As my health has deteriorated at an increasingly rapid rate this last year, I have felt more and more isolated. The problem with living with limiting conditions is that all of your energy goes towards dealing with the logistics of everyday life as well as the neverending cycle of doctors’ appointments and tests, pharmacy and prescription wrangling, and constant contact with medical billing departments. At the end of the day, after the 3 bunnies (my kids) are safely tucked into bed, I simply lack the impetus to reach out to friends and family. I’m left feeling alone, down, and having a rave of a pity party.
In an effort to overcome my funk, I decided to seek out a support group. My thinking was that if I could connect with people that are going through what I’m going through, maybe that would help.
With that hope in my heart, my husband and I went to the Living Kindly Transplant Support Group. The support group is hosted by the transplant team with emotional support offered by the transplant social workers. The group welcomes both pre and post transplant patients and their caregivers. Each meeting has a speaker that shares his/her story to kick-start the discussion.
I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. I cannot tell you how glad I was that it wasn’t a boohoo, crying buckets of tears meeting. It was quite the opposite in fact. I found that listening to other patients’ histories and experiences to be uplifting. I didn’t feel quite so alone anymore.
This transplant isn’t an event, it is an ongoing life – a life that maybe with the help of the Living Kindly Support Group won’t be so isolating anymore. What more could I ask? I’m thankful.