Dear Murray,
    I was not able to see Fox in the Senate yesterday.  Would you know where
I might see it?  --Katie from El Campo
----- Original Message -----
From: "Murray Charters" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 7:28 AM
Subject: Fox wins rare U.S. senate applause for public struggle with
Parkinson's


> May 22nd. 2002
> Fox wins rare U.S. senate applause for public struggle with Parkinson's
>
> WASHINGTON (CP) -- The shoulders constantly rocked and rolled,
> an elbow would occasionally dart out involuntarily and his speech
> slurred as Michael J. Fox struggled to control the symptoms
> of Parkinson's during congressional testimony.
>
> On this day, he surrendered to the disease, interrupted his prepared
> remarks and ended his address earlier than he had hoped.
>
> "I'll shorten my comments," the Edmonton-born actor-activist told
> senators riveted Wednesday by so public a battle with the debilitating
> illness.
>
> Then the sound of applause -- usually forbidden by the archaic rules
> of Senate committee hearings -- began rolling through the large
> committee room. The sustained wave worked its way around the room
> washed over Fox as he finally was able to sit back in his chair and
> regain a measure of his physical equanimity.
>
> Only then did Fox attempt to take a sip of the glass of water in front
> of him.
>
> "This is an unusual hearing where there's applause," said Senator
> Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican.
>
> "There's a lot of love in this room."
>
> The affection was shared by Fox and Muhammad Ali, the former
> heavyweight champ also afflicted with a form of Parkinson's disease.
>
> Celebrities often turn up on Capitol Hill to shill for research dollars.
> Their glamour and star-power draw attention and pressure on
> legislators who control the billions of dollars in scientific funds
> available in the United States.
>
> Almost none of these celebrities would risk dimming their star- wattage
> by daring to turn up for their congressional call with a hair out of place
> or a blemish uncovered by artfully applied make-up.
>
> But the senators on the Labour, Health and Human Services and
> Education Subcommittee got an eye-full of celebrity frailty during
> their hearing on Parkinson's disease.
>
> Ali allowed his wife to deliver his remarks. The world's greatest boxer
> sat before the senators trembling, with his eyes closed. Lonnie Ali
> patiently explained that the disease had not only robbed her husband
> of his extraordinary physical gifts and his prodigious confidence,
> but had also made him light-sensitive.
>
> Parkinson's Disease is a degenerative neurological condition that
> robs sufferers of control of their limbs and extremities while leaving
> their mental capacities intact.
>
> Some of those afflicted, such as Pope John Paul, might experience
> a slight trembling of the hand. Others can barely control all of their
> motor skills. Still others suffer from slurred speech.
>
> Most Parkinson's patients are closer to 60 or 70. But about
> 10 per cent of sufferers are under 40, a proportion of whom have
> histories of drug abuse or exposure to toxic metals. Some, such as
> Fox, are just plain unlucky.
>
> Fox, who grew up in Vancouver, had to leave his hit television series
> Spin City due to the disease.
>
> Fox began by flashing some of the sass of Alex P. Keaton, the
> kid- conservative he played for years on the television program
> Family Ties.
>
> "Is it just me or were you sitting in different seats the last time
> I was here?" he asked, tweaking the Democrats who won control
> of the Senate after a Republican defection last year.
>
> "It's back to the future," shot back Tom Harkin, the Iowa Democrat
> who regained the chairmanship of the sub-committee.
>
> The pint-sized star has used humour relentlessly to put people
> at ease about his uncontrollable fidgeting ever since he went
> public four years ago about his battle with the brain disease.
>
> "Having Parkinson's at an auction can be an expensive proposition,"
> he wrote in Lucky Man, his memoir that is now enjoying a ride atop
> best-seller lists.
>
> Not even humour could mask the fact that Fox's condition has not
> improved since he last appeared before a congressional committee
> last year.
>
> Sinemet, the medication prescribed to keep his shaking under
> control, limits his involuntary movements somewhat, but only for
> maddeningly brief periods of time.
>
> As it stands, Parkinson's sufferers like him have little choice
> beyond listening to a physician tell him how quickly the disease
> is robbing him of his life while taking medication to control some
> of the symptoms, Fox said.
>
> "It's not a great proposition," he said.
>
> "But the time has come where the brain is no longer just a place
> for research, but a place for cures."
>
> Controversial stem-cell research holds out some hope for brain
> regeneration. Future research may be limited by political battles
> because stem cell lines come from aborted fetuses.
>
> "Seeing the possibilities only increases our frustration and
> impatience over what is not getting done," Fox said.
>
> "We're going to get this done."
>
> SOURCE: Canoe / Canada Newswire
> http://www.canoe.ca/WorldTicker/CANOE-wire.Parkinsons-Fox.html
>
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