DISTURBING E-MAIL

I JUST RECEIVED A VERY DISTURBING E-MAIL FROM A VERY WORRIED LCBBuddy. NAMES ARE NOT IMPORTANT. THE E-MAIL WAS A DETAILED EXPLANATION TO ME AS TO WHY THEY HAD NOT ATTENDED SOME OF OUR LCBB MEETINGS ... THE PERSON WAS VERY WORRIED BECAUSE HE/SHE WAS TOLD THAT SOMEONE WHO IS IN CHARGE OF OUR LCBBuddies "SUPPORT" GROUP IS MAKING A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ATTENDING OUR LCBB MEETINGS & TELLING DR BYRNE WHO IS & WHO ISN'T ATTENDING. THE "LOW COUNTRY BYPASS BUDDIES" IS A BUNCH OF FRIENDS WHO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER THROUGH A VERY TOUGH JOURNEY. IT IS COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY AS TO WHO IS ATTENDING & WHO ISN'T ATTENDING ... EVERYONE IS WELCOMED NO MATTER WHAT STAGE OF THIS JOURNEY THEY ARE IN ... &, WE ARE THRILLED TO HAVE SPOUSES, FAMILY & FRIENDS JOIN AS WELL. WE ARE DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER, SHARING EXPERIENCES & KNOWLEDGE ... &, WE'VE BECOME CLOSE ENOUGH THAT MANY OF US HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH WONDERFUL PERSONAL FRIENDSHIPS AS WELL. I BETTER NEVER FIND OUT THAT SOMEONE IS ACTUALLY GOING BEHIND OUR BACKS & USING OUR ATTENDANCE AGAINST US ... IF THIS IS HAPPENING, I WILL PLACE A FORMAL COMPLAINT AT MUSC. THIS IS NOT THE GASTAPO ... IF DR BYRNE NEEDS INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ATTENDANCE, HE WOULD HAVE THE INTEGRITY TO ASK US TO OUR FACES & EXPLAIN WHY HE NEEDS THE INFO ... THEN, WE WOULD EACH HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY WHETHER WE WANTED TO BE INCLUDED IN HIS LIST OR NOT BE INCLUDED IN HIS LIST. NO ONE HAS ANY RIGHT TO GO BEHIND OUR BACKS & GIVE OUT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT US TO ANYONE. IF ANYONE IS DOING THIS, IT BETTER STOP NOW. I WILL BE FORWARDING A LETTER TO DR BYRNE. DAWN NASH

Dawn, I can't even imagine. Whenever I talk to Dr B he never brings up LCBB, I usually do and he laughs about meeting us at a bar one day. I certainly hope that this is not true, as I can't understand why such a busy and influencial surgeon would even care what we do. I can say that Dr B has asked me to come to some of his MUSC talks to tell pre-ops what its like. What disturbing news. Mary

NO MA'AM ... I DO NOT BELIEVE IT IS DR BYRNE WHO IS DOING THIS ... I BELIEVE ONE OF OUR MEMBERS IS SAYING THAT DR BYRNE IS DOING THIS ... DR BYRNE IS TOO CARING A MAN TO GO BEHIND HIS PATIENTS' BACKS ... HE'S ALWAYS BEEN A MAN OF INTEGRITY & OPENNESS ... &, HE'S NOT STUPID ... THE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS ARE VAST FOR A SURGEON TO GATHER PERSONAL INFO ON HIS PATIENTS WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION ... AGAIN, I BELIEVE SOMEONE IN OUR LCBBuddies GROUP IS CAUSING THIS ... NOT DR BYRNE. BUT, I'M IN THE PROCESS OF CONTACTING DR BYRNE RIGHT NOW! IF SOMEONE IS TRYING TO BLACKEN HIS NAME & RUIN HIS REPUTATION, HE NEEDS TO KNOW. GOD BLESS YOU ... DAWN & NICk

I didn't know that LCBB meetings were mandatory. I thought everyone had a choice to come. Thats sad though. I wish I could come to the meetings but am always so busy and it is so far away. Let us all know what you find out. There is always one drama queen or king in every circle......Love Jennifer

NO MA'AM, THE LCBBuddies MEETINGS ARE NOT, NOT, NOT MANDATORY ... EVERYONE DOES, DOES, DOES HAVE A CHOICE & THERE ARE Noooooo NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU DON'T ATTEND. YOU (&, EVERYONE) ARE WELCOMED ANY TIME YOU CAN COME! WHEN YOU CAN'T ATTEND, WE UNDERSTAND. WE ARE FRIENDS ... PERIOD ... THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE. WE ARE HERE TO HELP ONE ANOTHER ONLINE, BY E-MAIL, AT OUR MEETINGS, AT OUR SOCIAL EVENTS ... JUST AS FRIENDS, HELPING ANY WAY WE CAN. WE WISH YOU COULD COME AS WELL, BUT IF YOU CAN'T THEN WE WILL SUPPORT YOU ANY OTHER WAY POSSIBLE, MS JENNIFER!!! YOU ARE AN LCCBer WHETHER YOU CAN ATTEND MEETINGS OR NOT! REMEMBER, I BELIEVE THAT ALL THIS TRASH IS JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE STARTED A LITTLE DRAMA HERE WITHOUT CHECKING OUT THEIR FACTS, BUT BECAUSE THEY USED DR BYRNE'S NAME, IT BECAME A BIG ISSUE FAST. OUR GROUP CANNOT TOLERATE SITUATIONS LIKE THIS THAT WOULD DIVIDE US. IF WE ARE THINKING THAT SOMEONE IS SPYING ON US, NONE OF US WILL EVER FEEL COMFORTABLE AT OUR MEETINGS. DR BYRNE DOESN'T NEED HIS NAME SLAMMED (I have notified him) ... OUR LOWCOUNTRY BYPASS BUDDIES DON'T NEED DIVISION ... FRIENDS DON'T SPY & TATTLE ON FRIENDS ... GOD BLESS YOU ... DAWN & NICk

Sorry you are caught up in the middle of this drama dawn!!! Sad that grown people can't act their ages and get a life rather than trying to rule others!!! The people who are there for the right reasons, ARE THERE! Thats all that matters! Im sure the doctor wouldnt get involved with some Nazi trying to give out list of people attending! They have more important things to deal with than petty stuff like that! and after meeting all the great people from LCBB i doubt there is any nazi doing that! Someones just trying to make up stuff to stir the pot! jen

I DON'T LIKE DRAMA LIKE THIS BUT I'M GLAD MY LCBBuddy FELT COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO COME TO ME ABOUT HIS/HER CONCERNS. YOU ARE SO RIGHT; WE HAVE GREAT MEMBERS WHO COME TO SHARE & GROW! THEY ARE THE BEST. NO PERSON IS WORTH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE GROUP SO IF SOMEONE IS TRYING TO DIVIDE US, THEY WILL BE SADLY MISTAKEN. & DR BYRNE'S HAS "REAL" PROBLEMS TO HANDLE, LIKE THE VERY LIVES OF HIS PATIENTS. HE SURE DOESN'T HAVE TIME TO DIDDLE AROUND WITH KEEPING TABS ON MEETING ATTENDEES. &, JUST KNOWING THE MAN, HE IS FAR TOO HONORABLE TO BE INVOLVED IN BEHIND-THE-BACK TRASH LIKE THIS. I PUT MY LIFE IN HIS HANDS; I WILL CERTAINLY STAND UP FOR HIS REPUTATION! GOD BLESS YOU ... DAWN & NICk

I don't believe there is anyone in our group "reporting" to Dr. Byrne, nor do I think he cares who does or doesn't come to our support meetings. He would be far more concerned with MUSC support group meetings (and he doesn't even make those mandatory or keep track of who goes to them). I don't know who sent you the e-mail, but I wish you would tell them to contact me so that I can set them straight. I don't think we should bother Dr. Byrne with this. He will think we have all gone crazy and he is far to busy to worry about someone who is stirring up things....I believe it is called "gossip". Susann

HEY LADY ... I HAVE ALREADY ASSURED OUR LCBBuddy THAT HIS/HER ATTENDANCE IS TOTALLY VOLUNTARY & HAVE GIVEN HIM/HER OUR SUPPORT ANYTIME! BUT, I'D RATHER KEEP HIS/HER NAME FROM BECOMING PUBLIC. I CAN TAKE HEAT FROM THIS; I HAVE BIG SHOULDERS, BUT MY BUDDY WAS REALLY WORRIED, SO NO NEED TO PUT HIM/HER ON THE SPOT. I KNOW YOU WOULDN'T CAUSE HIM/HER ANY DISTRESS, BUT I WILL KEEP MY WORD TO KEEP HIS/HER NAME TO MYSELF UNLESS I HAVE PERMISSION FROM HIM/HER. EVEN THOUGH THIS IS JUST GOSSIP, AS YOU SAID, I NOTIFIED DR BYRNE BECAUSE DRAMA LIKE THIS TENDS TO GROW, TAKE ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN. I WANT HIM AWARE THAT THIS IS "OUT THERE" SO SOMETIME DOWN THE ROAD, THIS DOESN'T COME OUT AGAINST HIM ... HIM HAVING NO KNOWLEDGE OF IT ... &, NOT KNOWING WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT IT OR HOW TO DEFEND HIMSELF. JUST LOOK AT THE MEDIA ... SOME BS STORY COMES OUT 20 YEARS LATER WITH NO TRUTH OR BASIS OF REAL INFORMATION, BUT JUST THE HINT OF SCANDAL, RUINS A BUSINESS OR DESTROYS A CAREER OR A REPUTATION. SO, I DID CONTACT DR BYRNE. GOD BLESS YOU ... DAWN & NICk

Oh My GOODNESS!! Do people not have something better to do with their time? This is not high school. I can not believe an adult would start such a crazy rumor. Another point I would like to add is that Dr. Byrne did not do all LCBB's surgeries, so it would only account for part of the attendees. I am sure this is not true. Dr. Byrne definitely has better things to do with his time. Dawn, I am sorry that you had to start your day out like this. The person that started this needs to be confronted. None of us have time for this. Tina Z