66 | March• 2019
BETTER TOGETHER
After being introduced
to Health Connections,
she now attends sev-
eral different activities,
from a Mature Movers
exercise class to a Stroke Club, circuit
training and, of course, the On Track
group. “I’m so lucky,” she says. “I’ve
made some great friends at the clubs
I go to. Life is worth living now.”
Shane, another member of the
group, suffers from a number of
long-term conditions including
fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, asthma
and degenerative spine disease.
But this doesn’t stop her acting as
a community connector and helping
out at a local Talking Café, another of
the Health Connections initiatives. “It
gets you out of the house, so you’re
not stuck at home 24/7 staring at four
walls,” she laughs.andahalf,andjust
talk about anything
and everything,” says
Kathy, who was struck
down by seropositive
rheumatoid arthritis and within two
weeks went from a high-powered
job and weekend car racing to being
confinedtobedathome.
Her medication means she can now
walk on crutches, and her On Track
group has offered another crutch.
“They’re the most lovely bunch of
people,” says Kathy. “I can listen to
what they’re saying and know there
are other people who share the same
struggles.”
Another member of the group,
Patsy, is proof of the variety of help on
offer. She suffered a severe stroke and
aneurysms five years ago, which left
her paralysed for a while. PHOTOGRAPHED BY SAM FROST
T’ai chi is one of
the many group
activities on offer
through the UK-based
Health Connections
initiative