Bending without breaking

Tariq Malik

Olga Tatich knows all about her hipbone’s connection to her leg bone.

At 89, the Huntington Beach resident has spent more than 50 years

coping with arthritis, an affliction that has left her fingers crooked

and led her to a new calling as the Huntington Village senior community’s

fitness instructor.

“You know I just really wanted to help people, and it gives me joy,”

Tatich said. “And besides, I love to exercise and walk.”

Since her move to Huntington Village in 1991, Tatich has voluntarily

taught residents PACE -- People with Arthritis Can Exercise -- exercises,

which focus on increasing strength, flexibility and range of motion while

working every joint in the body. She learned the technique while living

in Long Beach more than a decade ago, and saw a need to bring it to her

Surf City home.

“The goal is to keep people active, to keep their joints moving so

they don’t freeze up,” she said.

Her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed, and earlier this month -- May has

been dubbed Arthritis Month -- the Orange County/Long Beach branch of the

National Arthritis Foundation honored her work as an instructor during a

weekend luncheon.

“She was actually brought to our attention by the village residents,”

said Sue Shatzel, the foundation’s program director. “She’s a very

sincere and dedicated woman, and looking to make people’s lives better .

. . we wanted to recognize that.”

According to the foundation’s statistics, there about 120 varieties of arthritis, and the disease afflicts one out of every six people

nationwide, 410,000 of which are in Orange County. Of those, 3,000 are

children ranging in age from 1 month to 18 years old.

“Most people think that arthritis is an old person’s disease, but

that’s a major misconception,” Shatzel said. “We don’t know what causes

arthritis yet, but its symptoms include an inflammation of the joints,

stiffness and difficulty in movement, and of course the pain.”

The pain, Tatich said, can be overbearing in some, precluding even the

slightest movement and acting as a chronic reminder that arthritis is

there.

“Arthritis can hit you from the top of your head to the tips of your

toes and the pain can be unbearable,” she added.

One of Tatich’s success stories is Frank Bruno, 78, who moved into

Huntington Village with his wife Nancy, 77, two years ago.

“He didn’t really want to exercise at first, but we were able to bring

him around,” said Nancy Bruno, adding that her husband then had suffered

a severe stroke and doctors did not expect him to talk or walk again.

“Now, like always, he’s the class clown, and he even helps out with our

community barbecues.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” Frank Bruno said of the class, pointing out that

his wisecracks often earn a disciplinary swat from his wife. “And I think

that’s what its all about.”

Though originally from South Bend, Ind., Tatich said she’s found a

home in Huntington Beach where she can be close to her children,

grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who all believe she’ll be around

for many years to come.

And as long as she is, Tatich added, so will the exercises.

“I’m going to do this until I drop,” she said.