A Song for this Last Day of April

This is the last day of a very long April following a very long hard winter.

I want to share April On the Ground with everyone. It tells us about looking forward to the new season, to being outside and no longer facing the storm. He says that it comes with newfound understanding. Hopefully, as we come to the other side of this time of isolation and fear, we too can say we have learned something about ourselves and about our world.

I really like Justin Hines and his music.
Justin Hines is an extremely gifted musician who was born with a rare genetic disorder that affects his mobility causing him to need a power wheelchair. He has now stopped performing due to continued failing health and breathing issues. Justin's songs are sensitive and often inspiring. He has done a lot around the world to fundraise for different charities and has a foundation of his own. I was lucky to see him perform in Winnipeg many years ago when he helped raise money for The Independent Living Association of Manitoba




April on the Ground  - Justin Hines

It's nice to know,
I've seen the seasons in their glory,
Each one brings a different morning,
to my door,

But still somehow,
I'm looking forward to a sunrise,
Where I don't have to face a storm,
to go outside,
Yeah that would be nice,

And here at last,
With a new found understanding,
All the baggage not with standing,
It means no more.

And all is well,
Well I'm looking into friendly eyes,
And I'll hold the hands that keep me warm,
An hang on tight, That's my plan,
Yeah that's my plan,

'Cause its a fine time for April on the ground,
I've never been one for the cold,
And I'd say good-bye to walkways lined in white and not get down,
'Cause its a fine time for April on the ground,

Miles away,
There's a man that's sad an lonely,
His favourite saying is "If Only",
While on his knees,

And he bids farewell,
To a hardened woman he created,
Its been years in the making,
'Cause she's on her way,
I think I heard them say,
Yeah I heard them say,

Its a fine time for April on the ground,
I've never been one for the cold,
And I'd say good-bye to walkways lined in white and not get down,
'Cause its a fine time for April on the ground,

Its a fine time for April on the ground,
Well I never did get use to the cold,
And I'd say good-bye to walkways lined in white and not get down,
Oh its a fine time for April on the ground,
Yeah an its a fine time for April on the ground,
Well I've never been one for the cold, Alright,
And I'd say good-bye to walkways lined in white and not get down, not get down,

'Cause its a fine time for April on the ground,
Its a fine time for April on the ground,
Its a fine time for April on the ground,

Art Project::Watercolor And Snow Themed Meetings

Winter is a game changer in Winnipeg. We complain about how cold it is but we feel proud about how we press on with our everyday lives no matter what. It is cold and we adjust, we put on boots, drink hot beverages and plug in our cars so they will start. We embrace it. I wanted to do an art project at work that reflected winter and I decided to to go with Snowflakes.this year. I started by spending two theme-related sessions leading up to the art project.

The first program involved talking about the cold weather we are experiencing and then moved on to reminiscing about what they recall about winter fun and work. I asked about, shovelling snow, going sledding, skating, riding snowmobiles! I heard several people wishing they had taken the time to build snowmen. We talked a bit about global warming and how shorter warmer winters might beof  some benefits and there also might be some problems.

My second snow themed activity involved more individual and small group visits. I looked up a lot of pictures of close-ups of snowflakes on our department laptop. Little videos showing how a snow crystal grows proved to be particularly interesting. We talked about how many arms a flake has and how awesome they are. We speculated if it was true or not that there are no two snowflakes the same. I particularly like using the information and pictures on http://www.snowcrystals.com

For Art Day I wanted to use watercolor techniques which is something we don't do very often. I like tape resist projects and used strips of painters tape over water-color paper. The paint was inexpensive paint dry disk sets. I attached the paper to the table with the tape. It kept the projects from sliding around and at the same time, it gives a nice kind of matting around the art. We used bigger brushes and I encouraged the use of lighter colors to suggest a snowy day but any color was fine.

The only really note worthy change was that I rotated the paper as the session progressed. That made it easier for people who don't have a lot of reach with their arms and to encourage people to cover that whole page with color.

The pictures dried quickly and then we had the fun of pulling off the painters tape to reveal our designs. I like to back art with poster board pieces to show off the work, make it look a little more finished and to make the paper sturdier and lie flatter.

Our Artists were quite thrilled with their final results.

Don't Stop Believin - Video

When I put a music video up on Leading a Healthy Life it is almost always because something in the song - tune or lyrics, is looping in my head and has meaning for me in the moment. I scheduled a video, Ooh-oo Child to be posted here while I was in the hospital.  I knew I would find it comforting and I did indeed listen to it on a somewhat tearful hospital afternoon. I asked my roommate if any songs would comfort her.  We were both feeling kind of miserable.

The first one to come to Lorri's mind was "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.
Heres to you Lorri. I'm wishing you well.

"Don't Stop Believin'"

Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere

Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere

A singer in a smokey room
The smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on, and on, and on

Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night

Streetlights people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin' somewhere in the night

Workin' hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice just one more time

Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on, and on, and on

Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night

Streetlights people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin' somewhere in the night

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'
Streetlight people

Don't stop believin'
Hold on
Streetlight people

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'
Streetlight people

Ooh-oo Child

For those days when we need encouragement.

Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter

Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter

Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna be easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get be brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna be easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get be brighter

Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter

Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Right now, right now
(You just wait and see how things are gonna be)

101 Year Old and Children Chat

I loved viewing this video.

First I loved the sincerity and honesty of Alice, and of the children. A few people have asked me if I want to live to 100 now that I have worked in a personal care home. My answer is it depends. Alice is my new role model for ageing well.

I think the best part of this video is when Alice makes some comment about ageing and the little boy answers “You’re really old, but you are really good at it.”

Pool Time for Me

I have to do all I can in the next 4 months to get myself in as good shape as possible before this hip surgery.

I have done so much over the past few years to try and keep moving and I think I did pretty well but the past year has frankly been very painful. It is hard to move and my leg does not physically move properly anymore. I have become less active and less mobile every month.

The hip and knee surgery orientation program I attended and now the surgeon stressed that exercise is essential to get the hip and leg muscles as healthy as possible. There is a list of exercises, a video of exactly what exercises they want you to do daily plus the suggestion that walking in water was very beneficial. There were also suggestions that losing weight makes a huge difference both now, during the actual surgery and for recovery.

I have been going to a Wednesday water Tai Chi program sessions for the past year and really love it. That is more stretching and balance time and not really a calorie burner. I am now committing to go to the pool at least 3 times a week but trying my best to go 4 times counting the Tai Chi class. I even paid up and got a city pass for 3 months of unlimited access to the city facilities.

I must admit I have not been at all good about the video set of exercises because it hurts a lot and I really don't care for the start-stop style of the video. Tomorrow I start!

As far as the weight goes. sighhhh. I was a heavy 10-year-old and a very heavy adult. I think I was 11 when I was put on my first diet. I have gained and lost so much weight, tried so many diets and received a lot of support but it is still a big issue. I lost a lot of weight, though not enough, when I got sick 9 years ago and thank goodness I have not gained all that weight back but I did gain back way too much.

What I am going to do for the next 4 months is try and keep my calorie count under control and try to have a lower carb diet and increase the protein. I plan to use the SPARK People online app to count calories and for support. They do a detailed report each day of the nutrition and calories you eat that day. I am surprised to see how far off I am with things like magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium.  We do eat pretty high-quality nutritious meals but it is obvious that on a low-calorie diet you sure have to be very diligent to get the macro and micronutrients to stay at a healthy level.

Who knows, by the end of the summer I might be in less pain, moving better, thinner and with a new wardrobe! 

Then we will see about my knees.

What are you waiting for?

I was recently at a meeting where we had a large group discussion and talked about changes we could implement. It was a bit of an exercise in discussing needs and goals and then coming up with creative solutions. I was happy - that's my kind of thing~

The take away lesson was to take responsibility for the changes you want to see next around you. Try and come up with ideas but don't just stop there. Don't assume it is someone else's responsibility and sit there waiting for things to changes.  Just go for it yourself and make positive change happen.

So what are YOU waiting for? What are you going to do to make a difference?

Let's Draw Recreation Therapy-- Video

I love this little video. It explains in under 3 minutes what I do at work!

One thing the video does not make clear is that we need to make the activities fit the needs of the individuals. My seniors would not be suited to doing a ropes course for a social activity but they do love singing along with an entertainer or having a discussion group and coffee party!

Therapeutic Recreation is not all about fun and games... We look at the person's current abilities and needs as well as their interests, their past hobbies, work history and what new things they might like to try. We use that information to help a person with recovery or to maintain their current skills.

Our main objective is to help people achieve a good quality of life.

TED talk- How my brain injury made me smarter.

I watched this TEDx talk today and it resonated with me. It is about how life changed for a smart woman who suffered a brain injury.  Ann Zuccardy has a blog with the eye catching title... I want my Brain Back. Ah ha! I like her already.

She is a communications expert who had a fall resulting in a Traumatic Brain Injury and she talks about resiliency and what she has learned about creativity and intelligence in her attempts to put her life back together. She promotes pushing your comfort level. Ann learned ways that play, movement and humor could help in her recovery.

She says she became... an "accidental neuroscientist".  How many of us could claim the same title?  It is amazing how much we needed to learn about brains and neuroscience at a time when we felt the least able to focus and learn.



What are your thoughts about this talk?

Key to Happiness - Truly Brave

Thursday, April 2:

 Key to Happiness

What do you think is the key to happiness? Is it being able to overcome a hard time? Laughter?
Maintaining a positive attitude? Tell us what you think and why. #HAWMC


I absolutely love this topic!

 I have spent a lot of time trying to figure this out. I have tried meditation, I have taken up hobbies and looked at so many ways to find the key to happiness myself.  I have attended a variety of workshops and eventually I got guidance from a life coach, Deb Dunn who promotes  laughter yoga, playshops for adults and encourages looking for JOY.



A pink paper Joy flower that I move around from time to time.

 

My daughter took my Joy flower and demonstrated fun for me.

 

I think my natural inclination is toward being a happy person (or I would not be singing crazy songs around campfires with Girl Guides and training to become a Recreation Therapist) but I have also experienced a lot of overwhelmingly sad times where I  found it very difficult to move forward with life. Lets face it, sometimes life can be really awful and as we experience these hard times we need to be sad and mourn for what we have lost. Some people become lost in the pain and the sorrow and have trouble finding their way out. The challenge is how to find a sense of  joy once again. 

I think we have to start with defining happiness. We all  know it when we are feeling it but what is it? Happiness can be defined as satisfaction with life and experiencing more positive emotions than negative ones. This can be very elusive state of being. Happiness or sadness impact your physical and mental well being, and that of those around you. It affects your ability to think, work, parent, sleep make choices and really just about everything about how you interact with your world.

Our Recreation Therapy courses including learning about the benefits of physical activities and mental stimulation but a big part of the training also consisted of learning how to meet all the needs of the individual. A recreation therapist tries to look at 6 different domains of life which are the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, spiritual and sometime vocational domains. This is considered holistic health and looking at the person as a whole results in an increased ability to bring health, peace and satisfaction to their life and yes, even happiness.

Todays blog writing prompt asks if  the key to happiness in being able to overcome
 a hard time. No I don't think so. Overcoming a hard time might give you pride and might make a difference in your circumstances but the sense of accomplishment is what is really making all the difference,-- It is an internal sense of personal value.

 I think happiness is not so much something to pursue as something to be open to. In the hard times you need to look for those moments of joy. You need to look for the adorable puppy, the smiling face, the sunny day. You need to be a person who look back on your life with forgiveness and remembers the happy moments. You need to be realistic and accept the bad things that have happened but you don't need to dwell on what that was like. You need to smile, sing, laugh, dance, hug, think new ideas and be a friend. You need to look for Joy and embrace it when and where you find it.

Here is the power of FUN!

Please look at this great video that features young cancer patients. When peoples lives are changed by an illness or injury what we need is to claim back bits of normal life, normal play!

Cyndi Lauper and Sara Bareilles, combine their songs 'True Colors' and 'Brave' to produce a song to raise money for the fight against pediatric cancer.

The Butterfly Circus

Have you ever watched a butterfly emerge from it's cocoon? I sometimes see that happen with Monarch butterflies at our cottage in lake country. These yellow, white and black caterpillars eat milk-weed like crazy and then form a rather webby cocoon  that changes into an inert looking  green chrysalis. Ten days later, out it comes as a wet soggy bug. It sits there and it's wings gradually pump up and unfurl. It is now a gorgeous orange creature that flies!

What a wonderful inspiring process and what a story of resilience! It starts out as one thing and becomes something very different but wonderful. The caterpillars eat a plant that is hard to consume and is quite toxic to many creatures but that same poison in the milk-weed makes those butterflies kind of toxic to birds that wants to eat them. They display their lovely bright colors as a warning to predators and basically announce to the world that they are tough little survivors.

One of my dreams is to follow the migrating monarchs from Canada to Mexico where some of the them over winter. They can fly 3,000 miles to exactly the same tree where previous generations overwintered. There is one of these spots pretty close to an international Girl Guide and Girl Scout center and some of my Guiding friends have gone to see this magical spot.  One lady told me about her experiences in Mexico. She said the walk up the trail into the forest is fairly difficult but she though that if you take your time, even with a cane, you can eventually get up to where thousands of butterflies are located.

When I  get tired of walking, or going up the stairs I sometimes think that there is no point in doing all this work  and rehabilitation with so little return. Then I picture that caterpillar chomping away on milkweed and the miracle of the chrysalis followed by that 3,000 mile journey.

Someday ... I am going to follow them from my cottage and walk up that forest trail in Mexico  to see a miracle of nature.


Below is a short award winning video featuring the inspiring Nick Vujicic. I hope you enjoy The Butterfly Circus.

Just a Little Heart Attack- video

I think this is a great video.
Would you recognize the signs that someone might be having a heart attack?

Remember to take good care of yourself~

Sorting Papers

I am sorting through recipes, scraps of paper with addresses, magazine articles and greeting cards and a lot of notes that were written to jog my faulty short term memory. During the first couple of years after I got sick I  picked up every health care pamphlet and every more or less inspirational message I could find.

With my wavering cognitive abilities at the time I had trouble determining what to keep and what to throw out so I kept a lot of boxes and zip lock bags full of random items. I did not know who or what to believe in as I experienced the uncertainty of my illness. I did find a lot of comfort in my religious beliefs.

Today I found a little scrap of brown paper, torn from the corner of a fast food bag, where I had written the words:

 

"Kyrie Eleison- Down the road that I must travel".

I have no recollection of writing this little note to myself but it still resonates very strongly with me. Life can be a pretty hard road with a lot of uncertainty and fear but here are lots of wonderful joyous moments too. Kyrie eleison... means Lord have Mercy and is part of the church services I have attended since childhood.

The song I will have remembered these words from  is Kyrie
The lyrics are by John Lang and the music by Richard Page and Steve George and were performed by Mr Mister.

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night

I also especially like the lyrics-- my heart is old, it holds my memories. These boxes of papers are not going to fill in my confused memories from that period of my life. The things that are important to know are already held within my heart.





The wind blows hard against this mountain side,
across the sea into my soul
It reaches into where I cannot hide,
setting my feet upon the road

My heart is old, it holds my memories,
my body burns a gem like flame
Somewhere between the soul and soft machine,
is where I find myself again

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light

When I was young I thought of growing old,
of what my life would mean to me
Would I have followed down my chosen road,
or only wished what I could be

My Local Stroke Recovery Association was on the News

I often talk about what an important place my local Stroke Recovery Association has been for me. I was not getting out of the house and I was not really sure what was to become of me. I was isolated and uninformed. One night, at about 3 am, I was awake as usual and being miserable. I saw an advertisement for a national stroke recovery organization, Stroke Recovery Canada, -- and it gave their web address. I looked it up and was really surprised to find there was a group here in Winnipeg. It took me a couple of weeks and a lot of staring at the web site before I finally got up the nerve to phone. I had a nice chat with the director and I was encouraged to come to a little tea that was planned to celebrate Stroke Recovery Month in Manitoba. I told my eldest daughter about my phone call and she hauled me off to the stroke recovery center for a quick visit to check the place out. It was much smaller than I expected but very welcoming.

 

The following event  I went to was their BBQ fundraiser. I thought it wouldn't hurt to support this organization that I suddenly seemed to have some kind of connection with. I thought the least I could do was buy a hot-dog from them and I actually had fun.

That was three and a half years ago. Thanks to the Manitoba Stroke Recovery Association I have been able to push myself forward in a safe and supportive atmosphere. I have learned to laugh at some of my issues with other stroke survivors who are living through similar experiences. I have received lots of good advice, shared resources and occasionally I have had people hug me through a few tears. I have regained some of my shattered self-esteem and I have made wonderful new friends.

Recently a local news station came down and did a video at our office. They interviewed my friend Candace about her personal experience with Stroke Recovery and she gave a lovely and touching interview. Candace had recovery problems similar to mine and she always encouraged me to keep trying.  I saw her progress and I too had hopes for a better future. If you watch the video you will see a lot of my other friends in the background and you will see what my home away from home looks like. You will also see a very short clip of the Tai Ji exercise group I attend most Fridays. I missed being there when the film crew was at the center.

I was not able to embed the video into my blog, so I really hope you will click on over and watch this short news video. Please look for the article called "Community Connection: Stroke Recovery Association" and this picture of Candace. 

CTV television in Winnipeg

Reasons to Exercise

I am posting this video while missing my beloved Tai Ji class. I have a cold, feel rotten and I am probably contagious.

Here is a video that puts health improvement so simply!
 I wish I could draw like that!

Does anyone else have a free half hour a day?

Encouragement

Impossible?

It has been a while since I posted a music video. I find that lyrics or a melody sometimes run through my mind and they can help me in sorting out my feelings. Music affects my attitude. I like to try to "sing" positive and it helps me to think positive.

I love this song. I heard it for the first time in the background of  The Biggest Looser this week and  I just had to hunt down what the music was. The song is called "Impossible" by Kate Earl.

We have recently been talking about not blithely accepting predictions about limitations on recovery.  I think this song is right on topic. This song also addresses the role of support in our lives. Our loved ones and friends, medical workers and therapists, and even wonderful online friends can encourage and support us with their actions, words and prayers.

Bob.... thanks for always being right beside me.

Movie Day at the Stroke Recovery Association

We decided to have a Movie Day at SAM (Stroke Association of Manitoba) 

The decision was made to try having a movie event in the afternoon because so many of our members are free during the day. On the other hand many family members would not be able to attend at that time but we have to start somewhere. The movie Date Night was chosen because it seemed funny and like it might have an appeal to people who like an action show as well as people who enjoy romantic comedy.

We made some posters to put up around SAM, made popcorn, picked up some pop and rented the movie. Amongst other things, we learned that microwave popcorn is hard to make in an older microwave you are not used to. Next time I think would buy pre-popped popcorn and just relax at the event instead of worrying about how long to cook popcorn.

Our biggest challenge was that we had a large wall mount TV purchased recently and it was not yet installed on the wall. We went back and forth about getting a date to install it and we really appreciated Peter getting in installed on the wall for us.  The TV looks good and it we thing we will be getting more use of it with time. We don't have cable into the space so we can't actually watch TV, but we have lots of DVDs and videos.   We are hoping to get cable some time in the future. A few of us can picture the fun of Grey Cup and Super Bowl and a few of us would like together to see the Oscars and other broadcasts as a group. There is a fair bit of interest is watching curling too.

We didn't have a huge group attending our first Movie Day but everyone who did attend seemed to have a really good time. We are thinking this would make a good seasonal event and plan on doing it again perhaps in the Fall.

On Bubbles and Forcefields

I saw a link to this video on the American Stroke Association's latest online Magazine edition; Stroke Connection December 2010.

What a wonderful view this lady has! She is a survivor and she is not taking it for granted!

On Bubbles and Forcefields

Video- My name is Lisa

The stress on the family is tremendous when a member is affected by cognitive impairment.
This is a very moving video.

Here is a link to the Canadian Alzheimer's Organization. This is a very good site with lots of useful info on Brain Awareness and Healthy Brain advice that is a little more generic and reaches beyond Alzheimer issues.