Stroke Recovery News
Issue #2 April 2003
Group Visits
We have had a great response from groups wanting us to visit
and we have booked trips to Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Leduc,
Edmonton, and Camrose. If any of you want Lou and I to visit
and do a presentation please give us a call ASAP as our travel
diary is filling up fast!
New Groups
In 2003 we have started new groups in Fort McMurray and High
River, watch for contact information on our updated web site.
We are meeting with folks in Brooks on April 8th to see what
can be done in that community.
Funding
Good news, all of our funding for the next two years has been
approved and received. This will support all of our activities
at least through December 2004.
Workshop 2003
We have booked confirmed dates for our annual workshop, please
note a change in those dates to Friday October 3 and Saturday
October 4 at the Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel 10155 - 105 Street
in Edmonton. The format will be similar to last year with a
welcome reception on the evening on October 3rd and a full day,
until 3:00 PM, on October 4th. We are trying to have a trainer
come out from Toronto to introduce the Heart and Stroke Foundation
program entitled "Living With Stroke". This is an
exciting 8-10 week series of education sessions for stroke recovers'
and their families. Full details on the workshop will be sent
to you by June 2003, so stay tuned!
Successful Groups-Some Ideas!
In the March/April edition of Stroke Connection magazine there
are some wonderful articles about stroke support groups. Besides
the need for planning, organization and commitment, below are
some of their suggestions for successful stroke support groups:
- Have at least monthly meetings which have four components:
- Educational - experts and practitioners can make the
lives of stroke families easier with pertinent information
- Recognition - recognize persons and acknowledge their
victories, achievements etc.
- Social - Members need time to visit and mingle
- Refreshments - food is always an important component
and is appreciated
- Develop leadership - the current leaders have to develop
the new leaders for the group by asking others to take on
challenging tasks and increased responsibilities.
- Emotional support - groups have a greater impact when they
foster an environment of emotional support through a buddy
system, welcoming committees and peer/visitor programs.
- Information swapping - no one knows all there is to know
about stroke and every stroke is different. Trading information
and brainstorming solutions lessens the workload for new stroke
families and gives the old hands a reason to keep coming to
meetings.
- Resource networking - the collective wisdom, knowledge
and experience of a stroke group is an effective tool that
provides many resources to its members and the community.
Keeping it SIMPLE
The article in Stroke Connection magazine goes on to offer
the SIMPLE process for stroke support groups:
Supportive - ask caring questions; listen attentively to the
answers
Inspirational - reassure others that life gets better
Motivational - encourage action and acknowledge improvement
Practical - offer options, helpful tips and resource information
Educational - talk about what has worked for you and others;
make suggestions; don't give advice.
For those of you who want a subscription to the Stroke Connection
magazine you can write to:
Stroke Connection Magazine
American Stroke Association
7272 Greenville Ave.
Dallas Texas 75231-9955
We have found that they will often send one free subscription
directly to a stroke group.
STROKELINE
The Heart and Stroke Foundation publishes a quarterly newsletter
titled STROKELINE. This offers stories and helpful hints for
stroke families. You can get free copies from:
STROKELINE Newsletter
1920 Yonge Street
4th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4S 3E2
Or see their web site www.heartandstroke.ca
or call toll free 1-888-473-4636
Web Site
Our web site www.strokerecoveryalberta.com will be updated
quarterly with the next updated scheduled for mid April. This
newsletter will be posted on the site.
Group News
We would love to hear from you with stories, information, tips
etc. you want to share with other groups.
Frank and Lou Nieboer
Newsletters are also available for viewing and/or downloading
in pdf format*
* Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view pdf documents. Download
the FREE
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