Durangoan Ian Altman was diagnosed 20 years ago with multiple sclerosis. But he hasn’t let the diagnosis slow him down. Altman continues to ski and rock climb, and he is now a teacher and administrator at Colorado Timberline Academy.
“My biggest medicine has always been exercise,” he said. “... I was surprised and delighted to learn that’s what I needed.”
MS is a chronic disease that damages the central nervous system and affects patients in varying ways. The disease can impair vision, cognitive abilities and muscle control, among other symptoms.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society estimates about 1 million people in the U.S. have the disease. About one in 550 Coloradans have it, according to the Rocky Mountain MS Center.
Altman hears regularly from those who are living with the disease in the area.
“There’s just more and more people every other month that call me,” he said.
Altman is among thoseworking to rebuild the Southwest Colorado Multiple Sclerosis Society to provide support for those with the disease. He hopes to help more people seek an active lifestyle through the society, as he did, because it can help them maintain their health, he said.
The society will be able to offer more support and financial assistance to MS patients in coming years across the region thanks to an anonymous donor who gave a major endowment to the group, said Jeannine Pope, president of the society. The donor requested the amount of the endowment be kept private.
Interest from the endowment could allow the society to start offering scholarships for adaptive equipment, such as wheelchairs and hand controls for vehicles, that can help patients maintain independence. It could also fund individuals interested in adaptive sports programming, she said.
The society is waiting to determine exactly what its new programming will look like until after it holds a membership meeting and elects new board members, Pope said.
Altman said he would like to see the society hire an executive director who could meet with MS patients and ensure the society reaches people in La Plata, Montezuma, Archuleta, San Juan and San Miguel counties.
He would like support groups to be offered throughout the region to give patients the opportunity to share their challenges and successes.
“It takes time to decide this is something you can accept,” he said.
The society could also provide help navigating insurance and health care systems, which can be complicated, he said.
But with the right care and medications, MS patients can manage the condition and prevent damage to their central nervous system, he said.
“People that are newly diagnosed don’t need to even consider they would end up in a wheelchair,” Pope said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
If you go
The Southwest Colorado Multiple Sclerosis Society will host a membership dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. May 2 at the DoubleTree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio. The dinner is open to new members. For more information, visit
www.swcmss.org
.
