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| Photo: The group of WBRC Veterans at Muir Woods |
By: Mr. Huy B Diep, WBRC Recreation Therapy Intern
On Wednesday, September 19th
2013, the Western Blind Rehabilitation Center (WBRC) students and the
Polytrauma programs were treated to a day in the woods. Christa Lyons and her husband John Lyons,
who is also a Veteran, reached out and connected with Recreation Therapy staff
at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) to set up a visit to the Muir
Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, CA.
As Mr. Lyons stated, “it’s simply
therapeutic,” when asked what inspired him to share this location with our
Veterans at the VA. As a Veteran who was
dealing with mental wounds post-military, the Lyons' spoke highly about how
frequent visits to Muir Woods, amongst the redwood trees, was helpful to John
with recovering from his trauma. Several
years later they were able to come back and share this experience with fellow
service members.
Community reintegration outings
are a big part of helping people with adjustment to their disability in an
inclusive setting. It’s where people
receiving treatment in rehab can show off the fruits of their labor, and all of
that hard work learning/implementing new strategies get put on display. Recreation Therapists have the pleasure of
seeing how people function outside of a hospital setting and can provide
feedback to their treatment team about what strategies are working well or
could use fine tuning.
Whether people came out to
become educated about the redwoods, enjoy the scenery, go on a trail walk, or
just get out of the hospital setting, the consensus was that everyone
enjoyed themselves, as evident by the big smiles and comments about how
relaxing the day was.
