By GUEST BLOGGERS: Charlotte Stall and Julie Slater, PD Advocates and Writers in Denver, Colorado, on behalf of the J P Parkinson’s Book Club
When Julie and I first met with Kate to discuss being guest bloggers, our goal was to part share our experience and knowledge about how to start and lead a Parkinson’s Reading Group. About a year and a half ago, Julie and I had done just that. We felt like we needed a way to share the tremendous amount of available information about this disease. We envisioned a group that would provide support to PD folks in a format that was different from the terrific, already established support groups in our area. We knew we had both personally benefited from our affiliations with our local support groups during the initial years of our diagnosis. Now felt there was a need for something like a “next step” for those of us who had been living with PD for a while. We decided not to have guest speakers. Rather, we would be the leaders, and it would be our learning and sharing with each other that would provide support.
However, at one of last week’s beloved exercise classes, we learned that we probably would have to find another place to exercise. Our dedicated teacher had searched high and low to find our current gym, but the gym had recently informed our teacher that they were unable to continue to provide the weekly, free spot for us. “Not again “and “not another move” was what we were hearing. Disappointment was the feeling in the air. We have now been told that our exercise class is indeed cancelled until further notice. Exercise is so important to our well-being, so we choose to publicize our plight and search for a new space as the topic for this blog submission. The book club blog post will have to wait for the future.
Here’s some background about the situation in our town: Much of the space used for a variety of classes and events is donated. We appreciate the donated space and the dedication of the professional teachers, often volunteers, who teach the classes. We are fortunate to have a variety of programs in the Rocky Mountain Region. We have boxing, high intensity exercise, dance, yoga, and Tai Chi classes. There are so many exciting and valuable programs in our area that we probably have missed some activities in this list! Depending on your insurance plan, you might also be lucky enough to have your insurance cover a membership in a local health club. Still, there is a need for more spaces and ventures. As a PD group, we are a growing community. We need more classes and more instructors who are trained to teach those of us who have PD.
We know that exercise is as important as our medications. We try to make it a priority in our lives. If you are reading this blog, but don’t know anyone with PD, you may think of someone with PD as old, hunched over, shuffling, and barely managing chair exercises. If this is the picture you have of someone with PD, we want to politely let you know that you are wrong! Those of us with PD are otherwise healthy and active individuals, aged somewhere between 40 and 80 years old. Many of us continue to hike, ride bikes, run, and jog in local races, ski, and snowboard. If we have had to stop with one physical activity, we look for other avenues to keep our bodies moving. We use the wide-open spaces of Denver and Colorado for exercise, yet also benefit from, and enjoy our group exercise classes and the informal camaraderie and support participation in these classes provides. We are motivated to make a difference in how this progressive disease impacts us.
So, if you know of an exercise space centrally located in the Greater Denver area that is available to host exercise classes, please let me know! Contact me at 303-803-0399 with any leads or information.
Charlotte Stall
P.S. We do know of a wonderful place - subdued, very functional, friendly staff, FREE use of the facility and FREE parking. It is the facility where we meet for our PD reading club. Too bad they don’t have a gym! But stay tuned. You can read all about the JP Reading Club in a future blog post.
