Pull up a chair.
It is already a little awkward. That is the point.
How this started
We are not a charity. We are not a support group, even though some support happens here.
Schwami & Me started because one person got tired of being the only one at the table who looked different, and got tired of everyone else pretending not to notice. Turns out, a lot of people feel that way.
Some of us have schwannoma. Some of us have facial paralysis, scars, tremors, or something else entirely that makes a room go quiet for half a second before people remember their manners.
We are here for the stares, the bad dates, the coworkers who do not know where to look, the 3am googling, and for the jokes that get us through all of it. No inspiration porn. No brave warrior speeches. Just people, having a normal Tuesday, with something visible along for the ride.
Community photo goes here
A room goes quiet for half a second before people remember their manners. We know that half-second. We built something in it.
What we are, and what we are firmly not
What we are
- A table. Open seating, no reservations, no diagnosis at the door.
- A place where humour about your own body is allowed and encouraged.
- Peer-led. People who have been there, not professionals talking down.
- Honest about the bad days without treating them as a personality.
What we are not
- Inspiration porn. Nobody here is your reminder to be grateful.
- A brave warrior pep rally.
- Medical advice. We are peers, not clinicians.
- A competition over who has had it worse.
- A place where you have to explain your face before you are allowed to speak.
Still reading? Then you are one of us.
Come see what a normal Tuesday looks like in here.