The Myeloma Mobile on the Road

Wisconsin is sooooooooooo Beautiful!!!

We were greeted by 3 support groups in Wisconsin: Madison, Milwaukee and Racine.

Rob and Sue Enright arranged for all 3 groups to meet at the Timberlee Conference Center in East Troy, Wisconsin; an incredible property of over 600 acres! Their daughters, Michelle and Megan gave people a tour of the property on golf carts! Thanks Girls!!

Chuck & Pat Koval, support group leaders of the Madison group brought along delicious box lunches for all. Judith Hartig-Osanka of the Racine support group just returned from vacation and her flight just arrived on time to join us! We enjoyed meeting and chatting with everyone and discussed all aspects of myeloma from initial diagnosis to transplant preparation to novel therapies. These 3 groups are incredibly knowledgeable and were very thankful for the Myeloma Mobile visiting! Michael and Ally closed the evening by singing his song, "I'm Not Leavin" which was quite emotional. Thanks to Mary Burke for giving Ally some advice about College! Ally will be a freshman in high school this September and Mary was certainly helpful with her experience as a high school guidance counselor!

The group gave us a goodie bag loaded with specialties from Wisconsin; like cheese, summer sausage, a Wisconsin magnet, cow pies, and lots of other goodies that we've already eaten! :-) They were also nice enough to give us a postcard with what else on it but Wisconsin Cows to remember them by! We will never forget our visit with Wisconsin! Thanks for all your hospitality!

The Tuohys and the Kovals

The next day, Chuck & Pat Koval mentioned that they wanted to meet with us about noon because they had a little something lined up with the media...well you can all see for yourselves the "little something" by clicking on the link below. We had no idea what we were doing - but it sure was fun and I hope creates myeloma awareness! Thanks Chuck for your determination in getting the word out!

The Tuohy family shares their mission on StoryBridge.tv!

Our thoughts and prayers are with Rob & Sue Enright as Rob prepares for a stem cell transplant this Fall.

We are next off to Rochester, MN for an Event at the Mayo Clinic!

By for now!

Robin

What an exciting Day!!!

If you live in Connecticut, then you are probably very familiar with our TV Weatherman, Dr. Mel Goldstein of WTNH TV in New Haven. Dr. Mel has been an incredible advocate for myeloma patients since he was diagnosed in 1996 and is an inspirational survivor to everyone battling this disease.

He is a very genuine person and is more than happy to help us to kick off our Myeloma Mobile Journey Across America! He invited us to be on the noon news on June 15th.

To read the article, click here, and then click on the little red camera in the upper left corner to see the video clip.

We thank Dr. Mel from the bottom of our hearts for giving us a wonderful sendoff; and we look forward to seeing him at our homecoming which will be at the Lever Cancer Center in Waterbury, CT on August 17. Other featured guests for our Connecticut homecoming will be Dr. Paul Richardson of Dana Farber as well as Prospect's mayor, Robert Chatfield and other surprise guests!

Thanks Dr. Mel! Thanks Connecticut for your support!

Robin

Today was fun and exciting! We pulled into Rochester and learned that the City of Rochester is basically Mayo Clinic! It is an upscale facility with beautiful waterfalls, sculptures and art everywhere. Patients come from all over the world to be treated at Mayo; and I can certainly see why.

Kelly Cox of the IMF (center)

This Event was held in the Geffen Auditorium of the Gonda Guilding. Kelly Cox of the IMF started off our program with his usual jovial self and set the mood for a fun afternoon. Volunteers from Target were there to help with refreshments and to distribute IMF publications. Teamwork at its best! Thanks Target!

Dr. Martha Lacey

Our featured speaker was Dr. Martha Lacey whose interests are: Myeloma, amyloidosis, Waldenstrom's and other dysproteinemias and stem cell transplantation for these diseases. Dr. Lacy brought us from the basics of myeloma and what types there are to the many clinical trials specifically for myeloma currently being investigated at Mayo in Rochester. We were all very encouraged with the quality and quantity of trials and very hopeful for a future where myeloma will be a chronic disease.

Nicole Engler of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center

Michael talked about the Myeloma Mobile project, and what we hope to accomplish; which is of course knowledge, awareness, and empowerment for patients! I spoke of all the programs, publications and services that the International Myeloma Foundation offers to patients, physicians and anyone who has a desire to know about myeloma.

We wound up the event with a slide show of pictures of where we have been so far and Michael and Ally entertaining folks with Michael's song "I'm Not Leaving."

Suzanne, wife of IMF Board of Directors member, Rich Saletan, who is undergoing a SCT at Mayo.

What she wrote on the side of the Myeloma Mobile.

We stayed to talk one-on-one with many patients, including Eve Friedle and Pat Harwood. Both women are myeloma patients, advocates and support group leaders! Check out the IMF website to find out more about support groups! I'm sure Eve and Pat would love to hear from you!

When we came out of the Gonda Building we were surprised to see the local Fox/NBC affiliate, KTTC in Rochester. They asked us if we would do a quick interview! They wanted to meet our entire family - including our dog, Shannon and cat, Spike who are traveling with us. It was very funny to see the cat and dog walking around outside Mayo! Our pets are now stars! LOL! Click here to read a transcript of the story they did on us.

Click here to watch the video!

We were treated to a lovely lunch; and then did a live radio interview with Trish at KTOE in Rochester! Thanks Trish for helping to create awareness! It was a fun show!

We also did a radio interview with WICC in Connecticut at 1:30 - what a busy day!

Tomorrow we leave to start our long drive to Grand Island, Nebraska!

More later!

Robin

Research:
See a description of Mayo research activities at:
http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/staff/lacy_mq.cfm .

Here we are in beautiful Nebraska! What a great part of the country! Rolling hills, fields and fields of corn . . . more corn . . . wheat . . . . more wheat . . . . I guess this is why this part of the country is known as the Bread Basket!! :-)

The Omel Family

We've been looking forward to this visit since we get to see one of our long time friends, Jim Omel. Jim and Pat Omel and MaryLu Russell and her hubby Bob run the Grand Island Support Group. This group meets the 3rd Wednesday of every month from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Jim and Pat invited everyone to their home for a picnic and to welcome the Myeloma Mobile into Grand Island. We had the pleasure of meeting 30 members of this active and fun support group! Everyone enjoyed learning about each other; not just about myeloma, but about life and how important it is to LIVE EACH DAY TO THE FULLEST! People came from all over central Nebraska with some traveling over an hour! No one was too eager to go home; and the party did not break up until 10 pm! People signed the RV with their well wishes and gave us lots of hugs and encouragement to keep on "keepin on"!

Thanks to the IMF for enabling this unprecedented journey to happen!

Thanks to Jim and Pat for their hospitality. Mikey especially loved some down time fishing in the lake behind Jim's house; he caught 21 fish (all of which were thrown back in) :-)

Tomorrow we will be driving from Nebraska to Denver, Colorado! Long drive, so I better get some sleep!

Good Night Everyone!

Robin

Today we visited the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Denver, Colorado. We had a fantastic turnout and great speakers!

Jeffrey Matous, MD, specializes in the treatment of blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, as well as in the field of blood & marrow transplantation. He is a wonderful, down to earth kind of doc that the folks in Denver are fortunate to have!

Thanks Dr. Matous for all your care and information!

Diane & Jarvis Seccombe have been IMF supporters for many years and have always wanted to get an active support group going in Denver. I am incredibly pleased to announce that during our visit, while we were speaking of the importance of support groups and asked if there was anyone that would like to assist Diane & Jarvis; Nancy Thompson raised her hand to volunteer!!! THANK YOU, DIANE & JARVIS AND NANCY for your outreach to patients in Denver! The IMF is happy to assist you in starting and maintaining your myeloma specific support group and will be sending you a supply of all of our publications to help get you started.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask all myeloma patients, caregivers, family members and friends to be on the lookout for information regarding this new group and to attend their meetings. We all know that patients who attend support groups do better! Plus they are educational and fun too! Stay tuned for more information as to when and where this new group will meet.

We also had TV coverage of this Event! News 2 Colorado: KWGN-TV / DT Denver: CW2.com (Frank Rockwell, Photojournalist, News Colorado) was at the Event and interviewed our family and stayed to cover the story!

Signing the Myeloma Mobile

We are now heading out and making our way West to the Coast.

Mikey and Spike getting ready to head West!

Robin

Just had to share this with you:

We were on the road in Iowa on our way to Nebraska and had to stop for gas. Michael was pumping gas into the RV - and guess what - - - the gas station ran out of gas!!!! LOL!!!

So much for filling up an 80 gallon tank! But don't worry - we did make it to another gas station!

Cheers!

Robin

Our first vacation days!!! Hurray!!!

We drove from Denver, Colorado to Moab, Utah - what an incredible drive! I'm a skiier and have been in Colorado before - but Michael and the kids were really awestruck at the scenery!

Moab, Utah looks like a John Wayne movie. We arrived at night after our long drive from Colorado and enjoyed cooking out and looking at the sunset. The next day was 107 degrees so we decided to have some fun and went on a white water rafting trip down the Colorado River!

Ally doing all the work on the raft!

What a BLAST!!! When we were not in the rapids, we were able to jump out of the raft and swim!! This was the best place to be on a 107 degree day! I think we used up a whole bottle of sunblock! LOL!!

We had to leave beautiful Moab on July 4th to head out to Salt Lake City; but on our way, we stopped at Arches National Park and also Dead Horse State Park. I've downloaded some pix for you to enjoy. Awesome!!

Happy 4th of July America!
We are missing our 4th of July Celebrations back at our home in Prospect, CT. We live in a small town, on a cul de sac. Our neighborhood gathers together in the street to all enjoy fireworks together. Today in Utah, there are only public fireworks displayed as the risk of fire is extremely high.

No pictures of fireworks in the Utah sky, so how about some Utah skydivers?

Salt Lake City is a beautiful city nestled amongst the tall mountains/buttes of Utah. The temperatures are record high - 106 degrees today!

Guess what?!? The woman who greeted us at the KOA campground came out to see the Myeloma Mobile and she asked us where we were from. When we told her Prospect, CT; she said that she grew up in Prospect!!! What a small world (population of Prospect is about 10,000)! She had 2 brothers that passed away from different types of cancer; and thanked and hugged us for what we and the IMF are doing to help spread hope and information.

Everyone is learning that Myeloma is certainly NOT Melanoma!!

We drove by and stopped quickly at the Great Salt Lake today. We all laughed because when we walked on the sand - which is really sand/salt - it was crunchy like glass! The kids sure are getting great lessons as we drive across our beautiful country!

We also drove through the Great Salt Desert today. If you have never been here before, just imagine flat land with buttes surrounding you. The land is covered in a blanket of white that looks like snow; but it is actually the salt desert! Really amazing; we had to stop and touch the sand to believe it.

Driving in the car you could imagine it being cold outside surrounded by snow and mountains - but it is actually over 100 degrees!!

Our destination today is Winnemucca, Nevada. Our friends Dave & Denise Wilkins told us about a Johnny Cash song about Winnemucca - called "I've been everywhere, man" and he sings about Winnemucca! So I guess we've "been everywhere, man!" :-)

There are casinos everywhere in NV! Even in Winnemucca! We tried our luck on the slot machines (quarters), and I won a few quarters back before I lost them again! LOL! My only gamble is on the IMF and that they will find a CURE for MYELOMA in our future!!! And we all know that "Until there is a Cure there is the IMF"!

Love and Good Health to all,

Robin

Another beautiful drive today! We live in an incredible country!

We are looking forward to a few days off to spend as a family while making our way to the West Coast. Below are some fun pictures of our stay at Lake Tahoe. The fires are now out and the town is very thankful to the local firefighters!

Here is a great story to share:

While in Lake Tahoe a family stopped by while we were parked. They were very excited to meet us and told us that they had heard all about the Myeloma Mobile . . . . and they live in Australia!!! Now that's awareness!!! We gave them every IMF publication and they were happy to be a part of the Myeloma Mobile and to actually sign the RV!

Here is a picture of their signature on the RV:

We met another couple who live in the area and they signed the RV in memory of their friend who recently passed away.

Many people want to donate to help but the Myeloma Mobile is strictly about Education and Awareness! Thanks to all the generous folks who want to help! Please know that your assistance in creating awareness and by spreading the news about where to get reliable information about Myeloma (IMF of course!) is important - People Helping People! If folks still want to help out monetarily; please contact the IMF directly. Thanks!

We are meeting "real people" all over the country and are so overwhelmed by their kindness, love and desire to help!

Enjoy the pix!

Robin

Hi Everyone!

I am so proud and happy to say that the IMF and Millennium invited one of our own Support Group Leaders to attend KOS in Greece! Maddie Hunter, patient and Support Group Leader from Philadelphia attended KOS and has her own blog! Please check it out via the IMF website to find out a patient's perspective. You are sure to be informed! (www.myeloma.org)

Thank you Maddie! :-)

Robin

Today the Myeloma Mobile visited with the employees of Kyphon in beautiful Sunnyvale, California.

Kyphon staff and friends

Since its founding in 1994, Kyphon has been dedicated to improving patient quality of life through revolutionizing the practice of medicine. Kyphon's mission is to be the recognized global leader in restoring spinal function with minimally invasive therapies.

The day began with our family being given a tour of Kyphon by Doug Farnham. We saw how balloon kyphoplasty was researched and developed. During our visit, Israel Madera and Kendra Olson of Kyphon made us feel like we were part of the Kyphon family. The Event was held outside with hundreds of employees joining us. Rich Mott, President and CEO, welcomed everyone.

Being welcomed by Kyphon CEO Rich Mott.

We were joined by Jeffrey Martinez and Thomas Lujan, myeloma patients who have suffered spinal compression. They talked about their kyphoplasty experience and how it changed their life for the better by reducing pain and even restoring their height. Truly inspiring and moving stories.

The IMF's David Smith, Michael, and Kyphon's Israel Madera

David Smith, Executive Director of the IMF and Arin Assero, Myeloma Mobile Coordinator, were also at the event and spoke about the importance of research and companies like Kyphon being committed to helping patients by developing innovative procedures.

Myeloma Mobile Coordinator Arin Assero

Michael and I thanked Kyphon for their commitment and dedication to patients and hope that they understand how incredibly important their jobs are. Michael and Ally entertained us by playing Michael's song: "I'm Not Leaving." We ended the day chatting with lots of great people, drinking Jamba Juice and of course signing the Myeloma Mobile!

Kyphon President Karen Talmadge signing the Myeloma Mobile

Dave Thompson

Our family was very touched at the care and heartfelt warmth we were given and are very thankful to have met the wonderful people of Kyphon. Special thanks to Karen Talmadge, Rich Mott, Frank Grillo, Julie Tracy, Dave Thompson (especially from Mikey), Doug Farnham, Kendra Olson, Denise Franklin and especially Israel Madera for making our visit incredible.

Many thanks to Israel and his family for taking such good care of us.

Saturday we will be leaving beautiful Northern California and heading to Los Angeles for our big Event on Sunday! For more info on the Event at Cedars Sinai, please see the homepage of this site! We are looking forward to seeing you!

Robin, Michael, Ally & Mikey

The Los Angeles Event was like coming home to our 2nd family - the IMF.

Our extended family in front of the Myeloma Mobile. Team Tuohy, Susie Novis, Dr. Durie, and Arin Assero, our coordinator.

The IMF staff is an incredible group of people that care about people and somehow have intertwined their lives with ours - because they want to - and because they really care.

It was a heartfelt event seeing all of our friends at the IMF as well as the Los Angeles, Inland Empire and San Diego support group leaders and members! We were greeted by people that we know with smiles and hugs and strangers that knew us through our journey that gave us hugs and well wishes! The support group leaders, Fred & Sheila Wilson, Barbara Campbell, Michelle Shields, Tom Courbat, Val Stevenson, Elliot Reicht and Julias Nagy - Thank you! It was fantastic to see you and we thank you for your support and continued efforts in helping other patients! You are an inspiration!

Susie Novis with Tom Courbat of the Inland Empire Support Group

Elliot Reicht of the San Diego Support Group

Sheila and Fred Wilson of the Los Angeles Support Group

Dr. Durie gave an overview on the International Multiple Myeloma Workshop held last month in Kos, Greece and also fielded numerous questions from the audience.

The IMF is pleased to offer comprehensive coverage of the XIth International Multiple Myeloma Workshop; webcast includes audio and slides from key sessions. Please go to www.kos.myeloma.org to view.

Susie Novis spoke with patients and caregivers and thanked everyone for joining us. She was particularly proud to introduce the many staff members of the IMF that were able to attend the Event.

Introducing the IMF staff at the LA event.

One of the many attributes of the IMF is the genuine care and compassion for myeloma patients and caregivers. Love, hope and information were "in the air" throughout this special Event and everyone went home feeling empowered, strengthened and full of vigor with new found friends and knowledge.

Michael and I and our children, Ally and Mikey, spoke about our experiences and fielded questions from the audience.

Tom Courbat, leader of the Inland Empire Support Group, asked Ally and Mikey what they have learned on this trip - and they both made me proud with their humble answers that they know that they are helping others, and that they are not the superficial kids that we hear about on TV today.

Susie Novis was kind enough to invite us to dinner while we were in LA, and her dog fell in love with Mikey. :)

They are typical - good kids - the ones that we just do not hear enough about - but there are plenty of. They want to let other kids, parents, and grandparents know that communication is key - just talk with each other - it is crucial for everyone's well being and brings us all closer.

Michael and Ally brought down the house with an especially moving rendition of his song "I'm not leaving."

We enjoyed refreshments and everyone came outside to sign the Myeloma Mobile with their good wishes!

I can't believe that we are halfway through our journey! We have almost 6000 miles on the Myeloma Mobile! Our next stop will be at a San Diego Padres baseball game; Michael will throw out the first pitch! We will be joined by many members of the San Diego Support Group at the game and it will be a fun evening for all. We hope to spread the word about Multiple Myeloma and to lend our voice to help create awareness for this disease.

After the game, we will have to say goodbye to the West Coast and begin heading back East - toward home. With the sun setting behind us and our thoughts on the wonderful people we have met and the ones we will meet as we journey on.

Thanks to the IMF Staff for their continued support and all the wonderful folks we've met along the way for helping to make this trip . . . . incredible.

Sincerely,
Robin

Well how cool is this??!!

Nancy Baxter and I giving Michael a much-deserved kiss.

First our thanks to Nancy Baxter of the IMF Hotline for making this happen! Michael is a fan of "baseball" - the game - not necessarily who is playing for what team - but the genuine game. Baseball in its simplest form is pure.

Forget about the politics, the money, the steroids. It is the American pastime that has survived all time through wars and politics and even depression. Baseball. Pure and simple.

If you have seen the movie "Field of Dreams" then you can understand. Baseball can bring us together. Maybe baseball can help to create awareness for Myeloma; make people listen, politicians listen - we need each other, awareness and knowledge are key and the IMF is doing everything possible to help.

Padres pitcher Royce Ring congratulating Michael on his pitch.

Michael threw out the first pitch at the San Diego Padres game vs the NY Mets. I'm happy to say that he did not throw the ball into the dirt! (I knew he would make a good throw!) He was interviewed in the pre game ceremony on live local TV which we are hopeful helped to let people know what myeloma is, and that they do not have to go it alone.

We told them about the IMF, and that folks in this area are fortunate to have a local support group available to them. The San Diego Group meets the 2nd Monday of each month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Forum at Westfield Shopping Town UTC, 4545 LaJolla Village Drive (Above Wells Fargo Bank). For more information, please contact Elliot Recht at 858-273-5008 or by E-mail at ElliotRecht@san.rr.com or Derek Statham at 858-227-3348 or by E-Mail at derekstatham@aol.com. Anyone interested in assisting Elliot as co-leader of this support group is highly encouraged to do so and should contact Elliot directly.

That's Elliot next to Michael.

On top of all the fun we had for the evening - the Padres won the game! We were so happy to see so many patients, staff and friends come out to have some fun.

Paul and Michael enjoying the game.

Paul Hewitt, of the IMF Hotline, took crazy flights to make the game and support us and myeloma - Thanks Paul!

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this happen - especially Nancy Baxter!

Robin

After restocking the Myeloma Mobile (thanks Paul, Macky and IMF staff) we are now heading from Los Angeles out to Scottsdale, Arizona. We drove out yesterday - and it was a long - and windy trip (my knuckles may be permanently white! LOL). Sylvia Baca, IMF employee extraordinaire, took great care of our pets while we were busy in LA - Thanks Sylvia!!

We are looking forward to seeing familiar faces and friends in Arizona and hopefully reaching out to newly diagnosed patients. If you are a newly dx myeloma patient in the Phoenix area, please come to the event on Monday! If you are a long time survivor - please come as well to share your story and hope! For details, please go to www.myelomamobile.myeloma.org and click on Mayo in Scottsdale for more information. We look forward to seeing you!

For those of you who may be newly diagnosed, there is a fantastic myeloma support group that meets every month in Phoenix! Thanks to Brenda Gregory for her leadership and care! Here is the information about the local support group in Phoenix as well as the support group in Tucson, AZ led by Carol Cooper Garey:

ARIZONA
Phoenix – This group meets the 1st Thursday of each month at the Wellness Community, 360 East Palm Lane, from 10:00 a.m.-noon. For more information, please contact Brenda Gregory at 623-362-0853 or by E-mail at 4milton4@cox.net or Minita Levenson at 602-494-2504 or by E-mail at levenson@earthlink.net.

Tucson – This group meets the 3rd Saturday of each month at the Unity Church Annex from 1:00-3:00 p.m. For more information, please contact Carol Cooper Garey at 520-575-5957 or by E-Mail at carolcoopergarey@comcast.net; or Larrie Ann Theis by e-mail at richiegt@msn.com.

If I have said this before - please forgive me - but it merits repeating - those that belong to support groups do better! So please contact and join your local group! Knowledge is Power!

Love and Good Health to all,

Robin

Arin Assaro joined the IMF staff the beginning of this year. She was thrust into a new project - The Myeloma Mobile. Arin had no time to "learn the ropes;" she hit the road running - and running hard - a marathon.

Arin and Ally.

Arin is the coordinator of the Myeloma Mobile and has done an incredible job. We thank her for her diligence, compassion and determination in making this project all it can be. Our family has come to rely and count on Arin for everything from making sure all publications are at each event, that the event runs smoothly, and even making sure that our children have their "summer reading and math materials" for school summer assignments! Arin is an incredible woman and we are lucky to have her "on board" the Myeloma Mobile! Thanks Arin!!!! The Tuohy Family Loves you! :-)

Robin, Michael, Ally & Mikey
Shannon & Spike too!
Arf Meow

Mayo is a gem in the desert. A place of hope and healing.

At this event we were joined by Mayo staff nurses, transplant specialists and our myeloma expert speaker was Dr. Rafael Fonseca!

This event was attended by many of the Phoenix support group members and newly diagnosed patients.

The IMF provided transportation for the Tucson support members to also come to the event! Kelly Cox and Arin Assaro of the IMF staff were also on hand to give their support!

Dr. Fonseca spoke about the latest research in Myeloma and also gave an update from the International Myeloma Working Group meeting which took place earlier this month in Kos, Greece.

Dr. Fonseca

He graciously fielded numerous questions and even stayed late to speak with patients. Dr. Fonseca and his team certainly are an inspiration and are dedicated to myeloma patients taking into consideration a patient's quality of life.

Our thanks to Mayo and Dr. Fonseca for their continued efforts in research, care and finding a cure!

Kyphon was represented at the event.

And so was Celgene!

Michael and I spoke with patients about hope, shared stories and information; and made new friends. We wish everyone well on their journey through myeloma and encourage them to contact the IMF when they have any questions: www.myeloma.org or the IMF Hotline at 1-800-452-2873 (CURE)

For our closing we were treated to Michael and Ally playing Michael's song: "I'm Not Leaving" and hope that the song and lyrics helped to encourage and strengthen patients and caregivers to fight on.

All our best,

The Tuohy Family

Hi Everyone,

We've had lots of phone calls and e-mails of concern; so first let me say that we are all fine.

After the Event at Mayo yesterday, we headed out on the road again on our way to New Mexico. We were caught in a dust storm on Route 10 East in Arizona.The storm came up very quickly and was very bad.

We were very fortunate to have our driver, Bobby Trufant, with us at this point on our trip. I had been doing all of the driving, and Bobby just started driving for us today! I was in the passenger seat, and actually took video of the dust storm, as we had never seen one before. The visibility quickly became zero. Traffic stopped abruptly - and we stopped just inches from the truck in front of us.

Unfortunately, the truck behind us did not stop in time, and rear-ended the Myeloma Mobile.

Thankfully the Myeloma Mobile is like a tank and no one got hurt.

Mikey and Ally were in the back of the RV - and were our first concern. We ran to the back of the RV to check on them and then the next moment looked out the front window . . . and saw devastation in front of us.

A tractor trailer was less than 50 yards in front of us - we were the first vehicle behind the tractor trailer. It had slammed into a car and an SUV and everything was on fire. There were numerous smaller accidents all around us but the devastation in front of us was sureal. Black smoke was billowing towards us, our eyes and throats were already burning from the smoke. I called 911, and Michael and I were trying to decide if it was safer to stay in the RV or get out. We stayed - the kids were safer inside than out.

Bobby took our fire extinguisher and ran out to see if he could help. There was already one explosion from the truck's gas tank blowing - so the fire extinguisher was like pouring a cup of water on an inferno. Bobby and a few others went up and pulled two people from the car that was hit. The truck driver was out safely and the people from the SUV also escaped. The two people from the car had to be transported by helicopter and we hope they are okay. While Bobby was pulling one of the men out of the car, there was a second explosion - our RV shook - and I can't even imagine what Bobby was feeling/thinking. He was acting on instinct and helping to save a life.

I'll let the photos I took do the rest of the talking; as we are all just thankful to be alive today. Our eternal thanks to Bobby for his quick thinking and driving ability; the IMF, especially Dr. Durie and Susie Novis whose care and concern for our family is overwhelming; and to David Smith of the IMF who, as always, was level headed during a difficult situation and helped to get us to safety.

We are now in Tucson for today, and the forecast is for a monsoon! But for now, we are going to go outside and enjoy the pool . . . . and life.

Robin, Michael, Ally & Mikey
(Spike & Shannon are fine too!)

We made it to Dallas!!

Bobby drove for 2 long days to get us here on time so we could join the North Texas Myeloma Support Group at a Frisco Rough Riders Baseball Game vs. the Corpus Christi Hooks (great rivalry).

The Rough Riders are the farm team for the Houston Astros. Michael threw out the first pitch and the announcer read a release about myeloma, the IMF and the Myeloma Mobile project!

We were joined by about 50 members of the support group, and all had the chance to have some fun and get to know each other outside of myeloma. As always, Kelly Cox of the IMF, entertained everyone and made sure a good time was had by all. :-)

Ally, Mikey and Yelak Biru's niece, Elizabeth, all participated in a fun hula hoop contest between innings - and Ally won!

Mikey got an autograph from pitcher Ken Chenaro!

During the game it started to rain; but spirits were not dampened at all. We were all treated to the most fantastic rainbow AND the Rough Riders won the game! What a fun evening!

Elijah Alexander, former NFL linebacker and member of the North Texas Support Group, signs the RV with his sons Elijah and Evan.

Our thanks to Marcia & Jerry Sawyer; Yelak & Loul Biru and all the great people from the support group that we feel privileged to call "friends." Thanks for a fun evening!

Robin

Today was our event at Baylor Cancer Center at Dallas. We are staying at a KOA campground in Caddo Mills, TX (about 45 miles outside of Dallas) - and were almost late for the event - traffic in Dallas almost compares to traffic in Los Angeles! :-)

When we got to the event the Baylor police escorted us to a reserved parking area in the grass under a nice shady tree. Kelly Cox of the IMF was there to help us unload, set up and get the Event going. Kelly also served as MC; and made everyone feel right at home.

Kelly the MC.

Rosanna Sandlin is a gem; she is the Senior Marketing and Public Relations Consultant at Baylor and did a phenomenal job in coordinating this entire event!

Jerry and Marcia Sawyer

Here we are with Yelak Biru.

We were greeted by North Texas Support Group Leaders, Marcia & Jerry Sawyer, Peter & Lucy Tischler and Yelak & Loul Biru. They put in many hours ensuring that the word got out about the Myeloma Mobile in Dallas and their efforts sure paid off; there were about 70 people that came to learn and "share the hope."

Great turnout, thanks to North Texas' hard work!

In addition to the North Texas group; we were happy to see eight members of the East Texas Support Group at the event! Donna LaRocque started this group up about a year ago and has been a dynamo ever since. :-)

Dr. Stone

At this Event we were extremely pleased to have two incredible oncologists talk with us. Dr. Marvin Stone is Director of the Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center and Chief of Oncology at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. His research interests include cancer education, immunology, and tumors of the liver and pancreas. He is board certified in hematology and medical oncology. Dr. Stone has served on a number of ASCO committees, including the Cancer Education, Career Development, and Oncology Training Programs Committees.

Dr. Berryman

Also speaking with us was Dr. Brian Berryman, Medical Director Stem Cell Transplantation and North Texas Myeloma Support Group Medical Advisor. Both doctors informed and inspired us with information on myeloma and novel treatment therapies. We thank them for their time today as well as their time and dedication to myeloma patients every day!

Our family spoke of our trip and provided information from the IMF. Jerry Sawyer generously presented our family, Bobby Trufant and Kelly Cox with special tee shirts from their group! We are now official members of North Texas! Thanks!! :-) I guess we have to practice starting to say Y'all :-)

Yelak Biru's wife, Loul, and nephew signing the RV.

The Tuohys, Kelly and Donna LaRocque, East Texas Support Group Leader.

Marc Kaminer, photojournalist for Fox 4 KDFW attended the event and interviewed us and spoke with many patients and filmed the "signing of the Myeloma Mobile." Thanks to Fox 4 for helping us to create awareness about multiple myeloma!

Thanks to everyone involved in making this Dallas event happen. It was absolutely fantastic!

Our next Event is in Houston on July 31, and we hope to meet many more Texans there! For now, I'm off to get some laundry done! LOL!

Bye Y'All,

Robin :-)

Bobby Trufant has a cousin that lives in Dallas - and guess what? She is a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader!

Bobby's cousin, Deryn, with her mother and Team Tuohy.

We went from our Event at Baylor Cancer Center straight to the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader's Training Camp! Bobby arranged for us to meet his cousin, Deryn Derbigny and some of the other Cheerleaders!

Deryn was very interested in the Myeloma Mobile and what it is all about; she even came outside to sign the RV with her well wishes! Many of the other Cheerleaders were happy to take some pictures with the family.

Deryn signing the Myeloma Mobile.

Thanks to all of "America's Sweethearts" - I'm sure Mikey will always remember this day with a big smile on his face!

Robin