The Day after Thanksgiving!

Much to my surprise, I weighed less today than yesterday! How many of us can say that the day after thanksgiving?

What are we thankful for? I guess the number one thing is the freedom we have. That I have breath. That I have a wonderful opportunity to do something meaningful in life, that will possible benefit many others, you also have this amazing opportunity by joining with me and others in helping to raise awareness of MM. Join with me in my “Losing Weight Gaining Awareness” for MM. Help us raise $120, 000. for research while I lose 120 pounds.

As we have just completed this day set aside for Thanksgiving, what were you thankful for? Add to my list, that every day we are closer to the cure for Multiple Myeloma. Closer to a day where this will no longer be something that changes our lives forever.

Please help me spread the word out to others so they too can spread the word and get the message out

Awareness for MM

For those of you who know me, you know my heart!

Sometimes it isn’t really enough to know someones heart, you need to know they are willing to put forth what is in their heart. Willing to go the extra mile so to speak. I am in the process of going that distance. It is a slow process and I am sure many of you can relate to a slow process. While my battle in life is not living with a diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma, it is none the less a battle to live with daily and one to overcome and have victory over on a daily basis. Like you, I imagine, on really good days you are thankful for them and wonder how long will this last. What am I able to do right now that I could not do yesterday or may not be able to do tomorrow. Let me hurry up and do it. As I read the Blogs of others on this site I am amazed at their fortitude, their strength to overcome whatever this dreadful best throws their way. The treatments that are to give them life seems to almost be more destructive at times that the beast within. Of course it has to be, to overcome the beast. Although many do have good responses with Alternative Medicines. You have to be so very careful in this area and have to find someone you really trust. But that is not what this is about.

Debi’s Blog, is about Hope, is about Life, is about Awareness to the public, to the patients, to the family members who not only provide care for their loved ones but also have to watch as their loved ones endure something none of us would wish on our worse enemy.

Please help, help me to help anyone who has NEVER heard the words “you have Multiple Myeloma”, come to understand the full meaning of this diagnosis. That in this day and age of new discoveries being made all the time, that we should be able to find a cure not just something to help you get by a little longer. But to help those who hear the words “You have MM, also hear, it is curable. This is my quest! This is why I am losing 120 pounds to gain awareness and to raise $120,000. That is only $1,000. per pound. This is why I need your help in getting the word out there, to help raise this amount for Research, to find a cure, so no one will ever have to hear “you have MM” again without being able to hear, “but we have a cure!”

Please help get the word out, help to raise awareness to help raise $120,000 to find a cure.

Click on the link http://tinyurl.com/22yvxt and click to donate.

Blessings!

Oh My Goodness, I said I wasn’t too “IT”! 10/27/07

Well, I really have egg on my face!!!!

I have been checking out the links from the IMF web-site to the blog here and have been thinking, well I guess they aren’t working correctlybecause I know I have written a post later than Sept 27th. I know I have. So I came directly here and logged in and lo and behold, the last thing posted was Sep 27th. I must be losing my mind!!!! Well as I was getting ready to do what I thought I had already done, and click to post, guess what I found, the post from Oct 17th…;-) I must have clicked save instead of publish. Still trying to figure all this stuff out! So please excuse the lateness. And please feel free to laugh with me!!

Well, more news to add, I am pleased to announce I have now lost 36 pounds. WOOHOO!!

My friend Jeannie tells me to think about that many pounds of potatoes. That’s a bunch of taters!!!

As I let you all know in the post I forgot to send out, but just did, the “Click to Donate” button is now working on the IMF web-site for my fundraiser! So get busy clicking!!!;-) to make it easier just click here and this will take you right to my part http://tinyurl.com/22yvxt , pretty cool huh???

I almost have my brochure ready to start sending out and taking around locally to realy get things in high gear on the donations for research. I really wanted to see if I would really lose any weight, again…WOOHOO! So now the the “Losing Weight” is having such great progress~ we need to get the “Gaining Awareness” going as well. Hopefully by the first part of this coming weekI will have it ready and will bring it here, so any of you can send it out as well. If we can get just 1000 people to donate 1.00 per pound and commit for the entire 120 pounds we will have reached the goal of $120,000. for research! ALL FOR RESEARCH! No money from this will be taken for me to make my trip to Africa, no money for any administrative fees, no money from this goes to “Physician Weight Loss Center of Pensacola”, every penny will go towards vital live changing, life saving research for Multiple Myeloma! Nothing would be greater than to find out that with that $120,000. We found “The Cure”! In the grand scheme of things in the Research world, this amount is only a drop in the big ocean of research. But I know it can make a difference. You can make a difference, you can be the miracle!In our life time it would be great to know that when one person hears, ” I have bad news and I have good news and the bad news is you have Multiple Myeloma, but the good news is, we have found a cure” . It takes research, and research takes dollars.

Well I guess you know where my passion is! FINDING A CURE FOR THIS BEAST! HOW ABOUT YOU? WON’T YOU PLEASE JOIN ME IN MY FIGHT? LETS GET GAINING AWARENESS.

Blessings to you all~

Debi

10/17/2007 Losing Weight Gaining Awareness for MM

Good afternoon everyone!

Well since beginning the losing process, I am proud to say that as of today, October 17th 2007 I have lost 26.5 pounds!!! WOOHOO!!!

I am also happy to advise all that IMF Website that has all my info for this event, “Losing Weight Gaining Awareness” , is setup with the “click here to donate” button, so start clicking away. Please……after-all it is for a very worthy cause, donating is the easy part. Also they have kindly provided me with a direct link to the sight, just for you ~ so here it is: http://tinyurl.com/22yvxt

It takes you right to my area under the fund-raising. That is so cool! Remember, all this is new for me, support group, blog’s , so it easy to amaze me with all this IT stuff.

Please as you check out this Blog leave me a note tell me what you think….

My prayers to everyone who is a patient and a caregiver. My heart goes out to everyone of you. Your strength in live is an encouragement to me and millions of others! Help get the word out as we need to “Gain more Awareness” to increase the advances in treatment and hopefully finding a cure one day soon.

Debi

Losing Weight Gaining Awareness for MM

Well, it has been a few weeks sorry about that! Many things are happening though!

I have started a new job, today is the end of my third week. I had to have some pretty major oral surgery AGAIN! Hopefully no more!

I am excited to post that as of Thursday, Sept. 27th, 2007 I have lost 23lbs! Yes that is 23 pounds!

I am assured that within a few days the IMF website will have the “Click to Donate” button in place on the website for me! They have been going through a lot of upgrading on their system and then trying to figure out how to do donations by the pounds has been hard so we decided just to let it be regular donations. I am still hoping for a dollar a pound for the 120 pounds I am hoping to lose.

So let’s get out there and let everyone know about this, we are trying to lose to gain awareness!

Anyone out there interested in joining my team????? What better incentive to lose than to help Multiple Myeloma patients? And get healthy at the same time???

Blessings to you all !

Let me hear from you please!

Debi

Losing Weight Gaining Awareness for MM

WOW! Week #1 already behind me! A long journey yet to go.

As promised I am keeping everyone posted on my losing.

Today the scales were at 282, that is a 7 pound loss. WooHoo!!!! For those of you who are following you already know I lost 7&1/2 pounds in my pre-diet phase so this is actually a 14&1/2 pound weight loss for me in about 3 weeks.

I am also excited to share with you that the IMF now has “Dollars for Pounds” listed under their event for fundraisers, they still need to add the “donate” button. You can get their by going to www.myeloma.org and clicking on events. I am so excited about all this and really look forward to hearing from you all!

Please help me in raising Awareness and support for Multiple Myeloma research.

You know “One person can make a difference and two can make a miracle” imagine what happens when we all get involved! Cures can happen!!

Blessings!

Debi

Dollars for Pounds ~ Losing Weight to Gain Awareness for MM

Well yesterday was my Official Weigh in date and I am excited to say that during my pre-diet phase I lost 7&1/2 pounds and 1 inch. I will try and figure out how to add pictures here so you can watch the progress as well as read about it.

As I mentioned before my goal is to lose 120 pounds and to raise $120,000. for Multiple Myeloma Awareness! I am blessed to have the support of the Pensacola office of the Physican Weight Loss Center helping me to achieve this goal and officially documenting my success. Rosemary and Rika are great encouragers.

At my official weigh in I was at 289 lbs. I am not counting the 7&1/2 I have already lost since that was beofre the start date.

I will go in every week and will submit a post to let you all know the progress. Please if you have not read the starting of my Blog’s go back and read my story.

We are hoping to receive donations by 20 pound increments; 20 pounds ~ $20.00.

The webMaster is still planning this out on the IMF website @ www.myeloma.org .

Current donations can be made to the IMF stating “ECMMSG ~ Dollars for Pounds”.

Blessings to you all!

Beth hope you are doing well!

See you next week!

Debi

Our Group Meeting Saturday the 25th of August

The Emerald Coast MM Support Group met this past Saturday and what a surprise! We had 7 attend! For a new support group this is great! 5 new people and 1 was out of town visiting family! We send out a special thank you to Andy from the IMF for coming to visiting us and sharing so much with us. It was a very informative meeting! We watched 2 DVD’s, one titiled, “I have Multiple Myeloma, now what?” and the other was on the Kyphoplasty. This was good timing for us as one of our members is considering this as an option in their treatment at this time! We have 2 members that have already had great success with this.

What an honor it is for me to host this group. I look forward to each meeting to see new faces coming in. It is a joy to share smiles, tears, laughter, hugs and just to be there for each other. If any of you are ever in the Pensacola area we meet on the 4th Saturday of every month at 10am @ the West Florida Public Library located on the corner of Gregory and Spring St.

See you next month!

Debi

Emerald Coast Multiple Myeloma Support Group

Yes indeedy my first post, my first blog attempt, my first of many things!

I am honored to say I am the host for the Emerald Coast Multiple Myeloma Support Group, based in Pensacola, FL.
We serve the SE Alabama area and well as the Panhandle area of FL. We meet on the 4th Saturday of the month at the West Florida Public Library on Gregory St.
This Saturday is our 2nd meeting and we are pleased to say we will have as a speaker someone from the IMF (International Myeloma Foundation - www.myeloma.org)He is the SE Regional Director for Support Groups. I was fortunate to go to Atlanta and meet with him personally the first of July and was able to attend the Atlanta Support Group.

I, myself do not have MM, but I do have a close friend that was dx’d a little over 10 years ago. It has had a tremdous affect on my life! After moving to the Pensacola area in 2003 it seemed like I kept running into Patients or someone who was a caregiver of MM and there is no Support Group in the area. All of those I came in contact with really felt all alone. So we started the Emerald Coast MM Support Group.

I am wanting to bring as much awareness to the outside world as I possibly can about Multiple Myeloma.
So ~ I wanted to do a Fundraiser deal but wanted it to be kinda unique. So I have thought and prayed about this.
Also it is good to know this; every year my church ~ Jubilee International Ministries~ goes to Africa for a Medical Missions trip and I am hoping to go in the Spring~ we built an orphanage and school there. As most of you know, Aids is the number one reason for the orphaned children.
I know this is all over the place but stay with me for a second..
I am extremely overweight and traveling any distance in the air would not be a pleasant thing.so I have got to lose weight. I hear a fundraiser in this!!!!
Dollars for Pounds have been birthed. With the help of the IMF and Physican’s Weight Loss Center (PWLC) here in Pensacola we have put together a plan for me to lose 120 pounds and to raise money for Multiple Myeloma Awareness and Research! I will track my success here on my blog and you can also follow it on the IMF website @ www.myeloma.org under Events. They are in the process of setting it up as we speak..or as I write ;-)!
So Stay Tuned in .Official Weigh In next Tuesday the 28th of August 2007.

Blessings to you all

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