Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul Celebrated for Grace and Resilience at Race to Erase MS Gala: ‘I Live It Openly’
Disney executive Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul opened up Friday night about her extraordinary journey of coming to grips with multiple sclerosis as she was honored Friday at the annual Race to Erase MS gala.
Bulochnikov-Paul spoke from the heart as she described the surprise of receiving the diagnosis. As a senior executive at Disney and as the mother of three young sons, she was overwhelmed and concerned her life was about to radically change. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects about 1 million Amerians.
“I decided I wasn’t gonna let MS define me. I’ve spent my entire career in communications. I know how to own a narrative. And I sure as hell was going to own mine,” Bulochnikov-Paul told the crowd at the Fairmont Century Plaza.
Bulochnikov-Paul, who is executive VP of communications for Disney, cited the support of her colleagues at Disney as key to her perseverance. She singled out her boss, Dana Walden, Disney president and chief creative officer, for going above and beyond, even attending a doctor’s appointment with her early on.
“Even though Dana is one of the busiest people in Hollywood, she came to my first doctor’s appointment with a notebook and a pen, like it was the most important meeting of her day,” Bulochnikov-Paul recalled. “After the appointment, she asked if I wanted to take some time off. I said ‘No.’ Because what I needed in that moment was normalcy. And what she said next put me on the path that brought me here tonight.She said, ‘MS doesn’t know what’s coming for it.’ ”
Race to Erase MS is led by philanthropist Nancy Davis, who was diagnosed with the disease more than 30 years ago. Davis told Variety that Bulochnikov-Paul’s experience is a sign of how much progress has been made in research and understanding how to manage the diseases, which affects different people in different ways.
In its extreme form, MS can severely limit a person’s mobility. Bulochnikov-Paul recalled telling her husband that she might one day have to walk with a cane, to which he responded “Babe, your family will be your cane,” she said.
In the 1990s, there was very little information or medical research into the disease. Today, Bulochnikov-Paul is a shining example of how the condition is manageable for those fortunate enough to have a strong family and medical support systems around them, Davis said.
“It’s a disease that looks invisible to most people. I was told to go home and go to bed,” Davis told Variety. “It’s very important to educate people. Naomi has a job that is very demanding 24/7 and she is the mother of three kids. She just jumped in to wanting to find a cure.”
Davis’ Race to Erase MS gala has raised more than $57 million for MS research since its launch 1994. The nonprofit organization has supported research into drugs to help manage the disease as well as long-term work on possible cures. Being involved in the effort to support MS research and care has been invigorating to Bulochnikov-Paul.
“At the end of the day, none of us know what happens tomorrow. All any of us can do is choose how we live. You can live in fear or you can live in power,” she said. “Every day, I choose the latter.”
Bulochnikov-Paul spoke from the heart as she described the surprise of receiving the diagnosis. As a senior executive at Disney and as the mother of three young sons, she was overwhelmed and concerned her life was about to radically change. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects about 1 million Amerians.
“I decided I wasn’t gonna let MS define me. I’ve spent my entire career in communications. I know how to own a narrative. And I sure as hell was going to own mine,” Bulochnikov-Paul told the crowd at the Fairmont Century Plaza.
Bulochnikov-Paul, who is executive VP of communications for Disney, cited the support of her colleagues at Disney as key to her perseverance. She singled out her boss, Dana Walden, Disney president and chief creative officer, for going above and beyond, even attending a doctor’s appointment with her early on.
“Even though Dana is one of the busiest people in Hollywood, she came to my first doctor’s appointment with a notebook and a pen, like it was the most important meeting of her day,” Bulochnikov-Paul recalled. “After the appointment, she asked if I wanted to take some time off. I said ‘No.’ Because what I needed in that moment was normalcy. And what she said next put me on the path that brought me here tonight.She said, ‘MS doesn’t know what’s coming for it.’ ”
Race to Erase MS is led by philanthropist Nancy Davis, who was diagnosed with the disease more than 30 years ago. Davis told Variety that Bulochnikov-Paul’s experience is a sign of how much progress has been made in research and understanding how to manage the diseases, which affects different people in different ways.
In its extreme form, MS can severely limit a person’s mobility. Bulochnikov-Paul recalled telling her husband that she might one day have to walk with a cane, to which he responded “Babe, your family will be your cane,” she said.
In the 1990s, there was very little information or medical research into the disease. Today, Bulochnikov-Paul is a shining example of how the condition is manageable for those fortunate enough to have a strong family and medical support systems around them, Davis said.
“It’s a disease that looks invisible to most people. I was told to go home and go to bed,” Davis told Variety. “It’s very important to educate people. Naomi has a job that is very demanding 24/7 and she is the mother of three kids. She just jumped in to wanting to find a cure.”
Davis’ Race to Erase MS gala has raised more than $57 million for MS research since its launch 1994. The nonprofit organization has supported research into drugs to help manage the disease as well as long-term work on possible cures. Being involved in the effort to support MS research and care has been invigorating to Bulochnikov-Paul.
“At the end of the day, none of us know what happens tomorrow. All any of us can do is choose how we live. You can live in fear or you can live in power,” she said. “Every day, I choose the latter.”