It happened in the shower, where he passed out. Her husband Dan had a stroke at 46 years old. While there is a caregiver’s group that meets at the Seniors Centre in Langley City, Pittico said there is a need in north Langley so people don’t have to drive so far. She also wants to eventually open up a group for caregivers so they can find some relief, too. People who have Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, mild brain injuries, early dementia and other disabilities could be welcome to join her groups. “It’s a really supportive, loving environment for so many people who feel isolated or don’t fit in anywhere else,” she said. Pittico wants to open up the groups to others who would otherwise not connect to community due to physical disability or chronic illness. “We can be creative and think outside the box, like with the chair dancing.” “This makes it so decisions can be made here in Langley and it allows me the growth to take on some extra responsibilities,” she said. Now she’s ready to take the next step, under a new umbrella called Langley Community Support Groups Society.

Pittico will soon mark 18 years of running the Langley Stroke Recovery Group, which includes all ages, and a group she created for young stroke survivors after she found that more and more young adults were having strokes. We play some of the older stuff, too, like Sugar Sugar, but the new music is a hit,” she said. “We are doing something that nobody else is doing.” His wife credits his enjoyment of the music used in their exercises.

One of the stroke survivors who has been attending Pittico’s Wednesday sessions for years is just now able to lift his legs up to put his shoes on. I put on “Moves like Jagger” and they came to life.” “Then one day I thought I would let them listen to the music I like that I had on my iPad. “It’s good to exercise, but there was either terrible music or outdated exercise tapes, or the music was too fast,” said Pittico. It all started because Pittico couldn’t find the right exercise DVD to use with her group. Marilyn Pittico, stroke support facilitator, said her group of stroke survivors which meets at Walnut Grove Community Centre are seeing amazing physical progress because they love grooving to the sounds of top 10 songs like Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger and Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know. Whether they are 25 or 85, stroke survivors in Langley have got the moves like Jagger.

I ve got the moves like jagger