Don’t you just love it …

Rain pouring down, creepy crawlies coming into the house, dog smelling distinctively doggy, cat hiding in the kitchen cupboards, mildew growing as quickly as moisture can be wiped off everything in sight, clothes going moldy! Yes folks, we sure do have it. That good old fashioned WET SEASON IS HERE. YEA!

Among all that we had our very first Cairns Dystonia Support Group meeting today. Given the amount of water around Cairns right now, I am surprised we were able to get together at all.

Exciting things are happening. We are now officially a support group and will be writing lots more about that in coming weeks. As a bunch having lunch we munched our way through sandwiches and yummy cheesecake as we talked about all things important!

Four very brave souls sitting around the table telling yarns, sipping thickened drinks, comparing treatment experiences, practicing sticking our tongues out between our teeth and swallowing – well, trying to anyway. Sound bizarre? Sure is! However, it is also an excellent exercise for strengthening those muscles in the back wall of the throat therefore making swallowing safer and easier. Ask the speech pathologist in your medical team to show you how to do this if you are finding it difficult.

The highlight of our day was to speak on a speaker phone to a dear friend, who also has dystonia, in the US of A. We know eachother through blogging and emails. We finished by watching the amazing film, Twisted. Reluctantly, we parted with joyous hugs and feelings of solidarity between eachother. Amazingly, three of us have spasmodic dysphonia and worked together some years ago in a Government Department that is known to be one of the most stressful areas of statutory work there is.

We welcome contact from other people with dystonia. If you would like to ask any questions or just make contact, please email me at s.j.bayliss@bigpond.com.au and one of us will get back to you.

Sue Bayliss. Cairns, Australia.