Aug 21, 2009
Scuba Program Helps Teens with MS
Monmouth County – The New Jersey Metro Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society in conjunction with Centra State Medical Center is offering a scuba program for kids and teen with MS. The scuba program had its initial lesson on Saturday, August 15th at Centra State’s Star and Barry Ambulatory Campus and will continue through the month August. The program is run by Jackson resident Stewart W. Snyder III, P.A.D.I. Master Instructor, and Handicapped Scuba Association of New Jersey Course Director.
Multiple sclerosis can cause a variety of impairment ranging from the mild, like numbness and blurred vision to more severe symptoms like difficulty walking, cognitive problems or permanent damage, like paralysis. For decades, the common wisdom was that MS started in adulthood. Scientists and doctors now know that up to 10,000 of the estimated 400,000 Americans who have MS are children or adolescents. At least that many children also have experienced at least one symptom suggestive of MS. This younger population offers new challenges for doctors, parents and organizations such as the Society that strive to meet the needs of everyone living with MS.
“Each person has the power within to do what he or she wants, and scuba diving provides a way to use that power” says Stewart. He goes on to say “Scuba diving is a normal activity, in a prestigious sport that is not altered for people with disabilities. Each person must overcome the limitations caused by their own body, be it an able bodied or non-able bodied person, they must successfully learn and practice the skills required to become a diver. Scuba diving is unlike any sport available to people with disabilities, it offers a lifetime of challenge, education, and normal socializing. It is a sport that can include their friends and family on an equal basis.”
About Multiple Sclerosis
Every hour someone is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS); a chronic disease of the central nervous system for which there is no cure. Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and can stop people from moving. For some, this means living with unpredictable symptoms that can come and go. For everyone impacted by MS, it means not knowing what the day will bring and always being prepared for the unexpected, making it difficult to move forward in life.
For more information about the Scuba for Teens with MS program, multiple sclerosis or local programs and services for those living with MS contact the New Jersey Metro Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at 732-660-1005 or visit our website at www.nationalMSsociety.org/njm. For more information about the Handicapped Scuba Association of New Jersey log on to their website at www.hsanjscuba.com.
Join the movement.
Find out more at nationalmssociety.org.
# # #