Friends,   

Who lives with fear as we live with MS?  I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we all do.  It’s pretty normal when we get a diagnosis of having MS that we have fear of what the rest of our life will be like.  MS is different for all of us and we all face the challenges differently.  Some of us face our fears head on and some are afraid to face our challenges which is fear in itself.  MS is tough, let’s face our fears the best we can.  It’s always easier when we don’t have to do it alone.

I think I could write a whole page about fears living with MS.  Last Friday, Nicole Sammartino from the National MS visited us and did an excellent job of listening to many of us that come to the gym.  

I was able to listen to many of the responses and I just loved how people expressed that they’ve overcome fears of living with MS and have overcome other fears as we do different events and try different things.  Some of the fears that people have overcome is the fear of falling, the fear of riding a bike, the fear of swimming, the fear coming here in the first place, the fear of doing too much, the fear of doing too little, the fear of not being accepted, the fear of failure, etc.

To me, getting to the level of acceptance that I have MS and not be afraid to deal with it is a huge step toward living a better life with MS.  I was so happy to hear that this is one of the ways we help people and in so many different ways.  Thank you to all who shared with Nicole and allowed me to be part of the conversations!

Other powerful comments I heard were that of love and sharing.  I’m still amazed every week how much everyone helps each other.  Our volunteers are amazing as well as all our friends with MS that join us.  Nicole did an excellent job of listening to people and loved hearing the stories.  Thank you for visiting us Nicole!  She left some information the MS Society put out on the table.  Feel free to take it and learn.

Nicole also brought some snacks for us on Friday…thanks Nicole!  It was awesome for me to see Nancy and Linda standing in the standing machines eating some snacks.  Usually we have them catching balls or squeezing clothespins.  It looks like eating snacks is another great option while standing.  😊

I just love the willpower with this group!

I received an e-mail from Gennifer.  She says “THANK YOU” to all for the card and prayers as she goes through this difficult time of losing her sister.  Our hearts go out to you Gennifer!

Rick will be doing the 2^nd Medicare 101 Program Wednesday @ 11:30am.  He’ll be answering any questions you may have about Medicare.  Feel free to join him!

Many of us have challenges with balance.  What can we do about it?  Work on it, I guess.  We have a new balance board with handles.  Will it work?  It’s supposed to but you’ll have to try it to find out how you respond to it.  There are different workouts you can do on it from beginner to advanced.  Here’s a link to some videos on how to use it along with different workouts.  https://60up.com/pages/60up-videos  I like how they market it and this comment makes sense to all of us living with MS.  Body strength. Positive body alignment. Neurological brain connections.

Some of our friends with MS didn’t hesitate to give it a try.  Great examples of facing fear head on.

Looks like fun doesn’t it?  Give it a try!

It was awesome to see Wendy get out of her chair and walk all by herself last week with our new hand rails.  She continues to make progress and it makes me so happy.  The ONLY reason she’s not smiling is because she’s so focused.  Look how nice and straight she is.  Way to go Wendy!

It was an exciting week again last week.  I could keep writing but I’m getting tired and am going to go to bed.

Let’s ride again Friday morning @ 7:00am.  We meet at Nettesheim Park on the SE corner of Hwy SS and Oak Street in Pewaukee.  If you would like to ride a tandem or a trike, please let me know ahead of time so we bring one for you.  I hope you’ll join us!  We will not ride if it’s raining.

We all need to “Just Keep Moving”!  It doesn’t matter where we start.  We can start with laughing which is great exercise in itself.  Other than that, we start with the body parts that will move and keep moving them as much as we can.  Let them rest and then move them again.

I know there are still many of us going through other life challenges in addition to our challenges with MS.  Let’s stick together, keep our chins up and keep sharing our journey.  Better days are ahead.  For those of you who haven’t been able to make it by us on Wednesdays and Fridays lately, please know you are missed and in my thoughts and prayers.  I hope you’re able to make it back soon!

I hope you’ll join us both Wednesday and Friday again this week.   Remember…consistency is key.  With MS, it takes a lot of consistent effort every day to make small improvements.  Yes, it’s frustrating so be patient and consistent and you’ll be amazed how your quality of life will continue to improve.  It’s been about 17 years of exercising just about every day for me and I’m still making improvements (encouragement, love, support, nutrition and proper rest help immensely too).  It takes time so please be patient.  It sure is better than MS getting worse.  I really don’t know what my life would be like if I didn’t do this (nor do I want to find out).  I’m so thankful you are all joining me on this journey of making progress with our MS and quality of life…THANK YOU!  We’ll continue to learn together…there’s so much power in the love and support we all share with each other.

In the past, I’ve been telling you to bring a friend.  Unfortunately, we’re going to need to start a waiting list for new people.  Please feel free to continue to share your experience and what we’re doing together.  Let me know of anyone who would like to join us.  I’ll communicate with these people through e-mail or phone and help them any way I can.  When we have room for them to join us, I’ll encourage them to do that.  If you’ve joined us in the past, please continue to join us.

We are here to help you and anyone with MS…no strings attached (well maybe an occasional story about the progress you’re making, smile, high five or a hug).  I remember how challenging life used to be when my MS was bad.  I get great joy sharing what I’ve learned and feel blessed with the progress I’ve made.  I hope you make progress in some way too!

Place:  W228N791 Westmound Dr.
Waukesha, WI

When:  Wednesday morning from 9:30am – 12:30pm (open gym concept, come for all or part of it)
Friday morning from 9:30 – 12:30pm  (open gym concept, come for all or part of it)

Dan Erschen

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