World COPD Day: November 18, 2009
We Are Breathless - Not Hopeless!
TEAM Prairie Lily Update
The outpouring of enthusiasm and energy during this year’s World COPD Day campaign cannot be described!
Following our official kick-off activity in Regina, where the dancers from Sole’d Out Dance Company entertained the crowd during the intermission at the Regina Rams’ university football game on October 30th, Team Prairie Lily was off and walking! Although a number of our people with COPD preferred to wait until they had received their H1N1 vaccination, others participated in such activities as bowling, walking, cycling, step climbing, aerobics, circuit training, ball sculpture class, yoga, weight lifting, jogging, strength training, grocery shopping, house cleaning, football, curling, arm ergometry, tai chi, pilates, rowing, swimming – to mention but a few of the many activities performed during this event! In total, Team Prairie Lily logged over 8100 kms of activity, translating into a walk along the TransCanada Trail that extended from the coast of British Columbia in to Ontario. For a breakdown of totals documented by our participating local teams, please see the diagram at:
Team Prairie Lily overview chart (2009).
In addition to the few pulmonary rehabilitation programs that are available in the province for people suffering from COPD and their supporters, we welcomed newcomers to the annual event – Kelsey Trail Health Region program and the Shaw Centre, our latest addition to the Saskatoon group of programs. Although participant numbers were lower this year, we were able to accumulate over 8000 km-worth of activities in 10 centres throughout the province!
Increased awareness about COPD and the devastating toll it takes on both the people diagnosed with it as well as their families was evident in a number of communication outlets: an article announcing the kick-off events appeared in the Martensville Messenger; an interview of the event was aired on Regina’s Talk of the Town segment with Access Communications; COPD messages on 7 road signs in the Kelsey Trail Health Region; Moose Jaw Herald reported World COPD Day; Regina Leader Post uploaded the campaign information to their web site; updated information was placed on the Coast2Coast web page of www.sk.lung.ca site; CTV interview aired Nov 9th; and COPD tweets were uploaded continuously on Twitter.
Our very own pulmonary rehabilitation program conducted at the Saskatoon Field House hosted a rip-roaring wind-up event, replete with a square dancing warm-up and culminating in the distribution of the participant certificates! An energizing time was had by one and all who attended. You can view the pictures of this knee-slapping event at: Square Dancing Wind-up Photos link
For an event such as this to be the success that it was, many, many people contributed and deserve a special thank you from the Lung Association:
- Dr. Darcy Marciniuk, Respirologist and COPD Professor, University of Saskatchewan, for contributing the videoclips for the web site Video 1 Video 2, and for hand signing all the participant Certificates of Participation;
- Sole’d Out Dance Company, for providing the half-time entertainment at the kick-off event during the Rams’ football game. The enthusiastic response from the people attending the football game has resulted in a request for a repeat performance at a university football game next year! COPD Day Kickoff Dance;
- ParticipAction for the pedometers that many of our participants used to track their activity;
- For the people affect by COPD who generously shared their stories about what it is like to live with this devastating disease;
- To our local program coordinators who diligently kept track of program participant activities and provided ongoing encouragement;
- And most importantly, we gratefully acknowledge the contribution made by our people suffering from COPD. Even though they are breathless, they are not hopeless!
To learn more about these events and other World COPD activities or to register your activity for the event, visit www.sk.lung.ca and link to www.teamcopd.ca. For more information about COPD, please call the Lung Association of Saskatchewan’s BreathWorks Helpline at 1-866-717-COPD (2673).
Quick links:
- Team Prairie Lily overview chart (2008)
- Wind-Up photos (2008)
- Kickoff photos (2009)
- Kickoff photos (2008)
- Participant profiles
- Participation across the country: www.teamcopd.ca
