As soon as I finish this post I will be going to the YMCA to swim with my 8 year old son Max. Once he sinks his teeth into something we have to do it constantly until he finally gets bored. For example, on February school vacation we spent 4 hours a day at the Y playing basketball and then cooling off in the pool. Since then he hasn’t had any interest in it.
But a couple of weeks ago he rediscovered swimming. As a result we have been getting into the pool any afternoon he is free. What I mean by this is that my son has many diagnoses such as bipolar disorder, adhd, aspergers, and odd. Several days a week someone works with him on his issues:
Mondays he works with a counselor and other kids to learn how to interact in social groups. Many children who have one or more of Max’s diagnoses, like him, have problems being with others their own age. They get together to find out how get through them. We have time to swim after the class is over.
Tuesdays we swim.
Every Wednesday he has a half day from school so in the early afternoon he works with a play therapist. Later on he goes to a science/dramatics class with other kids like him. It gets out late so there is no time to swim.
Thursdays after school he meets with his child advocate. After it is done we can swim for awhile.
There is no swimming on Fridays. He spends the afternoon with his mentor and they get done late.
As you can see this allows us 3 days. When he is in the pool he divides his time between playing and doing laps. He can swim the length of the pool round trip over a dozen times. Before and afterwards he is an octopus climbing all over me. Or perhaps “jellyfish” is a better description. It can get annoying at times.
In the long run it doesn’t bother me. We will keep going until this obsession wears off and he goes after something else. And you know what? I will keep enjoying it until the time comes because if it wasn’t for my boy I wouldn’t get any exercise. You see, I’ve never liked to do any physical stuff. This isn’t because I’m lazy, though I might be a little. It is because I have multiple sclerosis; I always found it an effort to do the physical things required to keep me healthy.
That’s not to say I don’t do anything. I found early on that if I skipped all exercise that I very quickly get to the point that I have difficulty walking. I have also gone through periods when I cannot use my hands. This happens when I have been ignoring what I should be doing. So I generally make it a point to at least to walk as much as possible.
This is where Max comes in. He has a lot of anxiety so he doesn’t like to do things alone. He has difficulty making friends so Daddy is generally his playmate. I have to force myself to do the things that he likes so much like biking, running, hiking, mountain climbing, and anything else that requires a lot of energy. I cannot just stand around and watch; to be with him I have to do all of these things too.
Just like anyone else the more I keep moving, the easier it gets. It has made me realize that what I have been doing happens to a lot of other people with MS and perhaps other diseases and disorders. We make excuses to justify not doing what we need to. I’m not suggesting everyone does it but certainly I’ve been doing it around exercise.
Much as I enjoy doing the cerebral stuff, like writing, physical work is fun and I have to keep doing it. My wife is always after me for just sitting in my chair all day researching and typing. Thankfully Max comes home from school and drags me out the door to get some fresh air. Because of him my arms and legs are solid and my exacerbations have diminished. Not only that I’m getting my daily dose of Vitamin D from the sun!
Though I don’t like the fact that Max has to deal with all of his disorders the upside is that we both keep physically active and are healthier because of it.
I know several people with Multiple Sclerosis that will read this and say that it is alright for me but they cannot do it for this reason, or that one, or something else. But my answer to this is, don’t give up! In my PCA work I have a couple of clients with MS. Neither one can do the things that Max and I do but both have physical therapists that help them keep their muscles toned and strengthened as much as possible. At the same time it keeps them in good spirits. How well I know how depressing it can be when I’m not moving at all.
The bottom line is, don’t let excuses get in the way. Don’t give up and keep moving!
As soon as I finish this post I will be going to the YMCA to swim with my 8 year old son Max. Once he sinks his teeth into something we have to do it constantly until he finally gets bored. For example, on February school vacation we spent 4 hours a day at the Y playing basketball and then cooling off in the pool. Since then he hasn’t had any interest in it.
But a couple of weeks ago he rediscovered swimming. As a result we have been getting into the pool any afternoon he is free. What I mean by this is that my son has many diagnoses such as bipolar disorder, adhd, aspergers, and odd. Several days a week someone works with him on his issues:
- Mondays he works with a counselor and other kids to learn how to interact in social groups. Many children who have one or more of Max’s diagnoses, like him, have problems being with others their own age. They get together to find out how get through them. We have time to swim after the class is over.
- Every Wednesday he has a half day from school so in the early afternoon he works with a play therapist. Later on he goes to a science/dramatics class with other kids like him. It gets out late so there is no time to swim.
- Thursdays after school he meets with his child advocate. After it is done we can swim for awhile.
- There is no swimming on Fridays. He spends the afternoon with his mentor and they get done late.
As you can see this allows us 3 days. When he is in the pool he divides his time between playing and doing laps. He can swim the length of the pool round trip over a dozen times. Before and afterwards he is an octopus climbing all over me. Or perhaps “jellyfish” is a better description. It can get annoying at times.
In the long run it doesn’t bother me. We will keep going until this obsession wears off and he goes after something else. And you know what? I will keep enjoying it until the time comes because if it wasn’t for my boy I wouldn’t get any exercise. You see, I’ve never liked to do any physical stuff. This isn’t because I’m lazy, though I might be a little. It is because I have multiple sclerosis; I always found it an effort to do the physical things required to keep me healthy.
That’s not to say I don’t do anything. I found early on that if I skipped all exercise that I very quickly get to the point that I have difficulty walking. I have also gone through periods when I cannot use my hands. This happens when I have been ignoring what I should be doing. So I generally make it a point to at least to walk as much as possible.
This is where Max comes in. He has a lot of anxiety so he doesn’t like to do things alone. He has difficulty making friends so Daddy is generally his playmate. I have to force myself to do the things that he likes so much like biking, running, hiking, mountain climbing, and anything else that requires a lot of energy. I cannot just stand around and watch; to be with him I have to do all of these things too.
Just like anyone else the more I keep moving, the easier it gets. It has made me realize that what I have been doing happens to a lot of other people with MS and perhaps other diseases and disorders. We make excuses to justify not doing what we need to. I’m not suggesting everyone does it but certainly I’ve been doing it around exercise.
Much as I enjoy doing the cerebral stuff, like writing, physical work is fun and I have to keep doing it. My wife is always after me for just sitting in my chair all day researching and typing. Thankfully Max comes home from school and drags me out the door to get some fresh air. Because of him my arms and legs are solid and my exacerbations have diminished. Not only that I’m getting my daily dose of Vitamin D from the sun!
Though I don’t like the fact that Max has to deal with all of his disorders the upside is that we both keep physically active and are healthier because of it.
I know several people with Multiple Sclerosis that will read this and say that it is alright for me but they cannot do it for this reason, or that one, or something else. But my answer to this is, don’t give up! In my PCA work I have a couple of clients with MS. Neither one can do the things that Max and I do but both have physical therapists that help them keep their muscles toned and strengthened as much as possible. At the same time it keeps them in good spirits. How well I know how depressing it can be when I’m not moving at all.
The bottom line is, don’t let excuses get in the way. Don’t give up and keep moving!
