I am a mother of 2 wonderful boys 29 and 13, and grandmother to one girl, 9. My youngest and I live in Florida with my elderly mother and we all care mutually for one another. I started a blog about my clinical trial with Gilenya and you can read it at http://gilenya.blogspot.com. I find the whole "lab rat" thing to be pretty exciting and I am proud to have been a part of this history making trial to bring the first ever oral treatment for MS to fruition. I am currently a patient advocate and Gilenya Guide. I travel on behalf of Novartis to events around the country, sharing my MS story.

I was diagnosed in 1999 after two really close relapses that were both severe. I began taking Copaxone but continued to relapse 3-4 times per year. I started the TRANSFORMS clinical trial for Fingolimod (Gilenya) in Aug. 2007 and have not had a relapse since April 2007.

I quit smoking, try to eat healthy, and need to exercise more. I love any form of art and am currently a web designer. I love to read  and have recently rediscovered a love of sewing. I enjoy my role as a Gilenya Guide where I can interact with other MS patients. The idea of public speaking terrified me at first, but my passion to share my message with others helped me overcome that fear. I leave each event more edified than the audience.

I am a blogger and am currently pursuing other avenues to use my creative writing skills. I appreciate my recent opportunity to write a blog post for Patients Like Me.