MS Patient, 84, To Row In Charles Regatta
Rower Just Returned From Winning Bronze In Beijing
POSTED: 1:39 pm EDT October 17,
2008
UPDATED: 2:25 pm EDT October 17,
2008
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BOSTON -- It's going to be a busy fall weekend in Boston along the banks of the Charles River.
Video The annual Head of the Charles Regatta gets under way Saturday and among the thousands of rowers taking part in this year's races will be a woman on a mission. She's rowing not just to win her competition, but also to fight a life-altering disease.The world's largest two-day rowing event, the Head of the Charles regatta is 44 years old and boasts nearly 8,500 rowers. It's not, however, a sport only for the young and perfectly fit.Laura Shwanger, 84, has multiple sclerosis and just won a bronze medal in the Paralympic Games in Beijing."I've just come home from Beijing and my cheeks still hurt from smiling. It's been a really good ride," Schwanger said.Sunday she will take on a three-mile course that is one of the most difficult in rowing."Getting involved in wheelchair sports, sports for the adaptive, adaptive rowing, really gave me a reason to get out of bed in the morning, rather than just curl up and crawl in a corner and live the next 60 years doing nothing," Schwanger said.One of her biggest fans is former Massachusetts first lady Ann Romney, who has battled MS for 10 years herself."To also see those who have been champions and really pushed beyond their limits, it gives us great hope," Romney said.New medications are being tried."For me, intravenous steroids, which is a horrible way to have to go, but it was very effective in treating my MS," Romney said."There is a chance for life for us. There is a chance for a cure," Schwanger said.Romney and Schwanger will host an educational seminar for other patients, caregivers, family and friends.The seminar will be held in collaboration with Dr. Howard Weiner, a professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues from the Partners MS Center at Brigham & Women's Hospital to discuss Multiple Sclerosis, get a research update, and hold a “Ask the Doctor” question and answer session.Additionally, Romney will share her MS story and debut the newest DVD for newly diagnosed MS patients.The seminar will take place Saturday Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge, Mass.The goal is to create awareness about MS, a debilitating disease that afflicts almost half a million Americans, mostly young women between the ages of 20 to 40 years old, and to educate and provide peer-to-peer advocate support.
Video The annual Head of the Charles Regatta gets under way Saturday and among the thousands of rowers taking part in this year's races will be a woman on a mission. She's rowing not just to win her competition, but also to fight a life-altering disease.The world's largest two-day rowing event, the Head of the Charles regatta is 44 years old and boasts nearly 8,500 rowers. It's not, however, a sport only for the young and perfectly fit.Laura Shwanger, 84, has multiple sclerosis and just won a bronze medal in the Paralympic Games in Beijing."I've just come home from Beijing and my cheeks still hurt from smiling. It's been a really good ride," Schwanger said.Sunday she will take on a three-mile course that is one of the most difficult in rowing."Getting involved in wheelchair sports, sports for the adaptive, adaptive rowing, really gave me a reason to get out of bed in the morning, rather than just curl up and crawl in a corner and live the next 60 years doing nothing," Schwanger said.One of her biggest fans is former Massachusetts first lady Ann Romney, who has battled MS for 10 years herself."To also see those who have been champions and really pushed beyond their limits, it gives us great hope," Romney said.New medications are being tried."For me, intravenous steroids, which is a horrible way to have to go, but it was very effective in treating my MS," Romney said."There is a chance for life for us. There is a chance for a cure," Schwanger said.Romney and Schwanger will host an educational seminar for other patients, caregivers, family and friends.The seminar will be held in collaboration with Dr. Howard Weiner, a professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues from the Partners MS Center at Brigham & Women's Hospital to discuss Multiple Sclerosis, get a research update, and hold a “Ask the Doctor” question and answer session.Additionally, Romney will share her MS story and debut the newest DVD for newly diagnosed MS patients.The seminar will take place Saturday Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge, Mass.The goal is to create awareness about MS, a debilitating disease that afflicts almost half a million Americans, mostly young women between the ages of 20 to 40 years old, and to educate and provide peer-to-peer advocate support.Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
