TM Support Group in Germany

Transverse Myelitis Association
Volume 5 Issue 1
December 2002
Page 32

TM Support Group in Germany
Ursula Mauro

My name is Ursula Mauro. I contracted TM in June 2001 and I’m in the process to start a German TM support group. After I introduced myself in the last newsletter and via email to the German membership, I wrote an email to the German TMA members and asked about people who want to get active. A few answered and slowly we started to get in regular contact with each other. Once in a while I sent new little letters out there, also to the new addresses of German members. Sandy transfers to me all new members from Germany, I make contact with them and some more people reacted. (Thanks, Sandy for all your support)!

In January I announced the first (informal) TM support group meeting and asked who would be interested. The months between the announcement and the meeting were pretty exciting for me, also because it was so unsure about how many people would attend. Some couldn’t come because of understandable reasons as relapse, vacation, hospital stay, a long distance; some didn’t know until the last second. Unfortunately, also my neurologe couldn’t come because his wife had a baby a few weeks before.

A few days before the meeting I had 6 obliging announcements.

Then the 20th of April 2002, the day of the event. I had ordered a quiet table for dinner at 5.30 pm in a middle-class Hotel/Restaurant in Kehl and at 6 pm we were eight people from all over Germany, five with TM and three companions. We all saw each other for the first time, so I was excited and curious how it would work out with us. We really did have a good evening, the meal was fine, the conversation also. We used the benefits of a little group, spoke a lot about our experiences with TM, treatments, difficulties, about some ideas, for example, to create a German page on the TMA Home Page and stayed together until about 11.30 pm. We all want too stay in contact and a German network develops. I’m real happy about it and see the meeting as a success.

And I’ll try to organize the next support group meeting in November 2002 and hope that many people will attend. I also search for people who would get busy with raising funds for the TMA in Germany. I think that’s a very important job; we need money urgently, because the TMA has no membership fees and also much money is needed for the research.

So whoever is interested, please get in contact with me.
Ursula Mauro
umauro[AT SIGN]t-online.de
Tel.: 07807-3154

And finally, I want to thank all the German TMA members who were willing to get involved and to start with me a German support group!

You all take good care about yourselves,
Ursula

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