Friends,
Bike MS Ride – last weekend
We had a warm but awesome weekend at the MS Bike ride this past weekend. The sprit was high and exciting. The roads and routes were awesome. They were not too hilly this year, very minimal traffic and great scenery. It’s the people we rode with and the people we met on the ride that made it even more amazing. For anyone that’s done it in the past, it’s truly like a big family reunion regardless of which team you ride on.
It was really good to see so many people who actually have MS riding again this year. I still remember when my son Jacob and I rode our first MS ride together 19 years ago, I think me and Chuck might have been the only people with MS riding. It was heartwarming to see so many others with MS out there this weekend…whether they were riding or volunteering.
Our Peppy Pedaler’s team was quite a bit smaller this year than year’s past. A few people didn’t make it to the team photo in time. I’m really thankful for all that rode with us. We were a very spirited group and had a lot of fun.
Thanks to all our riders and supporters, collectively, we raised quite a bit of money too. All of us living with MS benefit from this long term.
You can still make a donation to the National MS Society on my behalf. You can do this on my personal page at this link.
Or…you could make out a tax deductible check made out to the “National MS Society” and either give it to me or mail it to me at the gym’s address.
Dan Erschen
MS-Just Keep Moving, Inc.
W228N791 Westmound Drive
Waukesha, WI 53186
We had a great ride while continuing to help make progress to get this MS thing figured out. Again, THANK you for riding and for your support!
Smart Watch Tips and Tricks
Last Friday, Dr Kate did a nice presentation on Smart watch tips and tricks. This was a very engaged conversation as many people had even more tips and tricks to add to it.
Here’s a link to Dr Kate’s presentation in case you want to review it: Smart watches.pptx
Day of Endurance Volunteers – August 24, 2024
We’re getting close…only 2-1/2 weeks away. Thanks so much to all who have offered to volunteer in some way. Most of our friends with MS will be busy doing what they’re going to do that day so having volunteers will be important. Our goal is to keep everyone safe and that no one needs to do their event alone. Let’s do it “together”. It’s much more enjoyable that way.
Dr Kate put together a live document that you can enter what you are willing to do for volunteering for the Day of Endurance. Here’s a link to the volunteer sign-up sheet: Volunteers DOE.docx
You can add to this/edit it yourself. You can also let Kate or Mike know what you’d like to do. They will put you on the sheet.
We want to safely provide an amazing day and experience for all.
Ed and Adam’s Podcast
This week, Ed and Adam discuss how MS has altered their eating and swallowing.
Here’s a link:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ava-g4/episodes/How-MS-effects-eating-e2mlqbr
Thanks Adam, Ed and Ava for doing these podcasts together!
Member Spotlight – Shelley Davis
Shelley continues to work really hard and keeps bring joy to people everywhere she goes. It was great seeing Shelley and Traci battling the heat together on the bike ride this past weekend. Thanks for being such an inspiration to me and many others Shelley!
Day of Endurance 2024 – August 24, 2024
Dr Kate put together a really nice presentation answering questions about the Day of Endurance. We’re going to have a really fun day. Here’s a link to the presentation in case you missed it. DOE Presentation 7.19.24.pptx
We only have 2-1/2 weeks left until the Day of Endurance. Whoah! It’s coming up fast. Hopefully, you’re feeling pretty good by now. Just stay consistent this next week and then back off a bit the following week.
The last week, we will want to taper off a bit and let our bodies recover a little from all the hard work we are putting in now. The day of…just enjoy the whole day with friends and family doing what you can.
I’m really excited that so much progress is being made. I just love how so many people are engaging in this journey and making progress personally.
I hope you’re feeling good about this journey.
Consistency is key. Let’s exercise every day. It’s not only fun and rewarding to be active every day, it helps us stay ahead of our MS. It’s the gradual, consistency that our bodies will adapt to over time. Let’s do one long workout per week so we can appreciate that we are making progress each week. Dr Kate can help you with a program based on your abilities. Please feel free to reach out to her.
It’s really important that we’re active and we enjoy the journey of training for the Day of Endurance…preferably “together”. I hope you can find some workout friends to enjoy this journey with. It can be others with MS, friends, neighbors, family members, movie stars, it doesn’t matter. It really only takes one other person to have shown up and do whatever you’re going to do each day. You can pick different people different days.
Let’s make this a recreational adventure. A social adventure. A rewarding experience. And… “share” it. So, let’s start inviting friends and family members to join us on this journey and have some fun with it.
I hope you’ll engage in the journey and make progress yourself. I’m confident you will make progress in some way if you engage in the journey.
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
We had another really nice ride last week. We got out of the parking lot early. Some people must have been busy last week. We had a few less riders and volunteers. We still had a great ride together.
We could still use a few more volunteers on the ride with us. We’re getting a pretty good rhythm going when we have enough and gets a little more spread out when we don’t. 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
Friday, August 9th, 11:00 am – noon. Research review with Kate. Kate will review the importance of sleep for people with MS.
Friday, August 16th 11:00am – noon. Don Beard from Matia Mobility will be demoing a standing machine which is mobile. https://www.matiamobility.com/tek-rmd/
Friday, August 23rd 11:00 am – noon: Day of endurance organizational event. Help us get organized for the event the following day!
Friday, August 30th 11:00 am – noon: Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association (WASA) is returning to host a “TryIt” session to play pickleball!
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.
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 Friday, August 16th 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 533 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. Ricky will be taking Fridays off for a while. Perhaps through the summer.
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 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 with 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’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.
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. This was a busy week preparing for the bike ride and riding it. I still got out for a couple nice walks with the camera. This might not be the best picture of an owl with the stick going across its face but I thought it was pretty cool a hummingbird was flying around the owl. The hummingbird is in the top left corner.
Do you know what owls do when they’re hot? This owl kept opening its mouth really wide so I had to look it up to see why it’s doing that. It’s called Gular (GOO-ler) fluttering or panting are the terms for when an owl opens its mouth and puffs its throat in and out to cool off when hot or stressed. Owls can’t sweat to cool off.
These two deer were out in a bean field eating together. It was kind of cool to see.
This time of the year their antlers have velvet on them.
This hawk pounced on something
I was surprised to see it grabbed a pine cone. I don’t know why it grabbed a pine cone. I didn’t look that one up.
I sure enjoy the sandhill cranes in our yard. They’re very comfortable here.
Every once in a while, they eat nicely together
They’re beautiful birds
This squirrel sure likes our bird bath
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.
