Mytime Active Stories - Sarah

A life changing FreshStart!

Sarah, 66, was referred to Mytime Active’s 12-week FreshStart programme about 15 years ago whilst having physio for her feet, which had become increasingly painful due to psoriatic arthritis damage. At the time she was petrified at the thought of joining an exercise programme. Little did she know the experience would change her life!

 “When the physio mentioned FreshStart I was horrified. I did the obligatory sports at school, but after that the only exercise I did was dancing in clubs.  The thought of going into a gym was so far out of my comfort zone; I’m very self-conscious and completely intimidated by gyms,” she says.

 “But I knew I had to do something so I signed up for FreshStart at the Spa at Beckenham where I met Diane Friday for the first time, who took me through my induction. Although I felt self conscious, no-one stared, which was my greatest fear, and my programme wasn’t too challenging – I was delighted to see the easy-to-use resistance machines.”

FreshStart is a programme of safe physical activity for patients recovering from illness or with long term medical conditions, supported by Mytime Active exercise specialists who help tailor an exercise programme based on individual goals and their medical conditions.

Sarah explains: “FreshStart was a revelation for me and I still follow the programme Diane made for me, but with more reps and more weight. My hands and my feet are chronically affected by the psoriatic arthritis and there are so many things I can no longer do, but I can do the FreshStart programme.”

Escaping the pain.

Over two years ago, Sarah then started having problems with her left ankle and both wrists, which caused issues when she was doing her beloved Pilates. 

She explains: “After the 12-week FreshStart programme I joined the Mytime Active gym and started doing Pilates – having a membership encouraged me to do more and was another positive progression from FreshStart.”

 “But in February 2024 the tendon in my left wrist severed and a month later my Achilles severed in my left ankle. During an ultrasound they realised I had a partially severed tendon in my right wrist too – all a result of the damage caused by the psoriatic arthritis.  Although my Achilles healed, it severed again in August that same year and this time a surgeon replaced it with a tendon from one of my toes. All this meant I wasn’t allowed to bear weight on it for more than 13 weeks, as well as spending months in an orthopaedic boot, which unbalanced my body and led to other issues.”

Sarah now has pain in her right hip, her left knee is painful, and her right shoulder from the use of the crutch. Whilst seeing a physio for her ankle she spoke about her knee and hip pain and this time was referred to ESCAPE-Pain, a group rehabilitation programme run by Mytime Active for people with chronic joint pain that integrates educational self-management and coping strategies with individualised exercise, to help people better cope with pain.

Whilst Sarah works full-time as an administrator, she was determined to make the twice weekly sessions on Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes. She says: “There’s always a little trepidation about starting anything new but to walk in and see Diane was a fabulous start. The eight of us on the programme instantly gelled, sharing our stories and issues, and there was so much laughter, which is a real tonic when everyone is in chronic pain. The sessions were great, with good subjects, a lot of interaction and differing views, but everyone was very accepting and so supportive of each other.  The exercises were really good too, so simple but so effective and easily adjustable for differing needs and abilities.”

“I really looked forward to each session and there was genuine sadness when it finished. It’s great to be in an environment where everyone is supportive and no-one judges. It’s immeasurable in fact, as only someone who has chronic pain can really understand what that means, even if it’s a different version of that story. I didn’t really have support at home and friends don’t really get it either. But everyone in FreshStart and ESCAPE-Pain does get it. They will listen, understand and offer a hug. We now have a Whatsapp group and there will be meet-ups.”

“I genuinely feel really lucky to have been able to do FreshStart and now ESCAPE-Pain. They are brilliant programmes and have been so beneficial to me. Diane is amazing. Her knowledge is phenomenal and she happily offered suggestion for exercises for other issues, such as my shoulders, too. The impact has been so uplifting.”