On March 13th, I had lunch with three wonderful women. One was the leader of the support group in Houston, and the other two were a mother and daughter that actually live about fifteen minutes from me. It was refreshing to have people to talk to that could relate and give insight to what Emma and I were experiencing as well as what lies ahead. The lady that is the leader for the support group in Houston was actually originally from the DFW area. As a medical student who has hydrocephalus, she was able to talk about her experiences as well as motivate the daughter sitting across from me. The daughter, who also has hydrocephalus, was so positive and respectful for someone that was merely sixteen years old. You could tell instantly that the bond she had with her mother was strong and comfortable. It was so reassuring to see this young lady doing so well despite having challenges medically that most don't have to deal with, and doing it with such grace and maturity. I told them all that once I had all of Emma's annual appointments completed the following week, I would turn my focus to getting our first meeting set up and get that ball rolling. They seemed so excited about the chance to be involved with the group I was going to start, which fueled my desire to get the first meeting set. They were even going to pass along information through their friends/family/doctors/ to others that they knew of that may want to join the group. I was overwhelmed with the amount of support I was already seeing develop with these wonderful strangers. I could tell they were going to be wonderful people to have in our lives.
I looked at my calendar in April and decided on Saturday the 27th at 10:00 AM. I wanted it to be a weekend I had Emma and I knew that the 13th would be hard for some trying to get their taxes taken care of. I also knew that a morning time would be best for those that had children who napped in the afternoon like Emma. Once I had the date and time set, I had to find a venue. This took a significant amount of consideration because I wanted it to be welcoming and comfortable so that everyone would feel at ease given they were coming to meet complete strangers in hopes of finding support and camaraderie. I narrowed my choices down to a library, park, hospital, or my office (as a last resort). When I started checking for availability, I noticed the libraries didn't open until 11:00 AM on Saturdays so that was no longer an option unless I changed the time. Then I thought about just having it at my house. While this did pose a challenge to me, it could make others feel more comfortable. So I told the Support Group Liaison from Hydrocephalus Association of my decision and she proceeded to create a flyer and Facebook event for it to start promoting it.
I am a little nervous about this, but my nerves have calmed down as I have gotten further along in the process. I know that it will be helpful for Emma and me to be a part of the Dallas Support Group now and in the future. Any future benefits for her are worth any nerves on my part now, so here we go.
