Sharing is healing: Meet @edsutton

ROSEMARY: What brought you to Mayo Clinic Connect? 

@edsutton: Curiosity. I had signed up for the Mayo Clinic Diet program, a paid digital weight loss program based on Mayo’s expertise. I enjoyed the group support there. That led to my poking around the Mayo Clinic website through which I discovered Mayo Clinic Connect, Mayo’s free online patient community with forums on a variety of conditions and situations.

ROSEMARY: What motivates you to take part in the community?

@edsutton: Above all, the honesty. The freedom to speak honestly about myself is a gift, and the honest messages of other participants is an even greater gift. Connect is a very loving place.

ROSEMARY: What about Mayo Clinic Connect makes you feel comfortable to share and to be open with the community?

@edsutton: No one is exploiting anyone here or promoting themselves. Sometimes we ask for help or emotional support, but we are also here to give of ourselves. Yet, by trying to care and help, we are also healing ourselves.

ROSEMARY: What support groups do you participate in?

@edsutton: Mostly, I participate in the Aging Well support group. I particularly enjoy the idea exchange in a discussion called Preparing to Age in Place that I started. It’s a topic that my wife and I have given a lot of thought to. I like sharing the research I’ve done and hearing what others have considered. 

I also bounce into other support groups, like Bones, Joints & Muscles, Depression & Anxiety, Just Want to Talk and Men's Health if I see something that attracts me.

ROSEMARY: Tell us about a meaningful moment on Mayo Clinic Connect.

@edsutton: I find many meaningful moments in our discussions. People are wonderfully honest in so many ways. I find this kind of sharing very healing. We are the living experts on aging, and the more we share about our difficulties and losses, and solutions and joys, the more we can thrive in our later years.

ROSEMARY: What surprised you the most about Mayo Clinic Connect?

@edsutton: I didn’t expect it would become so meaningful to me. Some of the questions are very thought-provoking, causing me to think deeply.

ROSEMARY: What energizes you, or how do you find balance in your life? What activities do you like?

@edsutton: I enjoy studying, practicing and learning music. I play the harpsichord enthusiastically (if not terribly well). I’ve been inventing, building and testing a new kind of harpsichord in my shop. I have enough musical projects to stay busy forever. I love finding a musical score from a far-off time and place, studying, dreaming, working at it until I feel a connection with a person I’ll never meet any other way.

My dog Hazel is my primary balancer. She teaches me to enjoy the present moment and appreciate the wonderful woods and trails near our home. We work happily on our studies of animal-human communication. Hazel has a very clear sense of the good life and she regularly invites me to join her.

My wife and I share a quiet, simple home.

ROSEMARY: Do you have a favorite quote, life motto or personal mantra?

@edsutton: “Breathing in I calm myself; breathing out I smile.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

ROSEMARY: What do you love about where you live or vacation?

@edsutton: Birds and butterflies! We live adjacent to a state park and are also on the edge of a major metropolitan area. The air quality is superb!

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