Climbing Mt. Shasta to help cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy!!!

On June 19, 2010, I will be hiking Mount Shasta to help cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The team I'm on is attempting to raise at least $5,000 to help fund research to find a cure! Please help us by donating below. Every little bit helps and 100% of the donation is used toward research!

What is Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy?

Boys with Duchenne are typically diagnosed before the age of five. Their muscles swell and joints become restricted. They are easily fatigued and have difficulty keeping up with others their age. Most Duchenne boys need a wheelchair between the ages of 10 and 12. The simplest of tasks, such as holding a fork or turning over in bed, becomes very difficult. In the later stages, heart and breathing muscles begin to fail. Historically, most boys with Duchenne have not survived their teens.

Gene therapy and stem cell research have made huge advances in just the last year. These actual cures could be any where from 5-20 years away.  There is however, a new class of drugs and therapies which will not cure the disease, but will fool the body into producing dystrophin or will upregulate other proteins that could take the place of dystophin, while at the same time eliminate some of the damage that occurs in the muscle cells of Duchenne boys. Although boys treated with these drugs will never be world class athletes, there is hope that they could lead a relatively normal life, much like diabetics.

Please visit http://www.cureduchenne.org/ for more information.

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Another Update

So another update for all of you. My life is pretty boring right now. I passed the bar and now I am currently looking for a job, which sucks. If you know of any attorneys hiring in California let me know!!! Camille is doing great. Her book Stop Overeating Today! was featured as Book of the Week on the Dr. Laura show in January and today an interview about her book aired on 560 AM in Denver. You can catch both on her website at http://www.stopovereatingtips.com.

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Gabby is Walking!!!

Its hard to believe how fast Gabby is growing up. It seems like in a week she'll be dating she growing so fast! She is now walking. Craziness I say! Below are two videos of her. The second video is the most recent. She gets better and better every day.

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The Bar...and more

Wow, so I'm actually semi on top of the blog. So, on November 20th we found out that I passed the California Bar Examination!!! This is great because it means that I'm employable and we won't have to go into hiding down in Mexico to get away from the loan company! On December 3, I was sworn in at a ceremony held at Chapman University. Unfortunately, I've had the flu for the past week and Camille had to work so it wasn't anything spectacular, but it was cool to have it finally happen. I'm still trying to figure out who to file my first lawsuit against, so I'd steer clear for a few months. Now, for the job hunt. I would ideally like to work for the county as a prosecutor but most the counties in California have hiring freezes, so I may end up working for a criminal defense firm for a little while until that changes. Thanksgiving was fun. We were able to have a fun Thanksgiving gathering with Camille's family on the 24th and then we went down to San Diego and spent some time with my side of the family. It was great seeing all the family. I love this time of year. Finally, Christmas time will not be ruined by law school!!!

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Update...

O.K., yes I know. It has been a very long time since I have written anything. So, here we go. End of July, I took the infamous three day California State Bar Exam. It was as awful as everyone said it would be, and more. I don't think I've worked so hard before, and honestly, I don't care to ever work that hard again. I find out if I passed the end of November. I have a good feeling about it.

In August, Camille published her first book, Stop Overeating Today (http://www.stopovereatingtips.com). The book is a fun read and very well written. Its great because it can apply to everyone, not just people with serious food addictions and it doesn't focus on dieting! We're so proud of her huge accomplishment. By the way, it would make a great gift for the holidays!

In early September I hiked Mt. Whitney for the second time. This time I did it in 5 days, backpacking with my Dad. It was a really cool experience. We didn't meet a lot of people on the trip because we were in the backcountry. It was just us, the wilderness, and the bears! Well, we didn't actually run into any bears, only some tracks. We did see a lot of deer and marmots though. I include a picture of a marmot below for those who have not heard of them. Basically the are over-sized rodents. The trip was quite a challenge, but we both made it to the top and back alive.

Gabby is getting older. She is now 7 months old and almost crawling! She scoots and rolls to whereever she wants, keeping Camille and I on our feet. She's as cute as ever though!

So, there is a quick update for everyone. I'll do a better job in the future of keeping the blog up to date. I took a hiatus during the summer. As always you can check out pictures I take at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcm81/.

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Mt. Whitney Day Hike

For some strange reason I had the urge to wake up at 2:30 a.m. and climb the highest mountain in the continental United States! I went with the Packer clan and had a great time. Though the journey was strenuous and fraught with dangerous marmots, all six of us were able to reach the summit and arrive safely back at the Whitney Portal. We made it back around 8:45 p.m. My favorite place had to be Lone Pine Lake. What a beautiful place! Kate, Jeff, and I all made the 3 mile hike to the lake the day before the summit hike as a practice. I was able to take beautiful pictures and I even took a dip in the lake. It was cold! By the end of the trip we all were extremely worn out and tired, but it is cool to be able to say that we all made it!

You can see pictures of our trip at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcm81/sets/72157622133729934/. Click on the slideshow button so you can REALLY get a good look at the pictures!

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Family Videos

Tonight was great. Camille had Gabby on a blanket on the floor. We like to let her be free and kick around. She loves to move her legs. So, then Camille sat down with Gabby and showed her home video on our video camera that we took of Gabby when she was a brand new baby. It was hilarious! Gabby loved watching herself on the video camera. This is one vain baby! It was so much fun to watch. She gets cuter every day!

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Jeff Graduated!!!

Well, the blog has taken a back seat lately due to my busy schedule. I had finals, graduation, and now I have started bar prep. I figured I should add a quick little blurb though. This last Friday I graduated law school! Despite having the bar ahead of me, it was a very cool feeling. I earned a couple awards as well. CALI award for highest grade in First Amendment Law, Service in Excellence award, and the Advocacy and Dispute Resolution emphasis. I start my main bar prep class tomorrow and I'm actually excited. I've heard enough horror stories of the bar and the study schedule and I'm ready to attack it!

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