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Author Topic: Arkansas Support Group  (Read 3057 times)

Migoi

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Arkansas Support Group
« on: May 04, 2009, 05:29:54 pm »
There are probably a lot of ways to say this with varying levels of hipness (as if I weren't hippy enough)..

Arkansas in the house...

Calling the Hogs out for support...

Arkansas...Represent...

Yo, Arkansas, we be here now...

Then I remember that I'm a slightly nerdy hill dweller and should just make a plain statement..

Arkansas now has a support group...well at least a leader, me. To actually have a support group, I need all of you folks in Arkansas to turn out and help me. If you go to the support group page under Arkansas you will find my email (it's wrong) and my phone number. My email should read tim.billings1, not tim.billings. The part after the @ sign is correct.

Right now I'm aiming at the first meet and greet to be on June 13, from about 1pm to 3pm. The date/time is fairly firm. I am waiting on confirmation for a room in the library in Conway. I should be getting that confirmation in a day or so. I will forward it to ANA and they should be sending out invitations in the not too distant future.

I'm looking forward to meeting all of you and figuring out where we go from here with this support group. I will need lots of advice..I've been gone from Arkansas for 31 years and just got back here to live last September.

Please post a introduction of yourself here.

Thanks...

Tim, I changed your email address to a description of what was wrong, since we aren't supposed to have naked email addresses in the public posts. Members can also use the icon under your name to email you or PM you.  -- Steve
PS: welcome to the forum. :)
« Last Edit: May 04, 2009, 11:16:26 pm by sgerrard »
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Arkansas Support Group Leader
The wild places are where we began. When they are gone, so are we. - D.B.
AN's only affect the smartest, most interesting people in a population.
On a hill in Onda, AR
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Migoi

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2009, 10:46:28 am »
Email address link has been corrected. Thanks.

..take care.. tim b
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Arkansas Support Group Leader
The wild places are where we began. When they are gone, so are we. - D.B.
AN's only affect the smartest, most interesting people in a population.
On a hill in Onda, AR
http://www.facebook.com/migoi

ppearl214

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2009, 11:43:06 am »
Hi Tim and welcome from me as well  :)

thank you for stepping up to the plate to volunteer your time and energies to be an ANA Local Support group leader. I know of the 2 (past/present) in Boston and know how rewarding it is to help do for others that are also in our shoes. I commend you for taking this truly, rewarding opportunity and wish you well in the role. :)

Congrats and best wishes,
Phyl
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lori67

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2009, 02:49:30 pm »
Tim,

I almost want to come to Arkansas to come to one of your meetings - I have a feeling it would be worth the trip!   ;D

Good luck getting the group going - I know you'll do great!

Lori
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leapyrtwins

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2009, 03:54:31 pm »
Quote from: lori67 on May 06, 2009, 02:49:30 pm
Tim,

I almost want to come to Arkansas to come to one of your meetings - I have a feeling it would be worth the trip!   ;D


Count me in on that trip, Lori.  Hey, Phyl, is the moderator's jet free on June 13th?  Lori and I need a ride  ;D

Tim -

as I told you in my PM the other day, I'm confident you'll be a great group leader.  As Phyl said, thanks for stepping up to the plate.

Jan
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Migoi

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2009, 04:41:33 pm »
Thank you all (or if spelled the way it comes out of my mouth...y'all) for the kind words. Y'all are a bunch of loons.

Volunteering to be the support group leader is the least I can do considering how much value I found in my first support group meeting after my AN diagnosis.

You all know how it is, you're cruising along, having a great life and then you get *that* call. You get told you have an acoustic neuroma or a vestibular schwannoma...whoa, big scary sounding scientific words...this must be bad. Then you find out what it is and you discover it's worse than you thought.

The only thing I could think was that "great" would no longer be able to be applied to my life. Then I met the people at the support group meeting and found out that there is a great life post AN. To a person the people I met had challenges stemming from their AN's and to a person, every single one of them described a life that was great. I saw the faces of AN and they were pretty darn spectacular... I could do this. It would be difficult to exaggerate how much better I felt coming out of that first meeting.

That feeling... everyone that gets an AN diagnosis deserves the chance to see how spectacular the faces of AN's can be (well, not necessarily mine but I expect to attract some others). You do know that AN's only affect the most interesting and intelligent folks in a given population, right?

I'm looking forward to the experience.

Lori, while it is true that many observers have stated putting me in charge of something can be quite entertaining, and I much appreciate the your thoughts, I'm not sure it will be 750 mile round trip entertaining. Given my track record with fire, if the library happens to have a wood burning stove, then it might reach that level of amusement but I understand they have central heat and air.

Phyl, I honestly will try to stay on topic when posting...but I do have a fairly high drift factor. If you need to whack me upside the head...aim for the left side, the right side has a hole in it.

Jan, considering our weather here lately...go for the moderator's yacht, unless the plane has floats on it.

Thanks again..

..take care... tim b

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Arkansas Support Group Leader
The wild places are where we began. When they are gone, so are we. - D.B.
AN's only affect the smartest, most interesting people in a population.
On a hill in Onda, AR
http://www.facebook.com/migoi

saralynn143

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2009, 05:23:25 pm »
CROOKEDSMILE (Angie) and arkansasfarmgirl (Vonda) are both from Arkansas. You might want to give them a PM holler.

Oddly enough, there is a family reunion taking place in Russellville, Arkansas that very weekend, but unfortunately we don't have plans to go.

Sara
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Migoi

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2009, 07:59:09 pm »
Sara, thanks for the suggestion. When I did a search for Arkansas, they were the only two that came up as having mentioned it (plus ArkansasFarmGirl's name was a fairly good hint that even I was able to decipher) and I zipped a pm to them to point the way to the thread.

I have a brother that lives just outside of Russelville in Dover. If you head that way, let me know and I'll come over and buy you a cup of coffee then make my brother feed me supper.

thanks again for the suggestion...

..take care.. tim b
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Arkansas Support Group Leader
The wild places are where we began. When they are gone, so are we. - D.B.
AN's only affect the smartest, most interesting people in a population.
On a hill in Onda, AR
http://www.facebook.com/migoi

Kaybo

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #8 on: May 07, 2009, 07:13:10 am »
We will be heading in that direction to get the girlies from camp, but not until the 24th - THEY will be coming that way on the 13th.  DARN!  We will miss it!!

K
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lori67

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #9 on: May 07, 2009, 10:57:28 am »
Tim,

I'm beginning to think you and my husband are related!  I can just hear some of the same things you've said coming out of his mouth, and he's been known to be a bit dangerous around fire.  When we're in Chicago, ask him to tell you the "air compressor" story.  My version of it is much more accurate - and entertaining though.   :o

Then I saw your thing on Facebook about "What Element are You?" - which is absolutely one of the few quizzes on there he'd take.  Of course, most people keep pictures of their family on their bulletin board at work - but not James - he keeps the Periodic Table.

Anyway, I'm glad you had such a good experience at the support group and I hope you have a good turnout!

Lori
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Right 3cm AN diagnosed 1/2007.  Translab resection 2/20/07 by Dr. David Kaylie and Dr. Karl Hampf at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.  R side deafness, facial nerve paralysis.  Tarsorraphy and tear duct cauterization 5/2007.  BAHA implant 11/8/07. 7-12 nerve jump 9/26/08.

arkansasfarmgirl

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #10 on: May 07, 2009, 01:43:59 pm »
Well darn.  My hubby is getting his xxxx cut (his description, not mine LOL) on the 12th, so I have to wait on him hand and foot all weekend.  Maybe next time.

Vonda
« Last Edit: May 07, 2009, 02:02:23 pm by ppearl214 »
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Migoi

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2009, 04:28:32 am »
Vonda,

Sorry to hear that you won't be able to make it for that first meeting. In my head, I've got a loose plan to try for the group to meet quarterly. A very tentative date, at this time, for the next meeting would be September 19... but will have to get feedback from everyone as to what they want their support groups to look like.

.. take care... tim b
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Arkansas Support Group Leader
The wild places are where we began. When they are gone, so are we. - D.B.
AN's only affect the smartest, most interesting people in a population.
On a hill in Onda, AR
http://www.facebook.com/migoi

Migoi

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Re: Arkansas Support Group
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2009, 09:31:59 am »
Our previously tentative room reservation has been confirmed. We will be having our first meeting in the Conway library on June 13 from 1 to 3 pm.

If you have an Arkansas zip code in the ANA database you should be receiving an invitation in the next few days.

..take care.. tim b
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Arkansas Support Group Leader
The wild places are where we began. When they are gone, so are we. - D.B.
AN's only affect the smartest, most interesting people in a population.
On a hill in Onda, AR
http://www.facebook.com/migoi
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