Headway Newsletter : May 2006 Editorial For me, personally, it has been a difficult month with bad news about the failing health of friends and a number of funerals to attend. We have been very fortunate at Headway as our psychologist, Linda Hiles, has very wisely organised for each member of staff to receive one-on-one counselling from a very experienced Life Line counsellor. Linda recognises that it is often difficult for us to work in an environment in which people are dealing with the many traumatic issues which follow brain injury and strokes, and we must not allow ourselves to become overwhelmed and even depressed.. Being able to "offload" to a sympathetic person is enormously helpful and we encourage carers and family members to use this facility at Headway in the form of our Support Groups. Despite the negative aspects of Headway work, every member of staff looks forward to being part of the process of helping our members and their families to bear and to share the burden, and there is no-one who visits Headway House without remarking on what a happy, positive place it is. We pay tribute to our dedicated, caring staff! Veronica Welcome….. Prakashan Naidoo has joined the Headway Family this month and we extend a warm welcome to him. Obituaries …… We record with sadness the passing of three Headway friends this month. We had much to be thankful for in having Westville Rotarian Mike Strong as a supporter of Headway-Natal. Mike was our link to Community Care Centres (the old Natal Lotto/Operation Jumpstart) and it was largely his interest in disabilities that ensured the support we received from this organisation. Operation Jumpstart funded the alterations to Headway House in 1999 and the addition of the new wing we call our Physiogym. Mike had energy that belied his years and a deep concern for humanity. His Rotary work is legendary as well as the huge amount of input he gave to the Westville Community Forum (which focuses on crime prevention amongst other matters important to the wellbeing of the local community), and the Queensburgh Cheshire Home has much to be grateful for in having Mike on its executive committee. Mike's devotion to Headway lives on (see more below). We also heard the sad news that Lynn Price had passed away. During the time that her son, Mark Ollerenshaw, was an attendee and keen participant in our bee-keeping project, Lynn gave up much of her time to Headway and was a great campaigner in fighting for the rights of brain injured people to have their place in society. Aileen Salmon had been a regular volunteer at Headway for a number of years until ill-health made it difficult for her to continue. She was particularly patient and gentle with some of our more disabled attendees and we valued her support very much. Aileen continued to visit whenever she could, dropping off jumble and coins she had collected for our "Funny Money" jar. Our thoughts are with the loved-ones who must be feeling the loss so acutely of these three special people. Community Care Centres Visitors to Headway during May have been surprised to see a building rapidly rising out of the ground next to the Physiogym. The immediate reaction to the sight of the work has been joy that we may be extending our premises, but we hasten to advise them that this is not the case! What is really happening is this: Community Care Centres are reaching the end of the lease at the end of June on the premises they rent in Westville, and it was agreed that they should build their own offices in our grounds to our mutual benefit. They will be assisting with some of the expenses related to "house-keeping" and we feel sure that it is going to be a pleasure having CCC in close proximity. (We also thank CCC for putting their faith in our Outreach Project, Zimele Molweni - the building of classrooms for the Special Needs children there has been hampered by some red tape but we are confident that the classrooms will be ready for occupation within the next few months.) Therapy News Psych Dept We are delighted to report that Linda now has help in the Psychotherapy Department with the arrival at Headway of Despina (Despi) Papanicolaou who has taken over some of Linda's workload on Fridays. We warmly welcome Despi and hope that her association with us is a long and fruitful one. Occupational Therapy Dept Volunteer Bronwyn Jones is now working for money, not love! Bronwyn has joined a busy OT practice and we wish her success and fulfilment in her new job (and once again thank her for all the time she gave to us at Headway). OT Debbie reports: Can you believe it is June already? We have had a fun-filled and busy May with a strong emphasis on productivity. The Hamburger Competition prompted spirited rivalry, with each group trying hard to outdo one another. Everyone learnt how to make hamburgers from scratch, adding their own ingredients to tickle the tastebuds and to try to impress the judges. We are presently fundraising for our OT department in an effort to purchase craft materials for therapy activities, and with the Headway Craft Market in October very much our focus. One way we are trying to raise funds is to sell bead-kits for making one's own special items, (speak to either Debbie or Zipho for details) and we will be holding a Cake Sale on Tuesday 20 June so if you could bake or donate a cake, we would very much appreciate it. All the funds raised from the Cake Sale will be put towards buying craft materials - and we can't wait to get busy with all the exciting things we want to make, so PLEASE SUPPORT US! The PAWS are now regular visitors and bringing much pleasure to us all. Camilla (Handler : Sue) and Mishka (Handler : Irene) are to be sincerely thanked for dedicating so much time and love to Headway and are to be admired for their work in therapy assisted activities. Please note that our TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) Support Group has moved from Thursdays to Mondays from 12.00 to 1.00 p.m. Physiotherapy Department Gillian Adams has been giving us regular Physiotherapy reports but this month we were fortunate to pin down one of our other physios, Pam Dawson, who gave us this most comprehensive and informative report: With National Stroke Awareness Week just around the corner, I felt it appropriate to discuss Physiotherapeutic intervention in the rehabilitation of a patient recovering from a "stroke" or "CVA" (cerebro-vascular accident). Early Intervention (Normally in hospital) Often a stroke patient experiences chest complications as a result of being unable to cough effectively. Chest Physiotherapy in the form of nebulisation, percussion, vibrations and cough stimulation is of paramount importance. In the early stages, the patient's muscle tone is normally reduced, hence positioning (in bed or in a comfortable chair) is very important. Part of positioning includes placing pillows strategically to eliminate pressure areas as well as placing things such as lockers/bed-side tables on the affected side to encourage midline orientation and use of the affected arm. Daily passive movements of all joints involved form an integral part of therapy to keep joints from stiffening up. Gentle exercises include: Rolling - so that the patient will be able to assist in bed-making Bridging - for the patient to assist in bed-pan activities "Clasp-hand" exercise - to facilitate movement of the affected shoulder and elbow. Intermediate Intervention Management in the early stage continues, plus the following area done: Facilitation of the patient into sitting over the edge of the bed and early balance facilitation whilst in this sitting position. Early transfers - bed to chair and chair to bed, through sitting (or through standing if the patient can manage). Late Intervention Again, management from early and intermediate stages continues, in addition to the following: 1. Transfers: Bed to chair, chair to bed, (through standing if managed) and sitting to standing, standing to sitting. 2. Muscle tone normalisation: mat-work (weight-bearing activities, tapping, shaking, stretching, passive movements. 3. Balance: mat-work (4 point kneeling, 2 point kneeling, half-kneeling); sitting and standing balance (weight transfer, marching, rhymthic, stabilisation, etc.). 4. If shoulder pain exists: gentle passive movements, ice, ultrasound, intermittent support with a sling, TENS (electrical stimulation) etc. 5. If low muscle tone exists: Peripheral Neuro-muscular Facilitation (PNF) techniques may be used to increase muscle tone and strengthen the limb/s. However, spasticity seems to be the norm for the late stages and hence techniques described in (2) above are more applicable: 6. Gait/Walking: Facilitation of walking should take place with the patient always approached from the affected side. Walking aids (tripod/walking frame) should be used as little as possible. If the patient is really not going to be a functional walker, a wheelchair might be considered. 7. Upper limb function: Mobilisation, active movements, fine motor co-ordination. 8. Gross motor co-ordination: Walking on a line, step-ups, figures of eight, hopping. This involves more use of the lower limbs and depends on the level of function of the patient. 9. The most important part of rehabilitation is to train the patient to achieve maximum function, i.e. functional walking, stairs, inclines, personal care, feeding, wheelchair function (if patient is wheelchair-bound) etc. What is of huge importance is that the above provides us with guidelines only: each patient is different and presents with different symptoms. The patient must therefore be carefully assessed and the programme tailored to the patient's needs, with the main aim being OPTIMUM FUNCTION! (As reported in the April newsletter, Gillian is away in Istanbul at the moment presenting her Masters Research paper at the Medical Hydrology Conference - we are very proud of Gill and hope she lets all those international delegates know a little about Headway back home in Durban!) Official Opening of Hydrotherapy Pool The function to officially launch Hydrotherapy in our Headway pool took place on Thursday 11 May. A number of interested parties were invited to be at Headway at 11.15 to see Hydrotherapy in action and to participate in light refreshments (prepared by our attendees in the Headway kitchen). We were pleased to welcome Olwen Thunder and four of her staff from Thunder & Way Physio practice at Westville Hospital, Denzil and Priscilla Hill from Parkinson's Support Group, Marietjie Dercksen from her Physio Practice in Westville, Nina Strydom of the Entabeni Rehab Unit, Brian Robinson of Sheer Mobility (QASA) and Mamba P Bhagwandas and Nureshka Narisamulu of Workers Accident & Rehab Centre (WARC). The VIP of the event was Megan Caminsky representing The Victor Daitz Foundation who are sponsoring the establishment of Hydrotherapy at Headway. Kylie Griffin was also visiting as a representative of the Nicky Mitchell Trust. Physiotherapist Gillian Adams began the proceedings by explaining the advantages of Hydrotherapy in the rehabilitation process and then demonstrated with, first Mildred Cele and then Tim Pekarik, the various ways in which movement, co-ordination and balance can be improved in the water. The water temperature is being kept at around 32 degrees but the cost of the electricity to achieve this is cause for concern and we need to encourage more "outsiders" to hire the pool for their therapeutic workout. We do hope to see at least some of the visitors to the launch booking their clients for some Hydrotherapy sessions at Headway House. National Stroke Awareness Week The Athena Cultural Club at TAFTA in Aliwal Street invited Veronica to give a talk in recognition of National Stroke Week and, as always with senior citizens, the audience was very receptive and easy to talk to. It is rewarding for Headway to be actively taking steps to help the public to be aware of CVA's (strokes), how to prevent them, to know the warning signs and what to do if one occurs. Our programme of talks and awareness scheduled for the first week of June (full details were given in the April newsletter) will, hopefully, spread this information to a few more members of the public. Calling all Volunteers! We currently have a very comprehensive and specific list of volunteers needed to make life easier at Headway for the staff, therapists and for our very dear attendees and clients. If you have a couple of hours a week to spare, perhaps you would consider giving your time to help at Headway in, what we believe, to be a home-from-home atmosphere! We would love to have help in the following areas: 1 x Rose (to help with updating Resources) 2 x Physiotherapy (assistance with Hydrotherapy) 2 x Psychology (preferably with some psych background) 2 x OT Dept (help with outings every 2nd Friday) 1 x Headway Shop (helping volunteer Marlene) 2 x Drivers (driving the Condor to and from Northbay Lodge in Durban North - no special licence required) 1 x Woodwork (very basic expertise required). PLEASE give this request your serious consideration and if you know of anyone who is interested in becoming a volunteer, please let them know of our needs. Contact Ryan or Debbie at the Headway office. Thanks for Donations this month Membership renewals brought in some extra R40 donations and we thank Caspar Labuschagne, Gori Noormahomed, Jenni Kriste, Kevin Hollinshead and Sharon Shevil for this great support. We also appreciate the generosity of those who added on even more to their membership subs: Dr Ann Watts and Paula Odendaal (R140 each) and P Truter (R60). Ubuntu Community Chest has increased its monthly donation to R3 334 this year which is an enormous help. A further amount of R2 890 came in from various Anon-y-Mice and the staff of Woodhead, Bigby & Irving once again made a collection on our behalf and donated R322. Thank you one and all!! Friendship Pledges brought in a total of R390 and we thank Dain van der Reyden (who has been supporting us every month for years!), Natal Accounting Services, Brian Dangerfield and Walter Pippan. Are there any more people who care about Headway who would like to make a small monthly contribution? It helps so much to have regular income. More Thankyou's The Rotary Anns of Westville have been supporting Headway for a long time and every year they very kindly select an item from our Wish List and purchase it for us. The funds they had available this year were just sufficient to purchase a new garden bench to replace the existing one which is rapidly disintegrating, but thanks to some "shopping around" to get good prices and dealers with a sound sense of social commitment, the Anns purchased two beautiful wooden benches which now enhance our pool area. Thanks ladies - we know how hard you have to work to raise funds for all the charities you support and we are very grateful! We also thank Kevin Donaldson of KMD Air who very generously donated and fitted two air conditioners this month - a small one for Ryan's office and a larger one for the Sewing Room. It was thanks to Miravan that this happened as they asked Kevin to pass on their aircons to us when they were upgrading. Headway House is gradually becoming a cool place to be! Special thanks to Jenny Stanley, leader of 1st Berea West Cub Pack for the fantastic donation of 38 dozen eggs for our Outreach Project! The children at Zimele were given a very special treat of scrambled eggs for breakfast one day and curried eggs for lunch another. As always, our Headway friends are constantly thinking of us and this month was no exception! We were given a great variety of things from crutches and medication to computer hardware, household goods and stationery by the following people: Tessa Karsing, Glenda Kirkiridis, Linda Hiles, Mrs Larson, Shelley & Leo Grobler, Coral Willcox and Mrs Naidoo. Our thanks to you all - as you know we promise to find a home for everything donated to Headway. Fund Raising Sales of Crafts continue to be most encouraging which is a tribute to OT Debbie and her team - R478.00 was raised this month! Shop Sales brought in R465.00 and we record here our gratitude to volunteer Marlene Smith for making it possible for Headway to raise funds from our donated second-hand goods. Other amounts helping to keep us solvent were raised from Book Sales (R406), Paper Recycling (R102 - thanks to everyone for supporting this project and please keep it coming!); and R250 from various other small projects. Rocky van Eyssen has been working hard to organise a Golf Day in aid of Headway - this will take place on Thursday 1 June and a report will be given in the next newsletter. Information Corner Depression As touched on in the Editorial, circumstances surrounding brain injury can lead to depression both for the survivor and the carer. It is important to recognise this so that you can start to work on ways to change some things and empower yourself to deal with the negative feelings you may have. Just a few ideas on what to do to help with depression …… Take a look at your diet - are you eating a balanced diet or are you eating incorrectly and not getting the nourishment you need? Avoid using alcohol, smoking or Over-the Counter medication as a crutch. These can make you feel better temporarily but can worsen depression. Are you getting enough exercise? It is not necessary to join a gym - you can walk with a friend or walking club. Swim (try the Headway pool!). Relaxation - join a yoga or meditation class. Try an aromatherapy massage. Be kind to yourself. Remember that feeling better can take time. Keep occupied by doing a jigsaw or crossword puzzle, listening to music, watching TV etc. Try to plan a daily routine. Share your feelings with people you trust. Don't be ashamed to ask for and accept help and remember that seeking help is a sign of strength, not a weakness and is the first step to feeling better. Join a Support Group! Good News for Chocaholics!! I don't know why it is that whenever I see an article relating to chocolate, I zero in like a SCUD Missile! Well, of course I DO know why - it's because I am seriously addicted to it! If you also love chocolate and are hoping that it's not all bad - read on!. Editor Cocoa, the basic ingredient of chocolate helps to lower Blood Pressure and, eaten in small amounts, can prevent blood clotting. The key is small amounts and quality is everything! Choose a good quality dark chocolate with high levels of cocoa solids (look for brands that boast about their cocoa levels). Get the best of both worlds by getting your chocolate fix from dark chocolate coated brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are packed with the powerful antioxidant selenium, which boosts the immune system and can contribute to a healthy heart. IMPORTANT NOTICE: It has become necessary for us to now strictly enforce the rule that appointments not cancelled 24 hours prior to the allocated time will be charged for. It is simply not possible for Headway to absorb the cost of a therapist whose client has cancelled. This will become effective from 26 June 2006 following the issuing of invoices for therapies. Points to Ponder A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you are in deep water. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night? Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks? Scratch a dog and you'll find a permanent job. No-one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car. There are no new sins …. the old ones just get more publicity. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 a.m. It could be a right number. Think about this… No-one ever says "It's only a game" when his team is winning. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap. Be careful reading the fine print…. there's no way you're going to like it. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket. To err is human …. to forgive, highly unlikely.

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