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MuckFest 2016

10/5/2016

Team HealthCareJourney.com at MuckFest 2016

This years annual Muckfest Detroit was another banner year for team Healthcare journey.com.We came in 4th place overall with nearly $6,000 raised. Big thanks to our teams top fundraiser again Eric Rayner who was also the number 2 overall event fundraiser.
This year we raised funds by raffling off many local items from haircuts to massages and of course some booze!Thank you to all of our donors.

MuckFest was a very busy time for me as I was on both the Michigan and National Team Captain Boards not to mention trying to bring in donations and get items donated for the raffle. It was interesting to hear all of the behind the scenes work and planning that goes into making such a massive event go off seamlessly, it’s not easy. While working on promoting I got to work with Kristina and Tammy from the Michigan MS Society Chapter, very nice and hard working ladies, hats off to you!

MuckFest is always a time of reflection for me, I think back to the first year I participated and how scared I was. Everything was still an unknown for me, I was fading fast and could barely catch my breath. MuckFest was my first venture out into the MS community, my first chance to see how others were handling their disease. It wasn’t pretty I left that event pretty shaken and extremely certain that things were headed down the tubes quickly. Now four years later things are different, I have an optimistic outlook and I am still improving everyday.

Eventually I will run a MuckFest but at this point I’m still relying on my electronic walking device and can’t afford to short it out...again. The weather was perfect and our team was high energy, we even recruited a few new team members to join us this year. While my team sludged off into the muck I wandered around the grounds and talked with a few people in the same boat as me just hanging around while their teams ran for them. It was great talking to people with a positive outlook that knew they were appreciated and loved.

One of the bonuses of being on the team captain board was that I was interviewed by Fox 2 Detroit to tell a little bit of my story and share my team's success (click on the link below or my picture below to see it!). Now I can check that off the list! It was funny as the woman that interviewed me had to stand on a bucket to make the shot not look ridiculous, she was maybe 5 feet tall and I’m 6’6”.

With another MuckFest in the books I could finally relax...or drive to Toronto and then relax...or drive to Big Bay Michigan and then relax..or head to New York City and relax, Oh well at least I have a lot to write about!!

https://goo.gl/photos/SAWukfEhh6t1bBat6

Be a warrior today,

Donn

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NYC

10/2/2016

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Over the years I have visited New York City maybe a dozen times, it has always been a special place to me, there’s nothing quite like it. Once I even took my girlfriend there and proposed to her right on the Brooklyn Bridge, lucky for me that worked out and she has since been promoted to wife!

The last time I was in New York was in the Spring of 2010 right before I was diagnosed. It was NYC that helped me see that I might be dealing with something big.

My trip was all fun and games as any trip to the City should be, I wandered late into the night with my friends aimlessly looking for the next chapter in our adventure. We covered many miles all over Manhattan, it was on the second day that my knee started to hyperextend during our excursion to locate a hidden establishment with a top notch Bloody Mary. When my knee started to hyperextend I was obviously worried but it was strange to me that it didn’t hurt? Here I was trucking all over the place and my knee would just bend at a not so good angle but no pain? I trudged on, we took a few more taxis but I was worried. For April it was unseasonably warm, mid 80’s so I was running hot.

Later when we got back to the apartment I took off my shoes to relax and I stumbled a little bit when standing up? Now that I look back on that I should have known something was up. It wasn’t until I woke up the next day that I was really alarmed, I couldn’t wiggle my toes on my left foot! Now I was freaking everyone out, “it’s probably a pinched nerve or something?” I assured. I couldn’t have been farther off, nerve yes but definitely not pinched.

I went to the doctor upon arriving home who sent me to the neurologist, who sent me to the MRI and then diagnosed me with MS two days later. That was a whirlwind, MS? But I was mostly healthy?

Fast forward six years and I was headed back to the big city, this time was more business than Bloody Mary’s but a trip to New York is all good! Since being diagnosed I have ridden a rollercoaster of ups and downs but I am stable now and in a great place mentally. Over the past three years or so I have really taken command of my MS and don’t let it slow me down anymore. Diet has been huge, yoga has been huge and meditation has been incredible. For me keeping a positive attitude has been very important. Before I changed my mindset I was fixed on the negative aspects of the disease potential, things were not looking good.

As I walked and walked I was constantly looking at my fit bit, 1 mile, 2 miles, 5 miles, 10 miles(almost)! There was no way I planned on putting nearly 30 miles on when I was leaving for this trip, but I did it. My daily goal is just under 3 miles, so I met that often by noon. Four years ago there is no way I could have walked ten miles in a day, I would have talked myself out of it, “No way I feel terrible, I’m too tired”, “it’s too hot”,”it’s too far”” every excuse.

As we were ready to board the plane for the ride back to Detroit a woman from our group asked me what I did to my leg, “MS ”I replied, “Oh, I thought it was a prosthetic, you're really lucky to be so mobile with MS!” “No I’m not lucky I have been working very hard to be this mobile”. Thank you New York it was a pleasure, until next time!

Be a warrior today,

Donn

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Important Safety Information

Before beginning treatment, you should discuss the potential benefits and risks associated with Rebif with your healthcare provider.

Rebif can cause serious side effects. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the symptoms listed below while taking Rebif.

Behavioral health problems, including depression and suicidal thoughts. You may have mood problems including depression (feeling hopeless or feeling bad about yourself), and thoughts of hurting yourself or suicide
Liver problems or worsening of liver problems, including liver failure. Symptoms may include nausea, loss of appetite, tiredness, dark colored urine and pale stools, yellowing of your skin or the white part of your eye, bleeding more easily than normal, confusion, and sleepiness. During your treatment with Rebif you will need to see your healthcare provider regularly and have regular blood tests to check for side effects
Serious allergic and skin reactions. Symptoms may include itching, swelling of your face, eyes, lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing, anxiousness, feeling faint, skin rash, hives, sores in your mouth, or skin blisters and peels
Injection site problems. Symptoms at the injection site may include redness, pain, swelling, color changes (blue or black), and drainage of fluid
Blood problems. Rebif can affect your bone marrow and cause low red and white blood cell and platelet counts. In some people, these blood cell counts may fall to dangerously low levels. If your blood cell counts become very low, you can get infections and problems with bleeding and bruising. Your healthcare provider may ask you to have regular blood tests to check for blood problems
Seizures. Some people have had seizures while taking Rebif

Rebif will not cure your MS but may decrease the number of flare-ups of the disease and slow the occurrence of some of the physical disability that is common in people with MS.

Do not take Rebif if you are allergic to interferon beta, human albumin, or any of the ingredients in Rebif.

Before you take Rebif, tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any of the following conditions:

mental illness, including depression and suicidal behavior
liver problems, bleeding problems or blood clots, low blood cell counts, seizures (epilepsy), or thyroid problems
you drink alcohol
you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if Rebif will harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant during your treatment with Rebif
you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Rebif passes into your breast milk. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you will use Rebif or breastfeed. You should not do both

Tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements.

The most common side effects of Rebif include:

flu-like symptoms. You may have flu-like symptoms when you first start taking Rebif. You may be able to manage these flu-like symptoms by taking over-the-counter pain and fever reducers. For many people, these symptoms lessen or go away over time. Symptoms may include muscle aches, fever, tiredness, and chills
stomach pain
change in liver blood tests

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

These are not all the possible side effects of Rebif. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Indication

Rebif is used to treat relapsing forms of MS to decrease the frequency of relapses and delay the occurrence of some of the physical disability that is common in people with MS.

US-INF-0814-0017A
RBU680907-01