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La historia de Pat
“Estoy muy orgulloso de mí, porque este no soy yo. Estaba decidido a no permitir que estos desafíos físicos me llevaran a una profunda depresión. Todos en la clase. Están histéricos. Me lo paso muy bien. Siento que mi vida depende de poder mantener esta rutina. Sé cuánto necesito estar aquí”.
Mi marido iba a venir a la Y. Empecé a venir pensando que podía hacer ejercicio, pero no era así. Dawn (Centro de Bienvenida) me interesó en la clase de ejercicios acuáticos. Ella seguía recordándome. Tienes que registrarte. Le recordó persistentemente a Pat "debes registrarte temprano". Comenzó en la Y el año en que se jubiló. Han pasado un par de años. Después de jubilarme, compré una bicicleta. En invierno venía aquí a la Y y montaba en bicicleta todos los días durante casi una hora. Luego tuve un “mal año”. Me reemplazaron la cadera. Me rompieron el fémur. Enero de 2017 en el Nuevo Centro Ortopédico del Hartford Hospital. La recuperación esperada fue de 6 a 8 semanas.
Overall recovery time with the broken femur was 1 year. Couldn’t go for a walk. Within 3 days after coming home from the hospital she got the shingles. (head, neck, chest). Relationship with Welcome Center staff was critical to getting Pat involved with the Water Exercise Class. Gentle reminders about how competitive the registration process could be encouraged Pat to be sure and be extra early on registration day.
Kitch, “Pat is social and she connects with everybody in the class, but once that class starts, she puts on her work face and she goes. I am so proud of her.”
If the class is full, people can go put their suits on and be ready. If the class is not full that day, drop in participation is allowed with the ability to pay a daily fee at the Welcome Center after class ends.
Pat travels from the shoreline all summer long to attend the water exercise classes at the Y three times a week. My whole life has changed. Pat started riding her bike again this summer 2018. I would not even be thinking of riding my bike if it were not for this class. Everything in my life has changed. I can now walk up the stairs without having to do one step at a time. Last summer 2017, I never went for walks with my next door neighbor. Participating in the class 3x a week has strengthened Pat’s legs. Now I can go for a walk. The instructors make you feel very proud about yourself. They make you feel like you are doing a great job. Everyone here is nice. The custodial staff is nice! Even when you walk by the playground and the preschoolers are outside playing. That’s what this place is all about. People genuinely care about each other. I feel like it’s my second home.
Did you ever get discouraged? I was so ready to make any progress that if I couldn’t do what everybody else in the class was doing, I was okay with that. From the first time I came, it was never a fight. I wanted to come. Pat knew this was going to the be the break she needed. On the first day, she arrived at the Y and discovered she had forgotten her bathing suit. By the time she
got her suit, she was late for class. She knew no one in the class. Pat knew this was going to be the break she needed to get back her life. Everyone says water, water, water. I’m just so happy to be there. I belong there.
Kitch is truly a gift. She brings so much love to that class and so much personality. You never feel like you are out of place even if you can’t do exactly what she is doing. She wants you to just to be there, have fun but she also wants you to learn something. One of the girls said, I go to a balance class that Kitch does at the Senior Center in Middletown.
Pat has had both her knees replaced. Kitch is that star that comes into your life. You are lucky if she comes into your life. She supports all of us. She is very very special. Just getting to know her is an honor and how much she cares, cares about people and cares about the Y.
I’ve never been a strong swimmer and mostly playful in the water at the shore. Last summer 2017, I didn’t go in the water at all because I couldn’t cross the sand.