Adapt to find your passion

I was first introduced to exercise when I was young through the form of swimming. It was a form of exercise that doctors told my parents would be safe and effective for me in supporting my muscles as well as I could. As I got older, I joined a swim team, and while I was not competitive, it kept me exercising, and my muscles working the best they could.

Doctors told my parents that I may not walk for long. They were determined to keep me walking as long as possible, and I was determined, too. I also was fortunate enough to be able to ride a two-wheel bike when I was younger. I rode it all the time which I am sure helped a lot with my muscles. I had a desire to be active, and I was. In college, I continued to want to eat healthy and exercise. I took an exercise class and learned how to lift weights. While I could not lift much, it was another way that I could keep my muscles as healthy as possible.

My driving force to adapt to different exercises and activities that keep me moving, continues to be the desire to keep walking as long as I possibly can. My disease is slowly progressive, so as I have gotten older, I have had to use my wheelchair some for getting around if I am overly tired and for going longer distances. I am an ambulatory wheelchair user.

My main form of exercise now is an underwater treadmill in my small therapy pool at my home. It is the type of pool where you can swim against a current, so I am able to swim and run in the water. Before we had this installed, I had never run before. My son who was 12 at the time taught me how to run because I did not even know how! After 44 years in and out of physical therapy, my husband and I decided to bring something into our home that I could safely and easily access and use often to stay active.

Another form of adaptive recreation that I have tried is skiing in Colorado. We were on a family vacation and wanted to take our boys skiing. I assumed that I would just be a spectator, but the lady at the Airbnb where we were staying told us about an adaptive ski program which just happened to be about 10 minutes from the house we were staying at. That is a day I will never forget. I only wish I had more than one day to ski. They packed as much training into that one day as they could, and it was exhilarating to fly down that mountain. I felt so free, and my four instructors were angels on earth!

A couple of years ago, my long-time best friend texted me about an opportunity to go adaptive water skiing, something else I had never been able to do. We went together and she cheered me on as I skied in a seated adaptive ski all around the lake. After several wipeouts, I finally got up. Once I did, it was incredible. I ended up loving it so much that I went back for day two so my husband could see it too. It was an incredible experience.

There have been so many obstacles to staying active along the way. One, it is just physically hard with muscular dystrophy, so you really must do the best you can with what you have. I try to just keep going, even if it is just the smallest thing. Gyms are not really set up with people with disabilities in mind, so that was always challenging, which was another reason to bring it into my home. I was able to modify it and adapt it to fit my needs.

Unfortunately, the world we live in does not always accommodate those with disabilities. In some ways it is getting better, but there will always be obstacles. I have had to be creative in staying active and adapt in a way that works best for me. I will continue to push through these obstacles with humble courage to keep exercising, staying as active as I can. That is the key to keeping my independence, which is so important to me. I am looking forward to what is next for me in adaptive recreation and continuing to challenge myself to stay as strong as I can.

Until next time …

Amy Shinneman is a former National Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, disability blogger, wife, and mom of two boys. You can find her blog at humblycourageous.com and reach her on Instagram @ashinneman.