PHOTO CAPTION: John and Mary Snyder stand in the pool area of the Alleghany Highlands YMCA beside the sign that recognizes the 100-Mile Swim Club. John has been a member of this exclusive fraternity every year since 2016, and he hope to reach the 100-mile plateau again by his 80th birthday in May. Mary has endured numerous surgeries and continues to use the YMCA’s amenities as part of her rehabilitation process. (Photo Courtesy Alleghany Highlands YMCA)
LOW MOOR — John and Mary Snyder, like many who are approaching or have reached the enviable milestone of octogenarian, have health issues, but they have taken a proactive approach to the aging process.
Using the Alleghany Highlands YMCA as a backdrop, the Snyders have utilized its many amenities to recover, rehabilitate, reinvigorate and revitalize themselves.
“The Snyders are a remarkable couple,” said Alleghany Highlands YMCA CEO Jennifer Unroe. “They are like family — the YMCA’s extended family.”
John and Mary reside in the Low Moor area of Alleghany County and joined the YMCA in 2006. “We’ve been coming ever since,” John said. “It’s a great investment in your health.”
John, who has been diagnosed with COPD and once relied on an inhaler at times, can attest first-hand to the benefits of a workout regimen. He swims three days a week in the YMCA pool and works out three days a week in the exercise facility. Every year since 2016 he has reached the 100-mile plateau and is a proud member of the YMCA’s 100-Mile Swim Club. John hopes to again reach the 100-mile level before he turns 80 on May 1.
John swims an hour and 30 minutes a day, three days a week, and that calculates into about 1.25 miles each day or 45 laps in the pool. His doctors have given him their blessing, and he is extremely proud of his accomplishments, although swimming is an exercise he came to enjoy later in life.
“I never swam that much as a kid,” he recalled. “I thank the Lord every day, because I’ve been blessed. I really have.”
John, a 1960 graduate of Covington High School, worked at AET and Hercules in Covington before retiring in May of 2004. Mary, a native of Waynesboro, will turn 81 in June. A retired nurse, her initial workout routine included walking on the YMCA track and working on the exercise machines.
In 2008, Mary underwent her first of two shoulder replacements, and part of her therapy involved rehabbing in the pool. “It made a great difference,” she recalled. “It helped me regain the use of that arm.”
Mary went back to walking and using the exercise machines, but in 2016, she had surgery to replace her other shoulder and surgery on one of her big toes. Then in 2020, she fell and broke one of her shoulders that had been replaced and spent the better part of three months in the Brian Center. She’s also endured back surgery.
She credits the YMCA with providing the amenities to aid in her recovery. “I’ve had several health issues that the YMCA has helped me overcome,” she said.
Mary is now back to attending the YMCA three days a week. Her left arm is three inches shorter than her right arm, and she is facing additional surgery in March on her toe. Despite these numerous health setbacks, her attitude is quite remarkable, and it hasn’t been lost on her husband of over 40 years.
“She’s a fighter, and she’s been fighting all along,” John said. “She’s remarkable; she’s no quitter.”
On any given morning, the Snyders can be found working out or socializing with their many friends, and they credit the Alleghany Highlands YMCA with providing a setting that has improved their health and quality of life.
“I look forward to coming,” Mary said. “I know if something happens to me, I have the Y to help me get back on my feet.
“The Y is one of our best assets in the county,” she added. “We just wish more people would utilize it.”
Since its inception in 1993, the Alleghany Highlands YMCA has provided a wide variety of youth, family and senior citizen programs with expanded membership and services into all of the Alleghany Highlands communities. For more information on any YMCA programs, please call (540) 962-9622.
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