Checking Out Checkups And More

In a Centegra Health Center examining room, orthopedic surgeon Matthew Samuelson was hunched over the board game Operation, returning the plastic “ailments” players extract from the battery-operated board, aka Cavity Sam, to their proper slots.

“The game has changed since I was a kid,” said Samuelson, citing a few of the changes that game-maker Hasbro has introduced over the years.

Then, as if the scene were part of a comedy skit, two young boys wearing hairnets, surgical masks, and clear plastic gloves entered the room to test the steadiness of their hands. And while the boys, Blake and Lucas Swanson of Huntley, were only successful with one or two ailments, even taking off their gloves at one point to really get at Cavity Sam, the experience was worth the trip. The Swanson family was among hundreds of families receiving a free healthy lunch, backpacks, children’s bike helmets and fittings, and health tips at Cruise Into Wellness, Centegra Health System’s third annual Family Health Fest on Saturday at the Centegra HealthBridge Fitness Center in Huntley.

“This is what it’s all about,” said Lisa O’Neil, Centegra Health System’s marketing and communications director, who estimated 500 families were in attendance. “It’s all about serving our community, and we really feel strongly about our community here in Huntley so we’re proud to be able to offer this.”

At the festival’s Doc’s Dock, where Samuelson was one of several surgeons hosting the game Operation, fest participants received free spine and ECHO Heart screenings in addition to sports physicals for a $25 fee. There was also a teddy bear clinic with doctors and nurses checking on the overall health of children’s teddy bears and, if needed, applying bandages and casts or performing X-rays.

At the south end of the festival, participants played Cardio Tennis and competed in a fitness challenge that featured a push-up station, jump ropes, a rope flick, sprints, and a medicine ball. Fitness challenge winners were awarded iPods.

Anchoring the festival was the Playtime Peninsula, where kids played the “Guess the Fruit” game, climbed a rock wall, showed off their arms at the Player’s Choice Academy pitching booth, and sang and danced with children’s entertainer Dave Rudolf. Then, under a tent, they could cool off and eat a free lunch that included turkey hot dogs, veggie burgers, and watermelon. Some families also took advantage of a two-hour open swim at the HealthBridge pool.

“Just walking around and seeing the kids with their teddy bears and the tiaras they got from Miss Illinois (Hannah Smith, of Huntley), it just makes it all worthwhile,” O’Neil said.