SG Springfield thoughts...
I do understand your point. You want a group like alanon or alateen for children and spouses of alcoholics. It makes sense to me but this group is kind of run by St JOhns so I dont know what we can do. I was involved in another support group when we lived in West Plains Missouri. It was a very small group and we helped each other and spouses were always welcome. Maybe you guys could start another support group. Even if it is just a few people meeting together it does help. I made some very good friend in our little West Plains support group. We even got together and had little social events. I would make sugar free carrot cake and wls friendly snack for us. We had lots of fun. We even wuld get together to go to our surgeons support group meetings sometimes in Batesville , Arkansas. Most of us had our wls there with Doc Lambert. You just need to find a place to meet it can be like a community room at a bank of church and does not have to be terribly organized,, Our little group in West Plains met at one of the hospital buildings at Ozark Medical Center in West Plains. The hospital did not offer wls and was not supportive of wls but some of the post ops worked there so they got permission to have the meeting there. We never had more than 10-15 people at a meeting. We just met and talked about whatever issues were bothering us. It did help us all. If you want to start another support group I would be willing to help you. I think going to support groups helps me and my wife a lot. I guess we are in a different situation since we both were obese and both had wls. My wife had her wls six months after I had mine. Is is true post ops do have many different problems and many marriages have broken up, I am going to continue to go to the Springfield meetings but you can start another group maybe closer to where you live. In West Plains the newspaper would put a littel free ad in the paper for comminity meetings and we could advertise free on some local call in shows and we sometimes put up signs different places and people here on obesity help would learn about our little meetings. I would usually bring some snacks to the meeting to show people pre and post ops both that you still can eat well after surgery. It was a lot of fun. I asked about taking samples of food to the Springfield meeting but they said no. I enjoy the Springfield group but dont always agree with everything they do but my surgeons support group is so far away and so is the west Plains group . Springfield is close for me so that is where I am going. These are just some ideas I am throwing out.
Hi Everyone,
In response to the concern raised in this post regarding the support group facilitator, I am the leader of the New Beginnings Support Group and The Next Level Support Group in Springfield, that is the subject of this post. I am a post-op patient and had my surgery almost 4-1/2 years ago, and have lost 147 pounds. I have been extremely involved in the weight loss surgery field for many years. I have completed the training and am certified by ObesityHelp as an ObesityHelp Support Group Leader. In addition, I have been involved in different forums of support groups as well. I feel privileged to be part of the New Beginnings Support Group and The Next Level Support Group as a weight loss surgery patient myself. I am very committed to both of these support groups.
During The Next Level meeting, it is a great opportunity for the spouses and others to be able to socialize informally and get to know each other. The area that is immediately outside our meeting room is large and very comfortable, and could easily accommodate anyone that wants to socialize together.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the New Beginnings meeting on February 13th. Our speaker will be Carmen Boyd, RD, LPC, and will be discussing "Mood and Food".
Cathy
How can I reach you by e-mail and talk with you about the group?
Thanks,
Julie Johnson
e-mail: [email protected]