February 2017 Weston-super-Mare

Osteoporosis Support Group Newsletter

This is our first opportunity to wish all our members a very happy and healthy new year. We hope you had a good Christmas and that the weather has not caused you too many problems. At the time of writing there has been no snowfall, but a few frosty mornings and in some cases beautiful,sunny but cold days to follow. Do be careful of any frost, ice or snow, as you are fragile!

Helen Stokes:Early in the New Year we heard some rather shocking news about our very good friend, committee member and hydrotherapy teacher, Helen Stokes. Her car broke down in between two villages and having no cover with a vehicle recovery service, she decided to walk to get help. On her way she was hit by another motorist, causing her some quite extensive injuries, including: two broken legs, (one with a badly damaged knee plus torn ligaments), a fractured cheekbone, broken ribs and two vertebral fractures. In Helen’s words “I am lucky to be alive”. She was admitted to Southmead Hospital where some very dedicated and talented doctors “put her back to together again”. Her positivity, general fitness and determination are all helping Helen to recover from such appalling injuries. She thanks everyone who has sent cards and best wishes and to those praying for her full recovery. She has been transferred to Weston General on Hutton Ward, but is unsure how long she will be there. Helen has been a stalwart in running our weekly hydrotherapy classes for many years. We have put these classes on hold for the time being, until she is fit and well and ready to take this on, once again. Get well soon Helen.

Our next group meeting:

Our first meeting of 2017 takes place on Monday 6th March at the Academy, Weston Hospital 6pm for 6.30pm- 7.45pm. We have organised a talk by Care and Repair – the Home Improvement Agency for the West of England. We are delighted to have all our meetings for the foreseeable future back on Mondays instead of Thursdays. There were several members who were unable to attend on Thursdays last year, so we welcome them back and hope that Monday suits most people.

Although we are still confirming some of the speakers for the rest of the year, the meeting dates are booked:-

Monday 8th May – speaker to be confirmed

Monday 3rd July – Dr Sandra Green, Consultant Rheumatologist

Monday 4th September -speaker to be confirmed

Monday 6th November – social evening and talk on New Zealand by Janet Strang.

Please put these dates in your diary and we will update you on speakers in future newsletters. We hope to see you there.

Increased risk of hip fracture among spouses, study says

Husbands and wives of people who have suffered a hip fracture are at an increased risk of hip fractures themselves, according to a new study. Researchers in Sweden looked at medical records of couples married for at least five years and born between 1902 and 1942 and found hip fractures occurred in spouses of 4212 married couples. The study said the findings were largely due to the fact that “individuals tend to marry those who are similar in terms of education level, religion and other socio-economic factors”.

Itsuggestedthat individuals will also tend to marry those of similar height and weight, who do the same level of physical activity and have similar habits such as smoking and drinking – all of which increase the risk of hip fracture. Other factors which also contributed to the risk included the type of house the couple lived in and also the area, as elderly people in rural areas tend to have a lower risk for hip fracture than those living in cities. Sarah Leyland, Osteoporosis Nurse Consultant at the National Osteoporosis Society said the study highlighted an interesting issue. “Hip fractures can be debilitating and life changing and anything which furthers our understanding of the risk factors, however unusual, is a welcome development. However, there are many well established risk factors that have been proven to be linked to poor bone strength, some of which you can do something about, and these are more important and useful to find out more about right now”.

DorothyBorbas: We were saddened to hear that our friend and former Group’s Publicity Secretary, Dorothy aged 91 had passed away in India, where she has been living with family for a few years. She was a great ambassador for the National Osteoporosis Society – visiting 10 Downing Street with a petition and attending the Houses of Parliament to meet MPs to discuss osteoporosis and the affect of vertebral fractures on her everyday life. She also joined in all the beach walks and was happy to tell anyone how much height she had lost due to her osteoporosis. She helped us to raise funds towards the Weston Hospital DXA scanner, which she felt was so important for Weston.

I know we ask this every year, but we really would appreciate some new `helpers’ to add to our small band of dedicated volunteers who have been helping to run the group for many years. The more people we have, the less the workload will be for everyone. Even if you can only offer a couple of hours every other month it would greatly help us. Please speak to Sue or Jan at the meeting if you feel you could help us in any way or telephone us on the numbers below, if youprefer.
  • Chairperson: Sue Robson – 01934 521339 or email:
  • Treasurer & Newsletter Editor: Janet Strang 01934 515270 or
  • Joan White and Mary Gray - committee members
  • Hydrotherapy Teacher & bookings: Helen Stokes: 0791 436 6507
  • Group Contact:Anne Clarke:01934 415096 or

NOS Free Helpline – 0808 800 0035 Website –

Medical Adviser: Dr Sandra Green Patron: Lord Cotter of Congresbury