Author
Mechthild Palm, as appeared in Alpha1 Journal 1/2023.
Dear Marion, dear board members,
A big thank you and praise to you and the whole team for the great weekend and everything you do for us Alphas.
I sat down and wrote a few lines about my last six months.
And as you know, writing isn't my strong suit. After last summer, I was completely worn out. By August, I was almost at the point of considering applying for care services, as getting dressed and personal hygiene had become an ordeal. This frustrated me immensely and simply wasn't meant to be the solution to my problems.
But me and sport – we've never been friends! At that point, the online lung exercise program with Peddar came at just the right time in my weekly schedule to get me back on track.
The first few Fridays with lung exercise were quite intense for me, because it took a while until I was back in my normal breathing rhythm afterwards, and I couldn't even think about doing anything else strenuous on Fridays afterwards.
In November, Marion asked me if I wanted to participate in the PROMISE program.
Well, I thought, if she believes in me and we've known each other for a long time, then I'll go for it. I'll manage the 16 weeks, and I have nothing to lose. On December 6, 2022, Ms. Schneeberger met me where I was in terms of my abilities. Of course, the first few weeks were very tough, and I had hoped for faster progress. But even with the smallest steps of improvement, I noticed that I was making progress.
Since the start of daylight saving time, I've finished the program. Now, two months later, I'm continuing to do an average of 3.5 hours of exercise per week + 1 session of reflex breathing therapy.
I notice how many things in my life/daily routine have become easier:
- Body care
- climb stairs
- Endurance
Up until now I've done a lot of manual labor, now it's sports, and that's still not easy for me, but it's doing me a world of good! And when your fit lung exercise trainer in Bad Wildungen walks alongside you and says, "You're really moving fast," it's especially good for the "unathletic soul"!
How wonderful that I embraced PROMISE and overcame my inner resistance!
