Today Show Covered Benefits of MS Patients Riding Horses Same Day O'Donnell Mocked Ann Romney For It
As NewsBusters previously reported, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday mocked Ann Romney for riding horses to combat her multiple sclerosis.
Hours earlier, NBC's Today show, in a segment about the recent MS diagnosis of rock star Ozzy Osbourne's son Jack, addressed the benefits of horseback riding for reducing the symptoms of the disease (video follows with transcript and commentary):
ANN CURRY, HOST: How is Jack treating his disease?
KATE COYNE, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: He's working with a team of physicians. He's exploring medication options. I mean, he's obviously doing everything he can to return to a very active, very functioning state. But it has its challenges.
CURRY: What kind of treatment options are there, because we know you say this is not a genetic disease.
DR. NANCY SNYDERMAN: No, it's not genetic. We don't really know what the triggers are. You know, a lot of people are trying to figure out is there something in the immune system that goes haywire, is there a virus that suddenly turns on-and-off switch. The medications that are out there are what we call immune modulators. They are medications that make the immune system more responsible. It's likely that with a good team of doctors he's going to have a robust and wonderful life. But he's going to have to keep really good diaries now of possible triggers that make episodes come and go. Hopefully now he'll have a couple of episodes, the vision problems and the numbness, and then go a long period with nothing and then he'll have some episodes down the line.
CURRY: When you say episodes, what is an episode?
SNYDERMAN: Episodes--another episode of numbness and tingling, stumbling...
Ms. COYNE: Stumbling.
SNYDERMAN: ...not feeling well. Any organ system in the body can be affected by MS. Every nerve has insulation around it. And MS attacks that insulation so that the electrical impulses from the brain to the tips of your fingers and toes don't work as well. So he's going to have to be really in tune with his body.
CURRY: Recently a lot has been made about Ann Romney having MS...
SNYDERMAN: Hm.
CURRY: ...and using horseback riding as a way to be--to have therapy.
SNYDERMAN: Yeah.
CURRY: Can athleticism help you...
SNYDERMAN: Absolutely.
CURRY: ...stay healthy?
SNYDERMAN: And, you know, a lot of riding for Ann Romney has been this mind-body aspect. Decreasing the stress, massage, meditation, all of those things that make the mind-body connection stronger can be a really integral part of treating MS.
Imagine that.
Yet probably less than fifteen hours later, on NBC's sister network MSNBC, anchor O'Donnell said, "There are a lot of things you can do to try to deal with MS. But, come on, dressage does not appear in any of the more traditional courses of treatment."
With this joke of a so-called "news network," one hand really doesn't know what the other is doing, does it?
(HT NB reader Megan Murphy)
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— Noel Sheppard (@NoelSheppard) June 9, 2012
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Comments
If physical motion provides relief then..
Submitted by ant on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 9:58pm.
Yeah, what was Ann thinking? She should have opted for Ice Hockey or Football. Ballet? Big no-no, also elitist. She could maybe travel around in a jet and be a nanny-State busy-body nut we already got one of those.
In other news...there is OTHER news. Here I thought our Country had so many problems to solve but I guess Ann Romney and horses should be our main focus. Shame on you, MSNBC, you're too sad for words.
Horse dress-up?
Submitted by CO2Maker on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 11:42pm.
That's too chi-chi. Geez. What about wind surfing, touch football, and golf? That'll keep you active, not like that frou-frou horse prancing stuff she does.
Big oops
Submitted by octavioj on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 10:22pm.
These people do not seem to be interested in the facts but rather an attack line.
Maybe
Submitted by grammajane on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 10:47pm.
Andrea and odonnell could do some research before they open their yaps and report things they know zero about. Seems snyderman is an authority on all things politics and medicine and could help them out.
Wealth
Submitted by Tjexcite on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 10:54pm.
Larry was as always just attacking for the Romney's wealth. in a snide off hand way. Not every person with MS can afford horses or even accesses to borrow horses for relieve of symptoms, so they are out of touch with the common man.
This will be SOP for the next 4 months and all 4 years of the first term or whenever they are committed.
Damn
Submitted by KornKing on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 11:03pm.
Someone better call Fifi Mitchell to get everyone back on the same page
"DR. NANCY SNYDERMAN: No, it's not genetic. "
Submitted by panzerakc on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 11:24pm.
In other words, you can't kill Jack off before he breeds?
Synchronicity
Submitted by CO2Maker on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 11:43pm.
Ah, NBC, what a way to cut your MFNBC pundits off at the knees.
Snyderman Is Lazy, Ignorant Or Misinformed
Submitted by stratman on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 12:09am.
Multiple sclerosis IS believed to have a genetic component in it's occurrence. From EMedicine, updated February 16, 2012:
The above quote is lengthy but the bottom line is it appears there IS a genetic component involved with MS. Synderman should feel disgraced for her incorrect statement. Whether she counted on someone else to brief her before going on-air, or she failed to properly research the topic, or, worse, read but missed or misunderstood the data, Snyderman did not do herself or the profession of Medicine proud.
Others who state MS has a genetic component are the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Mayo Clinic, the University of California San Francisco Neurology Department, Johns Hopkins, and pretty much everyone else in Medicine. Even our own government at the National Institutes of Health and the CDC - both part of HHS - believes in a genetic component. Uh oh. Snyderman has some 'splaining ta do to Kathleen Sebelius over at HHS.
Well, this is the same
Submitted by ant on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 12:32am.
Well, this is the same 'medical expert' that told us we don't need sugar when defending Bloomberg's economic-stimulating 'buy two sodas instead' plan.
It's a hard thing to explain to laymen, I guess
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 9:17am.
It's also known (this is from memory but anyone who doubts it can find studies to support it) that a higher proportion of those from northern european ancestry get MS than any other "ethnic" group, in the US, that means more who grew up in the north than the south (Scandanavians emigrated to the upper midwest, those from the islands of Great Britain more to the south). More women then men, and more whites than non-whites.
It's rather shocking that Nancy wouldn't be able to articulate that, even though it's a bit of a difficult thing to explain. That she said it wasn't genetic is just not true. It is, sort of....that's the difficult part.
It's always more shocking when someone as young as Jack Osborne is diagnosed, but I can tell you from personal experience, the whole process is devastating to families. I wish the Osbornes well....and my hope is that Anne Romney can use her platform as First Lady to give the public a much better understanding of a very misunderstood disease.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Blonde
Submitted by stratman on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 11:02am.
You've just explained it better than a board certified ENT named Nancy Snyderman.
The difficulty lies in not knowing precisely what causes MS and that the etiology appears multifactorial (more than one event culminating in MS). While MS does not appear to follow the classic Mendelian genetics of single gene mutations inherited in offspring, such as with Sickle Cell Anemia and Huntington's Disease, the role of genetics is still believed to play an impotant role.
Some more specifics from EMedicine to expand on what you wrote:
Blonde.... My nephew has CP......... It works for that too!
Submitted by OldJarhead77 on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 11:15am.
I am the uncle, and primary caregiver to a 20 yr old young man that has had Cerebral Palsy all his life. My nephew was born three months pre-mature and sometime during his stay in the hospital when he was born it hit him. Since that time he has been in a wheelchair all his life there isn't one day that he can stand up and walk to the kitchen, run in the grass, play football or baseball go fishing or hunting with his father and uncle. He can't go to the restroom or even dress himself because of his C.P. But there is one thing that my nephew could do and that was riding therapy. Where we put him on a horse (and yes they do dressage exercises) and it allowed him to move, allowed him to feel what it's like to walk (a horse walking is as close as he can get to know what its like to take steps himself) how to move to help him stretch his muscles, learn muscle control, and even some fine motor skill movements. HOW DARE THIS STEAMING PILE OF FECES TELL ME THAT ITS NOT REAL THERAPY! Was he there when my nephew got on that horse and felt for the first time what it was like to move like a human being? NO was he there when my nephew learned about horses, their physical characteristics and the tack they wear? NO! Or when he first learned to control his muscles and sit on the horse without a strap just me at his side to make sure he was safe? my nephew said to me "Now you just stay with me uncle and I will feel safe" The pride I feel in him hat he was able to do these things. Now before I go on I can testify that I nor are my brother and sister in law rich, the hospital bill that my nephew accrued at birth was $1,974,522.15 thats right almost TWO MILLION DOLLARS! Both my brother and sister in law are teachers and their insurance did cover most of it. (their bill was $579,943.00) that's just the first bill! We are for lucky that the costs were then looked at and covered by the hospital itself as many of the doctors wrote off their bills as volunteer work and through programs the were offered to the family. (BTW OBAMA CARE wouldn't help him in fact they won't let the write offs happen!) He as had other problems and surgeries his back his hand a medical pump that sends drugs into his system that helps him funtion, all volunteer work by doctors helping us out.
BOTTOM LINE:Lawrence, I hope I NEVER see you in person because if I do its gonna take all the cops in your piss hole town and Half of my beloved Corps to hold me back from punching you in the face so many times, that you will then get to experience the life of being in a wheelchair your rest of your miserable life!
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/06/19/lawrence-odonnell-...
I understand your
Submitted by ant on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 12:32pm.
I understand your frustration..don't let the idiots tear you down. These MSM losers could never dream of being half the man you are.
Thank you my friend
Submitted by OldJarhead77 on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 1:59pm.
We all we can the best we can everyday.
Your nephew is a remarkable young man
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 3:33pm.
And that idiot LOD isn't worth one second of your time, OJ. Not one second. Forget him, he's lower than bacteria.
You take that joy of seeing your nephew on a horse and spread it far and wide....and use your experiences to educate the uneducated (like Nancy Snyderman).
All the best to your nephew and your family....and keep on riding!! I hope you get to ride with him, because it's just plain old fun for you both.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Thank you strat
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 3:28pm.
It appears that MS isn't any easier to understand now than it was 20 years ago when I became too familiar with it. Fortunately during the intervening years, the treatments have become more efficacious. But it's still an iron clad bitch.
That Nancy Snyderman wasn't able to articulate its etiology (is that the correct word?) is inexcusable. THIS is why people who are unfamiliar with medical conditions become so confused....they hear a so-called expert give out wrong information, and it becomes like law....and try to convince them that what they know (because they heard it on TV) is wrong!!!! It's maddening.
Thank you for providing the medical background for my statement (which isn't perfect, but I think is fairly easy for a non medical person to understand)....I've explained it thusly a thousand times more than I'd ever have wanted to, alas.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
stratman
Submitted by grammajane on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 12:25am.
Thank you for your in depth article. It is very informative and I appreciate your work, put into it............
strat ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 12:41am.
Agree, indeed.
MD
Mathewdean, Grammajane, and Ant.
Submitted by stratman on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 1:17am.
There are at least two others on the forum who know a great deal about MS, one being DrSam, a board certified neurologist (and also a board certified psychiatrist!!) who could talk rings around me on Multiple Sclerosis.
Snyderman seems more Progressive weather vane than neutral source of scientific data. Popular medicine will always have it's role in cultures but a so-called expert should not fall prey to the capricious or fallacious. Synderman does with fair regularity, making her suitable for NBC's ideological ends but approaching unseemly and trending towards unctuous as a medical professional. Did celebrity go to her head or was she always this way?
MSNBC is a DNC propaganda
Submitted by John21 on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 8:05am.
MSNBC is a DNC propaganda network it has concentrated on becoming the leading Public Relations firm associated with the Obama administration. Nothing reported on MSNBC should ever be taken at face value, because the politics of that firm is embedded in everything that report (limited) to enhance the Obama campagn.
That is why they only employ the talant limited as talking heads for their advertisments (news) announcements. They have to ensure the intelligence and integrety is low and the willingness to look like clowns and surrender their personal credibility very high.
thank you Blonde and Strat*
Submitted by cajun2 on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 11:24am.
Very interesting that two posters give more information than Snderman. The world is in trouble when the so called "experts" are as stupid as the information they try to sell. I was thinking that perhaps the intent of minimizing a disease like MS is to eventually spin the same agenda as abortion for Down's Syndrome. Then, following that logic, they can eventually justify abortions for many more reasons than just "inconvenience". Next will be "old" people who are a drain on society so we can justify denying life saving medical care.
If you follow their Alinsky tactics, they can infiltrate the media with any agenda that basically promotes eugenics and justify it through "science". As I have alleged many times here at NB. It is all incremental steps. These experts are already redefining abortion as justified even after the birth of a child in some radical corners of academia. Also as stated before, they are redefining homosexuality and pedophilias as "normal".
Looking back over the years, the progressives or elitist as I refer to them, are redefining many of our societal diversities. They want us now to all be the same, look the same, all within a certain frame of categories of their choosing. According to them, its "follow the yellow brick road", to me, it's destruction of the value of human life, which will then lead us to the road to hell or the "ovens".. Its the same thinking we have seen before in human history.
MESSNBC Meltdown Coming....
Submitted by kegan97478 on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 11:49am.
Lawrence O'Donnell is off his Meds again. He needs to go back to his anti-Psychotic medicine before November 6, 2012. I have my Popcorn and Diet Pepsi all ready to watch an evening of histrionics by the Leftist Slugs on MESSNBC, as Romney kicks butt and knocks Comrade Obozo all the way back to Chicago.
O Happy Day! Come on November!
Go Mitt, on to victory.
PS: Larry, you flippin' idiot, lay off Ann Romney! It is a scientific FACT that riding horses is theraputic for all types of medical problems. Moron!
Lawrence O'Donnell MD?
Submitted by tresdedos on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 2:04pm.
I don't have MS. I have multiple birth defects resulting from my mother's use of thalidomide during her first trimester of pregnancy. I have bi-lateral, asymetrical phocomelia, syndactylia and scoliosis. I have also recently gone blind in one eye. I'm 52 and remain as active as possible. It is important for all people living with debilitating conditions to get as much exercise as they can. I too share Mrs. Romney's love of horses and I am myself an excellent horseman. Equine therapy has been proven to be highly effective for a broad spectrum of conditions. Horsemanship is not an easy skill to acquire. Dressage is exponentially more difficult than pleasure riding. O'Donnell's ignorance, bigotry and bias shines through in his views. He shows he knows nothing of MS, Dressage, equine therapy techniques or the can-do attitudes of people with disabilities. I applaud Ann Romney for her accomplishment. Shame on O'Donnell and those of his ilk. People like him are the reason the ADa became a necessity in the USA.
Larry O'Douchebag, Horse's Ass
Submitted by Motormouth KOS on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 2:11pm.
Dear Larry,
You're "brilliance" is relegated to the HSN of cable news, MSNBC.
You're a hack.
Only the 13 people that watch your show care about what you have to say.
Do yourself a favor and drink a glass of Drano.
Even if it doesn't kill you, it might clean the BS out of your blocked up colon.
The Obamination... A crisis leading to a catastrophe..(please donate to MRC)
What a poor excuse for a
Submitted by nanblan on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 7:34am.
What a poor excuse for a human being. And, I would also assert, that anyone who supports his arrogant, elitist beliefs and pure nastiness is just as disgusting as he is. Besides Obama, he's the biggest snob and know-it-all that you'll ever come across (although Martin Bashir ranks right up there with the worst, along with Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and Al Sharpton.) Boy, what a crew they have over there at MSNBC.
Lawrence is obviously a very unhappy person, as are most are on the far left (especially Socialists and Marxists.) He's a constant whiner and complainer because the radical policies and beliefs of extreme liberals - like him - always fail. History has proven the fallacies of their never-ending attempts to grab greater power and governmental control over the rest of us. Yet, they prefer to live in a constant state of dissatisfaction rather than swallow their pride and bravely accept the inevitable. Unfortunately, for the rest of us who have highly functioning brains, they’ll probably never give up their irrational belief that the government is the end-all for anything and everything.
It's really quite sad.
.