MS CENTRAL DISTRICTS NEWSLETTER NOV - JAN 2017 ANNUAL APPEAL DAY, 2ND SEPTEMBER, 2016 Many thanks to all our collectors and helpers for our Annual Ap- peal Day 2016… with a total of $7,600 of funds raised this was a huge effort! Inside this issue: Our thanks also to these Lions Clubs - Dannevirke, Norsewood, PN Heartland, & Papaioea Rose City who all helped us out this President report 2 year collecting as well! Please see pics on pages of some of our collectors in the region. From the Field Worker’s 3 CHRISTMAS CLOSURE DATES - MSCD Office Annual Appeal Day Pics 4 –5 will be closed from Art Exhibition Pics 6 21st December 2016 - 9th January 2017 MFML Course 7 Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Please find below a link to video 1 of 3 that MSNZ and MS Christmas Message 8 Auckland have been working on over recent months to help show what MS means to people diagnosed. This is the first of 3 videos Maintenance Therapy Pro- 9 which we will be releasing over coming months. - grammes https://youtu.be/-6eraH6mIXI Brain Fog Explained 10 Christmas lunches/dinners 11-12 IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER! Food Together / Joke Cor- 13 ner Regional Christmas Lunches - usual scheduled dates, Notice Board 14 except for Otaki and Levin (see Pg 18) MSCD - The Gathering Xmas Dinner - 19 November Useful Information 15 Levin Ladies Shopping Day - 1st December, 10.00am Subs/Donations Form 16 Recipes 17 DISCLAIMER: THE VIEWS AND EXPRESSED IN THIS NEWSLETTER ARE THOSE OF MSCD Maint. Therapy / 18-19 THE AUTHORS AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF MS CENTRAL DISTRICTS. MS Support Grps CENTRAL DISTRICTS ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OF IN- Sponsors / Contacts page FORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWSLETTER. MSCD NEWSLETTER NOV - JAN 2017 Page 2 President’s Report... Hi everybody. Too quick I know but Christmas will soon be on us, just seems to come round quick- er and quicker as the years roll on! Our Annual Appeal Day this year was great; the Region in terms of monies collected at just under $8,000 was fifth overall behind Auckland, Bay of Plenty (just), Otago and Wellington. Last year we collected around $5,600. In total the regions collectively took in around $165k this year as against $134k collected last year. A tremendous effort on the part of our collectors and our thanks must reach out to the generosity of the New Zealand public. Sincere thanks also to our Patron: Iain Lees-Galloway MP for Palmerston North, who once again was ‘out there’ collecting for our Society. Thanks must go to Carolyn once again for putting in place collecting points around the regions and liaising with other organisations to assist us. In early September I was pleased to attend the book launch for Nick Allen’s publication of “To the Summit”. Loads of people there to hear Nick talk around his passion of mountaineering and the launch also coincided with MSNZ and Nick signing the Mastering Mountains Charitable Trust. They have come together to offer people diagnosed with MS the Mastering Mountains Grant. The Grants purpose is to assist people who have been diagnosed as having MS to overcome a specific obstacle so that they can achieve a specific outdoor pursuit. With this Grant, Mastering Mountains and MSNZ hope to help people with MS pursue adventures that encourage a healthy lifestyle and to change the perceptions of MS, in accordance with the Trust’s purposes. For more information about the Trust visit www. masteringmountains.org a copy of Nick’s book is held in the MSCD library. Nick has done so much to raise the profile of MS among those who may know little about the condition. Well time to close but not before I wish you and your families well for the future and to have a rest- ful and pleasant Christmas. Fond regards Ian Chadburn President MSCD NEWSLETTER NOV - JAN 2017 Page 3 From the Field Workers’ Desk… I write this as Philippa is sunning herself in Europe somewhere, and we are still having a very wet spring! Our friend that helps with the farm (who is a bit of a wag) says we are in for a very hot sum- mer, so with this in mind I thought I’d come up with tried and tested strategies to keep us cool this summer. The secret is to keep your core temperature down, having a fan in the room is good for comfort but doesn’t really do the trick. So try these: - Have 2-3 bottles of drinking water in the freezer overnight, so that when you take one out it melts but still ice cold, and drink at least 2 per day. Don’t forget to replenish every night. Fill a spray bottle with water and keep in the fridge, add a drop of Lavender or eucalyptus oil (if liked) and have a lovely cold spray every time you pass the fridge. The bottles are $2 in un- cle Bill’s. Soak 2-3 old towels in water, you know the hand towels that have worn a bit thin (we all have them) ring them out, put them in a plastic bag and pop in the freezer, then the next day pull out and put around the back of your neck or on your forehead, it won’t drip if you have rung them out well enough and it will be lovely and cold. You can add some essential oils to the water here as well. Put them back in as they warm up and get the next one out! You can also do the same with flannels but put them in the arm pits. Fill a hot water bottle with Ice cubes and place either on your tummy or legs. Stock up on the fruit Ice blocks or make your own, have as many as you like, it all contributes to your fluids whilst cooling you down centrally. Have your feet soaking in a plastic basin of cold water. Lastly, and don’t freak out cos it works! Buy a cooling mat from a pet shop and put in on your chair or in bed. It has a special gel in it that keeps dogs from overheating and works for us too! (It certainly helped with my menopausal night sweats!) I’m off to Hong Kong and China with my husband for our 30th anniversary (I was a child bride), the temperature as I write in Hong Kong is 32 degrees with 60% humidity, complete madness!! I will be looking forward to all the Christmas meetings when I come back. Now over to Philippa who will be refreshed after her break and raring to go, so stay cool! I’m off to tickle a panda Happy Christmas Ria Well, what can one say after that?! It is good to be back home again and yes, I did have a lovely time in Europe with family and a few adventures en route. Happy to share further stories at another time… Now racing towards the end of the year, summer and Christmas, and looking forward to our end-of-year groups and gatherings. You will note we have a new-look diary page (see MSCD Maintenance Therapy/Support Groups, Pg 18). A simplified version of the original! If unsure of dates of your group, give us a call! Happy Christmas, keep cool (I like Ria’s tips), and roll on 2017!! Philippa MSCD NEWSLETTER NOV - JAN 2017 Page 4 Pics from Annual Appeal Day 2016... COLLECTORS FROM PALMERSTON NORTH SUPERMARKETS PIC ON RIGHT—MONICA HUISMAN & JONO NAYLOR AT MELODYS NEW WORLD, PALMERSTON NORTH, BOT- TOM MIDDLE PICTURE - IAIN LEES- GALLOWAY (PATRON), RIA SAPS- FORD, & ADRIENNE TREGONNING. MSCD NEWSLETTER NOV - JAN 2017 Page 5 Pics from Annual Appeal Day 2016... COLLECTORS IN FEILDING SUPERMARKETS MSCD NEWSLETTER NOV - JAN 2017 Page 6 Pics from MSCD ART EXHIBITION 2016… Opening Nite, 2nd September MSCD NEWSLETTER NOV - JAN 2017 Page 7 MINIMISE FATIGUE MAXIMISE LIFE COURSE This six week course is designed specifically for people with MS-related fatigue, facilitated by Clinical Psychologist, Robyn Salisbury. “MS fatigue is not just tiredness , it is a specific symptom of MS that can make it hard to manage work, family and life in general. It can be unpredictable and difficult to explain to other people. It doesn’t always improve with sleep and it is the worst symptom of MS for many people” (MFML flyer) We are now planning our 2017 courses. Please let us know if you are interested in attending a future course, preferably with most preferred time of day and day of week. Robyn is also wondering if young people with MS would prefer a course focussed on the under 35’s. “The impact of MS related fatigue has differ- ent challenges at different life stages, and of course, the sooner you get the gains from learn- ing to manage fatigue, the better for your life satisfaction.” If you are interested in this idea, please let us know! Call Carolyn on 06 357 3188, email [email protected], or talk to one of our Field Workers. Feedback from 2016 participants: “I thought I’d be coming along for lectures but it’s been very open, useful discussion.” “Now I’m happy to put my feet up for a rest without feeling guilty” “It reinforced a lot of things I’ve been thinking about, now I understand more about fatigue and why I need to do the things I do.” “The main impact of the course for me was reorganising my day so that MS has less of an impact on me” “So helpful to spend time with others also experiencing MS fatigue, talk things over and get some new ideas.” Venue: MS Society, 51 Waldegrave Street, Palmerston North.