Lying awake it came to her in the middle of the night that she would run a group to help others. It took her six years to get to that first meeting. She steadfastly worked step by step to get there. First leaving handmade posters, then talking to linked Professionals in the Rheumatology field, she went to the library researching, she learned from books and from her physio and planned exercise regimes to maintain her own health and practiced these on her neighbours, she began to offer a Help Line, she wrote to many organisations trying to fund raise and eventually in 1996 got funds of £250 from Voluntary Action Sheffield, who were themselves only just starting up.. Sadly no venue could be found within budget and it was 1998 before the first meeting was held.
Dr John Winfield, Rheumatologist and Christine's Consultant, began to go back through records of his patients diagnosed with arthritis to sift out those who may in fact have been Fibromyalgia patients and his physiotherapist directed them to Christine’s help line. Christine showed him the exercise regime “Chairobics” and he was very impressed but was concerned that actually putting this into practice would be too much for her. Not Christine she took no notice and continued. In 1995 she had applied for one of 8 exercise teachers vacancies and despite being the only applicant without any related qualifications was given the post purely on her ability . She showed them her exercise plans, she talked about how she wanted to help people with Fibromyalgia. From here she worked within Nursing and Residential Homes as an Exercise Teacher for the very frail and elderly. She studied aerobics and Pilates and later introducing them into the Self Help Group Meetings.
Initially two sessions had been run, one had been run as a Support Group where people met and chatted and the other was a Self Help Group, where excercise, diet nutrition, alternative therapists and speakers attended. This is the Group that survived and now meets monthly at the Quaker House.