For one magical week at the beginning of the month Rosefield Centre was transformed into Sochi, the site of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
There was no snow but there were the sounds of competition, coupled with the joy of victory and celebration of physical activity.
ìWe are actually celebrating therapeutic recreation week,î said Kerry Williams, recreation therapy assistant at Rosefield Centre, a continuing care facility for seniors. ìWith the Olympics coming up we decided to turn this into a week of fun for the residents.î
Competitions were modified for the patients and gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded to the winners. Williams explained that an Olympic ski jump became a Hot Wheels jumping track, the bobsled competition became pushing a soap bar across a pipe, and floor shuffleboard became Olympic curling.
In this case, the final event was a hockey game between the patients and staff. Four players sat across from each other on chairs, and used a hockey-type stick padded with socks to hit a beach ball past the goalies who sat at the end.
Penalties were called according to the mood of the moment, and instead of pulling players off the chairs, dark sunglasses were worn to obscure their vision.
The patients won.
ìThis was so much fun,î said Victor Oyejola, physical therapy assistant and losing goaltender. ìEveryone laughed and laughed. We tried to get them engaged in activity, and this was very successful.î
Grace Clark, who was said to be 80-something years of age, was the lone helmeted player. She was also the most prolific scorer. Teammate Ella Ferguson was the most medalled athlete with three. She wore them proudly the entire week.
ìIt is important that our patients remain physically active, and events like this help us keep them moving,î said Williams. ìEvery month we have some kind of fun activity or competition. As a staff, we had so much fun with this week, and many families came to watch. Laughter is healthy, and we all did that this week.î
