Becoming an MS Warrior - Suzette Llewellyn-McKenzie
Suzette is taking part in our MS Warrior Programme for people living with MS in Scotland. It's designed to help minimise MS progression, fight fatigue, increase strength, and more. Suzette tells us about the Programme and how it’s helped her live well with MS.
The MS Warrior Programme is open to anyone living in Scotland affected by MS.
Joining the MS Warrior Programme gave me clarity
The MS Warrior Programme has helped me structure my days in an easier way. And it’s given me an awareness of my need to focus on exercises suited to my abilities (with room for progression). It’s also taught me to listen to my body as I follow a diet plan suited to my own needs. And the course has really helped me enjoy healthy eating.
Read more about special diets and MS
Taking back control
The Programme has given me an opportunity to show myself compassion and create my own sense of wellbeing. I now have confidence to trust my own abilities whilst learning to build my strength in a world full of temptation.
It’s helped me build a solid foundation which makes my core and mind stronger every day. I feel alive now. I am me. I am growing. I’m taking myself to a higher level, a place I never imagined existed.
My heart is happy as my body gets stronger. I can’t walk any kind of distance because of my drop foot and mobility issues in my right leg. But as I continue with the Programme, I’m starting to see improvements such as some movement in my right knee. It leaves me with such a feeling of liberation and achievement.
The combination of a healthy, vegan diet (a personal choice) and a new exercise regime have been the piece of the jigsaw I’d been searching for.
You can work to make sure MS doesn’t define you. You can achieve so much. You are stronger than you’ll ever believe.
How the MS Warrior Programme can help people with MS
The leadership shown by MS Warrior creator and trainer, Dom Thorpe, has been excellent. He gives people on the programme encouragement and something to believe in. My daily exercises are given to me in an email. It give me the reasons why I’m doing the workout and the science behind it. It also tell me the benefits of the food I’m fuelling my body with.
I’d wholeheartedly recommend the MS Warrior Programme to anyone living with the effects of MS. Dom’s tailored the course to suit all abilities and you can choose a level you feel comfortable with.
I understand why people might not want to join a gym. It can be hard feeling different in an environment filled with able-bodied people. The programme lets me work out at my own pace and in private. I feel like Dom is by my side giving me the level of motivation I need.
Asking for support
I also get lots of support and encouragement from fellow MSers, my GP practice, MS nurse and the MS Society’s Scotland Wellbeing Hub. I first heard about Dom and the MS Warrior Programme through the hub. And it’s opened my eyes to a world of support I didn’t know existed before.
I’ve connected with another lady called Anne through the hub’s Buddy Scheme. It’s been a game changer. We’re motivating each other as we progress through the 12-week course.
There are plenty of reasons for hope
Dealing with symptoms, isolation and social withdrawal can have a negative impact on a person’s general cognition and mental health. The MS Warrior Programme has taught me lots of things. One of them is that if you eat well, sleep well, exercise regularly and move at your own pace, there are plenty reasons for hope. You can work to make sure MS doesn’t define you. You can achieve so much. You are stronger than you’ll ever believe.
Sign up for the MS Warrior launch event on Eventbrite’s website
