I used to go to a lot of drug company dinners concerning drugs for multiple sclerosis. This is because it is something that impacts my life (I won't betray medical privacy by saying why, but if you know me personally, you know why).
I remember going to one in Webster, NY, hosted by Teva Pharmaceuticals - a drug called Copaxone, which was one of the first drugs developed to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis. The way these things work, a doctor talks about the drug and its efficacy for about a half hour, and then a patient taking the drugs comes up to tell their story.
On this particular day, the patient's name was Julie. They are TYPICALLY only identified by their first names. She came in singing a Barbara Mandrell song. I know you're wondering what song, but it isn't important. That was the first clue that we were in for something different.
Julie told a moving story about her life - about she dreamed of being a country music superstar, how she lost her home in a flood that also triggered an MS relapse (when she was trying to ignore having anything wrong), how she came to work for a record label (Mercury Nashville) as their receptionist and eventually was signed. And....
Julie told a moving story about her life - about she dreamed of being a country music superstar, how she lost her home in a flood that also triggered an MS relapse (when she was trying to ignore having anything wrong), how she came to work for a record label (Mercury Nashville) as their receptionist and eventually was signed. And....
"My debut album, Julie Roberts - that's my name, Julie Roberts....."
At which point I immediately reached for my phone to 1) find the post on Totally Covered that Scott had posted to 2) make sure I remembered correctly that there was a picture of him with her 3) wrote to Scott on Twitter to basically tell him all of this. He told me to say hi for him after the talk.
Which I did. Amazingly, she not only remembered him, but the venue in which he saw her perform - without a prompt from me. She was exceedingly nice.
Julie's patient story was far and away the best I've ever heard - so detailed, so moving, and so engaging. I won't tell her whole story - but she is a working musician who happened to have multiple sclerosis.
And she is a musician, and this was her debut single from that album. It would be a top 20 country hit, with the album receiving a gold certification.
You might be wondering why I am posting this on a Sunday. Today is World MS Day. I encourage you to visit the National MS Society website and tell 'em we sent you. Donate, learn more. Help find a cure.
Now here's more Julie Roberts performing this song live in some elementary school auditorium.
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