How You REALLY Doin'?

Mark and Tamara Teeter are two of my favorite people. We are on the same bike team together, Team RoadKill, and Every time I see them, I feel better. Tamara is the warmest gentlest soul with the greatest laugh on earth. And Mark is a former traveling deadhead and scout master with fantastically intriguing stories and the biggest heart. They are high school sweethearts who got a big relationship test when Tamara was diagnosed. Marriage isn't easy to begin with. Throw in a chronic illness like Multiple Sclerosis and it becomes critical to find common ground, a language you can speak together in order to remain strong together. Mark and Tamara went through a tough time after diagnosis and discovered how vulnerability and speaking the truth is a necessity and a way to ease the stresses, the uncertainty, that MS brings on a daily basis. Mark and Tamara have found a good recipe for themselves and can attest to the importance of sharing. Not only sharing struggles but the good stuff too. As a person with MS, I don't think you can ever underestimate the power and relief that focusing on the good stuff provides. It took a while for Tamara to fully open up about her tough symptoms and what she found was that sometimes sharing the things that scare you the most is exactly what helps you the most. As a support partner Mark was ready and willing to help, he just needed the right words to know how to do so. Have a listen as Mark and Tamara let you know how they REALLY did it to get to where they can truthfully talk about how they are REALLY doing now.

Team Road Kill is more than a MS bike team. TRK is a testament to the overall fact that people are good. Human connection and supporting the person next to you is what they are all about.

Their motto is simply GO! They GO after living life fully, they GO! after bike riding and they GO! after finding a cure for MS. Ron Haye was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2010 when he committed himself to keep moving. Both physically and emotionally. Ron is the embodiment of GO! As one of the founders of TRK he has helped create one of the largest bike teams in the Pacific Northwest with over 100 riders. The team has raised over $250,000 for the MS cause and they do so by putting the FUN in fundraising.

TRK events include a casino bus, a poker night, a corn hole tournament and the big daddy of them all...BrewFest for MS. For this podcast I parked my van outside the Brickhouse Tavern in Vancouver Washington and talked to some TRK members during BrewFest. Ron Haye, his wife Terry, son Steven and two huge TRK contributors Mike Johansen and Robert Stuart. I'm very thankful to be a part of this team and be surrounded by such amazing people. Their team motto says it all and is a reminder of what is good for all of us to do…GO!

Carol Moiso is a fighter! She was diagnosed with Primary Progressive MS in 1991 when she was 47 years old. She may be in a wheelchair to get around now but that doesn't stop her from challenging herself to swim across the Columbia river or ride 10 miles during Bike MS. She's a proud grandma with a great sense of humor and a desire to do everything possible with her grandkids. So she fights. Fights her MS symptoms to be the best she can be.

Andy Becker was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS when he was 30 years old. At that time he was a pack-a-day smoker and addicted to video games. Sometimes playing 16 hours-a-day. Getting his MS news was a wake up call for Andy. He is now addicted to endurance sports and knows the true meaning of self-care.

auGi is how he spells his name, it's not a typo, and yes, I believe he is cool enough to not only pull off one name but spell it however he wants.

auGi is a man of many talents… Dare I say a Renaissance man. He's a musician, a comedian, a graphic artist, a writer, a performer, he’s traveled the world and he's one helluva storyteller. He has written and performed his own one-man show, called SexyNurd, about his life’s desire to be a rock star commingled with his experience with MS. auGi doesn't have MS but his experience runs deep as his mom lived with it for 34 years and it is in her memory that he brings all his amazingly wonderful talents to the MS cause.

auGi is the Vice President of Marketing and Events for the Oregon Chapter of the MS Society. As you’ll hear, he literally changed his career and his life’s direction because he doesn’t want others to suffer with MS like his mom did.

You can also learn more about auGi on his blog at www.stopmakingthatnoise.com (spoiler alert...you will learn auGi's last name but don't let that destroy how cool I think he is)

Leslie is one of those people who you meet and walk away feeling better for doing so. She radiates positive energy from her core. I am a huge believer that our mindset effects and determines the course of our disease and of course our life. When Leslie was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting MS 4 years ago she didn't let it stop her life or positive attitude. Today she is in better physical shape because exercise has become such a huge part of her daily routine. Just ask her and she'll flex for you. She did for me and I was blown away...as I was with her exuberance for life. She is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan and like their Steel Curtain defense, Leslie is STRONG.

Man have I discovered a lot about myself. Who I am and how that effects my MS on a daily basis. Skeletons from my past along with negative self talk have NOT been helping me be the best I can be. So I found a life coach, Angela Carey, who has helped me discover the negative pieces of me that have been toxic while exploring the good, positive pieces that I need to live a full life in the face of MS. This is a podcast about my way of making the best of what I've got. I believe Great Freedom comes from True Vulnerability so get ready for a ride through my mind and how it is making my MS journey beautiful.

Angela Carey is my life coach that I talk so much about in this Discoverycast. She has literally changed my life and I can't thank her enough. Check her out at www.yourpowercenter.com

Yes I know #3 doesn't come after #14 but I had to take Nora's podcast down for technical reasons. Now it's back. Nora has had MS for just about a year yet she enlightens me to a new way of looking at things through her incredible sense of humor and age-defying outlook. On June 16th, 2013, at the age of 26, Nora was diagnosed with acute sudden onset of tumefactive multiple sclerosis and lost the the use of her left side over the course of a day and a half. She spent 6 weeks in the hospital working hard to regain function and come to terms with this new way of life. During that time she wrote a blog which is an honest, well written chronicle of her MS journey. I suggest everyone with MS, heck everyone period, read this (msnorakb.tumblr.com) because Nora's amazing perspective can teach us all a thing or two.

Andrea has continued to hijack my podcast to ask me questions about finding inspiration, Staying Gold and the importance of talking to others. And of course we cover Andrea's big passion, Walk MS!

Andrea is the Manager of Walk MS for the Oregon Chapter of the MS Society. She has so much energy that I wish I could bottle it and hand it out as a cure for MS fatigue. She is also that person who stands out in a crowd because of her laughter. Andrea doesn't have MS...she has a passion for helping people with MS. She is also an extrovert and LOVES being around people, has a great perspective on how she relates to people with MS and passes on information about the MS Society that you may not know. And oh yeah, she knows a lot about Walk MS and must have a budding desire to have her own podcast because she takes over and interviews ME.

The MS Society Information Resource Line

1.800.344.4867