by Ann Romney
Maintain your health. While this may seem like odd advice to give to people fighting a serious illness, it sometimes is overlooked. It is vital that you maintain a collaborative relationship with not just your neurologist, but with all your doctors. If you have a question, if something starts to bother you, don’t wait. Ask the questions. No one cares more about your health than you do, and if you’re not going to fight for it, then you can’t expect anyone else to fight for you. In addition, there are proactive steps you can take to make sure your body is in the best condition possible. When facing a challenge everything you do, both psychologically and physically, matters. There are times when we allow one physical challenge to become so overwhelming that we give up on maintaining the rest of our body. It’s important to do as much as you can personally but also continue to keep up your regular health regimen. There are almost always things that you can do physically. For some people, just walking a short distance is important; for others, it might be doing basic coordination exercises. I walked. When I could, I did Pilates. But when physical exercise was difficult, I meditated. In addition to Dr. Weiner, I continued to see other physicians for regular checkups—which, by the way, is how my breast cancer was detected so early. I also followed basic recommendations to encourage good health: I adopted a healthier diet, got plenty of sleep, exercised when I could as I could, and watched my weight.
I didn’t choose to be a member of the MS patient community. No one chooses to get a disease or condition. But since that time, I have followed the progress that scientists and physicians have made very closely. Whenever possible I’ve tried to use the bully pulpit I was given as a governor’s wife and then a presidential candidate’s wife to attract attention to this disease and advocate for more research. But it wasn’t until after the 2012 election that it finally became clear to me how I could make my most important contribution.
My brother Rod and me with our Welsh grandparents (Royal Oak, Michigan, 1950)
Rod and me with Mom and Dad (Royal Oak, Michigan)
Me at seven years old with my brothers Jim and Rod. Have you noticed I grew up with all boys and have all sons?
Rod, me, Jim, Mom, and Dad during my senior year of high school
High school BFFs, Sue Brethen and Pam Hayes
Mom, Dad, and me with my college buddies Cindy Davies and Jamie Roehner (December 1967)
Me as a silly teenager
Ready for my junior prom, with Mitt
This came from Mitt, my missionary in France, reminding me that he still cared.
Another reminder from Mitt while on his mission in France
Mitt’s senior prom. The night of his first proposal.
Our engagement photo (1969)
Always feeding my man. At our hometown wedding. (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, March 21, 1969)
Throwing my bouquet at our hometown wedding
Our ceremony at the temple in Salt Lake City (March 22, 1969)
With our first son, Tagg (Provo, Utah, 1970)
At the beach with Tagg and Matt, our second son (Massachusetts, fall of 1972)
Me with my youngest, Craig (1982)
Mitt and I after apple picking with the boys in Massachusetts (c. 1985)
Perils of big brother babysitters. Craig covered in Fluff.
With my three youngest: Josh, Ben, and newborn Craig (1981)
Dancing with Tagg and Jen at their wedding reception in July 1992
Margo Gogan and me about to swim with our horses (Utah, 2001)
Screen grab from NBC news coverage of me running with the Olympic Torch. One of the great moments of my recovery—and of my life.
All smiles at the Torino Olympics 2006
With Brad and Natalie Crate, on their wedding day
Announcement day for the 2012 campaign (June 2, 2011, at the Scammans’ Bittersweet Farm, Stratham, New Hampshire)
On the campaign trail (2012)
Playing flag football with the campaign staff and traveling press corps before the third and final presidential debate (Boca Raton, Florida, October 22, 2012)
Speaking at the 2012 Republican Convention (Tampa, Florida, August 28, 2012)
In this together. On the campaign trail. (2012)
Chemotherapy takes special strength. On the campaign trail. (2012)
In the green room after the third and final presidential debate, with Beth Myers and Jen Romney (Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, October 22, 2012)
The whole family gathers at Lake Winnipesaukee for the annual Christmas Card picture. (August 2014)
Joint birthday celebration with way too many goofy grandsons and granddaughter, Mia (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire)
Reading with Nick, Mia, Grace, and Parker (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire)
Christmas morning wake-up call (La Jolla, 2013)
Mitt, me, and the grandkids jumping into the Grand Canyon waters during the “grandkids trip” (Havasupai reservation, July 2014)
“Grandkids trip” hiking (Zion National Park, July 2014)
Bentley, a powerful horse who helped me make significant progress with the effects of MS
Opening night of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases. Left to right: Dr. Howard Weiner, Dr. Betsy Nabel, me, Mitt, and Dr. Dennis Selkoe. (Boston, October 2014)
In the research lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with my doctor, Dr. Howard Weiner, and Dr. Dennis Selkoe
Dancing with my sweetie
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to David Fisher, a kind soul and indispensable collaborator. To my agent, Ellis Trevor, for his guidance through the publishing process. To Kelli Harrison, Leah Malone, and Susan Duprey, for their support in all manner of things. To the team at St. Martin’s Press: Laurie Chittenden, a wonderful advocate and editor; publishers Tom Dunne, Sally Richardson, and Pete Wolverton; Tracey Guest, Christy D’Agostini, Laura Clark, Karlyn Hixson, Staci Burt, and all the other superb sales, marketing, and editorial staff, for their excitement and passion for this book. And to Ted Newton and Chris Oman, for sharp editing eyes.
To Drs. Howard Weiner, Dennis Selkoe, and Betsy Nabel, and to the whole Ann Romney Center team for daring to change the world and solve the mysteries of neurologic diseases. I am with you. We are in this together.
To my dear friends, among them Margo Gogan, Beth Myers, Laraine Wright, and Jan and Amy Ebeling, who agreed to participate in this book and who have been pillars of support. To Stephanie Nielson, an inspiration. To Natalie Crate, dearly missed.
There are others whose names I do not know who nevertheless inspired me beyond measure: They are the women and men suffering from MS and other neurologic diseases who would wait for hours at campaign events to tell me to keep going. I promised you then that hope was on the way, and I will work forevermore to keep that promise. You are my inspiration. I will never forget you.
To all my family—my five amazing sons and daughters-in-law, and all my beautiful grandchildren: I couldn’t be a prouder mom and grandma.
Finally, to Mitt: There has been much on this journey I have had to face alone, but you were always there, as you have always been there, for me. You have always believed in me. I have always believed in you.
About the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts
The Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) is a collaborative global pursuit to accelerate treatments, prevention, and cures for five of the world’s most complex neurologic diseases: multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Parkinson’s disease, and brain tumors, which affect 50 million people worldwide.
I decided to tell my story hoping that this book would help raise awareness about neurologic diseases. So many people helped and inspired me on this journey; it gives me no greater pleasure than to support the doctors, researchers, staff, and work being done at the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases.
If you’d like to find out more abou
t the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases or learn more about how you can help, please visit: www.annromneycenter.org.
If you or a loved one suffers from a neurologic disease and would like to share your story with the more than 50 million people worldwide affected by these devastating diseases, join our community at www.50millionfaces.org.
About the Author
Ann Romney, the former First Lady of Massachusetts and global ambassador of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, is the bestselling author of The Romney Family Table. She is the mother of five sons and five daughters-in-law and the grandmother of twenty-three.
www.annromneycenter.org. Or sign up for email updates here.
Also by Ann Romney
The Romney Family Table
Whatever You Choose to Be
Thank you for buying this
St. Martin’s Press ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the author, click here.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Afterword: The Work of the Ann Romney Center
Photographs
Acknowledgments
About the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases
About the Author
Also by Ann Romney
Copyright
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
IN THIS TOGETHER. Copyright © 2015 by Ann Romney. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Michael Storrings
Cover photograph by Kevin Lynch Inc.
All photos courtesy of the author unless otherwise indicated.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-08397-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-08399-9 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781250083999
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
First Edition: September 2015