Riverside Park

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Danish Gymnasts Visit Riverside Park

Photo by Wanda Mojica

The Danish Gymnastics Team delighted both children and adults at Riverside Park’s Neufeld Playground on July 2. The afternoon started with a brief demonstration of gymnastics and then the team got the audience involved. Children were able to jump on the trampoline, tumble on an inflatable mat and learn some dance moves. The team guided the children through some mini-routines and then impressed the audience with a short performance.

The team, led by Anne Mette Møller (female coach) and Leo Jensen (male coach), is comprised of 9 women and 8 men aged 18-23. They are here to spread the word about how much fun the sport can be and that anyone, regardless of shape, age, or athleticism, can do gymnastics. They are so enthusiastic about their mission that they have paid their own way to do free demonstrations in New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Long Beach. They even travel with their own trampoline!

The team will return on July 15 for more gymnastics demonstrations with our summer camps.

Written by Adrienne Meryl

PARKS ACADEMY INSTRUCTION HELPS SAVE A LIFE!

The following letter was written by Gina Brugman, a Parkie at the Olmsted Center, referencing training that she took at the Parks Academy that was put to VERY good use!

June 20, 2008

I wanted to let you all know what happened last weekend and say thank you!

Every other weekend I pick up my 87 year old grandmother from her nursing home to spend the weekend with me. She has 26 grandchildren and she and I have the best relationship of all. Probably because I am one of the youngest, I have no husband or children of my own and I am able to spend more time with her then anyone else. But mostly because me being ME, I say things to her that are so improper that she often wonders where I learned them and scolds me for my behavior but secretly thinks I’m hysterical.

We were eating breakfast Saturday morning when my Gram started to choke on pancakes. She turned blue and I attempted the Heimlich maneuver but failed. Ultimately her body became limp and she stopped breathing. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. I called 911, got her to the floor, cleared her mouth and began CPR. As my breath entered her body, her lungs filled with air and her chest visibly began to expand. As I was alternating between breaths and compressions, I thought…”Oh my God! This is really working!” About 10 minutes later, as the food slowly dislodged and the color in her face returned she opened her eyes and started breathing on her own. The paramedics arrived and were amazed. They said “Well it looks like our job here is done. Young lady you did a great job!” They took my Gram to the hospital for some tests and observation. As it turns out I broke a rib. She’s in some pain, but she’s alive.

As I was sitting in the hospital my mind was racing. I replayed the situation in my head and kept thinking back to the CPR class I took here at Olmsted… what we were taught, practicing on the dummy, waiting to see whether the light would turn red or green to determine if I had performed the techniques correctly. Being a “Parkie” and learning CPR from a class made available by the Parks Academy helped save my grandmothers life and changed mine forever! THANK YOU!!!

Whether it’s Defensive Driving, the Right to Know or CPR, I’m sure the job you do every day has helped saved many lives, including my grandmothers.

I love my Gram so much and thanks to Parks and all of you at the Parks Academy I saved her life!

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Football is a mistake. It combines the two worst elements of American life. Violence and committee meetings.”

George F. Will
(1941 - )