Keep swimming

Staying active

Victoire has COPD, a lung condition that makes breathing more difficult and reduces her energy levels. She believes swimming helps keep her lungs as strong as possible. She does not use medication.

Victoire lives alone in an apartment in Wyck. She takes care of everything herself, from household chores to personal care, and likes doing things her own way. 

The same goes for swimming.

Using her shopping trolley for support, she walks to one of the accessible changing rooms. The extra space and a place to sit are important for her comfort. She also arrives well before the lesson starts, giving herself plenty of time to change.

“Everything is still possible,” she says. “It just takes a bit longer.” 

A lifelong swimmer

Swimming has been a constant throughout Victoire's life.

When she was a secondary school student in Maastricht, she and her classmates regularly visited the Sportfondsenbad swimming pool in Wyck. It was during the Second World War, and sports were part of the school programme.

Even before the war, in the summers of 1938 and 1939, she was already spending as much time in the water as possible. Her sister, who was ten years older, would take her on the back of her bicycle to the outdoor swimming pool in Meerssen. If her sister could not go, Victoire walked there herself. An hour-long walk was worth it if it meant she could swim.

Years later, when her three daughters took swimming lessons at Sportfondsenbad, Victoire joined them in the water. Family holidays were always better if there was a swimming pool nearby.

Swimming also remained important during her husband's illness. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and lived with the disease for eight years before passing away in 1994. On his doctor's advice, he attended swimming sessions in the therapy pool at Vijverdal. Victoire accompanied him. “My husband would gently float and do half a lap,” she remembers. “I swam my usual laps.”

After his death, she could no longer attend as a companion, so she searched for a new place to swim. For many years she went to a pool in Valkenburg twice a week. When that pool closed, one thing was certain. Victoire wanted to keep swimming. Her search eventually brought her to Geusseltbad. 

Has all that swimming helped her reach the age of 96? “I don't have a secret,” she says. “But I do think it's important to stay positive, take good care of yourself and keep moving.”

Swimming together

A therapeutic swimming session at Geusseltbad lasts one hour in water heated to 33°C. Each group has around 30 participants.

Halfway through the session, everyone takes part in exercises set to music and led by a swimming instructor. Before and after the exercises, participants can swim or move around in the water at their own pace. 

Swimming instructor Pedro Maas (61) leads the sessions. He demonstrates the exercises from the poolside, plays music and encourages participants throughout the class. He also pays close attention to what each person can manage. Anyone who needs assistance can get help, whether that means putting on a bathrobe or walking safely to the pool steps. The therapy pool is also equipped with a pool lift.

The sessions are social too. People enjoy catching up with one another, and when the conversations start lasting a little too long, Pedro knows exactly what to say. “The jaw muscles have had enough exercise,” he jokes. “Now it's time for the other muscles.” 

Victoire attends on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. “I generally only do things when I feel like it,” she says. “But swimming is something I have to do.”

More than exercise

For Victoire, swimming is not only about staying active. It is also about meeting people. She knows many of the pool staff and fellow swimmers by name and enjoys having a chat with them. Staying connected, she believes, is just as important as staying physically active. Her advice to friends who tell her they feel stuck at home? “Go outside,” she says. “If you don't take the initiative yourself and don't connect with people, not much will happen.”

What is therapeutic swimming?

Therapeutic swimming at Geusseltbad offers one hour of movement in water heated to 33°C, in a way that suits your own abilities and needs.

Groups consist of around 30 participants. Halfway through the session, a swimming instructor leads exercises to music. Before and after, participants can swim or move freely in the water. Supervision is always available, and help is close by whenever needed.