SUPPORT GROUPS
SUPPORT GROUPS
MSHH sponsors two support groups that
serve Snohomish and King County.
People with Multiple Sclerosis, their families, caregivers,
friends, and others interested in Multiple Sclerosis
are welcome at these meetings.
Carol & Bill Brayer
Sno-King Support Group Facilitators
MS Helping Hands -MSHH
MSHH TO EXPAND SUPPORT GROUP SERVICES!
Many members of the Sno-King Support Group are looking for various ways to be more active and enjoy what they are still able to do. Just because one has MS doesn’t mean that life as they once knew it has to totally end. There are just more limitations. Concentrate on what you can still do and ignore what you can't. “You may have MS, but MS doesn’t have you!”
The lack of availability and the expenses involved in doing things one enjoys has caused many to become inactive, bored, and frustrated as what to do to enjoy life. Have you looked around at the senior centers in the area and noticed how busy and active they are? Every day people are using their facilities and services offered along with enjoying the company of others. These centers have become activity clubs or centers like many condos have.
MSHH hopes to expand the services and resources now being offered to help remove the boredom from the lives of people with MS. With your interest, help and participation, MSHH can do it.
HOW? If you work during the day, you can attend the monthly support group meetings in the evening, and if you are available during the day, you can also attend the weekly social SG gatherings. For those who prefer attending a daytime meeting, there is the Seattle SG. Summertime and holiday tours are being planned by the Sno-King SG and includes transportation for people with MS using scooters or power chairs. There isn’t any thing you want to do that you say you can’t, if you want to do it bad enough! You just might have to do it a little differently, but you can still do it!
With your help and interest, we can accomplish a lot!
Sno-King Support Group
The Sno-King Support Group meets the 1st Tuesday of each month, except January, July and August, at the Edmonds United Methodist Church, 828 Caspers St., Edmonds, WA 98020 in the Aldersgate Room. A Well Spouse - Caregiver Group meets at 6:30pm while those with MS meet separately for an opportunity to share about how each group member deals with living with the disease. A general meeting with a program/speaker follows at 7:15 pm. There is a monthly newsletter, a telephone committee, and E-mails to remind members of the meetings. Refreshments are served at each meeting. For members of the Sno-King SG, free transportation is available for those who use scooters, power chairs, walkers, Rollators, who don't drive or want to drive at night. There are two annual support group family potluck dinners each year, one in June and the other in December.
For additional meeting information, call (425) 712-1804, cell phone: (206) 718-0894 or E-mail wbrayer@mshelp.org.
If you live in Snohomish County, Dart Transportation will deliver you and pick you up right at the door of the church. (425) 347-5912 or 1-800-562-1381
SEATTLE SUPPORT GROUP
The Seattle Support Group meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, except July and August, at the Mt. Baker Park Presbyterian Church, 3202 - 37th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98144. The meetings run from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Seattle SG members also receive the monthly newsletter and have a telephone committee to call and remind them of the meetings. Refreshments are served at each meeting. There are two annual support group family potluck lunches each year, one in June and the other in December. For meeting information, call Lori Hamilton, Seattle Support Group Facilitator: (206) 941-8940.
ABOUT THE MSHH SUPPORT GROUPS
The support group meetings vary from having a guest speaker or a
program, two social potluck buffet dinners or lunches each year, to
sharing the experiences of living and coping with MS. We laugh a lot,
cry a little, but the meetings are
NOT "Pity Parties." The Sno-King Support Group averages between 25-30 people of all ages at a
meeting. The Seattle Support Group, a smaller Support Group, serves the Seattle area and
is growing in attendance as more people with MS living in the Seattle King
County area
become aware of their existence.
The
structure of the MSHH sponsored support groups is a SG Facilitator,
or Co-facilitators, to set-up and run the meetings, and the people
with MS, spouses, family members and caregivers
who attend the monthly meetings.
Support
group members are encouraged to be part of the
“Membership” of the MSHH non-profit corporation (Foundation)
by becoming a Board Member, or a member of the Advisory Committee.
Members of the support groups are also encouraged to participate in the
various fundraisers, since 100% of the money raised through donations
are used to provide services and resources for people with MS in
the State of
The
MSHH Board Meetings are held on the 4th Wednesday of the month
from
There
is also a smaller SG that meets every Monday at
For additional information: Contact Bill Brayer,
President,
MS Helping Hands
Facilitator
– Sno-King Support Group
(425) 712-1804, cell phone (206) 718-0894
or E-mail: wbrayer@mshelp.org.
WHY
WOULD ANYONE WANT TO
BELONG
TO A SUPPORT GROUP?
I’ve been asking myself that question for over 20 years,
as that is how long I’ve been attending MS support group (SG)
meetings. I hated the first
meeting I attended because (1) I didn’t know anyone there, (2) it was a
small group, mostly women sitting around a table, several in
wheelchairs, and (3) I didn’t know whether or not I wanted to talk
about my having MS to total strangers. Am I glad my wife made me stay.
It was one of the best things I have ever done!
The
second meeting was a little better as I recognized some of the same
faces, from the first meeting I attended and I found that it was easier to be candid and share with them.
They didn’t look down at me, judge me, or pity me.
Instead, they comforted me with stories about their own feelings
and experiences living and coping with MS.
Each
SG meeting got better with more people in attendance,
particularly men, and I found myself looking forward to our time
together. I even began
wishing that we could meet more often.
The
myth about SG meetings being “pity parties” is just that, “A
MYTH!” People who attend SG meetings look forward to getting together
with new-found friends, laughing and crying over what has taken place
since the last meeting, sharing family stories, events and activities
they have been involved in, and just sitting around chatting in general.
The humor is great and the inspiration shared is heart warming.
Refreshments are provided which are usually appropriate for the season,
adding the finishing touch to an enjoyable evening.
An occasional speaker or program on a subject of interest helps us to
learn more about new drugs, medical treatments, exercise programs, and
DME or mobility equipment that is available, or what modifications we can make
to our residences that will improve the safety and quality of our lives.
All
diseases have one thing in common, “Loneliness!” That is why we need
SG’s. There is no reason why a person should be lonely unless it is of
his/her own making. Whether single, divorced, separated, or widowed,
being around others is the best and most affordable medicine there is.
I used to say, when I saw someone worse off
than I was: “Boy I’m glad that isn’t me!” Now I say: “What can
I say or do to let that person know someone cares about him or her?”
How can I help bolster his/her self-esteem?
I am finding that reaching out to someone else does wonders for
my own spirits as well, so it is a win/win situation any way you look at
it. I know I am being
repetitive, but in the words of a favorite song of mine, “People who
need people are the luckiest people in the world.”
Along with all the friends my wife and I
have acquired through the years, we belong to two wonderful support
groups, our MS support group, and our church renew group. The warmth,
love, and caring we experience from both is something we cherish and
will never give up. They
have given us the support and strength necessary to see us through many
difficult times, and our lives and our marriage are so much richer for
them. As the saying goes,
“What goes around comes around.”
Many people are not joiners. They don’t
feel comfortable about attending meetings. They are unable to open up
and share their true feelings. I guarantee that once you relax, let your
hair down a little, and let others in, you will be glad you did.
Almost everyone knows someone with MS and
I’m sure you know others, particularly the newly diagnosed. Reach out
to them; encourage them to attend a SG meeting; tell your doctors about
the SG; take copies of the MSHH SG newsletter to their offices and leave
them for other patients to read; help spread the word. Become an “MSHH
TURTLE” and stick your neck out. Let’s make the song “PEOPLE”
their song! There are many good reasons for wanting to belong to a
support group! LET’S SHOW
THEM!
Let’s see what kind of a difference we can make in their lives.
Bill Brayer
For years the medical field has been reporting that Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects mostly women between the ages of 20 and 40. They also say that MS is not genetic or life threatening! Wrong! Equally misleading is the ongoing information that there are only 400,000 people with MS, when it is also reported that there are over 250 newly diagnosed cases each day!
When I was diagnosed in 1987, 20 years ago, those same figures were being quoted! If there are 250 newly diagnosed cases a day, that adds up to 63,250 newly diagnosed cases a year (weekends and holidays omitted) x 20 years = 1,265,000 people diagnosed with MS since I was officially diagnosed. That is a lot more than the 400,000 currently being reported. What happened to the other 865,000 diagnosed cases? Since there is no cure, where are they? Even with natural attrition, that doesn't seem to compute!
MS can and does result in many medical complications that cause death, so why isn’t it considered life threatening? Ask the families of those who have died from these complications if MS is life threatening. Care and rehab centers have in their facilities many MS patients living out the remainder of their lives who are no longer able to live in their own home surroundings.
There are also many known cases of family members with MS. If this is true, wouldn't it seem reasonable that MS can be genetic?
Men, women, and even children are being diagnosed with MS at every age level and they need a support network to help them cope with the many symptoms and problems they will be faced with. This is information that the medical field doesn’t tell us.
Support groups facilitated by people with MS can fill that need. Only another person who walks in the shoes of one with MS knows how he/she feels and what he/she is going through. As I often say, “Been there, done it, and still doing it.”
Support groups for well spouses and caregivers are also needed where spouses and caregivers can share information about living with and caring for people with MS. In a marriage the well spouse carries the major burden, but the entire family is also affected. Children need to know what their parent is going through in order to be supportive. As my wife often reminds me, "you" don’t have MS, "we" have MS. Spouses and caregivers have an un-enviable job that can’t be adequately described or appreciated. Most of us with MS couldn’t get along without them.
I encourage both men and women with MS to locate and attend local support group meetings and socials, and that well spouses and caregivers do the same. If none exist in your area, start one. People with MS who are still mobile can visit those who are not, whether at home or in care–rehab centers. They need support too.
Most support groups are not “pity parties” as once reported. The Sno-King MS Support Group, located in Edmonds, WA, is one of the largest and most active support groups in the country and also has a caregiver support group.
For years men have used taverns or cocktail lounges for their meeting places to share their domestic and work-related problems. We all know that alcohol is not the answer for coping with MS. Now is the time to attend an MS support group meeting with other men who share the same symptoms and who can be a positive influence on where you are now and where you are going. Men and women share many of the same symptoms. They can help each other.
Only you can make a difference in how you live and cope with MS. So, stay active and enjoy what you are still able to do. You may have MS, but MS doesn’t have you.
For additional information, call (425) 712-1804. For the MSHH Seattle Support Group serving the downtown Seattle area, call 1-888-282-3984.