templetonnewsletterjune2013

Vol. 13, Issue 159 “Dedicated to Excellence” June 2013

June 13, 2013

June 23, 2013

Photo by Karel Ley

www.templetonstrokerecovery.com

Inside this issue:

June 2013 Volume 13, Issue 159

Page 2

RECIPE: Turkey Goulash

HEMIANOPSIA - Stroke

Hemianopsia is the loss

of half of the visual field.

A person with hemianop-

sia only sees a portion of

the visual field from each

eye. Hemianopsia is classified by

where the missing visual field is

located.

Outer half of each visual field

(bitemporal)

The same half of each visual field

(homonymous)

Right half of each visual field

(right homonymous)

Left half of each visual field (left

homonymous)

Upper half of each visual field

(superior)

Lower half of each visual field

(inferior)

Vision loss can range from mild to

severe. The likelihood that it will

improve depends on area of the

brain affected by the stroke.

Reading strategies - You may want

to use a ruler or sticky note to mark

the beginning or end of text. You

will know that you have not reached

the end of the line until you see

the sticky note. Some people with

hemianopsia benefit from turning a

text and reading it vertically (up and

down), rather than horizontally (side

to side).

—by Loy Lai, Stroke survivor

Templeton Stroke Recovery

ENCOURAGEMENTS

Ingredients:

1 lb ......... Ground lean turkey

1 (14 oz) can, Stewed, diced

Tomatoes

3 cloves ... Garlic, minced

1 cup ....... Tomato sauce

2 tsp ....... White sugar

1/2 tsp .... Dried basil

1 (16 oz) package, Bow-tie

pasta

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over

medium heat, cook the

turkey until browned.

2. Stir in the stewed tomatoes,

garlic, tomato sauce, sugar

and basil, and then simmer

for about 20 minutes.

3. Bring a large pot of lightly

salted water to a boil. Add

pasta and cook for 8 to 10

minutes or until al dente,

and then drain. Combine

the pasta and turkey

mixture; toss and serve.

“There’s life after stroke”

Templeton Newsletter

Mailing Address:

204– 2929 Nootka Street,

Vancouver, BC V5M 4K4 Canada

Published every month, if possible. Contributions are always welcome. The articles should be in, not later than day 25th day of every month.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in Stroke Recoverer’s Review newsletter: articles, submissions and spotlights are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Templeton Stroke Recovery or the editor of Stroke Recoverer’s Review Editor reserves the right at any time to make changes as it deems necessary. It is the purpose of this periodical to share a variety of view-

points mostly from stroke survivors.

June 2013 Contributors: Loy Lai

Ollie Stogrin

Deb Chow Karel Ley Jim Walmsley Werner Stephan Jose Suganob

Production of SRR:

Jose Suganob

Email: [email protected]

Printing Pick-up Person:

Ollie Stogrin

Recipe..Turkey Goulash 2

Encouragements 2

Last Month’s Happening 3

I-jokes..Drink Over Ice... 4

BLAST Dinner.. Strides for Strokes 5

Jose Notes - Delta Stroke Recovery 6

‘Politically Correct’ Eating 7

I hope everyone

celebrated Canada

Day? It was a hot

one . It’s very un-

usual to have 30

degree weather, on

the 1st of July in Vancouver,

we won’t complain...

It seems, I say this every

month that it has been a busy

month. Maybe it’s that way

with every group? I would like

to know how other groups

manage. They must also been

busy or is it just Templeton

that a lot going?

This month was ‘Strides for

Strokes’ or some call it ‘Walk-

A-Thon.’ It’s too bad that

some how SRABC hasn’t

figured out how to have this

walk, in one place, we don’t

make much of a showing, such

as when Heart & Stroke are

out there or Cancer Run, every

is aware. But, not with our

groups, we don’t even have

the day. Why? We are scattered

all over the map.

June was a different month for

us. For one thing, our coordi-

nator went on a vacation to

Thailand for 3 weeks. We had

Katelyn come in as Shazya’s

relief which we were lucky to

have Katelyn (former volun-

teer) fill in her place. As, I’m

not very good at being a one

woman show! Been there,

done that, for the last 19

years. Filling in for who ever is

missing, still waiting to get

paid? aahhh.

Regarding volunteers; we are

lucky to be able to get volun-



LAST MONTH’S HAPPENING —by Ollie Stogrin, Templeton Stroke Recovery


teers We know that without

volunteers, there would be no

SRABC, as Stroke Recovery is a

volunteer-driven organization.

It’s a shame that we are not

recognized for the work we do to

help our members. Volunteering

is a job, unpaid, given from the

heart, to make the world a better

place for stroke survivors to live

a better life. We are so proud

when our members are able to

cope with their disabilities knowing

we gave our time to brighten

their day.

A prime example, Debbie Chow,

who from her computer managed

to get help from the community

and getting donation funding for

Walkathon at Templeton (a one

person show) not only that she

revived Easter Camp 3 years ago

Now known as BLAST as it was

labor-intensive for SRABC. BLAST

is a ‘totally volunteer driven’

camp! Then, there is Jose, his

monthly newsletter is known

province (Australia, too). This was

his baby years ago. Other groups

started doing their own newsletter

from reading Jose’s newsletter.

Now, almost every group has

some sort of news for their

members. This is why, we are

very proud of our members

helping our group. All this is

‘volunteering’ driven.

We are so happy to have Olga,

Reesa, Helena and now we have

Victor to help with our program.

All very much appreciated. Thank

so much. We wish to thank Key

for all the hours she puts in

on doing HandyDART bookings

for our members. She has only

been doing it for about 22 years!

We have a volunteer from Holland

Charlotte is on vacation from

Holland and has been going to

the different groups to find out

what our groups do for our

members. That’s a nice way to

find out first hand on what we

do. Wonderful experience for her

and us.

We are also planning to have a

bus trip to Minter Garden in Sept

We will let you know more next

month. As, it’s a shame that they

are closing their gardens forever

so we feel we should have a tour

of these wonderful gardens. Part

of beautiful BC will be no more.

Thank you for all of you that

contribute to this newsletter, we

appreciate your input

—Ollie Stogrin


Page 3

Templeton Annual Picnic 2013

Date: Thursday, July 25, 2013

10am—2pm

Place: Trout Lake, John Hendry Park, Vancouver

Entrance by 19th Ave between Nanaimo St. and

Victoria Drive

HandyDart users, address is:

2105 19th Ave, Vancouver, BC

Fun and Games!!!

It’s a Potluck!

Our members will bring Italian, Chinese, Japanese,

Polish and Canadian mouth-watering food!

For those who cannot bring food, cost is $6

Everybody is welcome to join!

Call for more information:

Ollie: 604-434-3609

Key : 604-434-6513

RSVP: by July 19, 2013

HOW OLD IS GRANDMA?

One evening a grand-

son was talking to his

grandmother about

current events.

The grandson asked his

grandmother what she thought

about the computer age and just

things in general.

The grandmother replied, “Well,

let me think a minute; I was

born before television, penicillin,

polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox,

contact lenses, Frisbees and the

pill and there were no credit

cards, laser beams or ball-point

pens and further more, man had

not yet invented pantyhose,

air conditioners, dishwashers,

clothes dryers and the clothes

were hung out to dry in the

fresh air and man hadn’t yet

walked on the moon. Your

grandfather and I got married

first, and then lived together.

Every family had a father and a

mother. Until I was 25, I called

every man older than me, ‘Sir,’

and after I turned 25, I still

called policeman and every man

with a title, ‘Sir.’ We were before

gay-rights, computer-dating,

dual careers, daycare centers,

and group therapy. Our lives

were governed by the Ten

Commandments, good judgment,

and common sense. We were

taught to know the difference

between right and wrong and

to stand up and take responsibility

for our actions. Serving your

country was a privilege; living in

this country was a bigger


Page 4


I did not know this…

When you drink vodka over

ice, it can give you kidney

failure.

When you drink rum over ice,

it can give you liver failure.

When you drink whiskey over

ice, it can give you heart

problems.

When you drink gin over ice,

it can give you brain prob-

lems.

Apparently, ice is really bad

for you. Warn all your friends.

HandyDART

JIMY I-JOKES NEW!!!...For Senior Travel


privilege. We thought fast food

was what people ate during

Lent. Having a meaningful rela-

tionship meant getting along

with your cousins. Draft dodgers

were those who closed front

doors as the evening breeze

started. Time-sharing meant

time the family spent together in

the evening and weekends—not

purchasing condominiums. We

never heard of FM radios, tape

decks, CD’s, electric typewriters,

yogurt, or guys wearing ear-

rings. We listened to Big Bands,

Jack Benny, and the President’s

speeches on our radios. If you

saw anything with ‘Made in

Japan’ on it, it was junk. Pizza

Hut, McDonald’s, and instant

coffee were unheard of. We had

5 and 10-cent stores where you

could actually buy things for 5 &

10 cents. In my day; ‘grass’ was

mowed, ‘coke’ was a cold drink,

‘pot’ was something your mother

cooked in and ‘rock music’ was

your grandmother’s lullaby,

‘chip’ meant a piece of wood,

‘software’ wasn’t even a word.

We were the last generation to

actually believe that a lady

needed a husband to have a

baby. We volunteered to protect

our precious country. No wonder

people call us ‘old & confused’ &

say there is a generation gap.

How old do you think I am? Are

you ready?” This woman would

be only 59 years old. She would

have been born in late 1952.

—i-joke submitted by Jim Walmsley

Stroke survivor

Some more people enter. Two

girls ask for one coffee each,

pay and go. The next order was

for seven coffees and it was

made by three lawyers - three

for them and four ‘suspended.’ While I still wonder what’s the

deal with those ‘suspended’

coffees, I enjoy the sunny

weather and the beautiful view

towards the square in front of

the café. Suddenly, a man

dressed in shabby clothes who looks like a beggar comes in

through the door and kindly

asks, “Do you have a

We had our Strides for

Strokes and Awareness

BLAST fundraiser on

Sunday (June 23, 2013)

There were stroke

simulations from GF Strong Rehab,

wheelchairs and walkers for people

to see what it might be like for

stroke survivors. Well…..a hint of

what it may be like. There were

also brain games from Nognz,

which kept our volunteers from the

UBC Brain Behavior Lab busy. Teva

and Jetson collected coins ($74) to

put in the bank.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get the

turnout we had last year. It was

the same date, only last year it

was Saturday. Both years called for

rain and we managed to stay dry.

Many thanks to: Grandview/

Woodland Community Policing

Center volunteers (Maree, Laura,

Elden, Amanda, Akmal, Gurbir and

Tammy), Dr. Justin Davis-Nognz

contribution, GF Strong-Kelly


Page 5


When: Monday, July 15, 2013

6 pm

Where: Tom and Jerry Restaurant

2828 East Hastings Street

Vancouver, BC (near inter-

section of Hastings St. and

Renfrew St)

Join us for dinner. Maybe we’ll

try throw out random things to

do together. Just creating an

opportunity for Building Life

After Stroke Together.

Everyone pays their own.

Meals are $10. Soft drinks are

bottomless (no charge for re-

fills).

Let me know if you are coming

so, I can give the restaurant a

heads up. There’s lots of room

for wheelchairs and scooters.

If you are on Facebook, you

can get added information by

searching: BLAST Dinner

Email or call Deb at 604-253 -

2390 after 11 am.

STRIKES FOR STROKES 2013 & Awareness BLAST BLAST DINNER...


Sharp, UBC Brain Lab - Katharine

Cheung and Sonia Brodie. Hastings

Association, Templeton Pool-

Shannon, Jennifer and Dorothy.

Our special event Volunteers -

Jo-Anne, Laurie, Brayan, Wilma,

Daniel and guest from the Nether-

lands, Charlotte. Last, but not

least, Templeton Stroke Recovery

members and BLAST Ambassadors.

Considering, we had fewer people,

they gave generously and had fun.

Surprisingly, the floor made close

to the same as last year. Funds

trickled in after the event last year,

so, I am hopeful more will come in.

—Deb Chow

Stroke survivor, BLAST

‘SUSPENDED’ COFFEE...

This story will warm you better than a coffee in a cold winter day... We enter a little coffee-

house with a friend of mine

and give our order. While

we’re approaching our table two people come in and they go

to the counter.

“Five coffees, please. Two of

them for us and th ree

suspended.”

They pay for their order, take the two and leave. I ask my

friend, “What are those

‘suspended’ coffees?”

“Wait for it and you will see.”

‘suspended’ coffee?”

It’s simple - people pay in

advance for a coffee meant for

someone who can not afford a

warm beverage. The tradition

with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has

spread all over the world and in

some places and in some places

you can order not only a

sandwich or a whole meals.”

Lets try to embrace this tradition

at your local coffee shop/café. If you can, donate a ‘suspended

coffee or meal’ to someone in

need. Maybe someone will be

inspired by your actions and pay

the good deed forward. Sharing

is caring...



JUNE’s BUSY MONTH…

We went to Granville

Island (6/13/2013) for our

outing and the sun was

out that day, too.

It was Thursday and many

tourists came, I think, news goes

around! Our members ate lunch

at the Granville Island Food

Court and I took group photos

for our album…

June 20, 2013 - Better Meals

lady got her presentation and we

got free food samples. Estab-

lished 1993, it offers a wide

selection of affordable, nutritious

and ready-to-eat full course

meals and a la carte food items.

Better Meals’ large menu pro-

vides for healthy and enjoyable

eating. Their menu offers many

choices. Choose from their list of

full course dinner, fresh salads,

sandwiches, as well as their sea-

sonal specials. No MSG or pre-

servatives are added. Natural

spices are used to reduce or

replace sodium

Freezer to table approximately

cooking time: Microwave - 5

minutes and Oven - 30 minutes.

Meal containers are easy to

dispose of and are biodegrad-

able.

Delivered weekly to your door.

If you are a Veteran: They are

Registered Service Provider for

Veterans Independence Program

—by Jose Suganob


DELTA STROKE RECOVERY PRESS RELEASE...Karel Ley, Delta Director JOSE’s NOTES

Page 6 “There’s life after stroke”

Greg Watts, Tsawwwassen Order O.B.

President visited the Delta Branch

Stroke Recovery on Tuesday, June 11,

2013.

Tsawwassen Order O.B., President,

Greg Watts, was so impressed

with the grass roots volunteer

organization providing recovery

programs for survivors and

their caregivers. He presented a

cheque in the amount of $1,000

from members of the TOOB to

be applied to programs that

need funding support.

As Delta group members were

celebrating the taste of local

strawberries with home made

shortcake and whipped cream.

Greg was photographed in the

kitchen where some of the club’s

volunteers were preparing food

the luncheon which is part of

their weekly sessions. Gratefully

accepting the cheque were

branch coordinator, Dawn Sillett

and director, Karel Ley, who

founded the Delta group in April

1996.

40 Delta group members are

served weekly at the United

Church, Tsawwassen, in addition

to Thursday sessions; using the

well-equipped New Day Gymna-

sium in the medical center on

56th Street. Anne Herringer,

physical trainer, leads these

sessions with the help of volun-

teers to assist the members.

With enough support from

community supporters, the hope

is to return to weekly music

therapy sessions held in the

Delta Music School Thursdays.

For additional details of programs

offered through Delta Stroke

Recovery group, please contact

coordinator: Dawn Sillett—604-

319-6775 or [email protected]

—by Karel Ley

Delta Stroke Recovery

‘POLITICALLY CORRECT’ EATING—Werner Stephan, North Shore Stroke Recovery Center - West Vancouver Group


Page 7


Is there such a

thing? Judge your-

self:

For years now, there

have been reports in

the press that farmers in the

‘third world’ no longer can

afford quinoa, a traditional

food, because prices, a result

of worldwide demand, have

risen too high. Does that

make sense? Why have the

farmers not changed their

crop if they have not already

done so? Climate? Soil condi-

tions? Are there any other

factors we have not yet

thought of?

I read that Hannah Wittman,

an assistant professor at UBC,

laughed when she was asked

by telephone in Bolivia about

this story which, she said, was

told for, at least, a decade.

According to a thesis, written

by one of her students, tradi-

tional foods in many school

programs of third world coun-

tries, like Bolivia, are becoming

less popular in favor of ’junk

food’ prevalent in Western

diets. It is a fact, that truth

can be selective and tricky.

We must not forget that

almost all stories have two

opposing and perfectly valid

view points, depending on

who writes them, what his or

her life experiences are and

what the story purpose of that

writer is.

The dinner table can be an ethical

minefield. Let’s use, as an example,

shark fin soup, normally a ‘no-

brainer.’ But, there are different

opinions, I am sure, between a

drowning sailor, surrounded by

hungry sharks and an armchair

seated environmentalist. This

extreme example, fairly chosen

or not, has also a whiff of animal

cruelty about it. Or, how about

chickens and pigs raised in dusty

barns; or beef cattle fattened in

massive feeding lots? Food indus-

try representatives counter that

in order to produce meat cost-

effectively, industrial methods

have to be used. If parents can

no longer afford to buy food,

what is preferable: free-range

chickens or healthy children?

Is there an alternative? Some see

vegetarian eating as a possibility

since the production of meat

takes much more energy than

vegetarian food, which does not

conjure the image of animal suf-

fering. Some are buying only

’free range’ animal products at

high monetary costs. But, all that

is only a temporary measure. The

earth’s population is rapidly

growing larger and has already

reached well over 7 billion peo-

ple. Food prices are increasing

faster and faster and in some

countries we have already seen

food riots. Eventually, some form

of population control, with harsh

methods of enforcement, will be

necessary. The political backlash

will be severe.

Enough of ‘doomsday’ scenario!

The problem is that I can’t think

of anything funny to say about

food shortage. I can’t think of

any solution either. If we look at

history, in the Middle Ages, the

plague certainly provided some

sort of natural solution. In the

pre-Columbian North America,

encounters with European

explorers introduced diseases,

like small-pox and measles, into

the population, with a death rate

of around 90%. This provided

population control. In Europe, the

agricultural and industrial revolu-

tion and also the introduction

of mass-vaccinations, dramati-

cally decreased child mortality

from around 75% in London/

England in the mid 17-hundred

to around 32% in the early 18-

hundred. Should we see that as

desirable? I think, we all do, but

how about the future? Remember

different viewpoints?

Population control is going to be

our overwhelming challenge in

the 21st and 22nd century. So...eat

while you can!!! And, enjoy your

food as I do. Especially choco-

late.

—by Werner Stephan

Stroke survivor, West Vancouver Group North Shore Stroke Recovery Center

“Surround yourself with the

dreamers and the doers,

the believers and thinkers, but

most of all, surround yourself

with those who see greatness with you, even when you don’t

see it yourself.” “There’s life after stroke”

templetonnewsletterjune2013

Documents

visual field bitemporal

missing visual field

stroke survivors

loss of half

homonymous left half

outer half

turkey mixture

hemianopsia benefit