Wednesday was the local Fibromyalgia Support Group meeting. We had 24 attending. I lead the group with the help of others who are on the board. The fact that these ladies helps is what allows me to continue on as their leader.
We meet monthly for two hours at a local restaurant. They give us our room free if people order lunch. Almost everyone does so that works out great. We have a raffle (2 for #1) of white elephants, handcrafts, things from the garden in the summer, fresh brown eggs, and much more. Everyone who enters will get a chance at winning something. We draw the tickets from a basket. The first drawn have the biggest choices of a prize. Most people pass after winning once.
We have speakers, programs done by the Board members, open question/answer or discussion times. The board meets every two months to plan meetings ahead.
We have a library of books that have been purchased with the raffle monies. We do free handouts with each meeting.
Last month we had 31 compared to the 24 this time. The Columbus Day holiday had kids at home for the mom's and we had competition from the ugly new flu bugs.
Why am I telling you about all this? A support group helps us so much. Sometimes we are hurting so bad that we really don't want to go but when we do, we find ourselves forgetting our pain.
Our meeting is a fun one (no pity party stuff). We learn, we care about each other, we laugh a lot and best of all we are with people who understand this invisible disease.
If you don't have one in the area, you might want to start one. Our paper runs a free ad for us along with the free newspaper nickel ads. Pick a restaurant that isn't too busy that has meeting rooms and ask if they would let you use it free if people order food.
As you get members get others to help you. We have one for the raffle, the library, setting up and taking down, ones to fill in if you can't be at the meeting to lead it sometime in the future. DON'T do it all by yourself as you will burn out.
Let the local doctors know about the support group. Make some fliers with your phone number on them and info about the meeting. Give them to doctors, whenever you come across someone with Fibro. Your local newspaper might do a article about a new Fibromyalgia group.
We find that evenings are too tiring for us to do. I feel bad about the working people but we are not superwomen, we can't do it all.
A good support group is good medicine. Do I get worn out and my body full of pain after a meeting. Yes, I do. But it is worth it to help others like me. I never plan anything for the next day. That's recovery time.
Please let me know if you start a meeting or go to a support group. You'll never know the benefits unless you try it. If you want more info you can e-mail me at
mrs.carol at gmail.com Be sure to correct this before putting into your address book with the @ sign.
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