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About Steve Vaughan

MS Patient ~ Athlete ~ Motivational Speaker ~ Coach

In January of 2002 at the age of 48, I was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis. In November of 2001, I had my first symptom.
I was packing for a trip to Moab, and was kneeling in the back of
the pickup truck, when I felt something wet on my pant leg. I
thought he was kneeling in a puddle of water. I got up, and found
my pants were dry. I didn't think anything of it. Later that weekend,
I hopped on a friend's new mountain bike to take it for a spin. I
rode a short distance and had to stop because it felt like my leg
had fallen asleep. I couldn't dismount the bike and needed help off.
I continued to have electrical burning in my legs over the next
several weeks, so I went to see a doctor. That doctor tossed out
the possibility of MS and referred me to a neurologist. I had already
self diagnosed myself with a pinched nerve in my neck. I had a MRI
and my neurologist concurred with the MS diagnosis that was
January 2, 2002.

I've learned a lot about MS since that day. I have made many life adjustments to deal with MS. Probably
the worse aspect of having MS is never knowing what the next day, month or year will bring. MS is an
incurable and completely unpredictable disease.

After my diagnosis I had to develop a plan to fight this disease. I decided to fight it medically, mentally and
physically. For my medical plan my doctor and I chose Avonex. Avonex is an Interferon beta-1a produced
by BiogenIdec (http://www.biogenidec.com) This medication is designed to slow the progression of
Multiple Sclerosis. I would recommend that anyone diagnosed with MS chose one of the disease modifying
drugs and get on it as soon as possible. For my mental approach I decided to keep a positive attitude.
Although I have been diagnosed with this disease I have many other things in my life to be grateful for.
That is what is most important for all of us to remember. For my physical attack on the disease I chose to
exercise regularly. I started running shortly after my diagnosis and have since run 4 marathons. See my
athletic page for more info on what I do. In the summer of 2007 I started competing in triathlons. The
races keep me motivated to train and the training helps me stay healthy. I believe it is important to
exercise but only to the extent that is consistent with individuals health needs. With that said I believe
that it is important to push myself to make myself stronger. I believe the stronger I am both physically
and mentally going into any health problems the better off I will be.

I have chosen to be a patient advocate for the Multiple Sclerosis community. There are too many recently
diagnosed MS patients that don’t know who to turn to. I am always happy to speak with these people to
reassure them that they should be just fine. There are millions of people living with this disease that live
healthy productive lives. I have also chosen to be a patient advocate and to do speaking engagements for
BiogenIdec. BiogenIdec is a pharmaceutical company that is the leader in research for MS therapies. Feel
free to contact Steve here: Steve

Bio

Birth date: January 26, 1954

Born and Raised in: Clearwater Florida

High School: The Bolles High School, Jacksonville Florida 1968 - 1973

College: Colorado State University 1973 through 1977, BS in Zoology

Family: Married, 2 sons

Diagnosed with MS: January 2, 2002

First Marathon: 2002

Age at first Marathon: 48

First Triathlon: 2007

Age at first Triathlon: 54

Age at first triathlon: 53