Get Arthritis Relief

Diving In to Better Health

By Jim Walker
Signal Staff Writer

Kay Lorance is a charming and feisty 72. Except for some arthritis-related issues, including having had two hips and a knee replaced, she said her general health is fine.

She gives much of the credit to her water exercise class. Considering her overall good health, the stroke she suffered last July 29 came as a complete surprise.

“It was a total shock. It just came out of nowhere,” she said. “It was not like a normal stroke. The doctors said I had an irregular heartbeat, a change in pressure, that must have pushed a clot to my brain. But they had no idea why the clot formed.”

The stroke made the left side of Lorance’s body numb. Then, on Aug. 3, a second stroke disrupted her balance and gave her motion sickness. The effects of the strokes immediately restricted Lorance’s activities, including taking her out of her exercise class. But not for long. “I came back and was in the water by November,” she said.

Lorance and her husband, Jim, have lived in Saugus since 1964 and have two grown daughters. She notes how much things have changed over the years. “Back then you could smell the dairy where Saugus High is now,” she said. Through those years in Saugus, Kay Lorance worked for Weight Watchers and the American Red Cross and her husband worked for Lockheed, but both are retired now. “I used to be very involved with the Girl Scouts of the Joshua Tree Council. I used to volunteer with the Bloodmobile. Now I’m involved with the Red Cross Retirees,” she said.

“In ‘97 or ‘98 I started going to the Y for my arthritis,” she said. She joined a water exercise class called Hinges and Twinges at the SCV Family YMCA on McBean Parkway. The class involves stretching, walking and marching in the water, where much of your body weight is supported by the water. Lorance noted that the pool is only 4.5 feet deep at most and that she can’t even swim.

“People shouldn’t be frightened to go in,” she said, and added that the water is warm - “though not as warm as I’d like it.”

“Lots of the people are in the class for slipped discs or arthritis in general - basically just trying to keep moving,” she said.

There is a social aspect to the class, as well, Lorance said. “It’s much better to go into a class than to work on gadgets at home.” She has made good friends there over the years, including Ramona Thomas, who started out as a participant and now is the instructor. “She’s a really great gal,” Lorance said. They and other former class members often go out to lunch.

When Lorance joined the class, she had already had her right hip replaced and since then has had her other hip and right knee replaced. “Some people can go to water exercise and avoid surgery. In my case it was too late,” she said. However, she said the class has definitely helped her. “I was never an invalid. Without the class, I’m sure I would have been slower,” she added.

Three months after her stroke, Lorance had recovered to the point her doctors wanted her to get moving again. They suggested physical therapy and walking, but when she suggested the water exercise class, they felt it was as good as any other exercise she might get. So, she rejoined her friends in Hinges and Twinges this past November. “At first I had to hold onto the side of the pool,” she said. “But within three weeks I was walking all the way around the pool.” Lorance feels her recovery was especially fast because of the water exercise.

“I would advise anybody who had a stroke to do water exercise. The whole key is to get moving again and water makes it easier,” Lorance said.

Thomas said she is impressed with Lorance’s progress.

“I can’t believe how much Kay has improved,” she said.

Lori Warner, senior director of healthy lifestyles at the YMCA, agrees. “Kay has had a remarkable recovery. A lot of that is because she has stayed the course. She was working out before the stroke and came back to it as soon as she was cleared by her doctors.”

That’s not to say only stroke victims benefit from water exercise. Mercedes Cote is 80, and she suffered a heart attack in 2003. But she’s stayed with the class and feels much better now. “When I’m here I feel great. I just love coming and seeing all the smiling faces,” she said.

Aside from the special cases of Lorance and Cote, Warner feels warm water exercise is ideal for anyone with arthritis because of the support and comfort the water provides.

Though Lorance has mostly recovered from her strokes, she said she still has balance problems. Her stamina is not what it should be, either, and going out of the house once or twice a day is all she can handle. She has hired people to help at home and her “friends come through like gangbusters.” Those friends include Ed and Mary French, who take her to the YMCA three times a week.

Will Kay Lorance have more stokes? “The doctors have no idea if more strokes will occur. I may go forever without another or only go two months,” she said. But her doctors do have her on blood thinning medication as a preventive measure.

Meanwhile, she will continue in the Hinges and Twinges class - for her arthritis, for continued recovery from the strokes, and to be with her friends.
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