Friends,
We have lots of exciting things happening this week, I hope youāll 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. Katieās been challenged with MS for quite a few years. She went through some MS therapies and was told sheād 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 Katieās belly) and now theyāre going to come as a family to our group tomorrow. Theyāre sharing their blessing and joy with us. Thanks Jon and Katieā¦welcome Sam!
Linda has an alcohol ink project opportunity for you this Friday. Heās 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 theyād never ride a bike helps someone else with MS who thought theyād never ride a bike. Al knows our trikes hook together as tandems and he asked Carol a few weeks agoā¦āHey Carol, do want to hook up?ā It was all in sincerity because Al wanted to help Carol ride. Carol responded āNo, I donāt want you to slow me downā. 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 Pauletteās 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 weāll see quite a bit more of this funā¦
Letās 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 youāll join us! We will not ride if itās raining.
We all need to āJust Keep Movingā! It doesnāt 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. Letās stick together, keep our chins up and keep sharing our journey. Better days are ahead. For those of you who havenāt 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 youāre able to make it back soon!
I hope youāll join us both Wednesday and Friday again this week. Rememberā¦consistency is key. With MS, it takes a lot of consistent effort every day to make small improvements. Yes, itās frustrating so be patient and consistent and youāll be amazed how your quality of life will continue to improve. Itās been about 17 years of exercising just about every day for me and Iām 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 donāt know what my life would be like if I didnāt do this (nor do I want to find out). Iām so thankful you are all joining me on this journey of making progress with our MS and quality of lifeā¦THANK YOU! Weāll continue to learn togetherā¦thereās so much power in the love and support we all share with each other.
In the past, Iāve been telling you to bring a friend. Unfortunately, weāre going to need to start a waiting list for new people. Please feel free to continue to share your experience and what weāre doing together. Let me know of anyone who would like to join us. Iāll 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, Iāll encourage them to do that. If youāve joined us in the past, please continue to join us.
We are here to help you and anyone with MSā¦no strings attached (well maybe an occasional story about the progress youāre 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 Iāve learned and feel blessed with the progress Iāve made. I hope you make progress in some way too!
Place: W228N791 Westmound Dr.
Waukesha, WI
When: Wednesday morning from 9:30am ā 12:30pm (open gym concept, come for all or part of it)
Friday morning from 9:30 ā 12:30pm (open gym concept, come for all or part of it)
Dan Erschen