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Phil Martin,
Macon, Georgia
The following article was originally published in "InforMS", an Irish newsletter.
Special Olympics Champions of Courage
This summer, Phil Martin from Macon, Georgia, who was Chief Safety Officer for the sailing team at the Special Olympics, took time out to talk to us about how he became a Betaseron® Champion of Courage and the fascinating work he does in recreational sport in the United States.
Phil was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1995. Before he was diagnosed with MS, Phil devoted his free time to designing water skis that could accommodate severely disabled people. He also founded the first adaptive water skiing program in the United States.
Phil recently purchased a 27-foot catamaran sailing boat with a grant which he received from the Betaseron® Champions of Courage programme in the United States. Betaferon® is known as Betaseron® in the US.
The Betaseron® Champions of Courage programme, organised by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, recognises the accomplishments of people with MS and provides grants to help them achieve their goals and inspire others. Schering is exploring the possibility of launching such a programme in Europe. Since the programme was introduced in 1999, more than 25 people have received grants to underwrite motivating projects.
Since 1999, Phil Martin has trained sailors for the Special Olympics. He was appointed Director of Sailing for the Special Olympics for the state of Georgia and was chosen as the Chief Safety Officer for the 2003 Special Olympics Summer Games in Dublin.
Phil’s new boat, Banana Wind, is ideal for instructing people with disabilities because of its flat and steady design. It can also accommodate wheelchairs, which enables Phil to teach sailing to people with MS and special needs. All lessons are given free of charge. He says he wants people to know that having MS does not mean being “uninvolved in life.”
Because of his work with the disabled community, he never treated his MS diagnosis as devastating news. To him it was more of an irony than a shock. “I have worked with so many people whose disabilities are far worse than my own,” he says. He walks with a limp and has muscle stiffness and numbness in his lower body. “I saw it as an obstacle that would need to be overcome, but I knew that life would go on.”
“I have always had the best time – you should see the people I get to surround myself with”, he says. “My office is filled with pictures of kids with the biggest smiles on their faces!”
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