The heat is on....

So, it's been a while. Sorry, but things are just now slowing down from Doug taking his last finals and FINALLY graduating from South Texas College of Law. Woooohooooo!! Here's my favorite picture from the big day:

I can't tell you how incredibly proud of him I am:) He's now studying for the bar exam....uggghhh! Just when he though he was done!! He takes it the last 3 days of July, please keep him in your prayers.

As for me, I've been feeling pretty good. As you all know, the Texas summer heat really gets MS symptoms going, but so far so good. I've been eating better, exercising....not as much as I should be though, and trying to stay cool and rested. I've been having some aches and pains in my legs, but at least I can feel them:)

I had a good check up with my retina specialist a few weeks ago. My left eye is doing a lot better, no inflammation or floaters. So, I'm doing a very low dose of steroid drops only twice a day in the left eye and still the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drops 4 times a day in both eyes. As for the right eye, it's being more stubborn....still doing the stronger steroid drop 4 times a day in that eye. Still aftermath from me being a stubborn patient and getting off my drops in the right eye several months ago. Anyway, my doctor still has high hopes she can get me off at least the steroid drop sometime soon. I'm sure I'll be on the NSAID's a while, but that's fine because I see clearer with them.

Overall though, I'm feeling great! Hope everyone is having a good summer so far. Stay cool!!

"Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer’s year - it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul."

Paintings for MS

I just had to share something really awesome with all of you. A friend of mine was diagnosed with MS a couple of months ago and like most people newly diagnosed with MS, she's had a tough time finding how to release some of her stress and frustration.

She came up with the most brilliant idea EVER!! She went to Hobby Lobby and bought supplies to paint. She hasn't stopped painting since:) Her paintings are so neat, people are wanting to buy them. She wasn't willing to take money for them, but told her "buyers" they could have the paintings in exchange for a donation to the National MS Society through Nicole's Angels!!! She's already raised well over $100 for Nicole's Angels and is still painting to raise more money. Who would have thought that her new hobby would raise money for our cause??!! Nicole's Angels is definitely going to be the biggest fundraising team for the Kemah MS Walk! I'm so excited!!

I want to share a few pics of her paintings, they're awesome!! I'd definitely hang them in my house:)

Lots and lots of thanks go out to this very special artist! You ROCK!! Keep it up!!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Me!!

Well, I've reached a milestone. It has been one year (and a few days) since I started my injections. Can you believe that it's already been a year?? Even with all of the pain, lumps, and anxiety from the injections, the time still flew by. It's just another one of my daily routines now. Don't get me wrong though, sometimes they still hurt like hell, but they've gotten so much better than this time last year. Maybe the pics will bring the reality of what one year of daily injections look like.....just think, there are over 365 injections laying there! Crazy, huh?

















This post is especially for those of you just starting out on your MS treatment, aaaahhhemmm.....Melissa and Kristin. It may seem like a really long road right now and the injections may seem TERRIBLE and cause you GREAT anxiety, but you will get through it. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I know we'll be on the injections indefinitely, but since reaching my 1 year milestone I feel like it's a walk in the park....well, maybe that's exaggerating a little, but things do get better.....I promise:) You guys can do it!!

It is such a liberating feeling to be where I am today and look back at Nicole one year ago. And I feel so proud for sticking to the treatment....no pun intended:)

Oh ya, and I'd like to thank Doug for letting me scream as loud as I want, curse, and even cry sometimes when they really, really hurt....you've been an awesome nurse! Or is a male nurse called a murse??

I know I thank you all a lot for being so supportive, but thanks again. I wouldn't be where I am today without each of you.

One of the most touching experiences of my life...

Last weekend was the 2008 BP MS 150, which as most of you know is a bike ride from Houston to Austin. The riders leave at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and head to LaGrange. Once in LaGrange they eat, relax, and get some rest. Early Sunday morning the riders get up and make the last leg of their ride to Austin. They do all of this to show support and raise money for people with Multiple Sclerosis. To date this single event just for this year has raised $10,263,265.96 and is still going. The deadline for donations isn't until May 13!!!

This year I really wanted to show my appreciation to the riders and volunteer at the event. My Mom and step-dad, Steve, both work for Continental Airlines, which is one of the big corporate sponsors for the event. So, Mom, Doug, and I got up EARY Saturday morning and headed to LaGrange to meet Steve, who was already there helping set up the night before. As we headed down Dairy Ashford towards I-10 we saw the riders making their way to the starting point. We looked down Memorial Drive and for as far as we could see were hundreds of bikes and the sun hadn't even risen yet. This sight literally brought tears to my eyes. To know that so many people were riding for me and the other 400,000 people in the U.S. with MS. It made my heart swell:)



Once we got to LaGrange it was ALL work getting things ready for the riders to arrive. We helped the Continental booth set up and get all of the food ready.....and taste the beer:)
























Apparently the head wind was so bad, the riders started showing up 2 hours later than they normally do. They were riding their hearts out! You could tell they were exhausted once they finally got to LaGrange. We cheered as loud as we could for every single Continental rider as they rode in. For lunch we served hot dogs and for dinner it was spaghetti and meatballs (so they could get their carbs) and the best darn jambalaya made by the nicest coonasses:) Some of the riders didn't even make it in time for lunch, they barely even made it for dinner. But, they made it!!! I was able to personally thank the riders as I helped serve them meals.

I met some of the neatest people Saturday. One of them was JoAnn, AKA "Rollin' Jo." She was experiencing symptoms of MS for 10 years, but they never actually diagnosed her.....until it was a little too late. She now has been officially diagnosed, but is in a wheel chair. She has a lot of complications due to her not being able to walk, but you would never know it. She's a HOOT! JoAnn is one of the funniest, most upbeat people you'll meet. The DJ started playing "Twist" and she was out there twisting around in her wheel chair!!! She's a professional clown now and visits the children at M.D. Anderson. Her clown name is "Rollin' Jo!" She said if you're ever throwing a pity party for yourself, go to the children's wing at M.D. Anderson, see a child with cancer, and you'll realize how blessed you are. She had an amazing spirit and I'll never forget her!!

They even had a team named after me!!! NRG!!!! :)

The whole day was one of the most touching experiences of my life. I hope to make it to every BP MS 150 from here on out. It's the least I can do for all of the wonderful people who are trying to do their part to make my life with MS better.

To everyone who participated in this amazing event, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It was an awesome experience!!

Summing Up MS Awareness Week

Sorry it took me a couple of days to get on here and thank you all for your support and participation last week for MS Awareness Week. I am so touched from all of the things you guys did to join the movement. Here are some of the highlights of what you did last week:

Joined "Nicole's Angels" MS Walk Team....
Cecile Ashby, Melissa Gattis, Liz Ginn, Natalie Hodge, Kiley Muthig, RoseAnn Rapp, Mark Reagan, Melissa Reagan, Rene' Reagan, Renee Reagan (Courtney, I know you said you signed up, but you're still not on the roster, you should probably check on that)

And some of you have already made donations and/or raised donations....
RoseAnn Rapp, Renee Reagan, Kathy Alexander, Karen Brown Hutcheson, Brenda Mitchiner

Karen Brown Hutcheson lives all the way in Chicago, IL and found out what she could do to raise the awareness in her area. She's going to do the Bike MS: Tour de Farms Ride 2008 for the National MS Society's Greater Illinois Chapter. THANKS KAREN!!

I know I didn't name everyone because most of you participated ALL week by doing the daily tasks: signing up to join the movement, writing letters to Congress, signing up for a walk or bike event, donating to the NMSS, and most of all spreading the word. And I can't thank you enough!

I really wasn't sure what kind of response I would get after e-mailing you EVERY day for one whole week. I thought I would probably drive you nuts, but most everyone responded WONDERFULLY! I've never felt so supported:)

I got so wrapped up in all of the activities for MS Awareness Week I didn't even realize Sunday, March 16th was the 1 year anniversary since I was officially diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Can ya'll believe that???!!!

"I would thank you from the bottom of my heart, but for you my heart has no bottom."

Day 7: Suport the Society

It's the last day of MS Awareness Week!! And you know we were going to ask you for money at some point:) Well, that's today's task...Support the Society: Every donation moves us closer to a world free of MS. I made my donation to the National MS Society!!!

There's a couple of things you can do as far as donating:

Option 1: Go to this website and either write a check and mail it to the address given or you can just donate online: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/donate/index.aspx

Option 2: Go to my homepage for the MS Walk in September and donate through me and my team, Nicole's Angels:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Nicole.Grubbs08

Option 3: A good friend of mine from college is riding in the Dallas Sam's Club MS150 and he's dedicated the ride to me. His team name is Team Auwesome and they're even going to wear patches with my name on them!!! He's super sweet and is trying to raise money for the NMSS, check out his site and donate through him:
http://www.ms150.org/dallas/donate/donate.cfm?id=217410

It doesn't matter how you go about it, just please make some sort of a donation to the NMSS. Even if it's just $20, that $20 can help bring us closer to a cure!! I thank you in advance for your generosity and support!

This is your last task!! I will try to post tomorrow with all of the wonderful things you guys did throughout the week. I thank you all for everything and for all of your support:)

Day 6: Make your Mark

Just finished my task for Day 6, Make your mark: Make your mark against MS and share it with the world, or tell your story on Face of MS. I told my story on the Face of MS. Here's the website:

http://www.faceofms.org/

It's really easy, you just go to the website, enter some information about yourself, and tell your story of how MS has effected your life. You don't have to have MS in order for it to effect your life. You can tell a story about someone you know that has MS....like me:) or maybe someone else you know.

It takes about a week for them to get your story up and running online, so you won't see mine or your's yet, but I'll be looking for everyone's next week!!!