As a teacher, Ronnie Maynard kept experiencing ongoing colds and infections. Eventually, after a doctor’s visit, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in June 2000. In 2001, Ronnie traveled to Philadelphia to stay with her mother while she underwent a stem cell transplant. At this time, both Ronnie and her husband Thomas found that a lot of the information they encountered about myeloma was outdated, until they discovered the IMF. Today, Ronnie Maynard is a Support Group Leader and describes the IMF as “the backbone” of her support efforts for other myeloma patients.
Michael Tuohy was diagnosed with myeloma in 2000 while in his mid-30s. He and his wife, Robin, who is Senior Director of Support Groups for the International Myeloma Foundation, immediately worried about how this would affect their children, who were 2 an