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Meetings
ANNUAL SUMMER EVENT - a night to remember
Ramada Hotel, 20 June 2007
Not all our members were able to get to the Annual Summer
Event. For those who could make it the general view was that it was a
very enjoyable evening.
This year the evening was sponsored by Boston Scientific
(who now own Guidant). Tania Sheery from BS gave an excellent presentation
on behalf of the company.
Many commented on the valuable information which Loreena
Hill, the Heart Failure nurse from RVH gave in her talk.
Everyone enjoyed the keep-fit exercises led by Marlene -
a highlight of every year's event!
Errol Hutchinson, our Chairman gave a report on all the
activities of Livewires in the past year.
Another Committee Member Seamus Curley brought a report
on his visit to a conference in Dublin organized by the Irish ICD Support
Group.
Three of the members gave an interview on the experiences,
which they had had with their ICDs.
The evening concluded with a beautiful dinner coupled with
the excitement of the raffle draw. Our thanks to RVH staff for all their
help.
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"I have never been to one of these meetings before"
"I am worried that if I go on my own I will be the only one"
"I don't know how to get there"
These are some of the questions which might apply to you.
If you want information on the meeting, or anything to do with life with
an ICD, please do not hesitate to contact the following who will be pleased
to help:
Richill
John Hazelton tel 38871072
Derry/Londonderry
Seamus Curley tel 71271709
Downpatrick
Ann Hayes tel 44615669
Portadown
Raymond Davison tel 38342987
Ballymena
Errol Hutchinson tel 25653874
Comber
John Robinson tel 91870894
News from the Summer 2006 Event
Around 180 Members and friends attended the ICD Livewires annual Summer
Event held at The Ramada Hotel in Belfast on 21st June. The event was
hosted by MEDTRONIC, the ICD manufacturer and from the comments made by
those who attended the evening was very successful. The purpose of the
evening was to enable patients to meet each other and share their experiences
but also to listen to the presentations which were made and round the
evening off with a hearty supper.
Colette Anderson from the Royal Victoria Hospital welcomed everyone and
thanked Medtronic for funding the cost of the event. Colette then handed
the meeting over to Errol Hutchinson, Livewires Chairman to present the
programme. Many of you will know that a committee of nine members have
been running Livewires since June 2005 and the first item on the programme
was to introduce the committee to the audience. All nine were present
with the exception of Roberta Buick from Moira who was suffering from
a back injury. Thanks were expressed to the Committee for the hard work
they had done in the past year.
Errol then gave a slide presentation of what had been achieved during
the year. Four Committee meetings had been held, three Newsletters published,
the 'six-pack' information leaflets had been produced and Regional Meetings
had been held in five locations during the year. The Group has set itself
three main targets for the year. Firstly, to meet with the Belfast City
Hospital staff and arrange to bring City Hospital ICD patients into the
Livewires Group. Secondly to carry out a Holiday Insurance Review and
thirdly to meet with the DVLNI to discuss and try to resolve problems
which members were facing with this organisation. All of these targets
had been achieved - City Hospital patients were now on the mailing list;
a Holiday Insurance Summary had been produced and was available for all
members and a successful number of meetings had been held with the DVLNI.
Thanks were again expressed to the Committee for their work in all of
these tasks. Errol then introduced Simon Sloan and Sam McClean from Medtronic
who gave a very interesting presentation about the Company and its plans
for the future. This was followed by Marlene and her 'Keep Fit Exercises'
- an annual event looked forward to by us all!
Harold French, an ICD patient was then interviewed about his experience
with his ICD and this proved to be an amusing and educating item on the
programme. Following on from that was an informative presentation by Roisin
O'Hare from the Royal Hospital entitled 'Your Medicines'. Roisin gave
us very valuable information on this vital area which concerns us all.
The main programme was concluded with a panel discussion where questions
were put to the panel and answers given. Before the formal Annual General
Meeting took place Errol outlined the four targets which were being considered
for the next year. These included applying for Charitable Status for the
Group; Linking with other ICD groups; organising a social event around
Christmastime and investigating the possibility of CPR training being
provided in some regional centres.
The final part of the evening was holding the Annual general Meeting for
members. Notice of the Meeting had been sent to all members. It was confirmed
that there were enough members present to hold the meeting. The Minutes
of the previous meeting were approved. In accordance with the Constitution,
two members of the existing committee were standing down; Roberta Buick
and Pearl Swain -both were offering themselves for re-election. Lynda
Matthews was retiring due to other commitments. One nomination had been
received- Mr Brendan Clarke. It was then confirmed that Mr Clarke, together
with the two who had offered themselves for re-election had filled the
three vacancies without a need for a vote by members. An amendment was
agreed to the Constitution allowing for a change in Clause 8 relating
to Quorum arrangements. After all the business was completed an excellent
supper was enjoyed by all.
Read about our Summer 2005 meeting
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