Friends,

Last week I was tired so your e-mail was short and sweet.  This week I have a lot of good and exciting information to share so please read carefully.  I’m sorry if it’s a little long.  You had your short and sweet e-mail last week. 🙂

Be sure to show up tomorrow morning if possible.  CBS Channel 58 will be here recording a program for her Natalie’s Everday heroes show featuring Dr. Becky Thomas and her PTA students from Bryant Strattion College.  We’ve been having quite a few people with MS here on Wednesdays, I’m just hoping you’re able to make it tomorrow so they can make a nice show.  They will be here from 10:00am – noon taking pictures, videos and perhaps doing a few interviews.

We have another physical therapy opportunity at Marquette University.  Tina Stoeckmann is heading up this initiative.  Here’s a message from Tina with more information.  Please participate of you’re able to.  Thanks for the opportunity Tina!

Hi everyone!  I am looking for a few individuals to work with my 6th year DPT students in a 1-time, end-of-the-semester NeuroRehab treatment lab in the Marquette University Physical Therapy Department.  The goal of this lab is for the students to screen and provide treatment interventions for individuals with neurologic disorders.  They have learned and practiced these techniques with each other throughout the semester, and now they are applying what they’ve learned to real clients.  Labs are 2 hours from 8-10, 10-12, 1-3 and 3-5 with small student groups of 3-4 people working with a participant for an hour and then rotate.  You would sign up for one 2hr lab time that works best for you.  There is a small stipend for participating.  Parking is available in a surface lot across the street and a wheelchair escort can be provided if needed.  This is a win-win opportunity – students get experience and your feedback, and you get a PT screening and therapeutic interventions.  Plus, you are helping to teach the next generation of PTs about MS and what it’s like to live with it.  If you have any questions or are interested in signing up, feel free to email or call me at tina.stoeckmann@mu.edu  414-288-5527. 

Shelley is creating a new Facebook page to help us all stay connected.  I’m not a Facebook person so contact Shelley if you have any questions.  Here’s a message from Shelley about our new Facebook Page.  Perhaps you could join us and pass the word to any of your “friends” that would like to “follow” us.  How am I doing with Facebook terminology?

Here’s Shelley’s message:

We have a new Facebook page!  Follow this link to check it out https://www.facebook.com/groups/2639832389489709 or you can search MS Just Keep Moving on Facebook.  All are welcome to post and comment.  Let’s keep things positive, upbeat and use this as another tool to stay connected and up to date. The page will be updated weekly with comments, pictures and updates.  Feel free to tag the group with posts from your own page as well. 

Here’s some exciting news!  We will be getting more space and have cleaner space soon.  Wisconsin Metal Parts will be moving the welding and assembly operations to a larger facility within the next few weeks.  We will stay in the building we’re in with our friends with MS and all we’re doing with our MS-Just Keep Moving non-profit group.  We will be expanding and eventually offering more activities for all of us with MS.  It’s extremely important to me that we continue to do what we’re doing “free” for people with MS.  In order to do that and add more programs and equipment, we’ll start doing some fun fundraising initiatives.

To kick off our initial fund raising initiatives, we will be having an open house on Saturday, November 13th from 2:00 – 5:00pm.  We will be sharing some stories of some of our friends with MS, the progress they’ve made and what this place means to them.  This should be a very inspirational event and we’d like you to be there.  We’d also like you to invite anyone else that would be interested in seeing what we’re doing.  Click here to view the save the date flyer.  More information to come…stay tuned!  Our fundraising team has been absolutely amazing so far.  We have way more ideas than we can execute right now.  Let’s get off to a good start by helping to make the open house a fun event.

Last week, we fired up the electric horse.  It’s always fun to see Marlene hanging on for her life while strengthening her legs and core.

Chrissy sure had fun too!  Brought her back to her rodeo days   Just Kidding!

Annette got us all started on the horse by asking how it works.  How quickly we adapt!  This was Annette’s first day joining us.  Fun!

We’ll be getting together again from 9:00am – noon on Wednesday and Friday mornings at the gym.

Wisconsin Metal Parts – Westmound Building
W228N791 Westmound Drive
Waukesha, WI 53186

We realize the virus is not gone yet.  In fact, the numbers are very concerning again.  Many of us have either had COVID or have been vaccinated or both.  With the numbers going up, we have more people wearing masks again.  Thank you for doing that!

At this time, we’re leaving wearing a mask up to you to make good decisions.  If you have concerns, please wear a mask.  Either way, please be respectful.  Thank you for being so understanding, cooperative and respectful through this entire pandemic.  I wish we didn’t have to worry about it but it’s reality at this time.

One of the most important things you can do is to stay home if you have any symptoms or know you’ve been exposed to someone with the virus.  Please don’t come until your symptoms go away.  Let’s also give each other some space when talking to one another and continue wiping the machines down before and after you use them with disinfectant.  Let’s stay safe!

It looks like it might be a little chilly and a slight chance of rain Friday morning for our bike ride.  If it’s not raining, we will ride even if it’s a little chilly.  Let’s hope it’s not raining so we can ride.  Each week we get to ride together this late in the year is a bonus.  We’ll continue riding as long as the weather is 45 degrees or higher @ 7:00am and it’s not raining.  I hope you’ll join us!

We’ll be meeting Friday morning at 7:00am at Nettesheim Park in Pewaukee.  It’s on the SE corner of Hwy SS and Oak Street.  The GPS address is:  N26W27495 Prospect Ave, Pewaukee, WI 53072.  Come a little early so you can get your bike out of your car and be ready to ride as close to 7:00 as possible.  We’ll ride until about 8:45.

If you need me to bring a trike or a tandem for you, please let me know and I will bring them.

If you’d like to ride but don’t know how you’d do it, please let me know.  We’ll do our best to figure out a way to get you riding.  We get pretty creative .

Ricky Heldt will be here on Wednesday and Friday again this week doing Tai Massage.  Many of you have reported making great progress with chronic pain relief, range of motion, walking better and a new sense of hope when Ricky does his magic to you.  Please keep in mind that consistency is key.  We need consistency to realize the benefits long term.  That’s why we’re having Ricky here both Wednesday and Friday mornings.  We want you to have long term relief.  Ricky will have a sign up sheet based on first come first served.  You can pick the time slot that works for you.  I highly encourage you to take advantage of Ricky’s Tai Massages each day and sign up for your time slot as soon as you get there.

Last week, our prayer group was once again…powerful!  I just love the way we share, pray together and witness prayers being answered weekly.  Thanks goes to God and to everyone that joins us.

Our prayer group will be in person at the gym as well as on zoom this week at 11:00am on Wednesday.  We’ll get together and share, talk, listen, give thanks and pray however God leads us.

MS – Just Keep Moving Prayer Group

Wednesdays @ 11:00am

Join Zoom Meeting with this link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82689557013?pwd=NzNEL0ExYkpSdnE5RllCQXlJeVo1UT09

Meeting ID: 826 8955 7013

Passcode: keepmoving

We had a fun call with Adam again this afternoon on his inspirational zoom call.  We’ll be doing it again next Tuesday.  Please join us if you can…thank you!

Inspirational Humor with Adam Wollert

Tuesdays @ 1:30PM

Here’s the link to join us…I hope you do!

Join Zoom Meeting with this link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9431389152?pwd=bWlYbFNaazVnM1M1cWxWMitlODdXUT09

Meeting ID: 943 138 9152

Passcode: 3qP2hu

Phone:   1-312-626-6799

Meeting ID: 943 138 9152

I encourage you to share a smile with someone.  Perhaps you could call someone that you haven’t talked with for a while just to say hi and see how they’re doing.  We all could use a little extra love and encouragement during these times.

MS is tough.  Let’s stay calm, focused, healthy, flexible, have faith and learn as much as we can about the challenges of each day as we make good choices.  Better days are ahead.

In God We Trust!

Dan