Friends,   

Last week was an interesting week seeing and hearing about people doing some things that might seem to be challenging.  It’s amazing what can happen when people help people and get a little creative on how to get people to do challenging things.  So, what am I talking about?  Have you tried waterskiing lately?  How about riding bike when it doesn’t seem like it’s possible?

It sounds like Todd, Joan and John had opportunities to go waterskiing last week with Damien, Tony and some other friends that made this possible.  Watch this video that John shared with me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YdwQ0LrxI4&t=4s  Yes, that’s John skiing on a ski with a chair.  He did really well didn’t he?  Nice splash John!  Thanks for showing us what’s possible with some help from some friends.  John’s comment:  “That was big fun!”

We had a lot of fun on our Friday morning bike ride last Friday morning as we had five people on trikes. 

Last week I wrote about facing our fears.  As I was riding alongside Carol, I asked her how she’s doing.  She responded “I’m terrified” as she was squeezing the brakes as much as she was pedaling.  She wasn’t kidding, she was terrified but she still had a huge smile on her face and loved being on a bike powering it all by herself.  I just love it when people try things they are afraid of and then do them.  It’s going to be fun to see the progress these people make between now and the MS bike ride next summer.  I hope you’ll join us to be part of the fun.

Speaking of trying new things, Rhonda is taking on a real challenge. 

Unfortunately, many of us cannot run.  Rhonda is a fortunate person with MS that can run.  So, what is she doing?  She’s attempting to run every day for an entire year.  She already has 192 consecutive days in the book.  She usually runs 3-4 miles per day.  She says she thinks of all of us that can’t run on every run.  So, what does Rhonda want to do?  She wants to run the rest of the year for all of us.  She’s going to run for a cause and she says she wants the cause to be our MS-Just Keep Moving group.  Let’s do our part to cheer Rhonda on.  Way to go Rhonda…nice job!  

Linda will be doing another alcohol paint class on Friday morning.  I hope you’ll be able to join her.  Do you want to hear some more good news that Linda shared with me?  Well, you remember Wendy who brought her horse here a while back?  He’s the news Linda shared with me about Wendy:  “Horse Power Healing Center won WTMJ’s nonprofit contest ($1000) and they were out filming this morning.  The segment will air next Tuesday, Sept 3, on The Morning Blend, around 9am. I know we have some horse fans at the gym!”  That’s awesome and well-deserved!  Congratulations!

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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