Re: Woman with CMT in the Great London Swim this July

[Guest guest]

Those two are terrific. I hope they know that.

On 24-Mar-11, at 3:10 PM, gfijig wrote:

> Why we're making a splash in the British Gas Great Swims

>

>

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health-news/2011/03/24/why-we-re-making-a-splash-in\

-the-british-gas-great-swims-115875-23011298/

>

> by Sally Janes, Daily Mirror 24/03/2011

>

> More than 20,000 swimmers will take to the water for this year's

> British Gas Great Swim. To mark the launch, three brave souls reveal

> exactly why they'll be taking the plunge and swimming one mile in

> the open water (this is Caroline's story)

>

> Doctors said I'd be in a wheelchair by now Caroline , 30, from

> Putney, South London, suffers from the degenerative nerve disease

> Charcot-Marie-Tooth, which causes muscle weakness. But she's

> determined it won't hold her back and has signed up for the Great

> London Swim in July.

>

> Commercial banker Caroline was diagnosed with the disease, which

> affects one in 2,500 people in the UK, when she was 13.

>

> She remembers: " As I grew I kept tripping over all the time and my

> ankles kept rolling. It happened gradually and one day I realised I

> couldn't run any more.

>

> " At 14 the neurologist told me I could be in a wheelchair by the

> time I finished university. "

>

> Caroline had surgery to stabilise the ankle and vowed to always stay

> active.

>

> " Over time the nerves degrade which means your muscles basically die

> off, " she says. " Now I can't really move my ankles or my toes at all

> and my knees are a bit unstable.

>

> " According to the tests I shouldn't be able to walk, but I can. I

> have completely exceeded what the consultant said and I think a lot

> of that is down to staying active. "

>

> Caroline's physiotherapist recommended swimming as it uses upper

> body strength and the water is naturally buoyant and supportive.

> And for extra motivation, Caroline signed up for the Great London

> Swim.

>

> She adds: " I've wanted to do an open water swim for years. Some of

> my friends asked if I was allowed to do it. My response was `yes,

> why not?' I want to show everyone that people with diseases like

> this can be active and take part.

>

> " I've started training, I already swim twice a week and I'm the

> fittest I've ever been. I can't wait to get out in the open water.

> It will feel more real than in a pool – and more of a challenge. "

>

>

>