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The way these hundreds of sea turtles were rescued is nothing short of inspiring.

When I was little, my mom and dad would alway stop the car if they saw a turtle on the highway. If it was safe, one of us would run out, pick the little critter up, and try to help get it to where it needed to go.

This turtle airlift is basically that... times a hundred.

Don't worry, little fella. All photos by Scott Eisen/Getty Images


Every year, a combination of strong currents and winter temperatures trap hundreds of Kemp's ridley sea turtles in Cape Cod Bay, off the coast of Massachusetts.

The turtles are blocked from leaving by the bitterly cold waters of the North Atlantic. But the bay isn't exactly warm either. As temperatures drop, the chill slowly robs the cold-blooded creatures of their strength until they're stranded, half-paralyzed at the surface of the water, and at the mercy of the wind and tides.

A Kemp's ridley sea turtle swimming at a turtle hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts.

In order to help, hundreds of human volunteers braved cold November winds, patrolling the beaches for exhausted turtles who'd made it to shore.

One pair, 12-year-old Charlie Marcus and his father Peter, an intellectual property rights attorney, even flew out from Los Angeles to help. It was important to Marcus, who'd grown up around Massachusetts, that his son get to participate in the experience.

“Understanding the full spectrum of life is something I hope to teach my children in a way they don’t teach in school,” Marcus told the Cape Cod Times.

Once rescued, the turtles went to the New England Aquarium's special turtle hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts.

The hospital says that over the course of the month, they received over 180 turtles from volunteers and rescuers. Once at the hospital, the chilly little reptiles could relax and regain their strength in warmer water and under the watchful eye of veterinarians and researchers.

A worker feeds two turtles recovering at The New England Aquarium's turtle hospital.

These 180 rescues are especially poignant as Kemp's ridley are the most endangered of all the sea turtles. They usually like to live in warmer waters around the Gulf of Mexico, not chilly Massachusetts.

They're also the smallest species of sea turtle — adults only grow to be about two feet long. Compare that to the mighty leatherback, which can top out well over seven feet!

A worker gives a sea turtle a check-up. Some of the turtles are very sick when the come in and may need special care.

Being released back into the wintry waters of Cape Cod Bay could kill them, so instead, some of the turtles are being given a lift south to warmer climes.

Repurposed banana boxes and towels served as ersatz cabins for the little guys.

I've definitely had worse plane trips.

Once safe in their boxes, the turtles were then loaded into a van...

Some sea turtles can weigh more than 1,000 pounds. Luckily, these guys are considerably lighter.

And then driven out to the airport, where volunteer pilots were ready to fly them south.

[rebelmouse-image 19476906 dam="1" original_size="750x500" caption="On Nov. 29, pilot Jamie Gamble and his 20-year-old daughter Shelby used this little prop plane to shepherd turtles down to North Carolina." expand=1]On Nov. 29, pilot Jamie Gamble and his 20-year-old daughter Shelby used this little prop plane to shepherd turtles down to North Carolina.

One plane was flown by volunteer pilot Jamie Gamble and his daughter Shelby. They took the turtles on a four-hour jaunt down to North Carolina. Another was flown by pilot Steve Bernstein, who transported 30 of the little guys to Baltimore. Bernstein says that sea turtles apparently make for very polite passengers.

“I don’t get to hang out with them too much,” Bernstein told the Boston Herald. “They’re just kind of convalescing in their banana boxes.But they are kind of cute."

Once in the South, the turtles will spend some time in rehabilitation centers before hopefully being released into the wild.

As the weather gets even colder, the turtle hospital warns that even more sea turtles might end up needing rescuing. Luckily, there will be humans there to help get them where they need to go, like the Gambles and Bernstein, the hospital's staff, and Charlie and Peter Marcus.

“He’s got that empathetic gene," Marcus said about his son. Since he was little, Peter said, Charlie's been interested in helping animals. In fact, his bar mitzvah charity project was all about saving sea turtles.

Now he's gotten to help them first hand.

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Three women, three MS journeys: How multiple sclerosis looks different for everyone

Gina, Nathalie and Helga share their reactions to being diagnosed with MS and how they stay informed and positive in the face of ever-changing symptoms.

Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga, Nathalie and Gina all have MS, and their experiences show how differently the disease can manifest.

True

It’s been 155 years since neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot gave the first lecture on a mysterious progressive illness he called “multiple sclerosis.” Since then, we’ve learned a lot. We know MS causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue, including damaging the brain and spinal cord. Resulting symptoms can be debilitating and include fatigue, blurred vision, memory problems and weakness. Huge advancements in our understanding of MS and its underlying causes, as well as treatment advances, have been made in the past few decades, but MS remains a complex and unpredictable reality for the 2.8 million+ people diagnosed around the world.

Ironically, the only real constant for people living with MS is change. There’s no set pattern or standard progression of the disease, so each person’s experience is unique. Some people with MS have mild symptoms that worsen slowly but sometimes improve, while others can have severe symptoms that drastically alter their daily lives.

All people with MS share some things in common, however, such as the need to stay informed on the ever-evolving research, find various lines of support and try to remain hopeful as they continue living with the disease.

To better understand what navigating life with MS really looks like, three women shared their MS stories with us. Their journeys demonstrate how MS can look different for different people and interestingly, how the language used to talk about the disease can greatly impact how people understand their realities.

woman with horse, woman riding horseGina loves riding her horse, Benita.Courtesy of Sanofi

Gina—Hamburg, Germany (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2017)

When her youngest son was 4 months old, Gina started having problems with her eye. She’d soon learn she was experiencing optic neuritis—her first symptom of MS.

“Immediately after the diagnosis, I looked up facts on MS because I didn’t know anything about it,” Gina says. “And as soon as I knew what could really happen with this disease, I actually got scared.”

As her family’s primary income provider, she worried about how MS would impact her ability to work as a writer and editor. Her family was afraid she was going to end up in a wheelchair. However, for now, Gina’s MS is managed well enough that she still works full-time and is able to be active.

“When I tell somebody that I have MS, they often don't believe me the first time because I don't fulfill any stereotypes,” she says.

Overwhelmed by negative perspectives on living with MS, Gina sought support in the online MS community, which she found to be much more positive.

“I think it’s important to use as many positive words as you can when talking about MS.” It’s important to be realistic while also conveying hope, she says. “MS is an insidious disease that can cause many bad symptoms…that can be frightening, and you can't gloss over it, either.”

To give back to the online community that helped her so much, Gina started a blog to share her story and help others trying to learn about their diagnosis.

Though she deals with fatigue and cognitive dysfunction sometimes, Gina stays active swimming, biking, riding horses and playing with her sons, who are now 11 and 6.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in MS, with over half of people affected. It can impact memory, attention, planning, and word-finding. As with many aspects of MS, some people experience mild changes, while others face more challenges.

Gina says that while there’s still a lot of education about MS needed, she feels positive about the future of MS because there’s so much research being done.

woman in wheelchair holding medal, woman rowingNathalie is an award-winning rower with multiple international titles.Courtesy of Sanofi

Nathalie — Pennes Mirabeau, France (diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2002)

Nathalie was a teenager and a competitive athlete when she noticed her first symptoms of MS, but it would take four years of “limbo” before she was diagnosed.

“Ultimately, the diagnosis was more of a relief, than a shock,” she says. “Because when you have signs and you don’t know why, it’s worse than knowing, in the end, what you have.”

However, learning more about the disease—and the realities of disease progression—scared her.

“That glimpse of the future was direct and traumatic,” she says. Her neurologist explained that the disease evolves differently for everyone, and her situation might end up being serious or very mild. So, she decided to stop comparing herself to others with MS.

She said to herself, “We’ll see what happens, and you’ll manage it bit by bit.”

By 2005, Nathalie’s MS had progressed to the point of needing a wheelchair. However, that has not dampened her competitive spirit.

Nathalie began her international rowing career in 2009 and has won multiple world titles, including two Paralympic medals—silver in London and bronze in Tokyo. Now, at 42, she still trains 11 times a week. Fatigue can be a problem, and sometimes hard workouts leave her with muscle stiffness and shaking, but she credits her ongoing sports career for helping her feel in tune with her body’s signals.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my body, letting my body guide when I need to stop and take breaks,” she says.

Nathalie explains that she used to only look backwards because of the initial shock of her diagnosis. In time, she stopped thinking about what she couldn’t do anymore and focused on her future. She now lives in the following mindset: “Even when doors close, don’t miss out on those that open.” Instead of focusing on what she can’t do, she focuses on the opportunities she still has. Right now, this includes her training for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, where she will compete for another rowing medal.

“I only go forward,” she says. “Well, I try, anyway…It’s easy to say, it’s not always easy to do. But that’s what I try to do.”

woman exiting water after swimming, woman with great daneHelga's Great Dane has become a helpful and beloved companion.Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga—Johannesburg, South Africa (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2010)

When Helga first started having balance issues and numbness in her feet, she chalked it up to her training as a runner. But when the numbness moved to her face, she knew something was wrong. She never guessed it was MS.

“When I was diagnosed, I felt completely overwhelmed and clueless,” Helga says. “I felt that I had nowhere near enough information. I did not know anything about the disease…I had no idea that it was going to be a process of continually monitoring and adjusting your lifestyle.”

In the beginning, Helga’s symptoms developed slowly, and she didn’t appear ill to others. She was even able to run for a few years after her diagnosis, but she couldn’t do marathons anymore, and she began to fall frequently due to balance issues and right-foot dragging. Then her cognition issues became more problematic, especially in her job as a trainer in a printing company.

“My executive function, decision-making and short-term memory were affected to the point that I was eventually medically unfit for work,” she says. She stopped working in 2017.

However, she didn’t stop living life. Even though she could no longer run, she continued to swim competitively. She got a Great Dane puppy and trained him as a service dog to help her walk. She also serves as vice chair of the patient support organization Multiple Sclerosis South Africa, and she advises others who have been diagnosed to join a patient advocacy group as soon as possible to get reliable information and meet others with MS.

Helga says she is “hopeful” about the future of MS. “I must say that I am so grateful that we have all the new medications available, because my life would not be the same if it wasn't for that,” she adds.

Part of how she manages her MS is by looking at the positives.

“If I could tell the world one thing about MS, it would be that MS is an incurable disease of the nervous system, but it's also the greatest teacher of valuing your health, family, friends, and managing change in your life,” she says. “My life is diversified in a way that I never, ever thought it would, and MS has been honestly the greatest teacher.”

Each MS journey is unique – with each person impacted experiencing different struggles, successes, and feelings as they manage this unpredictable disease. But the common thread is clear – there is a critical need for information, support, and hope. We are proud to participate in World MS Day and share these incredible stories of living life while living with MS. To learn more about MS, go to https://www.sanofi.com/why-words-really-matter-when-it-comes-to-multiple-sclerosis.

MAT-GLB-2301642-v1.0-05/2023

This article was sponsored by Sanofi. Participants were compensated when applicable.

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