Friends,
I hope you had a nice week
You get a simpler e-mail this week…I’ve had a busy week.
Day of Endurance Excitement – Saturday, August 23rd 2025
We are getting closer! Only 2 weeks from this Saturday! It is coming right up…I am getting excited 😊
We have a volunteer sign-up sheet. If you are willing to volunteer and help us out, please sign up here and let us know what you are willing to do, times you are available, etc. Volunteers DOE 2025.docx
Here are the links to the presentation from three Friday’s ago:
If you did not get your Day of Endurance T-shirt yet, you can get one when you’re at the gym. We highly encourage everyone with MS, their family and friends, our volunteers, and supporters to join us.
It is great to hear training is going well for so many people. I know new people do not quite know what to expect but it seems like everyone that has done it in the past is excited. Please keep in mind that if you do better, do more or do something in addition to what you did last year, you get to bang on the gong. I am hoping we hear the gong go off all day.
We will be offering two more modes of movement this year. Kayaking and Rebounding. If you want to kayak, please let Chrissy know. We will be kayaking from 6:00am – 8:00am and need to be at the picnic area for the National Anthem and a few words of gratitude and encouragement at 8:45am. The rebounding will be available after we get started with our events at 9:00am.
Let’s make this journey and experience the best yet and have some fun…together.
Endurance Walking Opportunities
Walking is a very functional and sought after level of mobility for all of us living with MS. For those who cannot walk, my heart is with you. I do not forget for a minute the days I could not walk and I have you in mind on each walk. I wish we had quicker ways to get people who cannot walk, walking. Let’s keep working at it.
For those who can walk, let’s focus on keeping our walking abilities and try to improve upon them.
Our endurance walking group is training for the Day of Endurance. These are on Thursday mornings starting @ 6:00am.
Last Thursday, Joan and I saw quite a few of you out there running, walking, biking, etc. as we walked 17.5 miles. It was great seeing so many of you out there doing your own thing. Our 17.5 mile walk went quite well. The temperature was quite a bit cooler which seemed to help. I’m not a stats guy, I go more by listening to my body. However, my watch kept track of some interesting stats. That walk took us 7 hours and 15 minutes. For me, it was 44,745 steps. That’s a long walk for a couple people with MS that had a hard time with seven miles just 10 weeks ago.
Even if you can only walk a few steps, I would highly encourage you to try to walk a few steps each day and then one long walk per week – whatever that distance is for you. Consistency is key.
We are walking different segments of the Lake Country Trail. Whether you have MS, are a family member or friend, a volunteer, etc. if you want to join us, please let me know and I will include you in the communication of where we will be walking. We are hoping to gradually build up from 7 miles to 15-18 miles as we train for the Day of Endurance on August 23rd.
If you want to join us at a shorter distance, we will loop back at whatever distance you’d like to walk or we can meet up with you a little later if you want to join us for a while. I would encourage you to start where you are and gradually make progress like we are. I hope you’ll join us. We do it early to beat the heat and get it done as early in the day as we can.
Nutrition Program
This week Janine discussed the gut health benefits of probiotics and fermented foods. She explained how we can get them working for us better.
Here are the nutrition links for this week.
FermentedFoods_outline_rev1029.pdf
ProbioticsvsFermentedFoods.pdf
Janine puts a lot into these presentations. It’s wonderful for her to share these presentations with those who can’t be here. It’s even more impactful for people who can be here in person to get the information first hand and be able to get questions answered and learn from others living with MS.
I would highly encourage you to engage in our nutrition program Monday mornings @ 9:00am so you can benefit at a high level. All are encouraged to come; people with MS, loved ones, care takers, volunteers, etc.
Thank you Janine!
Metals for MS
Thank you to all who brought in aluminum cans, gutters, copper, etc. Please keep bringing them in…you are helping us.
Parking
If there are able-bodied people willing to park across the street in the Acuity lot so people with mobility challenges can park in our lot, please do so. We want to make it easy for people with mobility challenges to park and get into our building safely. Thank you for doing that!
Gym Open and Close Procedure
If you’re the first to come or the last to leave the gym, please use this procedure for opening and shutting down.
Open and closedown procedures.docx
Member Spotlight – Bill Twieg
If you come early or you love dogs, Bill is always here for you and brings his dog Thea to offer love and support. Both Bill and Thea are very passionate about helping our friends with MS. Bill also does a wonderful and priceless job of capturing some big moments for us to share with his pictures and videos along with getting financial supporters for us. Thanks so much Bill!
Ed and Adam’s Podcast
Adam and Ed had a second conversation with our friend Cal again last week. I didn’t get a chance to listen to it. Enjoy it.
Here’s the link:
Talking with Cal Round Two by Positive Vibes Living with MS
Thanks Adam, Ed and Ava for doing these podcasts together!
Let’s get together!
We’ll be getting together from 8:00am – noon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at the gym. Plus, Monday evenings from 4:00pm – 7:00pm and Tuesday afternoons for the aquatics program. I hope you’ll join us!
Where:
Wisconsin Metal Parts – Westmound Building
MS-Just Keep Moving, Inc.
W228N791 Westmound Drive
Waukesha, WI 53186
Exercise 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…friends with MS, volunteers, and caregivers.
Monday Mornings
8:00am – Rebounding Class
9:00am – Nutrition Program – Friends with MS, caretakers and volunteers are encouraged to engage. Here’s last week’s presentation:
Nutrition: MS 2025.07.21 Vitamin B12.pdf
Monday evenings (open from 4:00pm – 7:00pm)
5:00 pm: High intensity interval training (HIIT)
5:30 pm: Standing balance
6:00 pm: Seated balance
Tuesday afternoons
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm: Aquatic exercise program held at Wildwood Lodge – Pewaukee
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm: Aquatic exercise program held at Wildwood Lodge – Pewaukee
Wildwood Lodge has a lift available to get people in wheelchairs in and out of the pool safely
Wednesdays
8:00am – Rebounding Class
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.
9:30am – 10:00am: Seated Balance
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.
10:30am – 11:00am: Seated / Standing Stretching Class
Fridays:
7:00 – 8:45am: Bike Ride from Nettesheim Park – Pewaukee – see address below
9:30 – 10:00am: 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 Kern at kborn1234@gmail.com with any questions.
Friday Morning Bike Rides
Please note that there is construction on Hwy SS. There will also be detour signs. You will have to either come in from the route we usually ride by the lake or from the west. Please leave your home early and allow a little more time for the construction detour.
We had a nice ride together again last week. We could use a few more volunteers on two wheel bikes. Some of our volunteers are on vacation and we want that for everyone. If you’re able to join us, I hope you’ll join us this week.
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 7:00am 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, August 8th 11:00 – 12:00pm: Dr Kate Kern will provide demos to volunteers, caregivers, and members on how to properly secure gait belts, safely perform transfers, set up the standing machines, and secure participants to other exercise equipment.
Friday, August 15th Our first celebrity – Fayth Caruso from Bellicon will be here to spend the morning with us. Fayth will answer any questions you may have about rebounding, the benefits of it, how to get started, experiences she’s had as a master trainer, etc. Fayth would also like to learn from us living with MS and how we have benefited it from it so far. Fayth gets lots of requests from people across the nation about rebounding and MS. She is hoping to get some testimonials from some of us to share with her Bellicon nation.
Friday, August 22nd 11:00 – 12:00pm Pack up for Day of Endurance
Friday, August 29th 11:00 – 12:00pm: Come sing with us! Join a fun, informal group singing session, mixed with vocal and respiratory exercises. The session will be led by speech therapist Evelyn Pollock, a former professional singer. No need to know how to read music — all the songs will be ‘oldies but goodies!’ Please bring your instrument if you’d like to strum along! Later this year, she and her colleague Dr. Alex Ng of Marquette University will be studying the effects of group singing on the breathing, voicing, and socio-emotional well-being of adults with MS.
Friday, September 5th 11:00 – 12:00pm: Come learn some simple strategies for dealing with persistent swelling in your legs. Lymphedema can be managed. JoAnn Schmitz is an Occupational Therapist and a Certified Lymphedema Therapist at ProHealth in Mukwonago who would like to give you some tools to help you in this area.
Friday, September 12th, 11:00 – 12:00pm: Kim and Emily are both MS certified physical therapists that currently work in the outpatient physical therapy department at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. They will talk about the balance triad and how this plays a large role in dizziness and imbalance with mobility.
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.
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 Friday, August 15th, 2025. 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 642 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 and Nyani
Ricky will be here on Wednesdays doing Thai Massage.
Nyani will be here on Fridays doing Thai Massage
Our goal is to serve as many people who come to the gym consistently as we can with these Thai Massage services. Going forward we will be doing a rotational schedule to accommodate as many people as we can who need and want a massage.
There are some guidelines written up at the gym. Please respect the guidelines so we can serve as many people as we can. Please sign up according to the guidelines.
Here’s a link to the guidelines: Thai Massage at MS-Just Keep Moving
Reiki on Wednesdays and Fridays
Reiki is available at the gym, for FREE, on Wednesdays (Mary B, Jill K) and on Fridays (Linda C and Mary R), 9:30am until noon. Sessions typically last 20-30 minutes. Sign up for a session on the white board.
Reiki (ray-kee) relaxes the body so that healing can occur! The “magic” of Reiki has helped some of our members with pain, insomnia, constipation, and so much more! Try it the next time you are at the gym!
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. I didn’t get out with the camera much this week. I did get a few pictures to share though. I was out for a walk with my Gand doggie Emma this morning. She might have been happier about being out in nature than me…well, maybe not. I’m pretty happy when I’m out there.
Well, maybe she was happier 😊 She looks pretty happy too.
We had an interesting sky one morning this past week on our 6:00am bike ride.
Monday morning, I was watching what looked like a mother dove with two young doves for a while. It looks like the mother dove still teaches the young ones even after they leave their nest.
I had fun watching a monarch butterfly the same morning.
Sharing is caring. It’s nice seeing bugs, butterflies and bees sharing so nicely
This little moth landed in a bright spot.
This flower stood out this morning.
Many times, I feel lucky when I get some of the pictures I get in nature. I saw this four-leaf clover with some dew on it this morning on my walk and felt lucky to be out there.
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.
