Published on 25 March 2022
A fitness instructor who had career-saving surgery at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital returned to lead a Zumba session to help boost staff morale.
Jeanette Stanford, who teaches the fun dance classes across east Kent, had an operation to stabilise her shoulder and repair damaged muscles at the Elective Orthopaedic Centre in September last year.
She had to take four months off work but now has almost full movement back and is delighted to be back in her lycra.
She said: “If it wasn’t for the teams at the Elective Orthopaedic Centre, I wouldn’t be able to do my job, so when they asked I couldn’t say no.
“I normally hold classes in village halls and other locations but it was a pleasure to come to the hospital and do this for the team.
“They changed my life so this was the least I could do in return.”
The session, which took place during a planned education day, was organised by Iwona King, learning and development facilitator for the theatres team, who is also wellbeing lead for theatres.
She said: “I wanted something fun that would help relax people and relieve stress, but also bring the team together and show them the value of the work they do and how it impacts people’s lives.
“I’ve done a few classes with Jeanette so I immediately thought of her.
“It was great fun and I was delighted with how well everyone engaged with the session – they even asked for an extra song at the end because they had enjoyed it so much.
“We will definitely look at doing more sessions like this because it’s a great way to bring everyone together and to promote wellbeing.”
