Guest guest Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Just a little plug... Any potential mentor or mentor-ee who hasn't already contacted Val, hold that thought! Contact her when she's back online. As someone who has been on both the receiving and the giving ends of this program, I highly recommend it. I can't say that I would necessarily have seen the wisdom of requesting a mentor, but as I was the group's first, unofficial mentor-ee, very kindly thrust it upon me while I was in the hospital. I wasn't exactly lucid, but I recall noticing that she was calling me on the phone every day, and I know I wasn't easy to get a hold of. Only my mother and husband may have phoned me more often. Val set the bar pretty high for the rest of us! She never tired of reminding me to "hang in there -- it gets better!" And my surgery was only about 4 months after hers. Not sure if she conceived of the mentoring program before or after she spontaneously did this for me, but it sure was a morale booster. Then I got to try it from the other end this summer with . Of course I had a model mentor-ee to work with, but it's really hard to say which end I got more out of, receiving or giving. It was HARD trying to call every day, which was my aim, but I made up for less-than-perfect reliability by talking a lot, LOL. We're all different, and not everyone wants to talk a lot, but seemed to enjoy it, and I know I did. None of us think of ourselves as particularly brave, but when you're going through it again vicariously, seeing how very brave this other person is, I think it helps you see your own experience a little more clearly, while forcing you to face and deal with it internally. Scoliosis and scoliosis surgery are not for wimps! This is a gutsy, caring, beautiful bunch of people. Whether or not you participate in the formal mentoring program, every post, every email, card, phone call or visit behind the scenes is a thread in this amazing tapestry of a group. Sharon [ ] mentors Hi all,I have three days before my system is disconnected for the company move soif you want to respond to this thread please do so quickly otherwise you willfeel ignored. It appears I will be offline for a week or so.This program needs mentors, that means you lurker, who had revision surgery,may be or may be not being doing wonderfully great ! It is time to pay the piperif you can and give some valuable insight to a person about the ins and outs ofthis surgery and provide emotional support. A mentor is at least 6 monthspost op from revision surgery for flatback. A mentor is willing to donate email ortelephone time to a person who has a surgery date and to keep contact for theinitial 3 to 6 months post surgery or until otherwise agreed.To receive the help of a mentor you should be a surgical candidate for revision surgerywith scoli and flatback. You need to already have a surgical date. I would needto know if you prefer a man or a woman, name, spouse or significant other name,surgeon, hospital, dates of surgery and contact information. If you are interestedin being a mentor or want someone to mentor you please let me know. There hasbeen some terrific mentoring going on out there and believe me, I know how muchit is needed. So, like I said, if you could please respond ASAP if you want to be involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Is this specifically for anyone in the group Sharon? JESUS is the Reason for the Season Owner Christianhealingrooms Owner ChristianHouseCalls Co-Moderator IncrediFAITH Personal E-mail teeberry@... -- Re: [ ] mentors Just a little plug... Any potential mentor or mentor-ee who hasn't already contacted Val, hold that thought! Contact her when she's back online. As someone who has been on both the receiving and the giving ends of this program, I highly recommend it. I can't say that I would necessarily have seen the wisdom of requesting a mentor, but as I was the group's first, unofficial mentor-ee, very kindly thrust it upon me while I was in the hospital. I wasn't exactly lucid, but I recall noticing that she was calling me on the phone every day, and I know I wasn't easy to get a hold of. Only my mother and husband may have phoned me more often. Val set the bar pretty high for the rest of us! She never tired of reminding me to "hang in there -- it gets better!" And my surgery was only about 4 months after hers. Not sure if she conceived of the mentoring program before or after she spontaneously did this for me, but it sure was a morale booster. Then I got to try it from the other end this summer with . Of course I had a model mentor-ee to work with, but it's really hard to say which end I got more out of, receiving or giving. It was HARD trying to call every day, which was my aim, but I made up for less-than-perfect reliability by talking a lot, LOL. We're all different, and not everyone wants to talk a lot, but seemed to enjoy it, and I know I did. None of us think of ourselves as particularly brave, but when you're going through it again vicariously, seeing how very brave this other person is, I think it helps you see your own experience a little more clearly, while forcing you to face and deal with it internally. Scoliosis and scoliosis surgery are not for wimps! This is a gutsy, caring, beautiful bunch of people. Whether or not you participate in the formal mentoring program, every post, every email, card, phone call or visit behind the scenes is a thread in this amazing tapestry of a group. Sharon [ ] mentors Hi all,I have three days before my system is disconnected for the company move soif you want to respond to this thread please do so quickly otherwise you willfeel ignored. It appears I will be offline for a week or so.This program needs mentors, that means you lurker, who had revision surgery,may be or may be not being doing wonderfully great ! It is time to pay the piperif you can and give some valuable insight to a person about the ins and outs ofthis surgery and provide emotional support. A mentor is at least 6 monthspost op from revision surgery for flatback. A mentor is willing to donate email ortelephone time to a person who has a surgery date and to keep contact for theinitial 3 to 6 months post surgery or until otherwise agreed.To receive the help of a mentor you should be a surgical candidate for revision surgerywith scoli and flatback. You need to already have a surgical date. I would needto know if you prefer a man or a woman, name, spouse or significant other name,surgeon, hospital, dates of surgery and contact information. If you are interestedin being a mentor or want someone to mentor you please let me know. There hasbeen some terrific mentoring going on out there and believe me, I know how muchit is needed. So, like I said, if you could please respond ASAP if you want to be involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Not sure what you mean. Anyone who has been or is going through revision surgery may participate in the mentoring program. I'd be happy to fill you in or answer any questions while is offline. Sharon [ ] mentors Hi all,I have three days before my system is disconnected for the company move soif you want to respond to this thread please do so quickly otherwise you willfeel ignored. It appears I will be offline for a week or so.This program needs mentors, that means you lurker, who had revision surgery,may be or may be not being doing wonderfully great ! It is time to pay the piperif you can and give some valuable insight to a person about the ins and outs ofthis surgery and provide emotional support. A mentor is at least 6 monthspost op from revision surgery for flatback. A mentor is willing to donate email ortelephone time to a person who has a surgery date and to keep contact for theinitial 3 to 6 months post surgery or until otherwise agreed.To receive the help of a mentor you should be a surgical candidate for revision surgerywith scoli and flatback. You need to already have a surgical date. I would needto know if you prefer a man or a woman, name, spouse or significant other name,surgeon, hospital, dates of surgery and contact information. If you are interestedin being a mentor or want someone to mentor you please let me know. There hasbeen some terrific mentoring going on out there and believe me, I know how muchit is needed. So, like I said, if you could please respond ASAP if you want to be involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Oh, I was just wondering.......I haven't had any more surgery since they removed the Herrington rod back in 2000. I am hoping to have one soon though. JESUS is the Reason for the Season Owner Christianhealingrooms Owner ChristianHouseCalls Co-Moderator IncrediFAITH Personal E-mail teeberry@... -- Re: [ ] mentors Not sure what you mean. Anyone who has been or is going through revision surgery may participate in the mentoring program. I'd be happy to fill you in or answer any questions while is offline. Sharon [ ] mentors Hi all,I have three days before my system is disconnected for the company move soif you want to respond to this thread please do so quickly otherwise you willfeel ignored. It appears I will be offline for a week or so.This program needs mentors, that means you lurker, who had revision surgery,may be or may be not being doing wonderfully great ! It is time to pay the piperif you can and give some valuable insight to a person about the ins and outs ofthis surgery and provide emotional support. A mentor is at least 6 monthspost op from revision surgery for flatback. A mentor is willing to donate email ortelephone time to a person who has a surgery date and to keep contact for theinitial 3 to 6 months post surgery or until otherwise agreed.To receive the help of a mentor you should be a surgical candidate for revision surgerywith scoli and flatback. You need to already have a surgical date. I would needto know if you prefer a man or a woman, name, spouse or significant other name,surgeon, hospital, dates of surgery and contact information. If you are interestedin being a mentor or want someone to mentor you please let me know. There hasbeen some terrific mentoring going on out there and believe me, I know how muchit is needed. So, like I said, if you could please respond ASAP if you want to be involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Hi, Tee I looked back at your intro post and saw you have congenital scoliosis like me. When I was a kid they assumed I had spina bifida but never did a myelogram to determine its exact nature, presumably because I had no symptoms. Turned out I had a split spinal cord, which presented a challenge to my revision surgeon, but I came out just great, thanks to him and to his neurosurgeon associates. Anyway, I hadn't welcomed you to the group yet, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you, as I see we have something in common. Sharon [ ] mentors Hi all,I have three days before my system is disconnected for the company move soif you want to respond to this thread please do so quickly otherwise you willfeel ignored. It appears I will be offline for a week or so.This program needs mentors, that means you lurker, who had revision surgery,may be or may be not being doing wonderfully great ! It is time to pay the piperif you can and give some valuable insight to a person about the ins and outs ofthis surgery and provide emotional support. A mentor is at least 6 monthspost op from revision surgery for flatback. A mentor is willing to donate email ortelephone time to a person who has a surgery date and to keep contact for theinitial 3 to 6 months post surgery or until otherwise agreed.To receive the help of a mentor you should be a surgical candidate for revision surgerywith scoli and flatback. You need to already have a surgical date. I would needto know if you prefer a man or a woman, name, spouse or significant other name,surgeon, hospital, dates of surgery and contact information. If you are interestedin being a mentor or want someone to mentor you please let me know. There hasbeen some terrific mentoring going on out there and believe me, I know how muchit is needed. So, like I said, if you could please respond ASAP if you want to be involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Hi all, I am back and just in case you were wondering Mickey Mouse is great down there in Disney World. Sharon, I caught your mentoring message and you hit the nail on the head and thanks for the kind words. Anybody would like a mentor or to be a mentor please feel free to email me now that I am back online. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Hi all, I just doled out, the last of my reserves for mentors. SSOOOO, all of you revised veterans, please see if you can find the time to volunteer to be available to mentor a newbee as they face probably the biggest surgery of their lives. In case you do not know or are new to the group. A mentor is someone who volunteers to contact regularly either by phone, email or personally a newbee requesting a mentor to guide them through the recovery process of the surgery. Mostly to show support, give an ear, laugh or cry, help sort out that tricky road the first few months after surgery. So, if you would like to mentor or are facing revision surgery and would like a mentor, please email me privately, thanks and God bless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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