Twenty-four-year-old Michael Vaughn was in a rut, spending his days in bed, tapping the television remote control button traveling from station to station.
Now Vaughn, who battles multiple sclerosis, is up and out of the house, visiting the Rocky Mountain MS Center’s King Adult Day Enrichment Program three days a week where he’s immersed in a sense of community.
“It’s a great place of normalcy for me,” said Vaughn, who was diagnosed with MS as a teenager. “It lets me know I’m not the only person with MS.”
The nonprofit program typically serves about 60 clients a day, offering a variety of classes, therapy, guidance and meals to people with MS, and others who are afflicted with neurological disabilities and illnesses. The agency is seeking funding from this year’s Post-News Season to Share campaign.
Vaughn has been a program client for about three years, and he describes it as “heaven sent.”
“This place gets you back into the swing of life,” Vaughn said, flashing a brilliant smile.
At the King center in northwest Denver, Vaughn and others register for classes as part of a 16-week curriculum. Groups from the program get to go out together, maybe to the movies, or they play games such as Trivial Pursuit at the center.
Among the program’s more popular offerings is a “hydrotherapy” session where clients get to work with a licensed physical therapist in a swimming pool.
In an exercise room at the center, staff member Shin Sakurai ran an enthusiastic group through stretching routines using plastic straps and exercise balls.
As Sakurai talks with a visitor in their native Japanese tongue, client Brian Mueller is compelled to join in. Mueller breaks out singing the Blue Oyster Cult rock classic “Godzilla.”
“Oh, no, there goes Tokyo; go, go, Godzilla, yeah,” Mueller sings. Others in the room break out in laughter, and Sakurai takes it in stride. There’s a strong bond among clients, staffers and volunteers of the program. Humor is a well they often drink from.
Brenda Goodin, 59, likely battled MS for about seven years before finally having it diagnosed in 1996, she said.
She’s been a client since April and typically takes an RTD bus across town from her home in Aurora to get to the center.
“I like it here,” Goodin said. “Even on a bad day, you travel, you’re going somewhere and you feel good.”
Goodin enjoys the camaraderie at the center, and she boasts of having “four boyfriends” among its associates.
“Everyone needs someone,” Goodin said. “There are hugs for people who are in need. I have a lot of friends who are like me.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
