Bytown Benchers: Who we are, and news about this month's meeting

Reminder: Bytown Benchers support group monthly meeting is coming up Wednesday, February 6 at 7:30-9:00 at the Bronson Centre (211 Bronson Ave). If you cannot find on-street parking, you can park in the parking lot of Centennial Public School, just off Nepean St.

At this meeting we are honoured to welcome Mike Patone, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who graciously  donated his time to come and speak our group.

It has been so nice to see some new faces recently, and we hope to see more! As we do have new faces we thought it would be a good time to set out a bit more fully who we are. The Bytown Benchers is an informal group of people from the Ottawa area who are at a variety of stages of their weight-loss surgery journeys, from just thinking about it, to pre-op, to post-op, to post-post-op. We gather to offer encouragement, information and advice borne of our own experiences. We are also able to share practical help, such as by offering a clothing exchange, and an opportunity to form friendships with people who face struggles similar to our own. We strive to create a supportive , non-judgmental space where we can ask aloud the questions we have about our journey without worrying about how we compare to anyone but ourselves. Although many find that having an opportunity to share their journey may be 'therapeutic', we are not intended to be a therapy group and we are not facilitated by a health care professional. At some meetings, we may have guest speakers and it is emphasized that they are there to provide information for us to take away and either use or not, as we see fit.

The Benchers is both a welcoming and a closed group. In order to allow everyone to share freely, we ask that members attend meetings alone, unless prior arrangements have been made with the group. We recognize, for instance, that there may be times where having a member of your family or circle of friends who may have some particular concerns would benefit from meeting other people who have had surgery and can perhaps ease their fears. Those persons who are coming for the first time are always welcome to bring a friend along if it makes the difference between being able to walk in the door to a room full of strangers. Anyone wanting more information can contact Janet at [email protected].

Please feel free to bring your clothes to pass on in the clothing exchange, and of course, your $3 contribution toward the rental fees. If you have anything you would like to ''regift'', please consider donating it to the group as a door prize.