Friends,

What can happen when we all work together?  An open house event like we had on Saturday afternoon can happen.  It was amazing!  Actually, the word amazing doesn’t do it justice.

Thank you to all who helped us prepare for this!  Where do I even start?  We had people doing interviews, sharing their stories, writing, making videos and slideshows, cleaning, re-organizing, planning, making signs, bringing tables, bringing food, bringing audio / video equipment, figuring technology out, moving chairs, pulling weeds, picking up snacks and water, took pictures, demonstrated massage, reiki and art work, provided nutritional information, etc., etc., etc.  We sure have a lot of talent and energy in our group, don’t we?

For only having a few days to pull it all together after Wisconsin Metal Parts moved out of the new space (literally 3 days), I’m amazed at how much got done in such a short period of time.  Thank you for doing your part!

A special thank you goes out to all of our friends with MS and our volunteers who showed up and showed our guests how we exercise together before the program.  You opened the eyes and touched the hearts of many people.  It was awesome seeing so many of you that we haven’t seen since the pandemic started.  I hope you’ll keep coming back.

Let’s hear it for Phil.  Did he do an awesome job or what?  Who would have known this quiet, smiley guy that brings Brenda all the time would come alive and tell the stories the way he did?  Awesome job Phil!

Thank you so much for interviewing some our friends with MS and sharing their story so well.

To all of you who shared your story…THANK YOU!  I know it’s not comfortable to share your experiences about living with MS which you didn’t want and certainly don’t deserve in the first place.  By sharing your story, I’m confident that you gave someone else a new spark of hope that they too can make progress with their MS.  We have so many inspirational stories to share…thanks so much for sharing yours!  Let’s keep moving and making progress as we go forward.  We can all make progress in some way.

Thank you to all for inviting your families and friends!  It was amazing to have so many good hearted, loving people with us.

As you could feel by the spirit in the room and the love in the room, even though we live with MS, we are loved by many.  It’s God and love that draws us all together.  Please thank your family and friends for coming.  That meant a lot to me and to all of us living with MS.  It was awesome to see that so many people love us and took time out of their day to join us.

Speaking of the spirit of the event, Warren wore one of his favorite shirts.  Or perhaps it’s Darice’s favorite shirt.  I was really close to calling Warren up to show everyone his shirt but he begged me not to.  I respected that and let him off the hook this time.  With that said, I think I should share a picture that Linda captured.  Thanks Linda!

It’s extremely important to me that we always do what we do for FREE for people with MS.  As you could see on our wish list, we have some great ideas for offering more programs, equipment and even do some research initiatives as we go forward.  The most common question I had after the event was “How can I make a donation to support your non-profit MS-Just Keep Moving?”  I guess we should’ve had a donation bucket available.  This was our first open house, we were more concerned with people having a great experience than accepting donations.  I think people experienced what we’re all about.

If you know anyone that would like to make a tax deductible donation to our 501 (c)(3) non profit “MS-Just Keep Moving, Inc.” they can do it by:

  • Donating online at our website https://msjustkeepmoving.org/
  • Mail a check to:
    MS – Just Keep Moving, Inc.
    W228N791 Westmound Dr
    Waukesha, WI  53186

Any donations would be greatly appreciated and put to good use as we go forward.

For all of you who weren’t able to make it…I know how hard it is for some people to get out of the house as you live with MS.  Please know that my heart goes out to you and you are a big reason why we’re doing all we’re doing.  We want to learn and share as much as we possibly can about MS.  We did record the program and will share a link to it as soon as we get it ready to share.

Linda took some awesome pictures.  I’ll play them as a slideshow tomorrow.  Thanks for taking them and sharing them Linda!

Shelley has created a new Facebook page to help us all stay connected.  We’re now up to 108 members.  That’s another 13 more than last week. 😊  That’s awesome…our community continues to grow.  Have you joined yet?  There are some fun pictures and comments out there.  I’m not a Facebook person so contact Shelley if you have any questions.  Here’s Shelley’s message about our new Facebook Page.

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. 

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 choices.  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!

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.

We will be having our prayer group in person again this Wednesday @ 11:00am.  At this time, we will not be doing our zoom prayer group since nobody has been logging on lately.  If you’d like to join us via zoom, please let me know and we’ll start it back up for you.

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.

We’ll get together and share, listen, talk, give thanks and pray however God leads us.

We had another fun inspirational humor call with Adam this afternoon.  Thanks to all who joined us.  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

http://msjustkeepmoving.org/