Friends,
We had a fun week again last week with the indoor triathlon plus our first Friday morning bike ride, etc.
Our Indoor Triathlon was amazing!
We really need to give Kim and her team at Westwood Health and Fitness along with all our volunteers a huge thank you for making this possible again this year. THANK YOU!
A huge thank you goes out to Mary Jo Esser, Lowell Mutchelknaus and Jerry Huhn for making the first one possible 11 years ago as well. If they wouldn’t have done that then, I’m not sure we would all have each other today to share our journey of living with MS along with all the friendships that have been built and the love and joy that has been shared all these years. THANK YOU Mary Jo, Lowell and Jerry!
Our 12 friends with MS who participated in the indoor triathlon gave it there all. Many people commented on how hard they’re all working knowing they have another leg of the event to do after the first two. So much determination and will!
Mike Kee did an awesome job leading all of us singing our National Anthem to kick it off. It’s hard to put the emotions shared in words as everyone sang it together with Mike while he poured his whole heart into it. Powerful! Brought tears to my eyes (and chin) right from the start. I know many others were right there with me. Thanks Mike and everyone there!
There was a ton of energy in the spin room as so many loved ones, family members and friends cheered for everyone on the bike ride. It was hard not to be motivated and inspired both at the same time.
While everyone was working hard, they were still having fun.
Let’s go boys!
The walk / run was a challenge for many but it sure didn’t stop our friends with MS from trying or having fun. They’re ready to go!
We can do this!
Fun!!
The crowd was awesome…they sure brought the spirit!
The transition from walk / run to swim is fun when loved ones come prepared to cheer us on. You’re a lucky guy Chuck! Now go swim
The swim was wet…and refreshing
Well, maybe not so refreshing, more like exhausting When we need a break, we take a break. The break didn’t last long. You’re a good sport Steve!
Kim and the Westwood team along with all the volunteers and participants made this a special day. We’re so fortunate!
Our champions! Plus Chrissy who was in the locker room and missed the picture at the end.
Who would have thought all of these people with MS would be doing a triathlon together again…11 years years after the first one? I’m so thankful for this opportunity to have a small part in it.
Another huge THANK YOU goes out to all who support us financially to make events like this possible for our friends with MS to do for FREE. THANK YOU!
Let’s Dance!
Last Thursday, Vicki and Mary did the indoor triathlon in the morning and then went to Dr Ng’s dance program in the evening.
Linda was at both events helping and taking pictures for us to share. These are great examples of dedication from Vicki, Mary and Linda.
Our next dance program is this Saturday afternoon @ 3:30 right here at our MS-Just Keep Moving gym. I hope you join us!
Thanks to Dr Ng from Marquette University for bringing dance opportunities to our MS community! I would highly encourage anyone that can engage in these opportunities Dr Ng and volunteers are making possible to do so.
These are free for people with MS. Please respond to exercisewellness@marquette.edu or call 414-288-3582 if you can make it so they know how many people to plan for. Let’s dance!
Grit Chair excitement
Donna and Laura took the grit chair around the building outside last week. We’re getting closer to getting some people out on the trails with it. We need more weather like we had last week.
Both thought it was a good workout and it was fun even though it wasn’t easy.
High School theme day tomorrow at the gym
Spring Cleaning at the gym this Saturday
If you’re available and willing to volunteer to help do a spring cleaning at the gym this Saturday, we’d appreciate your help. We’ll be cleaning from 8:00am – noon. Please stop in and help if you’re able to.
When are the students coming back?
Dr Becky Thomas and her PT Assistance students from Bryant Stratton College will be returning in two weeks. They will be starting back on May 3rd. This is an excellent opportunitity for the students to gain knowledge about people living with MS and get some hands on experience helping people. It’s also beneficial for us living with MS to learn from the students and their leaders.
National Volunteers Week
This is National Volunteers week. We have such awesome volunteers! Let’s be sure to thank our volunteers this week. Please let them know what their volunteer time means to you and how they make you feel. We are so blessed to have the volunteers we have. Thank you volunteers!
Road Trip to Illinois anyone?
Lori Svenson from Yoga Moves MS sent me an invitation to share to an MS event they are putting on in the Chicago area this Saturday, April 22nd . Perhaps some of us could car pool together and take a road trip to it. Here’s a flyer on the event. Many of you remember Dr Robert Motl that came to our gym a while back. I really liked him!
You can also experience this virtually by registering here.
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3110270333888068189?source=eblast
I’m registered and looking forward to it. I love their line up of speakers.
Day of Endurance Journey – Progress
Last Sunday, April 16th was another two weeks since we recorded and shared our progress. Time is flying and people are making progress. It’s so awesome to see! Please record and share your progress on the board at the gym or send me your progress and I’ll record it for you.
MS-Just Keep Moving, Inc.
Day of Endurance Journey
Progress sharing board
January 1, 2023 – August 26, 2023
Please keep in mind this board is only measuring our physical progress and only our longest distance or time. There are so many other ways we will make progress by engaging in this journey that are hard to measure but way more impactful than our physical progress.
- Emotional – Feelings of anxiety or depression can be improved upon – we feel good when we’re engaging in this and gain a greater sense of accomplishment and self-worth
- Mental – cognitive challenges and memory can be improved – many studies show this
- Social – Creates opportunities to get together and be active with friends and create new friends and relationships
- Community – Brings us all together with a common worthwhile goal
- Fun – This is FUN Let’s keep that in mind as we’re finishing our long days of training
- Sharing – This is an opportunity for us to share with each other and the larger population of people living with MS. By us sharing, newly diagnosed people with MS may have a totally different outlook on living with MS than if we didn’t share. This also goes for loved ones of people living with MS.
- Gratification – Let’s be thankful for what we “can do” and the people we get to do it with – powerful!
- Spiritual – Let’s give thanks to God for bringing us all together the way He does and for being with us every step of the way. Who knows what He has in mind for us next? I don’t know; however, I trust it’s going to be good in ways we can’t even envision or measure. Let’s do our part to open our minds, open our hearts and allow God into our lives instead of resisting Him. Let’s do our part to carry out His plan for us even if it is totally different than our plan. I know I didn’t plan on getting MS and then having the courage, will and strength to make the best of it. In God We Trust.
Instructions to fill out the board is real simple:
Each two-week period, record your longest distance or time of each event you’re working toward for the “Day of Endurance”. Along with that, let us know in two or three words how you felt after your long event for the two-week period leading up to the day of endurance on August 26th. That’s it!
Each two-week period, try to do just a little more than the last two-week period and record (share) it again.
Let’s enjoy our journey…together!
Rest, Recovery and Safety
We’ll be having biweekly workshops that focus on achieving our fitness goals and preventing injuries. They will be the 2nd and 4th Fridays from 11am – 12pm. Please join us for hands on activities and learn how to rest, recover and stay safe.
Upcoming Topics:
April 28th – Kate Born from Marquette University will be doing a presentation on exercise guidelines
Kate hopes to cover:
- General exercise and physical activity guidelines for people with MS (with emphasis on needs for rest too)
- Tools for how to assess exercise intensity
- Tools for how to assess fitness progression (i.e. through simple tests like a 2 minute walk test, sit to stand test, and muscle strength tests)
- Tools for how to make and formulate fitness goals
- Activities to do during rest days, how to recover
- Review some basic exercises to target specific muscle groups or goals from audience
May 12th – Tom Holtackers will facilitate a discussion about emotional health – we can all use help with this. Living with MS is not easy.
Future topics could include: emotional health, nutrition, yoga, tai chi, wellness topics, safe use of gym equipment for your body and more. What topics would you like to see? Please let Joan, Traci, Ricky or Dan know
Golf Outing June 30th – We need your help
To raise money for MS-Just Keep Moving, Inc., we need help with the silent auction items and creating baskets for the raffle at “Teed Off at MS”, ePlatinum Health’s annual golf scramble.
To create the baskets, we are looking for donations of new items to create the baskets. Popular items have included: tickets to sports games; camping gear, picnic items, gift certificates to local shops and restaurants.
If you have a personal relationship with a local business, please ask them if they’d be willing to donate to benefit our gym.
Please either bring them to the gym or let Rick Talbert know about it. We would appreciate your help with this…thank you in advance!
COVID
We had two people test positive this past week. Bummer! They’re doing ok but it was rough on them. It’s still around so let’s not let our guard down and do what we need to do to stay safe.
To all who have reported their positive testing to me…thank you for letting me know and for being socially responsible and staying away until your symptoms are all cleared up. If you do come down with it, it’s important we let people know that you have been in close contact with so they can watch for symptoms and help stop the spread.
We’ve all been dealing with COVID long enough and are very well educated on it by now. I’m not telling you what to do but I’d highly encourage you to wear a mask again if you haven’t had it recently. Let’s make good choices and be safe.
Please 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. Again…let’s be socially responsible and stay safe!
Let’s get together!
We’ll be getting together again from 9:00am – noon on Wednesday and Friday mornings at the gym. I hope you’ll join us!
Wisconsin Metal Parts – Westmound Building
MS-Just Keep Moving, Inc.
W228N791 Westmound Drive
Waukesha, WI 53186
Prayer Group We’ll be having our prayer group Wednesday @ 11:00am.
I just love the way we share, pray and laugh together while we witness prayers being answered weekly. It’s truly amazing!
Thanks goes to God and to everyone that joins us. Let’s get together to share, listen, talk, give thanks, and pray however God leads us.
MS Just Keep Caring – Our Caregivers support group will be the first and third Friday of each month from 10:00 – 10:30am. The next one will be Friday, April 21st. If you’re a caregiver of someone you love with MS, please join us and share your experience of caring for your loved one. This has been very helpful for many. Thanks to all who participate!
Friday Morning Bike Rides
We were able to ride last Friday and it was awesome! We had 20 people show up for our first ride and covered 11 miles after a slow start.
It looks like it’s going to be too cold this Friday…34 degrees. We will not be riding this Friday.
Our Facebook page is private. That means you’ll need to join if you want access to all our fun and progress. We’re now up to 354 members…awesome! https://www.facebook.com/groups/2639832389489709
Our Facebook page is very active and fun. Lots of people are doing more and sharing some of their journey on Facebook. Feel free to join, post and share your experience and comments. Thank you to all who are sharing!
There were some awesome pictures, videos and comments shared again this past week.
Thai Massage with Ricky Heldt
Ricky will be here Wednesday and Friday again this week doing Thai Massage. Ricky says he is comfortable to work with you even if you’re not wearing a mask. Ricky will continue to wear one to protect you.
Many continue making great progress with chronic pain relief, range of motion, walking better and a new sense of hope when Ricky works with them. Please keep in mind that consistency is key. Not only with Ricky…with exercise too. We need consistency to realize the benefits long term. We want you to have long term relief.
Ricky has a sign up sheet based on first come first serve. You can pick the time slot that works for you. I highly encourage you to take advantage of Ricky’s Thai Massages each day and sign up for your time slot as soon as you get there.
Reiki with Linda Linda will be here on Fridays doing Reiki. Many people say Linda’s Reiki work is “magical”. We’re thankful for Linda sharing her gifts and talents to us. Feel free to let Linda know you’d like to do Reiki with her. She also has a sign up sheet.
Inspirational Humor with Adam Wollert
We’ll be having our inspirational humor zoom call with Adam again next Tuesday. Adam is a gift to all of us. Thanks to all who joined us today!
Please join us if you can.
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
Let’s reach out
I encourage you to share a smile and encouragement with someone. Perhaps you could call someone that you have not talked with for a while just to say hi and see how they are doing. We all could use a little extra love and encouragement.
MS is tough. Let us have faith, remain calm, be flexible, help each other and learn as much as we can about the challenges of each day as we make good choices.
Let’s keep moving and smiling
In God We Trust…we are in good hands.
Dan
P.S. As I train for the day of endurance, I like to take my camera with me on my walks. I had another interesting walk this past week. I happened to have a little chat with a robin that was wondering why I was out there. How would you like to have to answer to this guy?
The May Apples are coming up so that means the morels should be popping soon…no morels yet though.
While I was out there, I was doing a little reflecting. Wouldn’t you know it, some ducks wanted to show me how they do reflections.
They had a good spot to do some reflecting
I got to say hi to another Sandhill Crane
I also had another great blue heron fly over
And a nice looking Mallard
I thought this pair of wood ducks were pretty cool.
The sandhill crane I’ve been watching is still sitting on her nest…no babies yet.
Here are couple more wood ducks
I even saw some ringed necked ducks. It’s odd, they call them ring necked ducks but the ring is around their beak, not their neck. I’m learning something new every time I go out there and then come back and do a little research or ask some friends what they are.
All these pictures were taken at Nashotah Park on Sunday. It was another awesome walk and my walking continues to get better as I train for my day of endurance.
For those of you who can’t get out and enjoy nature due your challenges with MS…my heart is with you. You are with me every time I’m out there. I enjoy being out there and I also enjoy sharing with you. I know how hard it is not to be able to get out and enjoy nature. Let’s enjoy nature and God’s beauty together this way.