Seeing the looks on the residents' faces during the wheelchair race was what made the Maranatha Winter Olympics so much fun for Maranatha's general manager Debra Wells.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
What began as a novel idea for the residents' entertainment exceeded the expectations of all involved.
"There is only so much bingo you can do, so we all sat down to plan something different," emotional spiritual support team officer Dixie Robinson said.
"It brought a lot of life into the ones you wouldn't think it would and attendance was up, we didn't expect it."
Ms Wells said participation from the Allworth wing, a dementia specific wing, was a lot more than she had hoped and residents now wanted a Summer Olympics, as well as fortnightly balloon volleyball competitions.
More than $200 was raised and went to Huntington's NSW for 25-year-old Wellington local Amy George who is trying to raise awareness of the disease.
In 2009 she tested positive for the Huntington gene which means at some stage of her life she will develop Huntington's Disease.
Huntington's disease is an incurable, hereditary brain disorder. Nerve cells become damaged, causing various parts of the brain to deteriorate.
The disease affects movement, behaviour and cognition - the affected individuals' abilities to walk, think, reason and talk gradually degrades to such a point where they eventually become entirely reliant on other people for their care.
Ms George said it was wonderful that the residents of Maranatha had joined her plight.
"That was a lovely thought, it was such a good idea to come together and see that the residents really seemed to enjoy themselves.
"I think it was the amazing staff, they have and being such a small local town to get involved and get together was amazing."
She has a target of $6000 and to raise awareness she is wearing blue every day until December 31.
To find out more or to donate you can go online to https://give.everydayhero.com/au/hope-for-huntingtons
Maranatha residents took part in everything from egg and spoon races to marbles, bobs, equestrian, bob sledding and colouring in.
The winners were:
Val Hunt and Betty Munro won the colouring in
Val Hamilton won gold
Marie Campbell silver
Sheila England bronze
In Allworth wing Joan Ball won gold
Wally Phillipson silver
Val Smith bronze
Notable mentions went to Elaine Cook, Pauline Corcoran, Elsie Bell and Anne Donovan.
