MS Maze

More women die of heart disease than all forms of cancer put together. Unfortunately, heart disease is often silent, hidden, and misunderstood. Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the U.S.

To shed some light on the subject, and with a bit of humor, Elizabeth Banks directs and stars in the short film, Just a Little Heart Attack.

View the video: Just a Little Heart Attack

Super Bowl Sunday is not only a big day for football, but a big day for sharing your favorite foods with family and friends. If you plan to enjoy the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants with a Super Bowl food fest, there are a few things about food safety you might want to keep in mind.

Read it: Score a Food Touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday

What a wonderful time I had chatting with the gracious Dr. Cecile Forte and the inspiring Chamein Canton on their show, “Who You Calling Old?” If you missed it, you can catch the on-demand podcast at your leisure. Thank you, ladies.

Is there an ebook you’d like to read … but you’re still not sold on the idea of a Kindle or a Nook? You don’t have to go out and buy a new electronic reader if you have an iPad, or some other electronic device on which you can read.

Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble offer free apps that allow you to download and read ebooks on a variety of devices you may already own. Also, many books offer free sample chapters so you can get a taste of what you’re in for before making a purchase. It’s all so easy!

If you love good, old-fashioned paper books that you can hold in your hand and that make up a great home library, it’s really not an either/or question. You can own and enjoy both. I received a Kindle as a gift last year, and I adore the convenience and portability it offers. For us somewhat *ahem* more mature readers, electronic readers offer the option of changing fonts and font sizes so we don’t have to strain our eyes or fumble for magnifiers.

If you decide to give that free app from Amazon or Kindle a whirl, try downloading a free sample of my book, No More Secs! to give it a test drive.

‘No More Secs!’ for Kindle on Amazon (free sample)
‘No More Secs!’ for Nook on Barnes & Noble (free sample)
Visit the ‘No More Secs!’ website
Like ‘No More Secs!’ on Facebook‘No More Secs!’ press kit

As a young girl, I constantly begged to use my sister’s portable Brother typewriter, even though I didn’t know how to type. I loved the clanking of the keys and fantasized about sitting in a smoke-filled room, a pencil behind my ear, piles of crumpled paper all around, pounding away at my latest novel. I was a weird kid. Decades later…

Read my author guest post on PrettyOpinionated.com

Thank you, Pretty Opinionated.

Do you love books? Do you have a blog, a website, a Barnes and Noble account, or an Amazon account where you can post a book review?

No More Secs! Living, Laughing & Loving Despite Multiple Sclerosis received its first two book reviews last week, and we’d love to get a few more under our belt. If you’re interested in giving this memoir a read, drop us an email [writer@webcampone.com] so we can make sure you have a copy.

Thank you.

Visit the ‘No More Secs!’ website
Like ‘No More Secs!’ on Facebook
‘No More Secs!’ for Kindle on Amazon
‘No More Secs!’ for Nook on Barnes & Noble
‘No More Secs!’ press kit

It’s been two weeks since ‘No More Secs!’ was published and the day we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. We’ve received our first official book reviews for ‘No More Secs! Living, Laughing & Loving Despite Multiple Sclerosis‘ on Amazon. What a thrill!

If you decide to give it a read, please share your thoughts with us, too.

When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 44, all previous assumptions about health, work, and my new romance were suddenly up for grabs. My memoir, No More Secs! Living, Laughing & Loving Despite Multiple Sclerosis, is a story of acceptance and change and a basic truth — good health and life are fleeting, but love and humor trump all. Every second matters, a point driven home by yet another life-altering diagnosis.

How do you plan for life’s second half with a body you’ve never met before? One precarious step at a time. From the impersonal diagnosis by email to a wedding presided over by a funeral director, this is no tragic tale of woe. Like relapsing/remitting MS itself, the book alternates between the serious (“When I turn toward him, there’s a big hole where his right cheek should be.”) and the silly (“The bocce balls don’t get out much.”).

No More Secs! may strike a chord if you’ve got multiple sclerosis, or love someone who does. Still, it is only my story, not your story, and certainly not THE story of MS. Oh, and it’s not all about MS either. Really. That’s because life marches on whether we feel up to it or not. Mine sure did and, whether or not I’m ready, it keeps on marching.

If you take a leap of faith and give No More Secs! a read, it is my sincere hope you come away from it on a positive note. Then I’ll know I’ve done good. Thank you.

Like ‘No More Secs!’ on Facebook

Buy ‘No More Secs!’ for Kindle on Amazon

Visit the ‘No More Secs!’ website

Technological advances are making it possible for people to move prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs, and even cars through the sheer power of human thought. (… MORE)

Fresh Air Fund NYC Half-Marathon
Ready to be a part of one of the world’s best road races? Join The Fresh Air Fund-Racers on March 20th, 2011! The amazing 13.1-mile course takes you through beautiful Central Park, action-packed Times Square and ends with breathtaking finish-line views of the New York City harbor. More than 11,000 runners, of all ages and abilities, finished the NYC Half-Marathon last year, and we are so proud of our very own 2010 Fresh Air Fund-Racers who ran and raised $100,000 for us!

We are calling all runners and Fresh Air Fund supporters to come out and either challenge themselves to run the race or join our cheering squad. The Fresh Air Fund provides runners with guaranteed entry in exchange for fundraising before race day. Entries are limited — please get in touch soon! Please email kbrinkerhoff@freshair.org or call (212) 897-8890. Or click here to learn more about how to fundraise for the race!

Over the past four years as a NY Road Runners charity partner for the NYC Half-Marathon, our 335 Fund-Racers have raised close to $400,000 for The Fresh Air Fund!

Fresh Air Fund Host Families
“It is rewarding to see the smile on our Fresh Air child’s face as she enjoys the simple things we take for granted…”

Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial requirements for hosting a child. Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host. Stories about real Fresh Air host families and their New York City visitors are just a click away!

Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!

THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2010, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

“The collective power of Care2 members is awesome. Together, we’ve moved legislation, saved lives and protected endangered species. So imagine what we can do if we direct all that Goodness on a single individual… We’re going to shine one glorious sunbeam of collective love on one such individual to bring a little bit of karmic balance back to the world.”

– Randy Paynter, Care2.com Founder and President

This particular glorious sunbeam of collective love was received by yours truly… and I am deeply moved. Thank you, Care2.

Get the rest of the story: Shine a Light

We all know what the pink ribbons mean and we’ll see them in abundance during October, the 25th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This October also marks the two-year anniversary of the Love/Avon Army of Women.

October 1 is the official Army of Women Blog For Your Breasts Day and bloggers everywhere are taking part in spreading the word about The Army of Women initiative.

It’s easy to participate… find out how:

Join the Army of Women and Blog for Your Breasts

Image courtesy photoxpress.com

Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling recently donated £10,000,000 to multiple sclerosis (MS) research — that translates into more than $15 million U.S. dollars.

The money will go to the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at Edinburgh University which was named for Ms. Rowling’s late mother. The clinic plans to “focus on patient-based studies to help find treatments that could slow progression of the disease, working towards the eventual aim of stopping and reversing it.”

The BBC quotes the author as saying, “I have just turned 45, the age at which my mother, Anne, died of complications related to her MS…

Read the article:

Harry Potter Author Donates Millions to Multiple Sclerosis Research

Related reading:

Who Gets MS and Why

10 Tips for Managing Daily Living with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis for Newbies

MS Activist John Hicklenton Ends Life at Euthanasia Clinic

Photo used under Wikimedia Commons License with thanks to Sjhill

Do you support corporate responsibility for climate? If you’re still working on your back-to-school shopping list, you can plan that shopping with climate change in mind.

Before you spend another dime, there are a few things you should know. The back-to-school shopping season is second only to the holiday shopping season in generating revenue. In 2008 the top 100 brands spent over $100 billion dollars on advertising in the United States. All that requires energy, packaging, and transportation — all contributing factors in climate change.

Back-to-Cool: Shopping with Climate Change in Mind

photo: climatecounts.org

Lou Gehrig may not have had “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”

The New York Times is reporting on a peer-reviewed paper in Journal Neuropathy suggesting that baseball legend Lou Gehrig may not have suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at all, but from a fatal disease caused by concussion-like trauma that erodes the central nervous system, producing similar symptoms. When Lou Gehrig died in 1941, ALS was commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”

The Times points out that the paper does not specifically mention Gehrig, but “its authors in interviews acknowledged the clear implication: Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrig’s disease.”

Read the article (with Gehrig’s farewell speech video):

Lou Gehrig May Not Have Had Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Photo: Harris & Ewing Collection at the Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons