Friends,
We have lots of exciting things happening this week, I hope you’ll join us.
Guess who will be starting back on Wednesday this week. Becky Thomas and her Physical Therapy Assistant students from Bryant Stratton College will be here for another semester. Thank you, Becky and students! They learn from us and we learn from them while we all make progress. Be sure to show up and put them to work. They love helping all of us with MS.
Sometimes stories are so powerful, we need to share them. Many of you know Jon and Katie. Katie’s been challenged with MS for quite a few years. She went through some MS therapies and was told she’d never be able to have kids as a result of them. Guess what, God had a different plan for them and they just brought their daughter Sam Amelia Hall into this world. Is that awesome or what? They brought little Sam with them to the ice cream sundae ride this year (in Katie’s belly) and now they’re going to come as a family to our group tomorrow. They’re sharing their blessing and joy with us. Thanks Jon and Katie…welcome Sam!
Linda has an alcohol ink project opportunity for you this Friday. He’s a note from Linda about it:
“Alcohol Ink Group again this Friday! Besides our usual activities, there is the OPTION of decorating a pumpkin luminaria. The cost is $13. Otherwise, the usual $2 donation is appreciated. Linda” Thanks for making this possible Linda!
People helping people; we see many examples of this on a daily basis. I just love it when someone who thought they’d never ride a bike helps someone else with MS who thought they’d never ride a bike. Al knows our trikes hook together as tandems and he asked Carol a few weeks ago…”Hey Carol, do want to hook up?” It was all in sincerity because Al wanted to help Carol ride. Carol responded “No, I don’t want you to slow me down”. I love it!
As we were going up a hill, Al saw an opportunity to help Carol as he pulled along side of her and gave her a push up the hill.
They both had fun and made it up the hill together.
Bob and Pete had fun last week helping Paulette ride a bike as well. Check out the joy on Paulette’s face as she powered the bike all by herself. Amazing! Bob and Pete were having fun too!
Sometimes we ride to get a good workout while having fun. Last week a group got a little creative and hooked four trikes together just for fun. I have a feeling we’ll see quite a bit more of this fun…
Let’s ride again Friday morning @ 7:00am while we still have the weather for it. 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