Client Katrina Archibald & Trainer Noelle Wood
featured in
Pilates Style Magazine - October 2007
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Katrina Archibald is truly inspirational and I am blessed to have the opportunity to work with her.

An athletic and active young woman who enjoyed yoga, hiking and shopping, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998 at the age of 25. The progressive and debilitative neurological disease stole the strength from her legs and put her in a wheelchair shortly after the birth of her son in 2005.

Katrina, anxious to keep up with her small son and to enjoy life to its fullest, has not let the disease kill her spirit or the drive to become stronger. She began Pilates training at POP only three months ago and the improvement has been dramatic. Although she still needs a cane to assist with her balance and walking, she is no longer in a wheelchair and has rebuilt muscle in her quads, hamstrings and inner thighs. She is now developing deep core abdominal strength and her balance is steadily improving. Her upper body has developed beautifully and her seated posture is graceful and poised.

“After only four weeks of Pilates, my friends and family were astonished by my increased strength and balance,” she says.
Katrina’s success has often put tears in my eyes. She has taught me to be a better and more compassionate trainer. She has challenged my knowledge of the entire Pilates repertoire as we have needed to modify each exercise to keep her safe and balanced.

Working with Katrina has also provided me with a glimpse of how Joseph Pilates developed the Cadillac repertoire to assist soldiers with their rehabilitation in the internment camps. It is a rare privilege.

“I could just kick myself for not calling Noelle earlier,” she says. “I truly believe Noelle, and her ability to adjust each exercise to accommodate my limitations has jump started my healing.”

Pilates is by no means a cure for Katrina’s condition. The disease destroys the protective sheath (myelin) surrounding the nerve fibers and forms plaque on the nerves. Myelin not only protects the nerves, but makes their job possible. When the nerve fiber is damaged, the ability of the nerve to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted and produces the varying symptoms of MS.

Katrina will continue to have both productive days where we are able to make great strides, and days where we will need to work gently and safely. My only hope is to help ease her symptoms on most days so she can enjoy and play with her toddler son.

“Pilates will remain an integral part of my exercise regime and my desire to get stronger and stay healthy,” she says.

Today Katrina performed her first push up, a feat she no longer dreamed possible. The excitement in her eyes touched my heart and I feel blessed to have been part of this miraculous moment. I hope we have many more.

-NW