2012 Meetings

What happened at our November 13th 

Twenty-seven people attended our November 13th meeting. Since we did not have a program, we had plenty of time to respond to concerns brought by attendees.  One of the attendees is preparing to have a j-pouch converted to an ileostomy, with the surgery to be performed by Dr. Varma at UCSF Medical center

What happened at our October 9th Meeting

We had 22 attendees at our October 9th meeting.  Since our President, Peggy was unable to attend, board member, Paul, chaired the meeting.  The group spent part of the meeting responding to concerns brought by some of our attendees.

We also had a very positive report from one of our members who attended the United Ostomy Association of Canada’s Biennial Conference, which took place in August in Toronto.  She said it was an excellent meeting and shared some of the materials and resources that she brought back from Toronto.

What happened at our Sept. 11th Meeting

 We had 28 people at our Sept. 11th meeting and two of them were first time attendees.  Once more we had Robyn Home with us.  She is a wound care specialist who is employed by Coloplast. She gave us more information on the products we learned about last month.  She is a super resource to our group and we are thankful she chooses to spend time helping our group.  Coloplast should give her a raise.

What happened at our August 14 Meeting

On August 14th, 31 people attended the meeting of the Silicon Valley Ostomy Support Group. Of those, nearly one third were with us for the first time and of that group, half were support persons and of the other half, one was a person who will have surgery at the end of this month.  We spent a good deal of time responding to questions brought by these new attendees.

Robyn Home, from Coloplast, was at our meeting to tell us about new developments from Coloplast and to answer any questions support group members had about Coloplast Products.  She did one of her great show and tell presentations and each of us left with samples of some of their newest products.

What Happened at our June 12th.

 Our June 12 meeting was presided over by our President, Peggy, and it was attended by 27 persons, with 9 of those persons being first time attendees (half persons recently having surgery and half being family members).

 The meeting was largely a meeting in which persons shared issues they are dealing with and support group members shared experiences they have had in responding to such problems.

What Happened at our May 8th Meeting

Our president, Peggy, could not be with us for our May meeting because of a business commitment.  So, Thelma and Paul tried their best to make up for Peggy’s not being with us.  Twenty-seen people attended the meeting, including two persons who had recent surgery and were with us for the first time.  With us for the meeting was Helynn Rueda, who is Senior Territory Representative for Shield HealthCare.  Shield is the major provider for Kaiser patients, and she was hear to respond to questions or concerns related to their service to ostomy patients. Support group members can contact Helynn by clicking on her name (above) and sending her an email.

A number of questions relating to ostomy patients without insurance demonstrated a need for our group to schedule a person who can talk about ways in which people without insurance can secure needed supplies.

What Happened at our April 10th Meeting

Peggy, our President, was back with us for our April meeting.  It was pouring down rain, and the rain had an impact on our attendance.  We had only had 18 people present.

Our main activity of the evening was responding to questions that members brought about their own care issues.  It is amazing how much we are able to learn from one another.  No matter how many years experience one has had with their ostomy, there are new findings and we can learn about those findings from each other.

What happened at our March 13th Meeting

Peggy, our President was not able to be with us for our March Meeting, so Board member, Paul presided over the meeting.  There were 32 people with us at this meeting, 4 of which were attending our group for the first time.  The meeting began with quick introductions of those present.

Among the announcements made at the beginning was letting people know that the UOAA (our national parent group) is seeking nominees for several officers and board positions that are to be elected this year.  We will have a chance to act upon endorsing any nominations being put forth from our group.

The next segment of our of the meeting was time to respond to questions and concerns brought to the meeting by members.  This is a time when everyone learn as the group responds to those concerns.  Even the persons who have had their ostomy for the longest time often find new solutions to caring for themselves and their ostomies.

The final segment of our meeting was a presentation by Shelley Goldblum, a representative of the Hollister Corporation.  She showed us some of their newest products and answered questions Hollister users had about those products.

What happened at our Feb. 14th Meeting

President Peggy was back with us for our February SVOSG meeting. There were 29 people present for the meeting. two were people attending prior to upcoming ostomy surgery they are about to have.

Our special speaker for this meeting was Samantha Wellman, who suffered man years from Crohn’s Disease and had ostomy surgery in 2008.  Using Pilantes exercises and nutritional studies, she worked to regain her health.  She will share her learnings about using an anti inflammatory diet and use of exercise with us. She is the owner ofSamantha Pilates Studio, located in San Jose.

Happened at our Jan. 10th Meeting

Our webmaster, Paul, presided over our January 10th, meeting.  Our President, Peggy chose to not expose the rest of us to the virus that she was fighting, but we missed starting the new year with her at the head of the table.

Seventeen people attended the meeting, two of whom were ileostomy patients who were attending the group for the first time.  After a time of introductions, the group spent the rest of the evening responding to questions and concerns raised by those present at the meeting.  It was a good meeting, punctuated with a fair amount of laughter.