all criteria met as well as peeling hands and feet. Again, the Infectious Disease Specialist said it was only the flu not KD. She informed us that treating Peyton with IVIG would not harm him; however, she believed he did not have KD. After much begging and offering to pay for the treatment on the spot, the Specialist refused. Four months later, after suffering severe heart failure we were delivered the horrible news. Peyton had giant aneurysms with blood clots throughout the coronaries. He had suffered multiple heart attacks that left his heart completely dead. Peyton was immediately listed for a heart transplant. After waiting 14 long months, Peyton was given a donor heart on July 9, 1999. The operation was a huge success, and Peyton was released a miraculous 7 days later. Our trouble began again just 14 days after the transplant. Peyton was readmitted to the hospital with possible rejection of his new heart. After several days and a heart biopsy, lab results showed vasculitis resulting from rejection or recurrent KD. It appears very likely that Peyton gave his new heart KD. Treatment of IVIG, aspirin and high dose IV steroids were started immediately. Peyton was placed on ECMO (a pediatric heart-lung bypass machine) and given Plasma Afeuresis treatments to save his life. After more than seven weeks straight in the hospital, Peyton left with his new heart functioning well. It has now been almost 2 years since Peyton received the gift of life with his new heart. His heart is doing well, and he just wrapped up his first season playing T-ball. We have a long road ahead of us as we know the heart transplant will not solve Peyton's problem only create new ones; however, we praise God for today. We pray that the pain Peyton has experienced will not happen to another child.

The father is Brent, which would match their eBay ID of bvboling, and the name "Brent Boling" on the Paypal account. The Paypal email is:
bmpboling@comcast.net

That email address matches up to Brent, Melody and Peyton Boling. Note that it's slightly different than the e-mail that was posted on the message board.

If it's a scam, it's a good one. Someone started an account almost four years ago, bought and sold 314 items without a single complaint and used the name of a kid who had a heart transplant in 1998.

I just think this is completely legitimate. The only thing I haven't been able to verify is whether the kid is actually in the hospital. There's still a chance that they could be throwing out this excuse for not sending the item on time. But they said nothing to indicate that they are looking for charity.

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. I couldn't go through Christmas with this on my mind. I'm going to send a few dollars through Paypal to bmpboling@comcast.net with a Merry Christmas tag.

It's Christmas, folks. If 200 of us send just $1, I think it might brighten their spirits. And if it's bogus, we'll all just be out $1.

 

Jesus... are YOU a plant for a scam?

 

Simon, from what I've seen from you, I'd expect a little more common sense. There's no scam here. The person has a PayPal account that's verified with an e-mail address that matches the kids' fathers and a shipping address that matches his hometown. Although I didn't ask for permission, I told the people that my $20 was a little Christmas gift from SportsJournalists.com. If it's a scam, I'm out $20. Big deal. Most of you drop that on a round of drinks.

 

My bar tab rarely hits $15, and that's on a good night.

 

Re: Strange eBay Transaction

Yeah, like everything else, eBay is also becoming overrun by deadbeats.

I used to have a nice little side business going selling stuff on there. Now, I hesistate before posting auctions and when I do, I can almost guarantee that at least a few of the transactions are never going to go through.

 

Expecting common sense from Simon is like expecting the sky to be green.