When Chris and I first discussed what our fitness business would look like we knew we didn’t want to run just another gym, neither did we want the focus of our business to be sales. We’ve always believed that an ethical, customer service focused fitness business based on results, programming and community was key for us, both for the success of our clients and for our personal job satisfaction.
As part of this focus on community, we want Fit School to support charities. From offering our services, or funding other professionals to coach in local schools and clubs, to national charities, which mean a lot to us and to our clients.
Earlier this year my Aunty Brenda lost her battle with Multiple Sclerosis. She’d had it for over thirty years. I remember my Aunty fighting MS. She used to drag herself on her elbows around her kitchen rather than give in to a wheelchair. She refused being fed through a tube until her body couldn’t take anymore. And in the end, in May this year, she refused resuscitation.
I write this, very aware that my emotions are insignificant compared to those of my cousins Emma and Simon and my Uncle Ian. Their lives were so different to mine because of the constant support, help, care and above all love, they showed my Aunty. And whilst my experiences of Aunty Brenda’s MS were at a distance, the impact of the illness on her family is not lost on me.
I was privileged to visit her when she was finally admitted to hospital with pneumonia. The sense of acceptance from the whole family was immense and put life into perspective.
My Aunty was full of life, she was creative, alternative and even when she couldn’t really eat, still loved cake!
Around the time that Aunty Brenda got really poorly I found out that a good friend had just been diagnosed with MS. Treatments are different now but the uncertainty remains, not to mention pain, sickness and tiredness that go hand in hand with mega doses of drugs.
I didn’t want to call tomorrow Brenda’s evening because it’s still too raw for many people, but that’s essentially what the charity part is about – my Aunty Brenda, who was a bit alternative and loved cake. x
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About MS
MS affects the nervous system and is more common in women than men. It usually strikes between the ages of 20 and 40. The causes of MS are still uncertain. It’s not a directly inherited condition but it’s thought that a combination of genes are responsible. More evidence now is pointing to a lack of Vitamin D (MS is virtually unheard of near the equator) and possibly a link to sweeteners like aspartame.