Support group gets a little help

     By Sonya Padgett
     View staff writer
      Geri Beatty knows what excruciating pain feels like.
      She, and many like her diagnosed with the neural network disorder fibromyalgia syndrome, experience it almost daily.
      But thanks to the love and care from members of the local Fibromyalgia Friends Support Group, Beatty is able to live a fairly normal life, working as a facilities coordinator at Boulder Station.
      After living with the syndrome for more than two years, Beatty was able to show her gratitude to the support group that has given her so much strength and encouragement by asking her employer to help the group produce and distribute its monthly newsletter.
      "As I got to know the group and (founder) Patti (Wright), I realized they were struggling. The newsletter goes to 600 or 700 people," Beatty said. "They would do it by hand using their own money. It had grown so large they were going to cut it in half, so I decided one day I had nothing to lose."
      Beatty asked Boulder Station's general manager for help and received it. Now, Boulder prints the newsletter and mails it out every month.
      "We reach the majority of the people through the newsletter. There's no longer a concern about how many people they can reach," Beatty said.
      In 1995, the Fibromyalgia Friends Support Group started with just three people. The group has grown rapidly, sometimes adding a person a day, Wright said.
      Three years later, membership currently tops 800.
      "Up until this year I could handle it," Wright said. "I have fibromyalgia, too. If it weren't for Station Casinos doing our newsletter, I'd be in bad shape. It used to hurt my hands so much. They took over printing and mailing, and they pay for postage."
      People with fibromyalgia have a heightened sense of pain and experience muscular pain throughout the body on a regular basis.
      It's often difficult to diagnose and there is no known cure. Patients must learn to live with the pain, and that's where support groups can help, Beatty said.
      "One of the things you get from going to a group is the support of people who are going through similar things," Beatty said. "At a group meeting, you make a connection with people who reaffirm you aren't crazy. They validate you. That's been helpful."
      Beatty was diagnosed with fibromyalgia more than two years ago and considers herself lucky to be able to work.
      "My life was turned totally upside down," Beatty said. "I don't know what I would have done without Boulder. The general manager said don't worry about your job, it'll be there."
      The group meets monthly at the American Legion Hall in Henderson located at 425 E. Van Wagenen St.
      Those interested in attending a meeting can call Wright at 897-9326 or 897-7388.