Today is the last day of the balance class Pat and I are taking at Moravian University sponsored by the health department. It's nothing like I thought it would be, but I'm honestly not certain I had a clear idea to start. I thought, I guess, it would just be exercising.
Each week we got a bribe to come back. (Since there was two of us we got two of everything. Several others as well.)
Week 1: Bag, water bottle, pen and book
Week 2: A set of 4 resistance bands (black pouch) These are with my Milly exercise stuff.
Week 3: Another really tough, purple, resistance band. These are with my Milly exercise stuff.
Week 4: Stress/exercise ball. These are with my Millie exercise stuff.
Week 5: Key chain whistle (to call for help if alone.) Maybe I'll hang one on my briefcase/laptop bag for security at night walking across campus. I'm not sure what Pat will do with hers.
Week 6: A set of 2 LED nightlights. One is in the bathroom, one in the garage. The other set is in the cupboard.
Week 7: A suction style grab bar for the tub. We already have one that clamps on the tub so both are in the basement. If you need one, let me know.
Week 8: An emergency kit for the car. I now have the one Vince and his then wife Beth bought me twenty, twenty-five years ago for Christmas, and two new ones. I'm thinking I should give it to a new driver. Old drivers have them.
The book they gave us was divided into weeks. The first two weeks were videos and a lot of talking, testing ... and paperwork. Starting week three we did exercise for about 45 minutes. Mostly
rotation of joints —hips, knees, fingers, wrists, ankles — the places
that are impacted by falls. Strengthening them should help one avoid
falls. Many of these exercise we do with Milly and the chair class at the senior center. But there were new ones too.
After exercise we had very long breaks—sometimes stretching to a half hour — of healthy snacks. You really didn't need to eat breakfast. Fruit, yogurt and these wonderful crackers that are gluten free. Expensive and addicting. Occasionally we had veggies and ranch dip. And Snyder's Honey Wheat Twists. If nothing else I found two snacks Pat will eat without grumbling. The last day we had berry shortcake complete with Reddi-Whip in the can. And it was generic.
The last section was the book. Some reading. Some role play. Some worksheets. Did I learn anything new? Probably not. Perhaps what I learned was the reasons behind things. And the physics of falling. Last week the health department nurse came in and demoed falling and getting up. I'm delighted to report I get up correctly.
I'm passing the book to my friend Angel. Maybe she'll find something new between it's pages.
For homework I had to do a house audit looking for tripping hazards. I think I got a 90%. My big one was my thresholds into the house and between the living room and kitchen. Also we need to get a kitchen mat. I've often thought of doing that. Besides, with how soft my kitchen floor is it will be another barrier to falling thru the floor. The vinyl floor covering can only do so much.
Pat was ready to go at 8:30 this morning for the last class. Golly, I have no idea why. I had to cool her jets till nine and then we went to Target and the gas station to use the time. I was hoping to do it after and get lunch out of her.
The building is the old racquetball club and there are many stairs out front. Each week she says she's not going in the side door, she's walking the stairs. Today we did. I think there was four, then 18, then eight. And when she got to the top she didn't walk inside. She went back down again and walked to the side door. I moved the car. Nothing about this girl makes sense. Like why doesn't she buy clothes that fit—>130 pounds, less than 5 feet, and wearing XXL.
The car emergency kit give away makes sense when you hear about the last class. When we were talking about safety the conversation always turned to "what happens in an emergency". One of the presenters does the preparing for disasters workshops, so today she brought her Powerpoint. There is an amazing amount of stuff that should go in your "to-go" bag and your "ready-kit". Honestly, it will never happen with me. Only 1% of people in Bethlehem are prepared for a disaster. They pointed us to the US ready.gov site and the Northampton County CodeRED site. Also suggested turning on alerts on your phone (not happening--they are all on off) and downloading the FEMA app.
The biggest takeaway was some settings on my iPhone. (I didn't listen to the Android part.) I use the Apple Health app to track my BP, and I have some info in there. But they had us go to Settings>Health. Inside of course I have location turned off. (Okay, I'm a little paranoid about trackers.) Siri is off. (Golly, I hate that noisy *itch.) and notifications turned off. Below that is Medical Details: Health and Medical ID that doctors can access if you have emergency access on. (I do! Shocked, right.?) Health Data has demographic stuff, blood type (I don't know it. A something), skin type (I must ask derm) and whether you use a wheelchair. Basic Stuff.
The Medical ID, much to my surprise was already filled in. Since I have Bonnie marked as ICE, she was my emergency contact. But it must have pulled my medical data from my hospital app. I certainly don't remember typing it.
After that presentation we did the exercises and had break. During break we filled out the evaluations. Then after break they redid all the tests again. I was a half-second faster getting in and out of a chair and walking twenty feet. Then they had us do the cross your arms Wakanda style and rise to standing from a chair. I started at 8 and now I do 10. I probably could have physically done more, but my knees said hell no.
To end the class we all got certificates.
Sunday is drive-by flu shot day at the new LVH Hecktown-Oaks. I'm taking the twins. One better buy me lunch.
