Voicing creativity

Jim has no plans of slowing down as a voice-over artist. Hear why he’ll never take Evrysdi for granted.

I will never take Evrysdi for granted because I know what it was like 40 years ago. And so, having the ability to take that treatment is never wasted on me. I love my work as a voice-over artist. But I'm uniquely qualified for it, I understand technical aspect of it. Having worked at radio stations, I know what I need to have, equipment-wise, room-wise, acoustic-wise. I have friends who are or have been retired, and I have no desire to do that. For me, retirement means doing something that I enjoy, and I've always had work that I enjoy. A little bit technical, a little bit creative, a little bit fun, and this is something that I can do.

I've always done physical work, I've always been active. The last few years of high school, it was, became prevalent and obvious something was wrong. And I decided that, well, I can fix this, I can just go to the gym. So I did. I went to the gym. And on about the second machine, the owner of the gym looks at me and says, "What's your problem?" And I’ll admit, that's really the first time that it hit me. You know what, something's wrong. It was a couple of weeks later with his help I had an appointment at the local neurology center at the university hospital down the road, and that's when it all started. There comes the acceptance, there comes the realization that you need to do all you can do, but it's still never going to go away.

But imagine there's a hundred things that you do every day that are important. You get up in the morning, you stand up, you walk to the bathroom, you kiss your wife, you answer the phone, you hug your kids. There's more than a hundred things, but imagine there's a hundred things that you do. And with this disease, those go away. I found out about Evrysdi because I kept looking for what's coming next. What drove me to try Evrysdi were the good reports I was hearing from the other clinical trials.

When Evrysdi became available, it was clear to me, not only was it going to be the drug for me, but the method of delivery was something that I could do, I could do from home. We've noticed small improvements and I will continue taking it. I've been happy with them, and the doctors have been happy too. If there's one word that I could use to describe the future with Evrysdi, it would be hope.

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Important Safety Information and Indication

What is Evrysdi?

Evrysdi is a prescription medicine used to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in children and adults.

  • Before taking Evrysdi, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:
    • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, as Evrysdi may harm your unborn baby. Ask your healthcare provider for advice before taking this medicine
    • are a woman who can become pregnant:
      • Before you start your treatment with Evrysdi, your healthcare provider may test you for pregnancy
      • Talk to your healthcare provider about birth control methods that may be right for you. Use birth control while on treatment and for at least 1 month after stopping Evrysdi
      • Pregnancy Registry. There is a pregnancy registry for women who take Evrysdi during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of the pregnant woman and her baby. If you are pregnant or become pregnant while receiving Evrysdi, tell your healthcare provider right away. Talk to your healthcare provider about registering with the Evrysdi Pregnancy Registry. Your healthcare provider can enroll you in this registry or you can enroll by calling 1-833-760-1098 or visiting www.evrysdipregnancyregistry.com
    • are an adult male. Evrysdi may affect a man’s ability to have children (fertility). Ask a healthcare provider for advice before taking this medicine
    • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Evrysdi passes into breast milk and may harm your baby
  • Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take
  • You should receive Evrysdi from the pharmacy as a liquid. If the medicine in the bottle is a powder, do not use it. Contact your pharmacist for a replacement
  • Avoid getting Evrysdi on your skin or in your eyes. If Evrysdi gets on your skin, wash the area with soap and water. If Evrysdi gets in your eyes, rinse your eyes with water
  • The most common side effects of Evrysdi include:
    • For later-onset SMA:
      • fever
      • diarrhea
      • rash
    • For infantile-onset SMA:            
      • fever
      • diarrhea
      • rash
      • runny nose, sneezing, and sore throat (upper respiratory infection)
      • lung infection (lower respiratory infection)
      • constipation
      • vomiting
      • cough

These are not all of the possible side effects of Evrysdi. For more information on the risk and benefits profile of Evrysdi, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. You may also report side effects to Genentech at 1-888-835-2555.

Please see full Prescribing Information for additional Important Safety Information.

    • Información de prescripción de Evrysdi® (risdiplam). Genentech, Inc.

      Información de prescripción de Evrysdi® (risdiplam). Genentech, Inc.