Me and COF....please read

Hi all!  Well, I've been doing a lot of praying and soul searching since this whole COF thing has come out in the open.  Oh, and before I begin, I did send Glenna a message about this, but I will also state here that this has NOTHING to do with her.  I really admire her for standing up and taking over the group especially surrounding the less than pleasant cir****tances. So, the thing is...is that I VERY STRONGLY disagree with what has gone on in this situation.  I do not agree with the fact that people in our "support" group were emailing hate mail to the leader.  If you didn't not like the group, you shouldn't have gone.  I do not agree with the fact that people don't have enough balls to say what they want under their own personas on OH, they had to make anonymous names to send hate mail to Claudette.  I DO NOT agree with the fact that Claudette is the one who STARTED COF and now she has been pushed out of it. I feel that, even though Glenna has Claudettes approval, it would be very disloyal and even hypocritical of me to still continue to attend COF since I don't approve of these cir****tances and everything that's gone on. So, after a lot of prayer and some soulsearching, I have decided that I will NOT be attending COF anymore.  There are no hard feelings, and I'm not going to be badmouthing the group or anyone from the group.....this is just my own personal opinion and what I have to do for me. I still love each and everyone one of ya'll to pieces and I will miss you guys bunches!! Rianne

Oh, Little Buddy, I'm going to miss you sooooooo much.  You have done so well and I know you will continue to do well but I hope you will find a group somewhere that you are comfortable attending because I do think support group is one of the vital components for us to maintain our weight loss.  I know it's been difficult for you to come to group with all your homework and moving and everything but know that we all love you and will miss you and hope you'll stay in touch via the OH board if no other way.   Hugs and best love, Lana

I hate to hear that you won't be attending. I hope you feel free to come back anytime.I think from the information that I have read and from the information that I have heard from various bariatric surgeons and health providers that it is very important to have a suppot group when a person is looking into WLS or has had WLS. Let me clarify first that I have known Claudette for now over 3 years and she has helped me with information that she has found during her weight loss journey.Although I have not been able to reach her by phone,I continue to consider myself her friend and fellow WLS survivor and support person.. I have tried to not say anything about  this big ordeal but since it has continued to cause people to have second thought s about going to the support group ,I thought I might throw in a couple of things. First I am not sure where you got the idea that Claudette started the COF support group. Actually what happened is that Glenna, Tammy and I had considered starting a weight loss support group. We had enjoyed the meetings that we had attended with Claudette prior to this. We agreed to call her and see if she woud like to be a part of the WLS support group. We met and decided that we needed someone to facilitate the meetings so that there was some kind of format to it. We ask Claudette if she would do that. We all have offered our assistance and help as needed. The group has taken off and gone really well. One of the reasons is because we have such a great variety of imput from so many great people that attend. Unfortunatly, Claudette has decided that she will not facilitate the meetings any longer (I am not sure where you got the idea that she had been pushed out!) The good news is Glenna has agreed to do that. Glenna is very capable of leading the group. We don't want to lose sight of the goal. The goal is to provide support to any pre or post WLS patients that comes.  In reponse to the "hate mail". I think the words "hate mail" have been used a little too losely.  of the   post that were forwarded to me that were not positive towards Claudette One of them was not signed. All of the posts regarding the support group  did state their opinions. But we do live in America and they have the right to their opinion. So by putting down the people that have posted their opinions that may not be the popular opinion, we are shutting down the lines of communication and growth. Communication is important in any group.I don't know who sent the messages and I don't care to know. But I wander if the reason the one anonymous message sent  was because they were afraid of repercussions or being ousted  for their opinions!.We may not ever know. But just because the messages may not have been postive does not mean they were "hate mail". I hope we can take the suggestions (positive or negative)of all the things that have come out during this dramatic event and go on and learn from them. I want to continue to support  anyone ( including Claudette)that is on a weight loss journey no matter  the road they have chose. I continue to need the support of those that are on the journey too. Best wishes and good luck on your weight loss journey. I hope to see and hear from you soon. Jean E Wood.

 Rianne, I’m sure Claudette appreciates the show of royalty but in the end it’s going to be a greater disservice to you to not attend group meetings. All studies show that attending a support group greatly enhances your success’s after surgery. Plus you are a needed and valuable member of our group. The drama this past week wasn’t some hostile take over but simply some unsolicited criticism. Claudette choose the way she’d respond and handle it -- no one pressured her to drop the meetings, cancel the room and disappear from OH. She’ll be missed but COF needs to continue on. A lot of people rely on it as a means of support, information and guidance. Please , please rethink and give us a second chance!!!

Hey Rianne, I haven't been on my computer for 3 days now.  Then I get on here tonight and find your letter. I'm really sorry to hear that you won't be coming back to cof anymore.  You will be missed. I hated the fact that Claudette chose to not lead the group anymore.  I will miss her being there so much....but that was her decision.  She did tell me though that she plans on coming to cof in the future.  If she can do that, then the rest of us should be able to carry on.  Right? I also hate the fact that whoever started all this is still getting attention with this situation. Sooo, with that said.....I hope no one is thinking that this will be a big topic for us to discuss Monday night at the meeting.  That is not what we are meeting for, so we're not going to spend time on that.  We're not going to let this cut in on our 1 1/2 hours of time we have to spend together.  We are there to support each other.....so let's all move past this.  Okay? Rianne, I hope you will change your mind and be able to come and join us....but if you just aren't able to do that, then remember we care about you and wish you the best in health and happiness.  Please come if you can at all.  (I will need all the friendly faces I can get) My best to you, Glenna