They’ve got moves like Jagger!

(Langley, VA) Whether they are 25 or 85, stroke survivors in Langley have got the moves like Jagger.

Marilyn Pittico, stroke support facilitator, said her group of stroke survivors which meets at Walnut Grove Community Centre are seeing amazing physical progress because they love grooving to the sounds of top 10 songs like Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger and Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know.

It all started because Pittico couldn’t find the right exercise DVD to use with her group.

“It’s good to exercise, but there was either terrible music or outdated exercise tapes, or the music was too fast,” said Pittico.

“Then one day I thought I would let them listen to the music I like that I had on my iPad. I put on “Moves like Jagger” and they came to life.”

One of the stroke survivors who has been attending Pittico’s Wednesday sessions for years is just now able to lift his legs up to put his shoes on. His wife credits his enjoyment of the music used in their exercises.

“We have choreographed moves. It truly is a chair dance,” she said. “We are doing something that nobody else is doing.”

She also plays Katy Perry’s Firework.

“They just love the music. We play some of the older stuff, too, like Sugar Sugar, but the new music is a hit,” she said.

Pittico will soon mark 18 years of running the Langley Stroke Recovery Group, which includes all ages, and a group she created for young stroke survivors after she found that more and more young adults were having strokes.

Now she’s ready to take the next step, under a new umbrella called Langley Community Support Groups Society.

“This makes it so decisions can be made here in Langley and it allows me the growth to take on some extra responsibilities,” she said. “We can be creative and think outside the box, like with the chair dancing.”

Pittico wants to open up the groups to others who would otherwise not connect to community due to physical disability or chronic illness.

“It’s a really supportive, loving environment for so many people who feel isolated or don’t fit in anywhere else,” she said.

People who have Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, mild brain injuries, early dementia and other disabilities could be welcome to join her groups. She also wants to eventually open up a group for caregivers so they can find some relief, too

While there is a caregiver’s group that meets at the Seniors Centre in Langley City, Pittico said there is  a need in north Langley so people don’t have to drive so far.

Liz Scrimes has been bringing her husband to the stroke recovery group since 2011 and even though the couple moved to Chilliwack last year, they make the drive once a week.

“My husband has been really connected with this group. He doesn’t make friends easily, so this has been so good for him,” said Liz.

“It’s three hours that he is there every Wednesday so it gives me a break, too, and allows me to go shopping or visit with old friends.”

Her husband Dan had a stroke at 46 years old. It happened in the shower, where he passed out. Being so young he tried to push past the symptoms and it wasn’t until a few days later that he ended up in hospital.

He has never been able to work since.

“Marilyn has been so great. I don’t know how she does it,” said Liz.

This September, Pittico is opening up an additional speech-only group, available to any adult who has speech or communication difficulties. Although she already offers speech therapy, she can now provide it to others who need it, like those who have MS and Parkinson’s.

“We have no speech therapy in Langley for adults. So right now, after someone is discharged from hospital they have to hire a speech therapist at $150 per hour,” she said.

But in the meantime, she does bring in a speech therapist once a month and employs a speech app on the iPads they use.

Pittico is especially proud of the recruitment of University of Fraser Valley kinesiology and occupational therapy students who have dedicated time to volunteer to work with her groups.

“The huge part of the success of our groups is the mentoring and one-on-one interaction with UFV students. These students are so keen and the value of what they are learning here will help them be better when they go out to work in OT or in phsyio,” she said.

“Often students go into the field only dealing with acute care. Here they get to see they can offer hope and recovery to stroke survivors,” she said.

UFVC student-volunteer Nav Sohi spent two years volunteering with the stroke recovery groups. He now works with Pittico to recruit new student volunteers.

“I got to understand and admire the mindset of a stroke survivor,” said Sohi. “They have been through so much, however they develop the mindset of persistence and acceptance to never stop trying to reach their goal.”

Sohi said Pittico is a key to their successes. “She is a passionate leader who provides such a great community atmosphere.”

The winner of a Women of Excellence award gave up a career in real estate to dedicate her life to helping stroke survivors after caring for her own father who suffered a stroke. After 18 years, she is just as passionate about bringing hope and recovery than ever before.

“I just couldn’t retire and leave the group,” she said. “One of the members said to me ‘You lifted me up when I felt I didn’t fit in anywhere else.’ That gives me even more energy to carry on.”

But to make all her dreams for the program a reality, she needs reliable donors. Langley Cruise-In has been a steady supporter. And the group recently received a donation from realtors from the Langley Homelife Benchmark Realty. She challenges other businesses to do the same. She needs $10,000 to make all her dreams a reality, she said.

(Source: langleytimes.com)