Editor:
Pursuant to various letters from concerned participants in this program, we wish to also include our names.
As has been stated in the media and letters to mayor and council of White Rock, Fraser Health, B.C.’s health minister and others, we feel very strongly that the reasoning behind changing the program is unfounded.
We, the many members, have all been sent by our doctors to attend the varied classes involved with this program due heart attack(s), pacemakers, open-heart surgery, bypasses, etc.
We have all faithfully been involved, starting with different classes re: diet, exercise, commitment and have dedicated ourselves to stay as healthy as possible.
We appreciate the trained and caring Fraser Health professional instructors, who constantly help us stay focused and energetic. We trust them to monitor us and continually improve our capabilities, and, therefore, our overall health.
If class hours, as rumoured, are put in disarray, and some available gym space removed, many senior and fragile members will be forced to arrange transportation in the “dark hours.” We individually pay our monthly dues to maintain these classes and, to be honest, feel that we are being “thrown under the bus” to satisfy some unknown requirement by Fraser Health to change the status quo.
As also stated by others, many of us still have active careers, or other time-specific responsibilities to others. The camaraderie we share is vital to our well-being, and as one writer wrote, we “do not want to simply stay home and sip tea.”
If the plan to disassemble is successful, the ensuing problems that will arise may be insurmountable for many.
We, and others in class are definitely stressed. Remember, we do vote and so do our many friends and relatives.
Catherine and Charles Mason,
South Surrey