Participants marked a significant anniversary for a program to better the health of those living with chronic diseases.
The April 22 event celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Strides to Better Health program, an initiative of Prairie North Health Region that aims to improve the health of those living with heart or lung disease, arthritis, diabetes, those recovering from strokes and other illnesses and conditions.
The sessions are held in the Battlefords, Lloydminster and Meadow Lake, with the local sessions held Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Alex Dillabough Centre.
There are upwards of 75 people participating in the program. Participants are aided by trained professionals and volunteers.
Many of the participants are referred by health professionals or can refer themselves by contacting a PNHR chronic disease nurse educator.
The focus of the program is on walking and exercise so that participants build their strength back up, as well as on providing tips on ways to self-manage their conditions through good nutrition and managing their stress.
Prairie North nurse educator Michele Grasby noted participants would progress from “barely able to walk a lap, very scared” when they first started, to being very confident in their ability to walk two or three kilometers after being there a few weeks.
“The progression happens actually quite fast once they come regularly,” said Grasby. “We see huge improvements in people with their physical and mental health.”
The physical activity that is part of the program helps in the recovery process and reduces the risk factors like high blood pressure and cholesterol.
But participants who attended the celebration event at Alex Dillabough Centre could point to another important benefit as well — a mental one.
“It helps a lot,” said Naty Keys. She is a heart attack survivor, like a good number of others enrolled in the Strides program.
Keys said she “learned a lot about being health conscious” in the program, but also noted it allows participants to make friends with other people looking to overcome similar health issues of their own.
As a result, there is strong support. “With people who have had similar conditions, they know how to say things to you that will help you,” she said.
Joanne Klima, who suffers from COPD, said her illness had challenged her to the point she wanted to give up on life.
She said she didn’t attend Strides often at first, but pushed herself to come. “There was always a good feeling inside, but it took several months before I realized there were so many people here that were helping me. So I started believing in myself and that I needed to give it an extra push to continue to find a purpose to go on with life, and this place gave me the strength to do all that.”
Klima has been involved in the program for a couple of years. She credits the program with literally saving her life.
“It’s given me a second chance at life, it’s given me a purpose in life which I had totally lost,” said Klima. “I just cannot praise this program enough.”
Seeing the improvement in the participants in the program gives those who work in the program on a regular basis a motivational lift as well.
“The people who come are dealing with way more that what we deal with,” said Wendy Verity, exercise therapist with Prairie North, “So it’s really inspiring to see them overcoming their health challenges and still doing the work and the exercise, and really committing to their health.”
