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Dana Gibson Dana Gibs Her masters degree in Recreation Therapy, which she earned after the age of 50, certifies her expertise in the field; but, the real certification comes from the 100s of community members who are living enriched and fulfilling lives because of her remarkable skills, experience, and tireless efforts. For 30 years, Dana never missed a day of work. And, she never wavered in her enthusiasiam for participating in any activity that helped Center students. Dana knows the power of joy and the power of play to heal. To regain a productive lifestyle after a stroke means retraining brain function and retraining muscles to compensate and adapt for lost function. To successfully regain or adapt new cells to take over lost function, takes thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of repetitions. Boring? Tedious? Painful? Yes! But, Dana with her magical skill made it pleasure. Students in Dana’s classes could always be found “going for the burn” in wheelchair aerobics, making a joyful noise on their kazoos, fiercely competing in bridge or dominoes, reporting on current events or telling jokes. They also found time to listen to guest speakers on a wide variety of topics. These activities, which felt and looked like fun, were in reality, rehabilitation therapies. They were carefully constructed and implemented by Dana to provide upper and lower extremity mobility, physical endurance, eye-hand coordination, visual and auditory sequencing and mapping, memory skills, plus enhanced cognitive strategies and processes. Dana helped her students to venture out of their homes. The VIVA Humdingers Kazoo Orchestra performed at graduations, weddings, funerals and as a wheelchair “marching” band for parades such as the Watsonville Fourth of July, the Pajaro Valley Flower Festival, Cinco De Mayo, and Watsonville Earthquake Recovery. Trips to Elkhorn Slough, San Francisco’s Chinatown, the Chinese Opera in Portsmouth Square, Oakland Museum, Gizdich Ranch, Jack London Square, Sunset Magazine headquarters, Filoli Gardens, and the Petaluma Riverboat enriched lives while providing amazing proof of new-found stamina and mobility. For some, field trips were the only opportunity for travel. Others gained the realization that there were ways of getting out into the world that they had thought were forever gone. For 10 years, Dana trained virtually all of the activity directors for all the residential care facilities in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. These folks, who provide joy and inspiration to so many others, are able to do so successfully because they have learned from the master. Nights and weekends meant nothing to Dana. If someone needed her help or encouragement, she was there offering her all. At age 81, she still never ceases to amaze those of us who at a younger age with our vision and hearing intact, find our spirits lagging and our bodies weak. Dana is a perfect model of an individual who believes that the purpose of life is to live, to learn, to love, and, above all, to laugh. No wonder the City Council proclaimed a day in her honor. |
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on is an extraordinary woman who worked at the Cabrillo College Stroke and Acquired Disability Center from its founding in 1974 until her retirement in 2006 at age 80! Not only was Dana still teaching popular classes at 80 years of age, but she had lost a good deal of hearing and was legally blind. During her last year, her daughter accompanied her to all of her classes and provided eyes and ears for her. Her classes didn't miss a beat.
