• 4 •
The Pinecone
|
April 2014
Walk Across Amer ica
Home Again!
LEARN HOWTO PUT PAIN IN ITS PLACE!
Did you know that osteoarthritis (OA) affects more than 27 million people in the United States
and is more common than diabetes? Get the facts about osteoarthritis pain and learn strategies
for controlling and even preventing pain. Together with your doctor, you can create a pain
management plan that can help you get back to doing the things you enjoy. Find out what you
can do to Put Pain in Its Place. National Council On Aging and the Arthritis Foundation have
developed a seminar to educate older adults about OA and how they can put pain in its place.
Kirby Pines will host “Put Pain in Its Place – How to Get Osteoarthritis Pain Under Control”, a
consumer awareness and education program, on April 3 at 10:30 in the Large Card Room. This
program is aimed to arm you with knowledge about osteoarthritis pain, and to prepare you with
strategies to relieve it. Presenters are Chris Palmer LPN, Jason Sparrow OTD, OTR/L
Senior Program Director, RehabCare, and Mary Hand, AF instructor.
Please join us and let us help you put pain in its place.
Walk across America an 8-week
walking program, began on January
6.
Participants kept up with their own
mileage using their new Kirby Pines
pedometers or noting how many steps
or miles they tallied on the Nu-step
or treadmill in the Oasis. Each week
Mary Hand gathered their totals and
calculated how far the group traveled as
a group summing up everyone’s miles
or steps converted to miles (2000 steps
= 1 mile). Each week, the top three
leading walkers were determined and
a random name was drawn for a prize
(
usually a water bottle or walking book).
Our progress was marked on the large
U.S. map in the Oasis which included
a postcard from major attractions we
passed along the way.
Our walk started at the Golden Gate
Bridge in San Francisco and headed
east through Yosemite National Park
for week 1, then on to Las Vegas. Taking
Route 66/ I-40 we passed the west rimof
the Grand Canyon; the Petrified Forest;
Albuquerque, New Mexico; Amarillo,
Texas; Oklahoma and Arkansas over
the next six weeks. At the end of the 8
weeks, our 71 participants (including
Michael Escamilla and “Mike the Light
man”Amsden) walked a total of 2125
miles or 4,250,000 steps, bringing us
right to the doorstep of Kirby Pines,
Home Sweet Home.
Our motivations varied from
weight loss to winning the Grand
prize for the most miles which were 2
tickets to the next Exquisite Cuisine
Dinner. Congratulations to Jacqueline
Besteman, OurGrandPrizewinnerwith
278.84
miles (over a half million steps)
Before the walk was over people began
to recognize her as that whirl traveling
through every hall way several times
each day. She inspired every one with
her determination. Gene Wainscott was
next with a remarkable 254.49 miles
which he earned almost entirely on the
nu-step machine in the Oasis. Another
finisher with a respectable number of
149.5
miles was Pat Mitchell. Every
participant was a winner, increasing
their time on the equipment or
improving how far or long they walked.
Health, fitness, strength, endurance and
balance improved for almost everyone.
To everyone who contributed their
mileage, we thank you for making this
such a great success. I am looking
forward to the next opportunity toWalk
across America.
