A Little Dream; Realized

For a couple of years now our CF care centers advisory board has dreamt of having a formal support group and I have been quit the annoying advocate for it. A safe place for CF'ers to open up, to share in their journey, to find encouragement when things seem daunting, to celebrate new journeys and new successes, have a place to socialize and most importantly to have a group of others who are walking in the same brand of shoes (the sizes vary!).

After years of debating the ways to go about this and of trying to figure out how to coordinate such a group we have finally put together our first meeting. The meeting was small but amazingly awesome. There was conversation, laughing, brainstorming and all the things we humans do when we get-together when we socialize. Our small little CF center just took one step for mankind and one GIANT leap for those with CF.

For so long I have lived with a disease that not only isolated me much of the time from the things I loved but it also placed limitations on my relationships with others like me. Today's technology has began to bridge that gap, while not perfect it is something better than what we had. nothing.

We as a community as a whole are also learning ways to safely host multiple CF patients within the same room without subjecting them to each others germs and possible cross contamination.

I am elated. I am beyond thankful. I am feeling as thought one small victory in over-coming the hurdles that CF builds has been won. I am so proud of my care team for not giving up and running with my crazy notions. This is something so close to my heart. Something I needed like 10 yrs ago. I hope that no CF patient has to go through such loneliness, such feelings of separation, such feelings of longing for socialization during isolation.

Humans by nature long for and need to socialize on some level with those whose capacity is like theirs. There is real value in developing relationships with those whose life experience is similar to ours. We all are better off in some way or another.

Do you participate in a support group (any group not just CF)? What is the most valuable thing about your support group?

~Doodlin'