Friends,
People with MS continue to make progress. You’re all amazing and working so hard! That’s what it takes to stay ahead of MS. I really appreciate it when you share your progress along with your journey and challenges.
Last week Shane shared some exciting videos on his phone with many of us. If you didn’t get to see them, please ask him to see them. It’s videos of him walking in his house with no cane, poles or assistance. He has videos of him walking like that at two separate times. That’s progress! I don’t know if I was more excited for him or if he was. He sure gave lots of people hope as he shared the videos last week.
So what’s Shane doing to make this progress? He’s engaged in eating very healthy and he’s working hard each day with exercise. Shane is another one that’s not afraid to push his body to the fatigue spot where it just shuts down, let it recover and get right back after it. That combination seems to work well for many of us. It takes consistency and a lot of hard work without fear. Have you ever heard that before?
How about John? Have you seen his posture lately as he walks? He’s working on it daily and is starting to get back to where he was when Suzy moved away and he walked a mile (18 laps) plus one extra lap just for Suzy. Keep working at it John, you’ll get there! By the way, we still miss you Suzy!
How about Nancy’s progress? She started walking with us about 8 weeks ago with poles. I believe she started with about 1-1/2 laps. I believe she’s up to 8 or 9 laps now. That’s amazing…way to go Nancy! Ask her about the wedding she has coming up that she wants to be walking for. It’s always good to have something on the calendar isn’t it? Nancy, I hope you continue to make the progress you deserve as you work so hard.
Isn’t it fun watching Kathleen take Donna for a walk or jog in the standing machine? Many people don’t realize what it’s like to go from sitting in a wheel chair for years to standing and being able to socialize from a standing experience. Thanks to many volunteers and the standing machine, Donna is now experiencing this as well as making her rounds talking to everyone. She’s adorable!
We all love Bill! I love it every time I see Bill sitting up all by himself.
We’re so lucky to have Brian as a volunteer. It’s so refreshing to have such a nice young person here helping people who live with the challenges of MS. Bill’s so fun to work with isn’t he Brian?
Let’s have some fun again this week!
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)
Any questions? Give me a call.
Dan Erschen
Cell: 414-305-0418