Caro's Team

Reflections

I'm thinking back in what I achieved in the month of May, and I am satisfied, no not just that, I am proud not just satisfied, with what I did! I was going so well, halfway through the month of May, that I decided to increase the distance I wanted to walk in May, and so I increased my daily target to at least 2km, and I'm happy to say I managed that easily!. I remember my neurologist in my early MS days, telling me to do my best to keep walking, regularly, so I could maintain my mobility - "Use it or Lose it" is what he emphasised, and I thought on that a lot in May! I want to always be able to get up and go, every day in my life, and so I will make sure my fitness levels and functional abilities are kept up! I have a body, and a brain, and the more I use both of them, the better off I'll be! we're looking after our son's two Greyhounds at the moment, and having them both, as well as our own Greyhound means a bit of extra exercise, getting out and about in the back yard, doing pooper scooper duties! And keeping my balance when the younger dog bumps me, often, that's great for my skills with remaining standing!

Finding things when walking

When I go Walkies, as I have been doing lots of in this May 50k challenge month, I'm looking to achieve a number of things: one is to increase my fitness level, with increased muscle tone then there's the challenge to reach, and in fact surpass my chosen number of kilometres I want to walk in May, for the 50k challenge as a dog owner, I know our boy Lenny (a retired racing Greyhound) gains benefits from being out and about too, and he so loves it when he meets new people and gets pats from them! and I find metal things when I walk, rusty things mostly but some not, and I pick them up and place them on display on my front fence, and gate. These 'treasures' have now come together to become the Redbanks RUST & FOUND Art Installation, which was offically opened by the Adelaide Plains Mayor, with a nice sized crowd of visitors, and another distinguished guest, the state MP Tony Piccolo. it was a joy to have this event, and I hope the constant additions to this Art Installation continue to bring further interest to the collection. At the moment there are an estimated almost 700 individual items of various sized out on display, with some other more recent pieces yet to be put out to be seen by others. The item in the photo may not have any metal in it, but it was a welcome find on a recent walk, and even though this doll looks quite cross, I'm sure she's better off where she is now, proudly on display! She was out on the ground, in the dirt, and while she may still look a bit grubby, she's much cleaner now, than she was when she was found! I'm enjoying this 'rescuing' of lost items, and placing them out where they can be seen, and may find their true owners! I feel I'm only the custodian of this items, not necessarily their owner. So walking has sure brought much to my life, with a large Art Project as eell as the physical body-benefits! There are the mind and emotional benefits as well, thinking about the wider implications of what I'm doing, and the happiness, and friendship aspects as I walk and meet with others! Life is a constant opportunity to learn, and improve who and what I am, and I love the challenges that come to me, as U get out and about!

Wow, steps steps and more steps!

I'm absolutely living this month of May, where I doing The May 50k challenge! getting out and about, and walking around where I live is helping me in so many ways! Number one of course was proving to myself and others I'm physically capable of getting up and walking for more than just a few minutes/metres. Being able to walk three kilometres and more, as I have for this challenge, is so satisfying, because it shows I can take part in things I want to do, without having to say no, because of poor mobility! And being able to go walking, and doing it regularly as I've been doing has helped immensely with both losing weight, and being more toned, and I'm doing it at the age of 61! how awesome is that! So this walking is certainly helping my attitude to life, I feel like I can do whatever I want to to do now! And one of the things I want to do, and keep on doing, is thing that came about because of my extra steps walked. I'd been walking more with both my husband, who is also my carer, and my support worker. When we go for a walk, late last year and thus year too, I've been picking up various items of interest, and putting them on our front fence and gate. then I came up with the idea of what I was doing, as being a kind of resource recovery and recycling thing, with most of the things collected being items made of metal, and sometimes metal and other things such as plastic. And some of the collected items were in fact plastic, but made to appear to be metal. I got quite excited about the various concepts I was dealing with, and before I knew it, I had a project with a name, and the idea of writing a non fiction book about it all! And I also had a front fence and gate that have now become an Art Installation! My hope is this project may help me to become a speaker on the various ideas raised by the 'Redbanks RUST & FOUND Art Installation'. And so I seem to have created something that could easily become a BIG THING in my life, and a sense of purpose that will bring me even further to the fore in my community and beyond!

A big day today

I had a great day today, getting active (taking dog for a walk), attending an interesting community event, and then I organised to walk home (or at least walk part if the way home) until I contacted my husband and he'd pick me up as U was walking toward home The distance from Mallala to our place in Redbanks is 7km, and I wasn't going to walk that far. I set off walking, and doing some picking up of interesting objects as I went. I rang him,leaving a message to come pick me up and kept on walking,and picking things up. By the time he was there, U'd dine a lit if walking, and had a fine haul of rusty, and/or metal items! At the moment I'm obsessed with finding rusty things! Once they're found, I bring them home, where our front gate and fence have become an Art Installation, displaying these items. Some are historic, others interesting for a number of sociological reasons. This coercion I've created has a name, and it was officially Opened by the Adelade Plains Mayor, in front of just over twenty people! I love the way so many other people are also interested in what I've created. being vin acted with others is si important, especially when you have a chronic illness. And this walking and finding these items is such fun, and I'm loving the various skills I've acquired as I'm learning (through doing it) the way of turning rusty junk, into Art, as I've now created,and am curating, the Redbanks RUST & FOUND Art Installation!

Life gets busy, i get active!

So I have lots of different things going on in my life right now, and instead of worrying about it, I'm loving it! The local paper wants me to give them photos and a bit of information about something, sure done and the article I wrote, with a best phot I provided looks great! Walking 50 kilometres this month for MS Australia The May 50k fundraising event, yep, can do. And I'll walk ten km further, and make it a 60k fundraiser, where I want to raise $800 or more,in May. I'm already almost halfway there with the fundraising and the km walked, so I'm proud of what I've done so far, and much more to happen in the rest of May!

Combining my two events

I have an important event tomorrow and have decided to make the most of things, and collect donations as well as holding the Opening of the Redbanks RUST & Found Art Installation! I won't make too big a thing of it, but the idea of MS, going above and beyond, etc it will be there! I'll have my I'm wearing Red for MS badge on, and my collection tin will be there somewhere during the day! I hope I'll have some funds to pay in by the end of the day! The walking, and the fundraising go together, and it all has that 'meant to be' feel to it!

I'm almost there!

I've been working on my fitness level in April, to be able to reach my stared target of walking 60km in May, for The May 50k event, which I've made 'The May 60k event'. I hope to raise $800 or more in May, and I hope others,will consider joining my fundrausung team, and walk to help raise awareness as well as funds, to help MS Australia continue doing all of the good things it does! From research to assistance to get involved in the community around us, to exercise and better eating classes and much more, with the help received, people like me can live our best possible lives! if you can, please consider giving for this great fundraising event!

Walk, get the funds donated

Walking the distance I've committed myself to for The May 50k challenge is going to be easy in comparison to raising $800 (or more). For April I've been working up to walking the distance I'll need to walk to reach my 60km target, and am hitting the needed number most days. And while the fundeaising aspect isn't going along as well, I hope that will pick up once May arrives. I received notification of a donation going to be given by one of the local service groups, and that will definitely assist with getting that number up too! So many thanks to the Mallala & Districts Lions Club for this fine donation. it was unexpected, and very welcome! I hope there will be many more donations to come, once May arrives!

Hubby home, happy!

My husband has been in hospital for overa week, and while I was managing quite well, I'm thrilled to bits to gave him home with me again! He won't be walking as far as I will be, but he'll there for some of the way and his support will be very welcome for sure! And our dog Lenny is possibly even happier than I am, to have his favourite hone again! I have a variety of other things I do, poor Lenny's entertainment options are severely restricted, in comparison! Lenny is always am excellent reason for me to get up and moving, even though he sometimes devices he's gone far enough, when I still want to go further. So taking him home then heading out again later is the option or choosing to walk around at our place, either inside or out is always a fine option!

Family member's health issue

Being a married person even when having MS myself, doesn't mean my own health is the only health related thing going on. The other person may have their own health issues to be taken I to account. And as I know well, there are other health problems I may have to deal with not just the MS related one. I've had a broken ankle, that was far more painful than MS has ever been for me. If I didn't have MS though, that fall may not have happened, nor the other falls I've had, before and after getting diagnosed. So it isn't all about me, and MS. At the moment, my husband is in hospital with a nasty cellulitis infection in his left leg, meaning visits to him, as well as needing to do some of the things he usually does, meaning a lot more 'work' than usual for me in housework, and the watering of the garden, and caring for our dog. These things would be much more difficult if I was suffering with an MS relapse, so I'm so glad I'm going well, we couldn't manage without help if both of us were on the sick list at the same time. I'm certainly particularly glad at yhe moment that I have two support workers paid for by the NDIS. Things would have been dire without those two lovely people there to assist me. Getting the best available support is so important when you have medical issues, and I'm thankful that I have it available to me! So my health, and that of my partner as definitely aided in this way, and while I'm managing OK it's better for me to have my husband, who is also my carer, home with me! in the photo, my husband and I on our recent holiday in India

Getting in extra steps is a good idea!

Today I only did half of the distance I'm wanting to do for The May 50k event. it doesn't matter thus month, because April is only a test month to make sure things will go according to plan, to test my fitness is up for up, and so on. and with this reduced walking done today, it would have been a spanner in the works, if it happens in May! Both small and big things can happen, that get in the way of getting out there and walking. The problem I had today was a loved one's sudden ill health that meant there needs became the most important thing, and going off for a walk was never going to happen today. I did some incidental walking though today, and if things calm down tomorrow, and I have free time, I'll make a point of walking further than usual. and I'll make a point of going a bit further as many days as possible, to bank up some extra steps, and to improve my fitness level, and make sure I'm actually physically able to do that! If I can do it in April, I'll be able to do it when it really matters, and that's when The May 50k challenge is on! So that's my plan and as long as today's issue will be going better soon, my plan should work!

Upping the challenge!

Hi team! I've raised the amount our Team are aiming at for The May 50k challenge! can we do this? Yes We Can! If we reach out, tell people about what we're doing, we can easily do this, and maybe more! I'm getting my walking levels up more this month, so when May arrives, I'll be ready to crush those 50 kilometres, and maybe even hit an 80k target! I'm looking forward to doing this, I hope you are too!

Support our challenge to leave MS behind!

We are taking part in The May 50K and leaving our limits behind to raise funds for life-changing research into multiple sclerosis.

MS strikes young people in the prime of their lives. The average age of diagnosis is only 30 years old, and there is no known cure.

Please make a donation and support our challenge to leave MS where it belongs, behind us.

Your donation will support research into the prevention, treatment and finding a cure for multiple sclerosis to change lives.

Thank you!