I went out on a date with this guy 12 years ago and we’ve remained friends all this time. He took me to a Paul McCartney concert at CitiField, not a shabby first date. He was a pharmaceutical rep for another neurological disease. It was easy to make him fully aware I had multiple sclerosis. He understood these diseases and had relationships with many of the neurologist in the area. However, it doesn’t stop him from bringing up that I tripped UP a flight of stairs not once but 3 times at the end of our date. In all fairness I was on my feet for hours. My legs were exhausted but I was trying to be cool and not show any signs of my symptoms. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Throughput our friendship, he actually became a rep for Novartis. He told me about Gilenya probably as soon as it came to market, if not before. I was so happy to be done with shots I would have switched anyway but he definitely helped push me along. He even got me hooked up with the company to be a patient advocate. I’d go to the pharmaceutical dinner meetings they host and tell my story with MS and the other disease modifying drugs. I loved it. It was the beginning of my personal positive attitude regarding MS, although I don’t think I knew it at the time. I was talking about my experience with so many other people I had to keep my attitude positive for them.

My friend has remained in the neurological pharmaceutical world to this day. He knows my doctors, my drugs, what’s on the market and has always offered his advice and guidance. Right now I’ve been offering him guidance on some aspects of his life but that’s fine. Not much going on in my world. 12 years after that one date, sometimes things work out as they should.