MS Walk - Fort Worth

Today, Saturday, March 31 I had the chance to go to the MS Walk in Fort Worth with Casey at my side. I was really excited to be participating in another meeting about Gilenya, as well as witness thousands of people walking to raise money for MS. I was a little disappointed that we only had 3 people show up to the first talk, but those 3 were some of my favorite from all the talks I've done so far. After I told my story, one lady stood up and gave me a hug. That gesture meant even more to me knowing how hard it was for her to get up out of her chair and take a few steps without the help of her walker.

During the second talk I was a little worn out and I wish I would have done better communicating my story. However, afterward I was again able to talk to a few of the attendees. Hopefully, I was able to inspire them to talk to their doctor about switching therapies since they were struggling just like I was with my injections. Gilenya has certainly worked so well for me and I want it to do the same for others. As the data shows from the clinical trials, Gilenya has shown better results compared to Avonex and placebo. I know that this person, and others, who "accidentally" miss taking their shots and struggle with them so much. During those missed days of treatment my MS was still active and I ultimately suffered the consequences. Now, being On Gilenya, I don't have to worry about "shot day"! (Mia-if you are reading this I pray that you had the strength to do your shot tonight and hope that the side effects aren't so bad this time.)

My third talk down! San Antonio here I (and Casey and the kids) come!

MS walk - Ft.Worth Texas

Gilenya Talks - Iowa and Houston

The beginning of this month I had the opportunity to go to Des Moines, Iowa for my first Gilenya talk. I didn't know what to expect, but I was greeted by some great people who came to discuss Gilenya. Half of the attendees had MS and most of those people were already on Gilenya. I listened to the presentation and actually learned stuff myself! I wasn't thinking about how I was a patient too!  Afterwards, I was able to share my story with MS for the first time since my training in Atlanta. I thought it went well! Some of the people came up to me afterward and I enjoyed talking one on one with them. First one down!

This past weekend I had my second Gilenya talk, this time in Houston. I was so excited that my husband and parents were able to attend! I talk about my ups and downs and they have been there through it all.  Being able to "show them off" was such a joy to me. 

This time there were more than double the number of people than my first talk. The Novartis reps were so great, as well as the doctor. I really enjoyed working with them and hope to see them in the future. Like usual, meeting other people with MS is exciting for me since we have something in common. After meeting some people and them telling me they have MS, I actually responded "cool!". Thankfully, those people knew what I meant by that. Having MS is really not cool, but it's what has been given to me and I lean on Jesus Christ to deal with it. 

Headed to Fort Worth this weekend to do two talks at the National MS Society sponsored MS Walk!!!