2011 WSA Annual Conference Recap

The friendly people of Atlanta extended Southern hospitality to over 55 well spouses in town for the annual WSA conference on Oct. 21-23. Participants at the closing ceremony on Oct. 23 are shown below, right. The weekend started early for the Board of Directors and Support Group Leaders, who enjoyed a delicious appreciation dinner at a middle eastern restaurant with belly dancing for entertainment on Thursday evening. On Friday, Support Group Leader training was held, with filming by film maker David H. Duke so that a new training DVD can be made available to all SGLs. Duke also interviewed many WSA members for a new "Caregiver Journey" DVD.  In the afternoon, the WSA Board of Directors met. The conference itself started with "birds of a feather" groups, so that attendees could meet those facing situations similar to theirs early in the weekend. This was followed by a choice of workshops: Duke presented a wonderful one on writing and journaling as a way to document and de-stress; Fred Whitehurst of VITAS Hospice gave an informative presentation on the basics of hospice assistance; and in the Making the Nursing Home Decision workshop, a panel of professionals and well spouses discussed pro-active planning, how to select and pay for a nursing home, how to deal with guilt over the placement, and how to ease the transition. Attendees were treated to the mellow guitar music of our own talented Bill Sample during the welcome reception.   At dinner, David Duke sang a poignant song he had written about the role reversal triggered by his father's Alzheimer's disease. Our keynote speaker was Elissa Lewin, founder of Nancy's House, a nonprofit which provides respite weekends to caregivers. Elissa spoke of the heartwarming welcome tribute she had just witnessed at the airport for a returning soldier, and how Nancy's House is her attempt to give similar recognition to the virtually invisible army of self-sacrificing caregivers.  Saturday's workshops were diverse offerings on intimacy, grief, coping with a difficult ill spouse, a discussion of books by well spouses, and our perennial men's and women's groups.  We truly appreciate the contributions of the well spouses who participated in workshop panels or facilitated workshops: Richard Anderson, Rona Auster, Ellie Koelling, Carolyn Marks, Wendy Picardo, Jim Russell, and Amy Shaffer Crawley.  Through the generosity of Atlanta native and well spouse Peggy Hubbard, attendees sated mid-day hunger pangs with a visit to the Varsity (aka The Greasy V), an iconic Atlanta drive-in.  As we perused the menu board, a voice behind the counter boomed, "What'll ya have, what'll ya have?" as Peggy had promised. The onion rings were to die for, and we presumably burned off their caloric damage by walking in lovely weather to the many attractions near the hotel - the Georgia Aquarium, Centennial Olympic Park, CNN, World of Coke, and Martin Luther King's birthplace. Many thanks go to Jim Russell, former board member, for again acting as our MC in his unique entertaining style. Before Saturday's dinner, the winners of our assorted gift baskets were announced, and the WSA Lifetime Service Award was presented to longtime WSA activist Dorothy Saunders. After dinner, the DJ cranked up the tunes and well spouses swarmed the dance floor to the sounds of WSA theme songs "We Are Family" and "I Will Survive". An early Sunday workshop on spirituality facilitated by well spouse Claudia Scognamiglio addressed the issues of finding acceptance, nurturing gratitude, and developing perspective. The conference concluded with brunch and a special closing ceremony before we all reluctantly said our goodbyes to our old and new friends. A WSA conference is always a memorable event.  It is difficult to describe the comforting camaraderie to be found in spending a weekend with people who truly understand your struggles and losses. Tears are followed by hugs and, eventually, laughs.  You leave knowing that you are not alone.We hope you can join us next year in Washington, D.C. And in conclusion, special thanks are due to conference organizers Jan Rabinowitz and Dorothy Saunders, as well as to the work of our Office staff, Carol Hryvniak and Donna McQuade.