How One YMCA Instructor Is Going Above and Beyond for Cancer Survivors
Leading and instructing Livestrong at the YMCA is probably the most socially responsible thing I do at our YMCA. It fills me emotionally and spiritually. When we are not in session, I feel a gap in my life’s work and passion which is about connecting with others and sharing my love of movement to people of all ages and abilities.
On March 12, 2020, coronavirus was spreading, states were shutting down, and the NBA stopped playing basketball. I found myself desperately searching the YMCA of the USA and the Livestrong websites looking for guidance as to how to proceed with our current Livestrong at the YMCA group. This group is some of the most vulnerable to contracting the virus, yet these survivors had just begun to connect with each other and the instructors, including myself. Spiritual, mental, and physical support was just beginning to help these survivors take the incredible step of reclaiming their lives after a cancer diagnosis. I felt compelled to do something to keep this connection and energy alive during a time when we were first being told to separate and isolate. So many of our group members were coming out of a place of isolation and finding the healing power of connecting and sharing their cancer journeys.
I took the advice I often give others and called the Livestrong Foundation. I spoke with KK on the mission team and I was informed that a protocol had not yet been established. I talked through the scenario of postponing class for a few days with KK and immediately decided to cancel class the next day and our alumni boot camp on Saturday. The next day my co-facilitator and I gathered phone numbers and emails of the current class members with plans of launching a virtual program. The first week we met on Skype by phone and computer.
Some of the survivors struggled with technology and access to a home computer so we had them call our cell phones and held the phones near the computer. We have continued to evolve in our use of technology and have switched to Zoom conference calls and have held the time consistent with our class time of Tuesday and Friday mornings. We are now including alumni and the greater cancer community of Sheboygan County.
As a group, we have found humor in navigating modern technology, finding the mute button, trying to keep our bodies within the screen, especially while exercising, and watching the reveal of natural hair color for those that have it. Many regular groups we have watched hair returning after treatment so this is a slight twist on a return to what is “natural.”
As a group, we have also taken time to grieve. This is an expected part of healing after a cancer diagnosis and something that our groups spend a great deal of time processing together. Our collective grief and sharing these universal experiences in addition to the losses from a cancer diagnosis has been a critical driver in our efforts to connect. We have valued the time to share, witness, empathize and ultimately move our energy emotionally and physically. We are grateful for technology and plan to continue building relationships with this virtual format as long as the Safer at Home and recommendations to social distance last.
-Denice Nugent, Sr. Program Director of the Sheboygan County YMCA
