Exercise and Me – Caroline
29th June 2021
A huge well done to our member of the month – Caroline!
Caroline started training with me in November 2020 as she wanted support managing her right sided weakness caused by her MS.
She has made tremendous progress over the last eight months, making huge improvements in her upper and lower body strength and fitness as well as reporting increased energy levels and less knee pain. She has gone from being unable to lift her right heel of the ground (due to drop foot) to performing 10 single leg calf raises!
It has been a pleasure working with her and fantastic to see her hard work and commitment to the classes pay off!
Bounce Back and Me
Anyone with Multiple Sclerosis will know that an EDSS is their score on the “Expanded Disability Status Scale”. This is the score from 1-10 (0 being no symptoms to 10 being dead!).
Two years ago, I was put on a trial for Secondary Progressive MS with an EDSS of 3.5 which, in my case, meant I had moderate difficulty in walking and mild difficulty in several other functional systems. When you have MS, or any neurological disease you are pretty much on a downhill rocky road wearing roller skates. That is, you are not expected to get better, you are expected to deteriorate. 
Not if you are lucky enough to experience Bounce Back with Beth!
I have always been active, and when I had my diagnosis, I immediately stepped up the exercise with online videos. I had always thought personal trainers were for people with no self-motivation. But when I found that Beth was having success with her clients, I thought I might give it a go. Her prices are reasonable, and she offers daily group classes to complement the one-to-one sessions.
I began my sessions in November. I love the camaraderie of the group classes even though they are on Zoom. We all give a little wave at the beginning and end of the sessions, and we have a monthly ‘social’ where we can have a chat. I understand Beth will be getting a nutritionist to speak at the next session. We all work at our own level, but I have to confess, if I see one of the others moving faster than me I definitely speed up!
Beth tailors my one-to-one sessions to my specific weaknesses and pushes me to my limit without pushing me over the edge. The sessions are a lot of fun and I feel energized and perhaps a little bit proud to have achieved that extra press-up, sit-to-stand or bicep curl.
When I went for my last MS assessment, I astounded the neurologist. Against all odds my EDSS score had improved! I had gone from 3.5 to 2.5 (minimal disability in 2 functional systems)!
Before Bounce Back I was only able to walk my dog once a day and now I can confidently go out twice. I’ve started playing tennis again (badly) and I’m hoping to get back to hockey next season. I have so much more energy and I’m certainly stronger – 10 kg dead lift, no problem!
I can’t thank Beth enough for all she has done for me over the past eight months. She is patient, kind, encouraging and fun. I am thrilled to bits to have been awarded Bounce Back Member of the month and look forward to improving my scores. If I carry on like this, I could be a scientific phenomenon. One day I’m going to say, “Actually there is a cure for MS. It’s called Bounce Back!”