AMarch 2019 was a month for us to remember, and we’re charged up to make sure that you never forget it.
As the nation celebrated March as MS Awareness Month, we truly went coast-to-coast to increase awareness and understanding of this chronic disease of the central nervous system.
Our adventures started on March 4 and 5 in Washington, D.C., as we joined nearly 300 nationwide MS activists to meet with our respective Senators and members of Congress on Capitol Hill to advocate on MS-related legislation, and concluded in San Francisco, California, to celebrate the second annual #Progressive MS Day with others in the MS community on the Genentech campus.
The reality is, our MS awareness campaigns started the day
we each were diagnosed over two decades ago. So even though the month of March is
over, our efforts are far from finished.
What’s special about this month is that it opens to door to
start MS conversations and provides the momentum we all need to continue our battles
with this disease for another year.
When the moments, days and weeks with MS start to overpower us in the next 365 days, these are the images and experiences that will inspire and motivate us to keep moving forward, despite and in spite of the MS we share.
One of the countless highlights of our San Francisco trip to celebrate #ProgressiveMSDay was serving on a panel to discuss what it is like to live with this form of the disease. We were so honored to serve on the panel with friends and MS warriors Jeanne Floyd Allen and Kevin Reid, who also live with progressive MS and are featured in videos (see the most recent one below) that were produced to show our journeys. It was such a surprise when we got to San Francisco to see that the official #ProgressiveMSDay postcard featured a quote from Jennifer (and photo too)!
Here’s how Jennifer started #ProgressiveMSDay: an 8:30 a.m. phone call and live interview for Beyond the Heart, the half-hour SiriusXMDoctor Radioshow hosted by Dr. Nieca Goldberg, to talk about progressive MS along with Dr. Florian Thomas.
We #FlexMSMuscle by living our best life and raising awareness for #ProgressiveMSDay on March 28 and every other day of the year!
And to think the month started in Washington, D.C., with nearly 300 MS activists from across the nation, including our delegation of six from Michigan and two of our closest friends from Ohio. Check out the essay “How to flex your MS muscle on Capitol Hill” for more images that will inspire us throughout the year.
Imagine waking up at four in the morning, working for nearly 12 hours and not getting paid a single cent for your efforts, but still feeling like giving more of yourself as the sun set. Welcome to our day advocating on Capitol Hill. We recently returned from our fourth National Multiple Sclerosis Society Public Policy…… Continue Reading
We regularly receive emailed news releases from Multiple Sclerosis-related businesses and organizations. The Tisch MS Research Center of New York sent us one on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, that in 11 words truly shifted our outlook on living with MS: “RESEARCHERS SHOW STEM CELL THERAPY MAY REVERSE DISABILITY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS” Boom. It was as…… Continue Reading
Jennifer and I have made no secrets that we are dedicated to living the best life we possibly can despite Multiple Sclerosis. Sure, we care about medical research developments and a promising future that scientists one day will discover a cure for this disease that we each have lived with the past two decades. But…… Continue Reading
