Submitted by:
Gloria Kutynec |

Another successful Ladies Nite Out was held on Oct 17, 2016 at the Westwood Inn.

The evening opened with President of the Swan River Valley Health auxiliary, Gayle Dunnett welcoming all the ladies in attendance, then the Auxiliary Prayer was recited, as it is at the beginning of every Auxiliary meeting. She brought to everyone’s attention that in the past ten years, the Auxiliary is proud to say that they bought $132,677.00 of equipment for our own Health Facility here in Swan River. This is through the hard work of the volunteers and donations.

With the introduction of the MC, Jen Zamzow, the evening proceeded with very interesting speakers. The first, Lisa Cordileone, who has numerous degrees in psychology, sociology, and social work, and also has acquired much knowledge working with geriatric and mental health; introduced the topic of Dementia and Alzheimers.

Lisa introduced Wanda Sime, the Parkland Regional Coordinator of Alzheimer Society of Manitoba. Dementia is on the rise and the cost of care is in the billions of dollars. She explained some of the different kinds of dementia and the comparison with Alzheimer’s, also the warning signs. Lisa then talked about how it is diagnosed and treated. Wanda concluded with ways to keep the brain healthy with our lifestyles.

During the break with coffee, dessert and socializing; draws were made for the door prizes. The crocus draws were made and the prizes distributed to the winners.

The MC introduced Romy Russel, our local physiotherapist. Romy talked about her profession and how she helps her clients become stronger and more flexible. She then explained how prevention is so important especially to prevent falls. The focus is on improving balance and strengthening core muscles on a daily basis through our activities and challenging our balance.

President Gayle Dunnett then made a tribute from the Auxiliary, to long time member Grace Livingston. Grace has been a member of the auxiliary for 63 years, and has hopes of making 65. Member Lydia Boychuk, with special words of thanks, presented Grace with a bouquet of flowers.

The final speaker of the evening was Pam Nickle, a young farm wife, passionate about using essential oils to strive for wellness and purpose. Her favourite way of using the oils is the Raindrop Therapy. She talked about the different levels for wellness including mind and body, and to create positivity and support creativity. Reminding us, that smell triggers memories. We need to change our focus to be joyful and thankful for things we can do. Also we need to find positive in every situation and make choices on how we react.

After thanking Jen Zamzow for doing a fantastic job of MC, Gayle thanked the speakers who enlightened everyone in Mind, Body and Spirit. She also mentioned that we have now ordered another eight items for the Health Facility.

Thank you to all who came out to the fundraiser, members and non-members who donated to the crocus action; and anyone else who helped.