About ten years ago, I developed symptoms of Myotonic Dystrophy, a disorder falling under the umbrella of Muscular Dystrophy. For most of my life, my symptoms were dormant and I was perfectly able bodied. Since then my muscles have weakened considerably. As a child I did gymnastics, was a cheerleader, and loved to dance. During my adult life I worked out almost every weekday. My favorite form of workout was step aerobics and I never felt limited by my muscle weakness during class.
My symptoms have changed my day-to-day life considerably – I can no longer walk without a walker, as I am not very well balanced. For me, water aerobics is the only exercise that I can do, as it does not require the balance that other workouts do. For that reason I am thankful that the Rye Handicapped Association can do their work here. I joined the Rye Handicapped 5 years ago and attend water aerobics class twice a week. It is a wonderful option for me, because I want to exercise and keep my symptoms at a status quo. I enjoy being able to move my body and keep active in some way.
Everybody here is very accommodating. The women I meet in the locker room are very nice and the staff is great. It has been a wonderful experience for me and I will continue to come for as long as I can.
I fully believe that exercising will cause my disease to progress more slowly, although it will continue to get worse. My sister who has the same disease never exercised and is much more disabled than I am. Exercise works! It gives me strength and the endorphins I like.
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