Lofty Health and Wellness

It was an honour to present a workshop for the during the Scientific Conference day on Saturday.

After attending the Better Together Conference for both the Consumer and Scientific days, this was a brilliant event and extremely well attended by both consumers and health professionals/researchers.

It was so great that Molly and I were able to catch up with so many clinicians from interstate that we work closely with.

Congratulations again to the Australian POTS Foundation for organising such a professional and informative event.

Very much looking forward to this webinar and Q&A.

Next Seminar
Join us online Saturday, 24 February to hear Caelum Schild, Accredited Exercise Physiologist, whose professional and personal experience has shaped his passion to help those who are living with dysautonomia and invisible illnesses, speak on:
Pacing – understanding and using heart rate variability (HRV).

Following the presentation, there will be question time and then an opportunity to catch up with others.

Call opens: 1:30pm ACDT (time to acquaint yourself with Zoom)
Event starts: 2:00pm ACDT

Members and their carers are free. Membership is only $5.
If you are not currently a member and would like to attend the seminar online, please pay before 5pm Friday, 23 February.
Join or renew at: https://mecfssa.org.au/get-involved/membership
If you would like help in setting up Zoom on your device before Saturday, please let us know in the comments below.

We look forward to seeing you online.

If you are not able to attend on the day, members will be able to access both a recording of the talk and the slides from the presentation soon after, in the Member Resources area of our website.

EDIT: the video of Caelum's presentation is now available in the Member Resources area of the website. Caelum's presentation is simple, clear, practical, and ME/CFS-friendly.

For further details about the seminar: https://mecfssa.org.au/event/seminar-caelum-schild-exercise-physiologist

That's a wrap for 2023 ❤️

It has truly been a privilege to work with our wonderful invisible illness community this year 🫶

A big thankyou to all who have trusted us to help them in any way, big or small 🙏

We look forward to what 2024 has in store, not only for us, but across the entire invisible illness area! We can't wait to share with you some of our plans to help make treatment, management and therapy more accessible to more people in the near future.

From our little team to you and your loved ones - take care and have a well-paced Christmas 🎄 and New Year 🎉

From Molly, Caelum and "the kids" 😊

Such a brilliant initiative 👏

You don't want to miss this...

Such a brilliant podcast that really shines a light on how impactful POTS is on people's lives.

Bethany's experience with POTS after Covid is truly inspirational - thankyou so much for sharing. Plus a big thankyou to Ali for shining a light on POTS.

🙏

‎Challenges That Change Us: 90 {Bethany Wormald} From marathoner to 7 metre walks post long covid on Apple Podcasts ‎Show Challenges That Change Us, Ep 90 {Bethany Wormald} From marathoner to 7 metre walks post long covid - 3 Dec 2023

📢📢 Dysautonomia Awareness Month Fundraiser 2023 Final Update 📢📢

A huge thankyou 🙏 to everyone for sharing and donating to raise awareness and money for the Australian POTS Foundation.

I honestly had no idea what an achievable goal woulld be at the beginning of the month. $1000 seemed very optimistic, but thanks to everyone for turning it into reality.

I'm thrilled to announce the final amount raised was $1511. We will also be making a $1000 donation, bringing the grand total to $2511!

THANKYOU!

A few stats...
🚴‍♂️ 482km ridden
🚶‍♂️ 21km walked
📏 503km total distance covered
🫶 29 donations
💰 $2511 raised for The Australian POTS Foundation

Looking forward to planning the 2024 event!



Australian POTS Foundation

😯 Only 1 week until it kicks off!

Even if you can't donate, please share in your circles, every little bit helps people living with POTS.


Link to more info: https://www.gofundme.com/f/walking-cycling-500km-in-october-for-pots/share

I'm doing something a little crazy for and Lofty Health & Wellness are going to match every donation dollar for dollar up to the $1000 goal.

Although I love my mountain biking, and it's great for my POTS, this will be a challenge! Please share far and wide to raise awareness of Dysautonomia and POTS!

is incredibly important to us! Let's do everything we can this October to make sure that people in our circles are more aware of Dysautonomia and the impact it has on people's lives.

Fundraising link: https://gofund.me/bb541f8e

POTS for Practitioners & Patients

Join us for a free webinar with specialist Exercise Physiologists Caelum Schild and Jacqui Main who will discuss strategies for managing the moderately impacted and bed bound patient with dysautonomia.

Monday 29th May 7:00pm ACST

If you appreciate what we do and would like to support us in our mission, a donation can be made when booking your ticket. All donations are greatly appreciated.

Secure your ticket here:
https://events.humanitix.com/pots-for-practitioners-exercise-physiology-for-the-moderately-impacted-and-bed-bound-dysautonomia-patient

POTS update 📢📢

This is such a fantastic initiative for those who can't physically manage hiking, but still love the great outdoors and exploring our wonderful National Parks.

Want to give electric assist off road wheelchairs a go?

Come along to an etrike induction being run by National Parks Coordinator Access For All Yvie Eglinton and Lisa Pearson from the District Council of Yankalilla.

Inductions are being offered on a number of dates at various locations (maximum of 2 people per session).

To book contact Yvie at [email protected] and let her know your preferred location and time.

Saturday 4 March, Para Wirra Conservation Park meeting in the car park at the lake picnic area, 11am and 1pm.
Sunday 5 March, Belair National Park meeting in the car park at Playford Lake – 11am and 1pm
Sunday 12 March, Deep Creek Conservation Park, meeting in the car park at the Goondooloo ridge picnic area - 11am and 1pm
Sunday 2 April, Hiking Expo, Belair National Park, 2 sessions will be available, keep your eye on the hiking expo webpage, bookings will be available shortly: www.walkingsa.org.au/hiking-expo-2023

📢 📢 ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 📢

We are delighted to announce Lofty Health and Wellness is now a family affair!

We welcome Caelum’s wife Molly Schultz to the Lofty Health and Wellness team. You may hear her on the phones or by email as she helps out with some administration tasks.

Molly will also be starting in her role of Occupational Therapist for Lofty Health and Wellness in the coming months. Molly will be working part time, while juggling the care of our 2 young children, Chelsea and Max. We look forward to being able to provide Occupational Therapy services, particularly around Functional Capacity Assessment and Report Writing, Assistive Technology, Home Modifications and Equipment for the Invisible Illness community, as well as the broader population.

Molly’s work has involved comprehensive report writing and extensive advocacy work for funding and equipment prescription through NDIS and other agencies. There are a growing number of people in Australia living with a chronic invisible illness, however it is not well acknowledged and understood by funding bodies, therefore limiting access to necessary supports. We hope to slowly change that, while also bringing improved function and quality of life to those living with a chronic illness. We believe the combination of Exercise Physiology with a holistic view to therapy, in combination with Occupational Therapy for assessment, reports and assistive technology and techniques will provide our community with the strategies, support and devices to “help you climb life’s mountains”.

We also invite any NDIS participants requiring Occupational Therapy services into our care.

Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support and we look forward to continuing to work with you in 2023 and beyond.

This is a fantastic idea 👇

National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia has partnered with the District Council of Yankalilla and the City of Mitcham to provide the exciting new opportunity for people living with a disability to experience Belair National Park.

An accessibility trike is now available and free to hire from the park's Information Office from 9:30am every day (bookings essential), with returns due by 4pm.

The chair has brakes and steering operated by a buddy and will pave the way for residents who use wheelchairs, or who may not be able to walk longer distances, to explore the park with friends or family.

To book visit: https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/parks/belair-national-park/booking/142953

Looking forward to reading this!

Although this study isn't exclusively related to invisible illness, I wanted to share it anyway.

As an Exercise Physiologist, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has always been a peak international body for setting guidance around movement therapy.

They have just launched a new journal called 'Exercise Sport & Movement'. The first published article highlights the fact that movement against resistance is more than just 'getting big muscles' and 'lifting heavy weights'.

I'm looking forward to seeing some research articles highlighting the benefit of appropriate movement for invisible illness in the future.

As the end to 2022 draws closer, we would firstly like to thank you all for your support over the past year. We feel so privileged to be trusted by the invisible illness community to provide quality health and disability care.

In 2023, we will continue to advocate for our community, while helping people to improve their function and quality of life. Celebrating every win along the way, no matter how big or small.

We would also like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

No matter how big or small your festivities, set aside some time for yourself.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2023.

❤️ Caelum & Molly

This can often be a difficult time of year for people living with an invisible illness.

Instead of looking at the events/occasions you weren't able to attend, find the top 3 things you have accomplished each day. These can be cognitive, physical, social (or a mix).

Sometimes it's the "little" wins that are worth celebrating.

Enjoy - sometimes we need a little laughter to get the vagus nerve functioning better...

On the twelfth day of Christmas my POTS asked of me:
12 grams of salt 🧂
11 tablets rattling 💊
10 reps of bridging 💪
9 apps a tracking 📱
8 health appointments 🗓
7 packs of chippies 🍟
6 small meals 🍲
5 compression tights 🦿
4 icy poles 🍦
3 litres-a-water 💧
2 tired legs 🦵
And heart rate monitor ⌚️

It was fantastic to see such a great turnout at this webinar. Now you can catch up if you missed out or watch it again 👇👇👇

GIFT no.2
Continuing education & advocacy for our community

Enjoy our first POTS for Practitioners webinar where Caelum Schild and Jacqui Main discuss how to conduct a thorough allied health practitioner assessment for POTS and other autonomic nervous system conditions.

https://potsfoundation.org.au/pots-for-practitioners-webinar-1-dysautonomia-assessment-for-the-allied-health-practitioner/

If you would like to support us in our mission, all donations are greatly appreciated and can be made here - https://potsfoundation.org.au/get-involved/

Sometimes the simplest tests (in this case the active stand test) can tell us a lot about someone's function.

Link to research article in the comments.

Stay tuned 📺

Today is the International Day of Persons With Disabilities.

Really looking forward to presenting this webinar for Australian POTS Foundation

Please join Jacqui Main Exercise Physiologist at Dizzy Zebras and myself for part 1 of this series as we delve into how to deliver a thorough initial assessment for POTS.

Registration link here 👉 https://events.humanitix.com/dysautonomia-assessment-for-the-allied-health-practitioner

Join us for our upcoming webinar 'Dysautonomia assessment for the Allied Health Practitioner', where we will hear from Accredited Exercise Physiologists, Caelum Schild and Jacqui Main as they discuss how to conduct a thorough allied health practitioner assessment for POTS , factors that help or hinder the autonomic nervous system, and management of common comorbidities including ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia.

Registrations now open here: https://events.humanitix.com/dysautonomia-assessment-for-the-allied-health-practitioner

PACING - let's talk about it...

It's time for another research in focus.

Such a brilliantly delivered inaugural conference yesterday by the Australian POTS Foundation 👏

It was fantastic to see so many people in person and online wanting to learn more about POTS and the "Pentad Super-Syndrome" as termed by Dr Andrew Maxwell in his presentation.

A great way to finish .

We would love for you to join us 😁

Link to register: https://events.humanitix.com/dysautonomia-assessment-for-the-allied-health-practitioner

Jacqui Main Exercise Physiologist at Dizzy Zebras

Last chance 👇👇👇

Due to popular demand, we've extended our webinar ticket access for our inaugural scientific conference for clinicians and allied health professionals.

Please use this link to secure your ticket. https://events.humanitix.com/pots-unmasked/tickets

Presentation recording will be accessible post event so there really is no reason not to!

My favourite week of is here 🙌

This is what is all about, raising awareness of POTS and dysautonomia within our community so that people can receive the care they need and deserve!

I'm sorry (not really 😁) if a few of the posts this week are repetitive about the Australian POTS Foundation conference.