Friends,
Replenish – Caregivers Retreat
Our 2nd annual caregivers retreat was a great experience for everyone that attended. It sounds like a lot of resource information was presented and shared. The setting looks beautiful.
I heard lots of comments about how resourceful it was.
So many times, it’s not about “what” we do but “who” we do it with. This proved to be true for this retreat. What a great group of people!
Here’s a message from Phil about the retreat:
Hi Dan,
The retreat was much-needed and well-received by everyone who attended. The weather was perfect, conversations and friendships uplifting.
Thank you, MS-JKM, for making this possible!
We have 10 caregivers pre-registered for Replenish ’25 on September 27, 2025, at the same delightful retreat center. Caregivers can pre-register here. https://qr1.be/NLQS Save the date now. We’ll confirm in July.
MS-JKC Caregivers can now connect at //band.us/@msjkc. It’s a free private membership community where we share helpful information, encourage & laugh together. It sends reminders of our twice-monthly caregivers group at the gym and other events.
Phil Ransom
888. 0108
philipransom.com
theCIDgroup.com
Speech and Language Pathologists – last Friday
After listening to Jeff Barry and Katie Cording, speech and language pathologists, and professors at Marquette University do a presentation on the various challenges to speech, language (& cognition) and swallowing that may be associated with MS, my eyes were opened.
I asked for a raise of hands of people who experience the challenges they talked about. Surprisingly, about 70% of the people in the room raised their hand, I never even connected the dots of these symptoms for me to MS until I heard their presentation. Their goal was to help folks understand what support speech-language pathologists may be able to provide to help manage these challenges. We all learned a lot about the challenges as well as what we can do about them. Here’s a link to the presentation in case you want to review it or missed it.
Speech-Language Pathology & Multiple Sclerosis.pdf
They also introduced some research they will be doing. I would highly encourage you to participate in the research. It sounds like it could be beneficial to you and will give them the data they need. Here’s some information on the research project:
A huge thanks goes out to Jeff and Katie for coming in last week and sharing this valuable information with all of us…Thanks Jeff and Katie!
How’s Nancy doing?
Unfortunately, Nancy needed a little more care than she was getting at the place she was living and had to move. What’s even more unfortunate is that she couldn’t find a place close to the gym. The closest place they could find was in Clinton, WI so Nancy isn’t able to come to the gym anymore. It’s too far away to get a ride. That’s really sad.
Gayle talked with Nancy last week and she was happy to hear from her. Gayle says Nancy misses all of us. We miss you too Nancy! If anyone would like to reach out to Nancy or send her a card, I’m sure she would love it.
Here’s Nancy’s contact information:
Nancy Rodrigue
304 Ogden Ave
Clinton, WI 53525
e-mail: nrodrigue57@yahoo.com
Cell: 920-728-7731
Challenge Walk – National MS Society
This past weekend, the National MS Society put on the annual MS Challenge Walk in Door County. A huge thanks goes out to all those that walked for all of us living with MS. It was nice seeing some familiar faces as Cindy and Will were walking with Jamie.
Jamie looks pretty happy to hit the 50 mile mark. Thanks Jamie for walking for all of us living with MS and all you do for all of us living with MS on a daily basis! Nice job on finishing the walk too!
This looks like a fun and spirited event.
There were 40 people who actually live with MS walk this year…that’s amazing!
A huge thanks goes out the National MS Society for putting on this event and to all who participated and supported this event in some way. We all need to keep working “together” (there’s that word again”) to get this MS thing figured out and beat it.
It sure seems like this could be a fun event for some of us to do next year as a follow up event to our Day of Endurance. Your thoughts???
Our MS-Just Keep Moving Open House – November 9th
Our annual Open House will be November 9th. Here’s a flyer with more information. Please plan on coming and please invite anyone who has supported us in the past or would be interested in learning more about us and potentially engaging in / supporting our mission in the future.
Ed and Adam’s Podcast
This week, Ed and Adam talked with some of the PT Assistant Students from Bryant & Stratton College who come to the gym. I love the different perspectives.
Here’s a link:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ava-g4/episodes/Chatting-With-The-PT-Students-e2oseum
Thanks Adam, Ed and Ava for doing these podcasts together!
Member Spotlight – Larry Starkey
Even though Larry is on vacation the next couple weeks, we wanted to show some appreciation for him. Larry is one we can all go to who listens well and has a great perspective on life and faith. He’ll always help any way he can as he selflessly goes the extra mile daily asking for nothing in return. We enjoy lots of good laughs together.
Cardio and Balance Programs
These classes are aimed to get everyone exercising together. I like that word “together” . We’ll need help from volunteers before and after the cardio class on Wednesdays and Fridays to get members on and off equipment. All are welcome and encouraged to join.
Wednesdays
8:30am – 9:00am: Cardio exercise
Location: in the big room using aerobic equipment in front of big TV
Pick your favorite piece of equipment to use, bring a water bottle, and arrive a few minutes early to get the equipment set up to your height.
10-10:30am: Cardio exercise
Location: in the big room using aerobic equipment in front of big TV
Pick your favorite piece of equipment to use, bring a water bottle, and arrive a few minutes early to get the equipment set up to your height.
10:30 – 11:00am Tai Chi led by Ricky
Fridays:
9:30 – 10:00am: New Class! High intensity interval training (HIIT) body weight circuit class. Great for those who aren’t attending Friday morning bike rides and want to get their heart pumping! Geared to intermediate to advanced ability level. Class may be indoors or outdoors depending on weather. Find Dr Kate at the start of the class time.
10:00 – 10:30 am: Seated balance class
10:30 – 11am: Standing balance class
Pick the class / classes you feel most able and comfortable participating in. We will have chairs set up to sit on and/or use for balance support.
Email Dr Kate at kborn1234@gmail.com with any questions.
Friday Morning Bike Ride
Once we get into September and October, every ride is a bonus. We will continue riding until the temperature gets below 45 degrees at 7:00am. If it looks like it will get to 45 degrees during the ride, we’ll still ride. Please dress warmer as the temperature gets cooler.
Last week we got out the earliest for the season and accumulated the most miles of the season. It sounds like many were over 15 miles. For those who missed a couple weeks of riding, I felt for you. I know this was a challenging ride. Again…consistency is key. You shouldn’t miss a good ride. Just like we should never waste a good hill…right Jerry? I just love seeing the progress everyone made this riding season. Let’s hope we get a few more rides in before it’s too cold.
THANK YOU to all the volunteers! We’re getting a pretty good rhythm going when we have enough volunteers and we get a little more spread out when we don’t. We need you. Thanks to all for showing up and doing your part!
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. Let’s ride and have some fun!
For those who wish you could join us but can’t; please know we have you in our hearts on these rides. We’re riding with you and for you. I hope you too can join us someday.
Educational Sessions
This Friday, October 4th 11:00 am – noon: Physical therapists, Kimberly Sawall, Emily Hill, and Jennifer Kolesar-Springhetti, from Prohealth Care will review balance tests and the importance of testing balance for walking and translational movement abilities. They will also address fatigue, fatigue management, and assessment of fatigue for people with MS.
Friday, October 11th 11:00 am – noon: Muscle atrophy. Kate will lead a presentation on muscle atrophy and what causes muscles to stop working, lose strength, get smaller, and ways to combat atrophy.
Friday, October 18th 11:00 am – noon: Neubie progress. Ricky will lead a presentation and discussion on progress members have made on the Neubie and provide a review of the Neubie for past, current, and future users.
Friday, October 25th 11:00 am – noon: Stress management. Deb Graf, psychotherapist, will lead a presentation and discussion on stress management.
Future topics could include: emotional health, nutrition, yoga, tai chi, wellness topics, safe use of gym equipment for your body, best exercise for you and more. What topics would you like to see? Please let Dr Kate, Joan, Traci, Ricky or Dan know.
Let’s get together! – New Hours
We’ll be getting together from 8:00am – 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 from 11:00am – noon.
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 this Friday, October 4th 2024. 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!
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 at 551 members. That’s awesome! https://www.facebook.com/groups/2639832389489709
Our Facebook page is active and fun. Lots of people are doing more and sharing their journey on Facebook. Feel free to join, post and share your experiences and comments.
There were some awesome pictures, videos and comments shared again this past week. Thank you to all who are sharing!
Thai Massage with Ricky Heldt
Ricky will be here on Wednesdays doing Thai Massage.
There is a sign up board to be used to accommodate your needs for your exercise plan. Some people with spasticity need to be massaged / stretched out before they can exercise. Some people need a massage after a hard workout to loosen up their tight muscles or relieve pain.
We have limited spots for massages, please be considerate of people that need the massage the most in order to do the exercises they need to do or recover from the exercises they just did.
You can pick the time slot that works for you.
Reiki with Linda and Mary Linda and Mary will be here on Fridays doing Reiki. Many people say their Reiki work is “magical”. We’re thankful for Linda and Mary for sharing their gifts and talents with us. Feel free to let them know you’d like to do Reiki with them. They also have 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’s 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 and take action.
Let’s keep moving, smiling and loving It helps!
In God We Trust…we are in good hands.
Dan
Our Website: http://msjustkeepmoving.org/
P.S. Cal and I had a nice walk at Lapham Peak this past week. We got there early and saw this Great Blue Heron as the sun was coming up.
As the sun came up further, the lighting got a little better and we could enjoy the reflections on the water.
It was fun watching him catch fish but he was only catching little minnows. I love the reflections in the water
We went to a different pond and saw a nice looking egret.
This one flew right at me
And then flew away
We sure get lucky when we’re out in nature. This little guy was almost at our feet showing us how much he can hold in his mouth at once. I told him to smile while I take his picture. This was the best I could get out of him
When the fog lifts in the morning, there are water drops on leaves. This one caught my eye.
We also had a chance to go the China Lights show. It was truly amazing.
I can’t imagine how long it took them to set this up. It sounds like they started in July. If you haven’t been there, I would highly recommend going while the show is in town. Here’s link for more information: https://chinalights.org/
Here’s one more picture from Lapham Peak as the fog was lifting.
For those 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.
