In her dreams, she dives, in her dreams, she's not disabled. Al Jazeera Correspondent, Stephanie Scawen takes us along on her journey from Malaysia to the Orkney Isles, from medical labs at Cambridge University, down to London and on a drive to the English seaside for a heart to heart with her Mum, as she quests for a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.
Stephanie and I met as 18 year old journalism students in the UK, many moons ago. Though we've kept in touch over the years, it has been quite the challenge keeping up with her remarkable romp through life as a television reporter and producer throughout Asia, and as an avid scuba diver and unstoppable adventurer, to boot. In her moving, immensely informative, newly released Al Jazeera documentary, MS & Me, I see beyond the cane and the awkward climbing into cars, the self-same headstrong, humorous, super independent and determined Stephanie that took her reporting skills out into the big wide world as an energetic and enthusiastic young journalist.
Living with MS for the past 17 years has not stopped her from pursuing her career or her adventurous life. Her smile, her forthright manner and those steely, blue eyes. It's never going to be game over for this girl. Two and a half million people suffer from the auto immune disease of Multiple Sclerosis.
It is far more common in the far Northern European countries than in the tropics. The fact that Stephanie lives and works in sunny Malaysia has clearly helped keep the disease from progressing too rapidly, thanks for high doses of beneficial Vitamin D. Studies in the cold, dark Scottish Orkneys have revealed it to be a hotspot for Multiple Sclerosis - with four times as many people in its population carrying the one major genetic risk factor than in other Northern countries.
While the documentary explores the very real possibility of a cure for MS, it most likely will not come in time for my friend Stephanie. Until then, it's my hope that she goes on reporting in the field and blazing a trail for others faced with similar challenges. Stephanie, you are an inspiration.
Stephanie and I met as 18 year old journalism students in the UK, many moons ago. Though we've kept in touch over the years, it has been quite the challenge keeping up with her remarkable romp through life as a television reporter and producer throughout Asia, and as an avid scuba diver and unstoppable adventurer, to boot. In her moving, immensely informative, newly released Al Jazeera documentary, MS & Me, I see beyond the cane and the awkward climbing into cars, the self-same headstrong, humorous, super independent and determined Stephanie that took her reporting skills out into the big wide world as an energetic and enthusiastic young journalist.
Living with MS for the past 17 years has not stopped her from pursuing her career or her adventurous life. Her smile, her forthright manner and those steely, blue eyes. It's never going to be game over for this girl. Two and a half million people suffer from the auto immune disease of Multiple Sclerosis.
It is far more common in the far Northern European countries than in the tropics. The fact that Stephanie lives and works in sunny Malaysia has clearly helped keep the disease from progressing too rapidly, thanks for high doses of beneficial Vitamin D. Studies in the cold, dark Scottish Orkneys have revealed it to be a hotspot for Multiple Sclerosis - with four times as many people in its population carrying the one major genetic risk factor than in other Northern countries.
While the documentary explores the very real possibility of a cure for MS, it most likely will not come in time for my friend Stephanie. Until then, it's my hope that she goes on reporting in the field and blazing a trail for others faced with similar challenges. Stephanie, you are an inspiration.
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