Transforming Life
from Cloudy to Rainbows: YMCA Healthy Hearts and Active Lives' Impact on Aging Adults
Courtesy of Monroe County YMCA
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our years ago, half of Joe Ferrerio’s body was paralyzed, and he was blind in one eye. He had a fall that caused a subdural hematoma—bleeding outside of and around the brain—and he was told by his doctors he had just one year to regain the mobility he lost or else he would most likely never regain it. Now, at 86 years old, Joe has not only regained the mobility he lost from his fall, but also is able to do things he wasn’t able to before his accident. He shared he wouldn’t be where he is today without the help of the Monroe County YMCA. After Joe’s initial at-home occupational therapy, his doctor referred him to the Healthy Hearts and Active Lives (HHAL) program at our Y. With the help of HHAL Director, Margie Kobow, Joe set out on the next leg of his recovery. Doubtful at first, Joe wondered how he was going to do the exercises other HHAL members were doing. Joe’s wife, Allie, shared in the beginning, “[He] couldn’t get up from the ground [on his own.] He started in a chair and sat in the class while everyone [was] doing [their exercises], and Kay, [a HHAL staff member,] came over and said, ‘oh, you’ll get it, just keep coming every day!’” Joe did keep coming every day, and his dedication completely changed his life. He shared, “At my age, you sit in a wheelchair and be depressed; no creativity and no confidence, that’s for sure. Margie has given me the opportunity to
Visit www.monroecountyymca.org or call (812) 961-2175 to learn how Healthy Hearts and Active Lives can help you.
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get better. [The Y has given me the opportunity to get better by providing me with financial assistance] for the classes that saved my life, as a matter of fact. That’s it. There’s something to look forward to; the rainbow is there, not the clouds.” When asked how HHAL has helped him achieve something he would not have without the program, Joe answered, “I’ve learned late in life that if you try new things, you can do them. [I also now have] the confidence in doing things that I used to do; instead of saying I can’t do them anymore, I can have a good try at them and do them. I guess I’m not looking into the past; I’m looking into the future with confidence.” Joe’s dedication to improving his health is inspiring—he is at the Y five days a week, every single week. As Joe expressed earlier, the Adult Health classes at the Y taking have saved his life. If you are an aging adult who is not a Y member, or if you know someone who would benefit from our Adult Health programming, here’s Joe’s message to you: “Look what you’re missing. You could just repeat a hundred-thousand things that was said here today…Look what you’re missing!”