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Woman wants to help others through chronic pain group

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Sherri Savchuk

EVANSVILLE — Sherri Savchuk has lived with chronic pain since she was 12.

The list of her conditions is daunting:

-- Scoliosis resulting in spinal surgery and a year in a body cast.

-- Hepatitis C contracted from a blood transfusion.

-- A degenerating spine.

-- Fibromyalgia.

But despite her chronic pain, she knows keeping a positive attitude is crucial. That's why she wants to find others in the area suffering from chronic pain and to form a support group that would be fun, not depressing.

"I thought I might be able to help some people," the Evansville woman said. "I've kind of come to terms with it."

Pain is considered chronic if it causes distress for at least three months, she said. A 2004 Johns Hopkins University study found 133 million Americans—more than 45 percent of U.S. residents—had a chronic condition, she said.

The proposed "HopeKeepers" support group she wants to start would be open to all ages. Rest Ministries, a Christian non-profit organization, is devoted to serving people who live with chronic illness and pain. The organization has 130 HopeKeepers groups in 30 states.

The Evansville group wouldn't meet in churches or have structured Bible studies, but Savchuk said having the group based in faith is important. Studies show a person's faith can lower the risk of depressive symptoms, she said.

Savchuk spoke Monday to about 20 seniors at the Evansville Community/Senior Center. About 90 percent of seniors have at least one chronic disease, and 77 percent have two or more chronic conditions.

Savchuk said she wants the support group to be fun and energizing, filled with laughter.

"I want us to make friends and mostly just understand because there's a great comfort in understanding—having someone understand how you feel," she said. "I think a lot of us are misunderstood or feel misunderstood, and even the people who we live with—who know us the best—we don't reveal everything to them because it worries them."

The group also would include loved ones and caregivers of those suffering from chronic pain. She's seeking a co-leader who could represent the family/caregiver side of chronic pain.

A person experiences many stages of chronic pain throughout a lifetime, she said: from first having the pain, to seeking a diagnosis, to finally getting a name for the condition, to dealing with the impacts on lifestyle.

She's been through it and invites others to share their stories, even those who don't have a diagnosis.

"You're ill, we believe you," she said.

When chronic sufferers realize their lives will never be "normal" again, she wants to help them cope.

"(We) want to make a 'new normal' that focuses on the good things," she said.