Friends,
People with MS continue to make progress. Youāre all amazing and working so hard! Thatās 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 didnāt get to see them, please ask him to see them. Itās 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. Thatās progress! I donāt 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 whatās Shane doing to make this progress? Heās engaged in eating very healthy and heās working hard each day with exercise. Shane is another one thatās 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? Heās 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, youāll get there! By the way, we still miss you Suzy!
How about Nancyās progress? She started walking with us about 8 weeks ago with poles. I believe she started with about 1-1/2 laps. I believe sheās up to 8 or 9 laps now. Thatās amazingā¦way to go Nancy! Ask her about the wedding she has coming up that she wants to be walking for. Itās always good to have something on the calendar isnāt it? Nancy, I hope you continue to make the progress you deserve as you work so hard.
Isnāt it fun watching Kathleen take Donna for a walk or jog in the standing machine? Many people donāt realize what itās 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. Sheās adorable!
We all love Bill! I love it every time I see Bill sitting up all by himself.
Weāre so lucky to have Brian as a volunteer. Itās so refreshing to have such a nice young person here helping people who live with the challenges of MS. Billās so fun to work with isnāt he Brian?
Letās have some fun again this week!
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)
Any questions? Give me a call.
Dan Erschen
Cell: 414-305-0418