Fibro Active April Diaries
Written by Julie Barker Chairperson
A big thank you to Jane Gordon who wrote last months article while I compiled our 6th Anniversary Review and submitted it as evidence for the Royal Society of Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Awards. We will find out in July if we have been shortlisted.
We finished March with the launch of the Walking to Awareness Campaign. This was a bit of a washout due to the weather. The other committee members were due to be on a walking leaders’ course in preparation for Erewash Walking Week later that day and couldn’t do both events. So, Jane and I popped down to see if anyone would turn up and as no one would come out in the rain we hurried back to Jane’s and completed the last proof read of the March article and submitted the awards entry before attending the walking course.
April Week 1
Sun 3rd- The first Sunday of the month is Dr Lam’s Instructor Forum and the subject was visualisation. Visualisation is used by athletes and public speakers to improve performance. We use visualisation to learn the moves and to aid students who have restricted ability to improve their mobility. Jane wrote a short paper on what we had learned and we used it to theme our classes this week.
Mon 4th- Yang and BHQA classes. Class numbers were low due to covid. It’s hit attendance hard over the past few weeks.
Tue 5th- The Tai Chi for Arthritis class was also struggling with Covid absenteeism. At group, we ran a qigong session and for Symptom of the Month I found my original power point presentation on different types of pain; I had forgotten that, at the beginning of lock down I had recorded my notes onto it. So, I set up the projector, sat back and relaxed!
Wed 6th- We were in our park for our weekly walk and it was the first step count of the campaign. The first week always takes time to get going and we only counted around 275 miles, this put pressure on us to reach the following 5-week targets in order to stay on course.
Week 2
Tues 12th The Tai Chi for Arthritis students at Petersham Hall demonstrated the form, proving to us that they knew it, so we presented them with t-shirts. Inspiritive arts were on the group programme and Marie got creative with folded cards.
Wed 13th- was Erewash Walking Week and Fibro Active were on the list of walks. Sadly, again, the weather was against us and it was pouring with rain right up to the start of the walk, where we had an improvement to drizzle! Just as we got to the end, the heavens opened and we dashed into the park’s shelter. Poor Denise was walking home and got drenched to the skin. We were joined by Kev and Dan from Active Erewash and they informed us that low attendance at groups and classes was common at the moment all over the country. Learning this allowed me to worry less about the current situation.
After the walk Jane and I went dress shopping for the Queen’s Garden Party. Jane tried on a few dresses and chose a very on trend blue and orange dress. I just tried on one dress as I didn’t like the colours this season, but I compromised with navy and pink.
The second of the walking to awareness step count was a big improvement. We collectively walked 468.44 miles. The total so far is 719.59 miles. However, our Just Giving page is still a bit slow to get going.
Thu 14th We just offered one class of Tai Chi for Arthritis due to the Small Steps to Health class members all being away.
Fri 15th Good Friday and I went to support Jo Brigg’s at her Walking Week walk around Trent Meadows, which is where I used to regularly walk my dogs. I took Sam, my mum’s dog with me and his pet pram; Sam is recovering from paralysis and still needs to build up his strength. It was a lovely warm spring day and I really enjoyed getting out in the countryside where I belong. Jo and I were able to catch up about the classes, Jo is the coordinator of the Strictly no Falling programme of which we are partners. Jo also told me that out of all of Derbyshire, there were only 2 classes that are well attended at the moment; this was also a relief to hear.
Week 3
Mon 18th In the morning I scheduled the Facebook posts. There are no classes due to it being Easter Monday, a day off – allegedly!
Tue 19th was day one of the Mental Health First Aid course for Peter, Margaret and Opkar via Zoom. However, there were technical issues and Opkar missed half the course and Margaret had to pull out because the course was only designed for one person on one device. No group today after the Easter weekend.
Wed 20th I sent updates and apologies to the Small Groups Network meeting as none of us were available to attend. Jane looked after the walk while I took my mum’s dog to the vets for his booster. The Walking to Awareness steps count totalled 558.72 miles for week 3 with a total so far of 1278.31 miles.
Thur 21st There was only the Tai Chi for Arthritis class again today. Our Thursday students demonstrated that they knew the form and were presented with t-shirts. Opkar repeated day one of the Mental Health course after her technical difficulties.
Fri 22nd Ben, Jane and I met at Jane’s house for sword practice, my back has been on fire ever since so I think I did a bit too much. Peter and Opkar completed day 2 of the Mental Health First Aid course and in the evening one of our Facebook members collected a t-shirt and stayed for a cuppa and chat. Jane pinged to say her invitation had arrived for the garden party at Buckingham Palace.
Sat 23rd I attended a memorial for two of the Scouters I knew when I was in uniform at the Scout Activity Centre at Trent Lock. While I was there, a lady came up to me and said that she remembered me when I was staff and she was only a Girl Guide. She told me who she was and that she had Fibromyalgia. So later we slipped away into the staff hut where it was quiet for a 1-2-1. It was quite an emotional day. It’s really hard to process time when you see the children that you have worked with, all grown up and with children themselves. I got home and my invitation had arrived!
Week 4
Mon 25th John, Karen, Opkar and myself attended a partnership networking workshop at the Volunteer Centre, looking at the barriers and needs of disabled and long-term illness sufferers to get active. We left the meeting and went straight to run the Monday afternoon classes. This put me over my limitations and I ended up with a bad headache for the rest of the day.
Tue 26th We had three new starters for our early Tai Chi class. However, there was very low attendance at group this week. We had a new starter, Sam who had previous tai chi experience. Jane and I, worked hard to bring the members up to speed with the qigong, followed by a game of Fibro Bingo where if your number is called, you get the chance to talk around the subject assignedt to the number. It’s a great way to cover a variety of subjects relevant to FM/CFS in a focused environment, it can be quite serious and informative, but we usually have a good laugh. Attendance was low again as Peter and Opkar were on part 3 of the Mental Health First Aid Course, others had health appointments or were still on holiday!
Wed 27th At the moment, due to FM/CFS and Covid, there are just too few members to help out, so for two Wednesdays we have had to split the committee to different events, Peter and Margaret led the weekly walk, sadly only my mum turned up! Jane and I were selling raffle tickets at Sandiacre CO-OP and Opkar and Lisa took over from us at lunchtime, while Jane and I went off to a meeting with Kay. I was able to pick up two vouchers from two coffee shops for raffle prizes on the way back.
In the evening I counted the weekly steps for the Walking to Awareness Campaign. This week we have walked 521.15 miles which brought the total up to 1799.46 miles. We are on schedule to reach the target of 2361.73 miles, however, the Just Giving page isn’t doing as well as last year.
Thu 28th The new term of classes started in Sandiacre, however, attendance was low with people having appointments or being on holiday.
Fri 29th Peter and Opkar will complete part 4 of their Mental Health First Aid course.