THE St. Lucia Arthritis and Lupus Association (SLALA) recently held a raffle to raise funds to support their ongoingVivByen programme in St. Lucia.
The prize of a brunch for four at Ladera inclusive of a bottle of wine was won by Ms.Celsianna Samuel.
VivByen is a Stanford University’s Chronic Disease Self Management Programme given for two and a half hours, once a week for six weeks in community settings. It teaches skills useful for managing chronic diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, heart and lung disease.
Areas covered in the programme include 1) techniques to deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue, pain and isolation, 2) appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility and endurance, 3) appropriate use of medications, 4) communicating effectively with family, friends and health care professionals, 5) nutrition, 6) decision making, 7) how to evaluate new treatments.
From August 2014 to now, SLALA has held 20 VivByen workshops around the island and is due to start another on May 4. A leaders’ workshop is also scheduled to start on June 6 in Vieux Fort.