Registrations are being accepted for the Retreat & Refresh Stroke Camp to be held July 7-9, 2017 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. About 40 stroke survivors and caregivers will be spending this weekend together participating in activities offered by Retreat & Refresh Stroke Camp. The weekend's main goal is for participants to enjoy activities that include the areas of socialization, support, education and relaxation.
A stroke can change one's life instantaneously. For the 680,000 people who become stroke survivors every year, it is a life-changing experience resulting in a range of disability, from slight to debilitating.
For stroke survivors, and their caregivers and families, their lives, their friendships and how they perceive themselves are transformed when they attend a Retreat & Refresh Stroke Camp. Here they begin to build bonds with other stroke survivors, enjoy activities they feared were lost to them and participate in an experience both heart-warming and life affirming. The survivors, their caregivers and family stay in hotel accommodations, but still enjoy outdoor experiences and many aspects of camping out of their normal range of activities. The families and caregivers have respite from the constant pressure of caring for another person. They are pampered and are able to share stories and experience the insight of other caregivers – who truly understand what their lives are like.
The Retreat & Refresh Stroke Camp, held on July 7 -9, is the first retreat weekend of its kind to be offered in Indiana. It is sponsored by the Franciscan Health Foundation.
The weekend retreat will be filled with many activities and the opportunity to relax if that's what is needed. The weekend includes games, educational sessions, stroke resources, pampering, friendships, good food, hiking/walking, discussion groups, drum circles, informal chat with experts, Wii, entertainment, music, relaxation, swimming, rock wall climbing and more.
Camp Founder and Director Marylee Nunley, and her husband John, started Retreat & Refresh Stroke Camp in 2004, three years after John's stroke in 2001. “After John's stroke, I felt like we were so isolated and that, more than anything else, we needed the healing that socialization and ongoing support from other stroke survivors could bring,” said Nunley. “Since there was nothing available like that, we created it.” Retreat & Refresh Stroke Camp became a non-profit in 2007 and created a national network of camps. The organization has since expanded and has a parent organization, United Stroke Alliance, which is dedicated to the prevention, awareness and recovery aspects of stroke.
To date, RRSC has completed 162 camps. In 2017 Retreat & Refresh Stroke Camp anticipates providing 34 camps in 22 states.
