Photo Credit: Unknown
This summer is going by in a flash. Here is what’s new in my world…
Big Ride Project News: Next week is the Tour of Utah! The Ride Project will have a booth (#20) August 17th – Tuesday afternoon/evening at the Prologue and will be at booth #32 on August 21st – Saturday in Park City. I encourage you to stop by and see these images up close or just say hello. If you purchase a limited edition print at our booth, you will receive a $50.00 gift certificate to Cafe Trio in Salt Lake City. Cash or check accepted!
Team TLC Rides Again! – My wonderful friend and Sister-in-Law started Team TLC four years ago to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I had the honor of riding with the team in 2008 on Martha’s Vineyard. This year she is taking the team to the NH Seacoast! Please support her efforts and donate money to this amazing team. They have already raised almost $2500! I love you TEAM TLC!!
Vitamin D – I’ve written about this magical vitamin a few times over the past year. Vitamin D is so important to your overall health, especially if you have MS and/or treat with Tysabri. 12 weeks ago my vitamin D levels came back low. I raised my daily intake from 4000 iu daily to 5500 iu daily, per my neurologist’s recommendation. I was just tested again after three months on the 5500 level and brought my levels up from 29 to 32. I am shooting for 50-80, so I am waiting to hear what the next step is. It will likely be a 1X weekly dose of 50,000 iu. Do you supplement with vitamin D?
JC Virus Antibody – I am participating in Stratify 1, one of the trials assessing risk factors for PML. I recently learned that I tested positive for the JC Virus Antibody. This isn’t good news, but it isn’t bad either. Just over 50% of participants have tested positive as well. According to a letter I received from my neurologist’s office…
“Our current hypothesis based on preliminary data to date, is that patients who have JCV antibodies may be at higher risk of developing PML, compared with patients who are negative. We do not believe that most patients who are JCV antibody positive will develop PML with TYSABRI treatment. The development of PML requires a convergence of multiple factors within an individual, in addition to infection with JCV.
If the current clinical studies confirm that 50% of MS patients are JCV antibody positive and if the false negative rate of the assay remains low, then the risk of PML in TYSABRI-treated patients who are JCV antibody positive may be approximately up to twice the current overall risk of PML with TYSABRI. For example, if the risk of PML in TYSABRI-treated patients is 1 in 1000 then the risk in TYSABRI-treated patients who are JCV antibody positive would be up to 2 in 1000. Again this needs to be evaluated in our on-going clinical studies.”
So, what’s new in your world?
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Good weather finally arrived in Utah. The snow is melting, cyclists are everywhere and the Utah MS ride is this weekend. Unfortunately, The Ride Project will not have a team at this year’s event. I don’t want to pain you with my list of excuses, but instead, will assure you that my focus right now is on my health and boosting photography sales so I can start sending checks to the Myelin Repair Foundation to support their research for a cure for MS.
I will be featuring The Ride Project photography in a booth at two stages of the Tour of Utah, a fantastic cycling event, August 17-22 that attracts cyclist enthusiasts from all over. I can’t wait to show them my work and tell them about The Ride Project. If you are in Salt Lake City or Park City in August during the event, stop by and say hi!
I want to continue to bring you great health and wellness information, especially about living with MS, so stay tuned for 1-2 posts a week. Please continue to email me or leave a comment with your blog topic suggestions, questions and guest post ideas.
Click here for other simple ways to help support The Ride Project!
Scott Johnson, Myelin Repair Foundation President & Founder was recently awarded the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Northern California region. This is a great honor, especially since this award generally goes to a “for profit” entrepreneur.
What you might not know about Scott, is that he was diagnosed with MS at age 20, living his entire adult life with the disease. He became a serial entrepreneur, starting multiple companies and consulting for the Boston Consulting Group. After he left the business world, he made it his personal mission to find a treatment for MS, applying his past experience in creating the Myelin Repair Foundation. With the MRF, he is now able to make a significant impact on other people with MS around the world.
I love that Scott was recognized in this way, and it is clearly a well deserved award, but the benefit extends to all of us fighting MS. By winning this award, Scott Johnson brings mainstream awareness to Myelin repair. Before my MS diagnosis, I didn’t even really know what Myelin was and I think it is safe to say that most people don’t know what it is, and if they do, they don’t know how important it is to MS patients and others living with neurological diseases and conditions.
Hopefully with this awareness comes more support to the Myelin Repair Foundation in terms of donors and supporters and of course, more ideas, collaboration and research to bring us a cure! Thanks Scott and the MRF for all that you do!
Facebook recently changed the way you join a business page. Previously, you “became a fan of” a page. For instance, you may have “become a fan of” the Ride project.
Now, you don’t “fan” a page, you simply “like” a page. Click here if you LIKE the Ride project!
Access DNA recently sent me the following email:
You have been identified as a leader in the Multiple Sclerosis community. By sharing your personal, first-hand experiences with this disorder on your blog, you have helped others. AccessDNA’s mission is to help increase the awareness of both rare and common genetic disorders by creating accessible and reliable information on genetic conditions. We respect your efforts and are privileged to distinguish your blog with the following award:
cool huh? Thank You AccessDNA.com!
Gretchen!!
Congrats Gretchen! I will be printing “Sea Legs” for you and shipping it to the address you email to me: courtney@therideproject.com.
Thank you ALL for your participation in this contest. The image with the most entries was “Ocean Blue”
Other images that more than one person chose: “Yellow Tires”, “Still Spokes”, “Shift” and “Spin”
As a special offer to all entrants, if you would like to purchase the print you chose, I will donate an additional 10% of the purchase price to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The Myelin Repair Foundation will receive 50% and the NMSS will receive 10%.
Today I am feeling a little uninspired. I need your help for my next post. Please email your “best of”, your “top ten”, your “can’t live without”. Please email or comment with your favorite song, photo, blog, website, recipe, place to visit, artist, bike race, place to surf, ms treatment, yoga studio, jewelry designer…something! Give me something.
Please…inspire me.
Win your favorite limited edition image from the Ride project. If you win, I will send you an 8 X 10 (Approx size) print that is signed, numbered and matted to 11 X 14 so it will be easy to frame. The contest will run through March 31st and the winner will be selected by random drawing.
How to enter: send me the name of your favorite image from either gallery: this one or this one. You can find the name of the image by clicking on the one you like. You can enter up to four times but only once through each method below!
1. You can email me: courtney@therideproject.com
2. Send me a tweet @courtneycarver
3. Leave a comment on the Ride project Facebook page
4. Leave a comment on this blog
Good Luck! I hope YOU win!
Big thanks to Craft for Health for posting my story and information about The Ride Project!
Every week is MS Awareness week for me and those of us with and MS and loving someone with MS. That being said, I love that we have our own special week. I think that they should call it MS ACTION week, so it is more inspiring to actually DO something about MS rather than just be aware.
If you want to celebrate MS AWARENESS ACTION WEEK with me and DO something about MS, here are a few suggestions to support my mission to donate $1,000,000 to the Myelin Repair Foundation in search of a CURE FOR MS
1. Tell your friends about theRIDEproject
2. Follow me on Twitter Click here!
3. Join theRIDEproject Facebook page Click here!
4. Ask me about Guest Blogging or Selling my photography on commission!
5. I would love to display images in your favorite bike or surf shop or even a great restaurant that is looking for some color! Email me contact info and recommendations: courtney@therideproject.com. There is no cost to the business you recommend to feature an image from therideproject.com.
6. Buy a signed, numbered print for yourself or someone you love. Click here!
7. Donate to one of The Ride Project teams or ride with us! Visit our team support page.
8. Tell your Neurologist about theRIDEproject and ask him/her to buy a print for their office waiting room to support MS research.
9. Blog about theRIDEproject or include a link to the website!
10. Tell me what you think! Send me your feedback and great ideas.
Thanks for all that you do to fight MS!!
