Illness can strike at anytime and can affect our bodies in different ways.
Surgeries and treatments can also take a toll on the healing process.
It can take weeks, sometimes even months to make a full recovery and in some cases, a body may never fully bounce back.
Patricia Phillips, 76, got sick about five years ago.
Her muscles are weak and she doesn’t have as much energy as she use to.
“I could swim a mile and I certainly can’t do that anymore,” she said with a laugh.
Being in the water is something Phillips grew up doing and now it’s helping her body heal.
She’s in the aquatic therapy program, run through Alberta Health Services.
“What it aims to do is build strength, relive pain, reduce stress, help with balance and coordination and just to give people a meaningful activity in their life again,” said recreation therapist, Ashley Hunt.
Hunt works in the water with patients and helps them move in a way that’s comfortable.
“We do things like walking in the water, has resistance so that gives them a better exercise,” she said. “We do side lunges, we work on our upper body and lower body strength.”
“By the time you’re finished, you know you’ve had a workout!” Phillips said.
It’s not like a typical aqua fit program.
The individual sessions means more one-on-one time with an instructor and is geared towards anyone with a chronic condition or disability.
“It’s wonderful,” Phillips said. “I always hoped that I was going to get back into the water again … I’m still not strong enough to go and do a regular aquasize program.”
“It’s sometimes more high impact so with a program like this, we are individualizing it to the participant, so we go at their own level and their own pace,” said Hunt.
Each program runs for a few weeks.
After that, the hope is that participants are able to join a modified community program, or continue working on their own.
Phillips may never get her body’s ability back to where it was, but she’s already seen the improvements she’s made.
“I think I breathe better from this exercising and I know I’m using muscles that I didn’t use before,” she added.
Being able to see those improvements is all the motivation she needs to keep swimming.
