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 As George Terwilliger spent three weeks trekking across Kenya
and Tanzania, he kept hearing the words of a fellow Wellness
Center member, “Keep your mouth closed in the shower.” He heeded
her advice, brushing his teeth with bottled water and solely
using the tap to wash his hands. Early each and every morning,
he would travel to different watering holes with the
others in his group, accompanied by their guide. This was the
time a pride of lions would also appear, looking for that day’s
meal. George witnessed sites he may not have seen without The
Wellness Center of Cape Coral.
“They’re the ones who got me in shape to travel like this,” says
77-year-old George about Wellness Center staff. “Not just the
hiking, but handling the entire day—dirt roads, no roads,
standing long hours photographing animals. The airplane ride
alone was 28 hours. Every hour I was doing stretches I learned
in the stewardess galley,” he says.
George camped near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. He spent
several days going into the Ngorongo Crater, which is 7,500
feet above sea level. “That crater’s an environment all its
own,” he says. “It has its own lakes, streams and animals just
like the Serengeti savanna.”
Alongside his daughter, Karen Moran, George was welcomed into a
Maasai Village, a nomadic African tribe. He danced, ate lamb
stew and witnessed the customs of a marriage ceremony. He
visited a school in the village of Karatu. As the children
showed him how well they could do long division, George showed
them their first pocket calculator. All this from a man who had
a cardiac procedure three years prior.
“The Wellness Center set me up on a program,” says George, who
enjoys working out on the strength and cardio machines and has
been attending the stretching and Tai Chi classes every week for
the past two years. “In the beginning, you walk out and feel
your muscles are a little sore. After two or three weeks, you
feel your strength come back and the soreness going away.”
To learn more about the Lee Memorial Health System Wellness
Centers,
click here.
As a SHARE Club member, George receives a discounted rate to
the Wellness Centers. For more information about SHARE Club
advantages,
click here or call
239-772-6765.
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