MSA Support Group

Last week there was a question if there was a support group in Tampa. I replied that there wasn’t and then proceeded to create one. In only that week I have set a date, June 26, at three PM at the Temple Terrace Public Library. Now, I have never even been to a support group of any kind and here I am organizing and leading one. I have a flier completed and ready to post at Neurology offices around Tampa and I have notified three other support groups to post our meeting. There will probably be only a few attendees at first, but I hope it will grow. I also will work on finding a better locale for the meetings. I would like to go to a large nursing/assisted living facility or to the College of Medicine Neurology Department at USF.

One of the goals of the group is to expose the residents in the neurology dept. what MSA, PSP, CDB, OPCA, etc. look like and how they impact not just the patient but the families. Perhaps they will pay better attention when someone comes into the clinic with a variety of vague symptoms and think about one of these disorders and save the patient and family a lot of time and money by having to go back and forth from specialist to specialist.

Of course, the main goal, is a place for us to talk and support one another and to learn from each other. It will be a lot of work but I think it will be worth it. As my therapist said, “It’s not as if you do not already have enough to do”. Again, stay active, use my mind, and help others in any way I can.