June is Stroke Recovery Month and the Prince George Stroke Recovery branch invites everyone to their open house Wednesday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Elder Citizens Recreation Centre, 1692 Tenth Ave.
"During the open house, we will be displaying our exercise equipment, and some of the members will demonstrate, maybe," said Julia Cook, program coordinator of the non-profit organization established in 1981. On display will be the crafts the members have done as part of their recovery.
"We will have our album on display - our history book," said Cook.
Currently there are a dozen members in the local stroke recovery branch including stroke survivors as well as caregivers and volunteers. The group is a member of Volunteer Prince George and gets volunteers from the College of New Caledonia's English as a second language students, Cook added.
"Everybody is invited to come to the open house, especially those who have had a stroke or a family member has had a stroke and we've invited groups around town who support us," said Cook. The United Way, Ladies of the Moose, and the Ladies Auxiliary to the Legion, have been invited, Cook added.
Typically during a weekly Wednesday morning meeting the members of the group will do range-of-motion exercises, have a snack .
"Or we do a craft or brain aerobics or we go downstairs and floor curl or play bocce," said Cook. "There are also presentations that we listen to like Fall Prevention, Do All Bugs Needs Drugs, and how to avoid getting the flu. We also have a computerized speech maintenance program available but none of our members use it right now. We have a Wii Fit game that we use in the winter, when we can't get outside. We also go over to the Seniors Fitness Park over at Masich Place and we also do Tai Chi."
At the seniors' centre, there's a raised garden plot that the stroke recovery branch uses to grow herbs. They dry and sell the herbs and donate the proceeds in order to support the Elder Citizens Recreation Centre, said Cook.
People are welcome to check them out at the open house while enjoying muffins and coffee or tea, Cook added.
