Question:
Help from support group leaders

We are starting a support group in Sioux City, IA. I had surgery in July of this year. I work at the hospital and I have a social work background and have done groups for different things. I am going to be leading this group. I want to know if there are any group leaders or participants out there with words of wisdom for a new group. Did you have a strict agenda to follow each meeting or was there more time for socializing and support? Any help would be appreciated. You can e-mail me directly. Thanks in advance for your help    — tulagirl (posted on November 19, 2002)

November 19, 2002
Congratulations on taking the initiative to start a group. I started a group with a friend I met on the Internet. She is a registered nurse and I work for a cardiologist. We both had our surgeries five days apart. At our first meeting I was a little nervous as to what I thought was going to happen. So I lined up a guest speaker who had reached her goal and also had all her plastic surgery done. She had gone from a size 30 to a size 7. Well, imagine my surprise when she did not show up after having confirmed all the information with me two nights before. I was a little panicked and lost an additional five pounds in sweat that night, but I needn't have worried. The topic took off by itself. We introduced ourselves and gave a little synopsis of what our procedure, doctor and hospital entailed. From there the questions flew to each other and before we knew it the evening was over. At the next meeting our number of attending doubled. We started off again with introducing ourselves. We had more people who were thinking about having the surgery and more newbies. The questions flew again. We bring samples of products that each one of us have found for protein supplements to share, any new info is copied and distributed. I set up a table that has all kinds of info for the members to take. The group has taken on a life of its own. We had one member who was rushed to the hospital with severe stomach pains only to find out that she had an ulcer. She spoke of her experience and what she learned about avoiding that in the future. Each week we have grown and we are never lacking for a subject. I kind of prepare something just in case we have a lull, but it has not happened. I do have a guest speaker lined up for the next meeting from "Curves." She will talk about toning up the loose skin through an exercise program, because that seemed to be what was asked the most at the prior meeting. As our members literally shrink we seem to be getting some strange folds in odd places. I hope this helps some and if you need anything else don't hesitate to ask. I have a lot of medical background and connections to specialists for answering questions. I am not an authority, but have researched this thoroughly. And everyday I am learning something new. Good Luck!
   — Sue A.

November 19, 2002
One of the tips I heard at the ASBS conference was to have everyone sketch their surgery. Of course, you need an accurate sketch in hand. Our docs here do a very thorough presentation, more than once. NO ONE got it right! Wow. I was astounded. Everyone should be able to draw a sketch of their surgery in case they are abroad and end up in ER & cann't speak the language. We do a little 1 minute intro, name, type of surgery, doc, date, lbs lost (sometimes comorbs lost or life gained) and move on. Concerns usually come out during that little intro and we try to address those by referring to the correct specialist or sharing experiences (what do you do with a buttless butt?).
   — vitalady

November 19, 2002
We just started a support group in Washington,PA and we need the same advice. Check out gurneesupport.com. They have a wonderful website for their support group and some good ideas for guiding the meeting, ground rules, mission statement, etc. Good luck.
   — Dana S.

November 20, 2002
I belong to a group that has just had its second meeting. At the past two meetings we had the surgeon speak, we had the nutritionist there to give advise and to answer any questions people have. We plan on having guest speakers such as a plastic surgeon, personal trainer, therapist and who ever else we think will benefit the group. The woman who started it (Angela Adams) did a great job. Good Luck!
   — owliegirl