(05/04/10) Multiple Sclerosis Support Group (Bethany Baptist Church, Duluth, MN)

5/4/2010 Outreach Visit to the Multiple Sclerosis Support Group at Bethany Baptist Church in Duluth, MN by Paula Moore

DTA Stride buses waited to load people for the ride home but none were coming out—-yep Magic was to blame. 1:00 came around no one wanted to leave. 40 people x 3 times around and they still wanted more of Magic. Finally at 1:25 people started to leave. They LOVED HER so much!!!

Many in the group were very affected by the story of WindChill. There were a lot of tears. There was a lot of anger. There was a lot of bewilderment as to how a person could do this to an animal. They were not afraid to voice their opinions about what should be done to people who do this to animals.

In this group there were people in all stages of multiple sclerosis. Some with canes, walkers, wheel chairs, and motorized scooters. They had all brought a sack lunch to eat before the presentation.

While they ate Trish, Gramma Carole and I did set up. The projector and the computer refused to talk to each other. Trish read the manual. We tried several things. These 2 machines REFUSED to cooperate. Well Trish called on divine intervention in the form of Senior Pastor Jeff. Within 30 seconds he diagnosed the problem and showed us what to do if it happened again.

Pastor Jeff was also helpful 2 weeks ago. I was having lunch with a group of my travel club ladies who asked me where my next outreach was. I told them Bethany Baptist Church. I asked if any of them knew where the church was. No one knew. From directly behind my chair, sitting in a booth eating, was a VERY VERY handsome young man who said,” Excuse me. I think I can help.” He gave me his business card. I looked at it. It was Pastor Jeff. What a coincidence!!!!!!

What a great group of animal lovers in this group! Everyone had pets. Before I started and while I was having trouble with the machines, the president of the group, asked each person to talk about their pets, both living and dead. As I listened I heard such reverence and the joy each pet brought to the lives of their owner.

Telling these stories opened their hearts wide and the crying came easy when WindChill’s story was told.

This group connected in a different way with WindChill’s story than other groups I have done. People here told us how much they identified with WindChill’s story because of their disability. His struggles to survive, his will to live, his fight to not give in to the cold all rang true to their own stories of not giving up when diagnosed with MS. WindChill had hope out in that field that someone would help him and make his life better. People said hope is what it is all about for them too. That is the power of WindChill’s story. Even though everyday was a struggle for him to live, he never gave up. Even though his physical body did not work too well, he fought through it to live.

One person said, “WindChill’s story really fits me. His whinnying for help and never giving up fits my story.” Another said that, “WindChill in the sling reminded him of all the contraptions he has had to use over the years in order to stand and to get to places.”

Magic was welcomed by all with open hearts. She went around and around the big circle of people. Everyone asked Gramma Carole questions about her.

Trish and I went around talking to people who were waiting to pet Magic. Trish found lots of dog lovers and heard some good stories. One owner of a rescued dachshund, asked Trish if she could bring in her little one, which travels with her to all the outreaches with her other dog Murphy. Everyone fell in love with that tiny cutie pie.

One story I heard that touched my heart was about 2 work horses, Pat and Mike. They were always together, best friends. Pat died suddenly. Mike became very depressed. His heart was broken. 2 days later in the morning the family found Mike dead. He had bashed his head into the barn wall several times grieving the lost of his best friend.

Many of the people in this group have been on a horse through North Country Ride. This program is very special, giving people with special needs and disabilities the experience of riding a horse. One woman said it was an exciting experience for her. She said being on a horse was freeing. She felt like she was walking through the horse. She felt unencumbered. “The horses legs were my legs” was her final comment to go along with the far away remembering look in her eyes and the happy grin on her face.

People loved Magic’s hot breath and eyelashes. “Magic was the star of the afternoon.” someone said.

Magic had a serious Packer fan interested in her. The woman wheeled her wheelchair around, following Gramma Carole and Magic the whole time. Whenever Magic stopped to be petted she found her way in. “She should be wearing a green halter with gold lettering.” she recommended to Kathi. She was from the Dakotas and had only lived around cows. She fell totally in love with Magic.

The janitor was pretty funny. He did not believe a word I told him about Magic. He did not want to clean up the horse’s mess so he made a name tag with the words POOP SCOOPER and put it on the person who volunteered to do cleanup. It was a title in name only because there was no mess, hence no cleanup!!!!!!!!!