Episode 4: "Private Members Only Facebook Support Group"
Why Heart Attack Survivors?
I want to help men heal both physically and emotionally from heart disease, heart failure or heart attack. We can help YOU or a man in your life deal with their recovery and attempts to find their way back to their life, and themselves.
There are groups available through local hospitals, most are free, but only last 4 to 8 weeks. They information tend to be very generic. These groups are often lead by psychiatrists or someone from the hospital staff from that department.
It has been found that group of this nature, their average approval rate from participants is roughly 17%.
I wanted more! I could have gone to group sessions outside the hospital put found them to be to generalized. The costs ranged from $45 to $150 per week, you would have to be concerned about weather and traveling to the meetings and if you were out of town you would have to miss the meeting all together. Besides, you would be limited to just one night a week, plus bad coffee.
I wanted something more specific! I wanted the person leading the group sessions to be a heart disease survivor, someone who understands and “Gets It!”, and not be a doctor or a psychiatrist. Don’t get me wrong, doctors are vital and they can treat your condition, but they have no idea what you are actually going through. A survivor has lived it and gets it. The average approval rate from participants for survivor driven group sessions is over 70%.
Then it hit me! Wait a minute! Why not me? I can be that person, the survivor, the one who “Gets It.” Little did I know, I had just described myself.
I have been in the IT industry for 30 years and when I actually broke it down to what it is I actually did, I have been in the business of teaching and supporting people.
That said, what kind of group do I want to create?
I wanted to create a group that is easily accessible, from anywhere. As I like to say, “anytime, anywhere and any place! You could be on vacation, on a business trip and not have to miss the sessions. The group will be available 24/7, worldwide, to all paid members.
Every Saturday afternoon, I would jump online from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm eastern, to participate in the discussions, answer questions and help keep the open forum discussions going. I want the group to be a community, to bring people together, to creating friendships, and bring in industry experts to answer some of our mo