When Gabriella Szilagyi found that she had to have a serious spinal operation, it was important to her that her son be at her side, since she had no other family to help her through the ordeal. Because he was stationed abroad with the Army, she had no way to reach him directly, and she turned to the Red Cross for help. Red Cross case workers confirmed her condition with her doctor and tracked down her son in Korea.

Within hours of her call to the Red Cross, her son contacted her and soon rushed home to be by her side for the surgery. He stayed with her for 20 days during her recovery. The surgery was a success. "Without the unselfish coordination and effective assistance of the American Red Cross," says Gabriella, "I would have had to face a major emergency surgery totally alone.”

With thousands of military personnel still stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other posts around the world, the American Red Cross continues to be the vital communications link between service men and women and their families at home. We send messages about important news - such as a child's birth, a serious illness or the death of a loved one – anywhere in the world, including ships at sea, embassies and isolated military units.