Reflections from Crumbly Acres: Support groups

I cannot tell you how important groups are. I have given presentations to a wide variety of groups; Palliative Care Conference attendees: healthcare professionals (nurses and PSWs), managers, coordinators, and volunteers.

I have spoken to bereavement, women's, writing, caregiver groups, and Adult Day Away programs, as well as speaking to people who were meeting to resolve issues with various health issues: MS, stroke, Parkinson's, cancer, and chronic diseases. We can learn to live in dignity, and learn to live well, no matter our circumstances. In fact, many of us live with chronic conditions. We are not alone: this table is from a recent study:

Chronic Conditions	Age 45 – 64 %	Age 65+ %
High blood pressure arthritis Back problems Vision problems Heart disease Osteoporosis Diabetes Urinary incontinence COPD* Bowel disorder Stroke Alzheimer’s disease	24 20 25 4.6 6.9 6.1 8.6 3.3 4.6 5.1 1.1 0.1	52.9 43.4 28.6 27.9 22.6 18.1 17.2 11.7 8.8 6.4 4.2 1.6

*Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

"It is estimated that 40% of chronic illness can be prevented. Epidemiological studies indicate that
25% of all direct medical costs – or nearly $9.7 billion (C$2002) a year in Canadian costs of
chronic diseases – are attributable to a small number of excess risk factors such as smoking,
obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition." (THE COST OF CHRONIC DISEASE CANADA)

One of the best ways to find support is, funnily enough, in a support group. Many caregiver groups exist. More info is available through your local CCAC Case Manager. Community Home Support offices abound in Ontario.
Community Home Support is an important part of the Canadian medical scene.

I am proud to be volunteering with Lanark County's Dignity House Day Hospice.
Here are photos of week two.

Today's schedule

I cannot explain how rewarding these groups can be.

We all work as a team. Our fearless leader, Alanna Scanlon, B.Sc.N., is inclusive, comforting, and professional.

As with any support group, we work together, we are all one. Sharing, commitment, energy and excitement to living each day to the fullest.

We are very excited to have more donations. Our latest includes a wheelchair.

For those with locomotor issues, it really helps the clients to move around easily.

Another donation, a table runner, which brightens the room. Not that the room isn't gorgeous. McMartin House is a delightful place. Once the renovations are completed it will be perfect!

The complimentary therapists do their wonderful work behind an antique screen. It was my mother's, a gift from me. I asked a Manotick antique dealer to find me one.

No matter your disability or issues, and we all have them, being together is an opportunity to talk and listen. To share our stories of empowerment or disempowerment.

In our group we all work at improving our self-esteem. The complimentary therapist gives us an opportunity to receive.
The activities allow us to relax, talk, play, work, share.

As I work with various hospice clients, I learn much about accepting help. I first learned this with my mother, who found it better to give than receive. Little did she show that she gave in receiving support from others with dignity and courage and strength.

To be in a group such as this, allows us to independent, creative, productive. For there is life in the living and doing.

Playing cards, reading a paper together, talking about our healthcare system, how to self-advocate, where to get more support, is an important part of being in a group. There is wisdom in the stories of others, as much as in the expertise of those in the medical field.