HOUSTON – Far too many people in the Greater Houston area are living with multiple sclerosis -- an incurable, unpredictable disease that affects the central nervous system.
Events like the MS-150 raise money for the cause, but the Trotter Family YMCA in the Galleria area is taking support one step further, literally.
And it's been a Godsend for Lisa Sailor, who lives with MS.
“I divide my life up into two parts. B.C.: Before Chair and A.D.: After disability,” she said.
It’s 23 years A.D for the mother of three and grandmother to two who uses a wheelchair. She recently began working in the outdoor pool at YMCA located in the Galleria area.
“I can walk some, but to be able to walk in the extent that I do in the water is amazing. And to be able to not have the pain and the fatigue that I feel when I walk on land is awesome,” 57-year old Sailor said.
The Trotter Family YMCA is piloting an adaptive aquatics program. It provides 50 minutes of movement through exercises specifically designed to help those who are living with MS.
“Even if it’s just sitting in the water, in a seat, doing basic movements. You’re getting some movement in, which is so important for people with MS,” said Cheryl Stitt, who left her sales job to become a swim instructor at the YMCA.
Stitt’s lived with MS for more than a decade.
“So many people were told not to exercise,” said Sailor. “That exercise would exacerbate the disease.”
New research shows water aerobics can help. In water, Stitt explained a person’s body weight can drop to nearly nothing, which makes mobility exercises much more manageable.
“To be able to walk in the water is so freeing,” explained Sailor.
About a dozen people diagnosed with MS are currently taking the class. The Trotter Family YMCA is hoping it grows in popularity so classes can spread to nearly three dozen other YMCA locations within the Greater Houston area.