In 1981 Dr. Charles Lewis suffered a stroke. His wife Shirley says it drastically changed the way he lives. She says, “He has right arm paralysis, no function in his surgeons hand anymore and he has speech aphasia.” Charles and his wife quickly noticed the need for stroke support groups in Southwest Florida. So they started their own and called it the Stroke Club. Dianna Highsmith is an occupational therapist who’s been working with the Stroke Club for several years. She says, “For a stroke survivor if they do not work at getting better then they are guaranteed to get worse. Being a stroke survivor means work. If you do absolutely nothing that means that you’re going to go downhill and go downhill fast, we want to avoid that.” Thanks in part to that philosophy; the Stroke Club has been going strong for more than 25 years. Dianna says, “They are no longer patients they are part of our community of our life. They are survivors. We want them to have a life and a healthy and happy life after the stroke.” Once a week the stroke survivors and caregivers sit down together. They exercise and share tips on how to make dealing with their disabilities easier on themselves and their families. Ruth Holland is a long time Stroke Club member. She says, “You just can’t lock yourself up in your house and do nothing. (03:09:42) I love this stroke group. They’re all very nice.” Dianna says one of the best parts about the group is watching the members reach out to one another. “People helping people. They know that when they come here it’s not just for themselves. They’re helping every other person in the room.” There are two stroke clubs offered through Lee Memorial Health System. For more information or group schedules, log onto www.leememorial.org.