The National Stroke Association of
Malaysia (NASAM) Johor Baru held a fun event dubbed Colour Walk, in conjunction
with World Stroke Day on Oct 29.
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| Participants are showered with coloured powder each time they passed this sector of the route! |
Last weekend, NASAM JB and seven
other chapters of NASAM held the Colour Walk simultaneously in their respective
states, bringing together 4,000 stroke survivors, caregivers, family members
and supporters.
The 5km fun walk aimed to inspire and
educate everyone that there is life after stroke and this was evident in the
determination of stroke survivors who completed their 1.5km route.
While the stroke survivor participants
walked a shorter route in the Taman Setia Tropika Town Park, other participants
completed the full route.
At the final sector of the circuit,
crew members would shower the participants with colour powder, adding different
colours each time they passed that way.
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| Some of the participants with supporters and NASAM Johor chairman, Phoon Chee Yap, at the event |
“We decided to do something fun to
encourage more young people to participate because the younger generation are
now also at risk due to their modern lifestyle habits,” said NASAM Johor chairman,
Phoon Chee Yap.
Every year, over 50,000 new cases of
stroke are reported and it is one of the leading causes of long-term disability
as well as the second leading cause of death in Malaysia.
To provide stroke specific
rehabilitation at an affordable rate, NASAM was established 19 years ago with
centres opened in Petaling Jaya (headquarters), Ampang, Penang, Perak, Malacca,
Johor, Pahang and Sabah.
Stroke survivor, Tay Hua Tong, 60,
started going to NASAM Johor in 2012 where he received regular therapy from the
physiotherapist and gradually regained use of his limbs until he was well
enough to return to work.
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| Ronnie Tan Ah Tee [3rd from Left], Tay Hua Tong [3rd from Right] and Shim Ah Lek [2nd from Right] are stroke survivors who participated in the Colour Walk |
Tay, who continues with a regular
exercise regime at home and walks in his neighbourhood park, said that it was
more enjoyable to walk with friends in an event such as the NASAM Colour Walk.
Another survivor, Ronnie Tan Ah Tee,
who was wheelchair bound when he went to NASAM Johor in June 2014, was full of
praise for the holistic help he received from the professional team in the association
and encouraged other survivors to remain motivated and focused on the
rehabilitation process.
A father of three sons, Tan said he
deeply valued family support and was particularly touched when his youngest son
quit his job as a chef and stayed home to cook for him.
Stroke survivors agreed that their
emotional well-being was essential to recovery and it was important not to push
oneself too hard but just do what they are able to, step-by-step in their journey
to wellness. (www.nasam.org)
A version of this was published in The Malaysian Insider on 29 October 2015
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