Pulse Points, by Sonia Salinas, RN

I am glad to have this chance to communicate with y'all and at the same time, give you some tips. 

This year, so far, has been a little crazy because the weather has been changing constantly.  Some days nice, some cold and wintery.  The people with allergies have been suffering because of these changes.    Try to limit your contact with people who are sick.  Wash your hands often and keep your hands away from your face (nose, mouth).  Drink plenty of fluids, such as water and juices.  Eat nutritional foods and get plenty of sleep. 

Thank you for your patience and I appreciate you and your family members here at WP for coming daily for their check-ups (blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, etc).  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.   Sonia

Hello, friends of DEAF, inc., !  I was very happy and proud to be working with your family and friends here in the past year. It was an important year for me because I am learning sign language.  I have the opportunity to take care of them and help them with their prescriptions and with monthly check ups.  I look forward to 2005 and the opportunity to make it an even better year  than the last one.  Thanks to all my deaf friends for a great year. 

Happenings

We started out this new year with a new program.  Each Monday we are trying to get into better shape with an exercise and balance class.  We work up a sweat doing chair exercises and then work on balance, so we can feel more confident when walking.   We follow up this class with balloon toss.  We sit in a circle and hit several balloons back and forth, trying to keep them going.  It is fun and good exercise.   

We enjoyed a hula party this month also.  We pretended it was summer and ate snow cones and fresh fruit. Then we each took turns doing the hula for a photo op! What a blast!

We made "smores" one day.  Graham crackers, marshmallow cream and chocolate chips made a very tasty, but sticky treat. 

We also had root beer floats!  This month we have been "going back to our childhood" with treats that we remember from growing up.  It helped us remember and share some nice stories from when we were younger. 

Along with these fun activities we had out Fabulous 4th Friday event.  We played Valentine bingo for cash prizes and enjoyed visiting with friends from the community.  We also went to church on Sunday, had Bible study on Wednesdays,  went to Wal-Mart on Fridays and Goodrich Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Starting this next next month, we are very excited to partner with Tarrant County College and their Interpreter training program.  We will be implementing a special deaf/blind program to help them become more involved in activities.  Thank you to our special volunteer Elizabeth Hare for the idea and helping us to set it in place!.  You are wonderful!

We are now hooked up to "VRS" which is the Video Relay Service.  This is the new generation of TTY's.  It is a TV with a camera link.  This means that our deaf family can "talk" to you through Texas Relay!  The deaf person will sign to the interpreter , who will relay to you and sign back to the deaf person.  They will be able to see each other, making communication very easy.  So if you get a call from Texas Relay saying they have a call from your loved one, sit back and enjoy the experience!

We are also needing candy and plastic eggs for our annual Easter Egg hunt!  Regular and diabetic please!  Thank you so much!!!

Upcoming Activities