Sports Help Holds Effects Of MS At Bay

When a disease attempts to steal you life, there is only one thing you can do: Fight back. Aiken resident Janet Swain is a fighter.

February 2001, Swain was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The doctors told that she had been battling this disease for more than 20 years without a diagnosis. At the time, she worked as a senior director of human resources for sixty hours a week at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in New York. She was always on the go, she was such a busy person, and she wasn’t finished with her career yet when it hit. Within months, her career was over. It turned her world upside down, going from being overly busy to nothing.

Before she had been diagnosed, Swain had experienced; bouts of numbness, migraine headaches, tingling sensations and balance issues. However, these symptoms weren’t persistent enough for her to contact a doctor, they would come and go. In 2001, the symptoms grew more intense and became more consistent.

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She had numbness in her left side and weakness particularly in her arm. She was tripping a lot, had tremors in her left side and was experiencing dizziness. She noticed that when she used her cars turn signal, she reached across to turn it on with her right hand because her left arm was too weak to lift.

Everything happened really fast. She tried to go back to work but about a month after she was diagnosed, she woke up and her entire left side was numb. She was in the hospital for a month, and the doctors told her it would be next to impossible to go back to work. They thought she would keep getting worse until she would eventually be confined to a wheelchair.”

Swain made up her mind and was determined not to let that happen. She actively followed physical therapy and did activities which kept her body moving. Through her physical therapist, she became involved in many adaptive sports programs including kayaking, horseback riding, sailing and hand cycling. The program also included a golf class; however, Swain never got around to participate in it before she and her husband moved to Aiken a year ago.

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Upon moving to this area, she discovered there weren’t as many adaptive programs offered as in New York. She still hand cycles and kayaks on a regular basis as these have become independent sports.

A few weeks ago, Swain discovered a story, while reading the Aiken Standard, on an adaptive golf program offered at Walton Rehabilitation Health System in Augusta and she decided to participate.

If she had to describe the overall experience in one word, it would be liberating. It is nice to be able to go out and act like normal people do. It is absolutely fun. If anybody wants to try and has doubts about their skills, then don’t. Everybody is nervous to do this the first time. Swain had never picked up a golf club, but there are people with all a different level of skill.

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Swain worked with a volunteer, during her first visit. She learned how to swing and has since seen her skills develop.

She has to hit with one arm because she has to hold herself up with a crutch. After a couple of good hits, she told James (a volunteer) that she wanted to hit the flag. James was encouraging, but Swain doubts whether he thought she was serious. When Swain hit the flag, James was as happy as I was.”

During the second visit, Swain and others were helped with their putting skills. This time, she worked with a physical therapist and a belt. The therapist squatted behind her attached by the belt to offer her balance while she learned to putt.

She had never played golf before, and thought; since I live in a golf community, I should learn how to play. She liked it. Although she can’t do many things she did before, and she has lost a lot of friends because they didn’t know how to react. But now she has new friends and new activities. She is happy these activities are available for her as they help her cope with struggles physically and emotionally. She gets up every day and puts one step forward.

Sports can also be a solution to your problems. Find out which type of sport you like and whether it is suitable for you. There are loads of device that can help you to do these activities.

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