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Vital Times Newsletter
Autumn/Winter Newsletter Oct 2013

Change of Seasons

Caring for the Caregiver
Supporting yourself when you're supporting someone else

Recovery from Anesthetic
Taking the full time doctors recommend to heal
and more about Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD)

Scheduling Your Appointments
Just a reminder that sometimes you can't get an appointment online, but there may be a bit of wiggle room.
Feel free to call us at 250.370.1020

Therapist Updates
It's been a busy year and we have some exciting announcements at Vitality!

Word of Mouth Referral
Susan Duckworth's partner, Dave and his tutoring business

Vitality

302-1842 Oak Bay Ave
Victoria, BC V8R 1C2
Ph: 250.370.1020

Gift Certificates Available

Caring for the Caregiver

It's important to remember to support yourself while you're supporting someone else.

The reality of being injured or having an illness is that we often need support. And where would we be without these caregivers? I remember taking care of my husband after he had surgery and after a mere three weeks, admittedly I really felt like I had had enough. One evening I took myself to a movie and I think it was potentially the worst movie I had ever seen. Even though the movie was heinous, I have to say I felt 100% better. I was able to go home and re-embrace my duties as a caregiver without feeling like I had lost myself in the process.

So this is just a gentle reminder to you, caregivers, to remember to take care of yourself so you have the energy to continue that which is most important to you. Taking care of yourself could be as simple as having a coffee and reading the paper by yourself, taking a hot bath, going for a swim, chatting with friends, or, of course our favourite, eating a really yummy chocolate bar. (I bet you thought I was going to say, "Get a massage!")

Recovery from Anesthetic

Taking the full time doctors recommend to heal and
more on Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD)

We often hear people talk about the challenges of recovering from anesthetic and the residual side-effects that can follow for a little while: headaches, nausea, sluggish or confused thinking, general malaise, body aches, sweats, irritability and more.

Remember: when recovering from surgery, take the full time the doctors recommend to heal. Also, if you have the ability to see a naturopath, do! Or look online for the other recommendations you can do at home to prep for the surgery and recuperation. There are lots of things you can do. Cutting down on coffee, alcohol, and sugar will help your body to detoxify quicker from the medications you may have floating around in your body.

Over the years we have treated patients with Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) before and/or after surgery and they have really noticed how recovery has been much speedier. Lymph drainage can help move the residual anesthetic out of your body quicker by helping the lymph system to operate maximally. As a side benefit, MLD can be done immediately after surgery as it reduces inflammation in a non-painful, non-invasive way, hence reducing pain.

Scheduling Your Appointments

This is just a reminder that sometimes you can't get an appointment online, but there may be a bit of wiggle room that only the staff can see. So if you need an appointment and can't seem to find it on online then please just call us at 250.370.1020

Internet Explorer and Schedulicity
We're really enjoying having the online scheduler here at Vitality, but it is not without its challenges. We have found that sometimes if you are having difficulty using the Schedulicity system, it may have something to do with the browser you are using. Internet Explorer is becoming less and less used for the newer cloud based activities. So please give us a call or email Schedulicity for support if you are having difficulties. We have found that Firefox works well at this point. You can always phone us to make appointments if you would like. Good luck keeping up with the technology. (Personally, I find myself stuck somewhere between the 1990's-2000's!)

Therapist Updates

Some exciting announcements from the Vitality Family!

First of all, we are excited to welcome the newest members of our team Susanne Young (née Hrynuik) and Elvina Meret, both Registered Massage Therapists.

Amongst these newbies we have a really new member of the Vitality family and that is Sanae Komuro's newborn son Kaede, born at the end of August, weighing in just over 5lbs and doing swimmingly. Mom and babe are doing well and we expect to see Sanae's smiling face around the clinic starting in November.

And many of you know Cindy Filler broke her hip this summer. She is doing really well and says that this experience has opened up her eyes to what it feels like to be "broken." After two months of no weight baring and a steady rehab routine, she has turned in her scooter and crutches for one hiking pole and is off to Thailand. Cindy will be back and ready to start work at the beginning of November.

Word of Mouth Referral

Given that Vitality is largely what it is today due to word of mouth, we want to thank everyone for their continued support and referrals.

We're always thrilled to support our therapists with their endeavours – not just at work. Thus, we'd like to recommend Susan Duckworth's partner, Dave, who is motivated to help kids succeed through his business tutoring High School Students in Physics and Math:

After completing a Bachelor of Science in Physics, Dave Kemp decided to continue his studies in the Education Program at the University of Victoria, graduating in 2011 with his Teaching Certification. Since that time he has been tutoring independently and at the Sylvan Learning Centre. In the spring of 2012 Dave was hired onto the Sooke District School Board as a Teacher On-Call. He was awarded three night school contracts in high school Math and Physics at West Shore Learning Centre from September 2012 until June 2013. Dave is now accepting students for tutoring high school level Physics and Math. He is available evenings and weekends.

Phone: 250.812.3841
Email: dak (at) uvic (dot) ca

Thanks for reading our newsletter and helping us make Vitality the best we can. Have a healthy and happy change of seasons this autumn and winter.

Kale

Time to Stand Up!
Sitting Too Long Makes Us Sick

It's a scary headline, but sitting all day results in decreased circulation (feel cold all the time?) and vertebral misalignment (have neck or back pain?)

Most people slouch when they sit at the computer desk — hunched, shoulders forward, stomach caved. This doesn't allow the diaphragm to move freely, leading to shallow breathing and lack of oxygenation.

Read this CBC Article: How to Combat the Sitting Disease

Kale

Autumn/Winter
Super Food:
GARLIC

Garlic is actually a species of the onion family, closely related to shallots, leeks, chives and of course onions. Native to Central Asia, garlic has been used by humans for over 7000 years for both culinary and medicinal uses.

Garlic also grows locally here on the lower island. Support local farmers at the Victoria Downtown Public Winter Market.

www.vitalitytreatment.ca