Dear Joan,
  I applaud your speech and your thoughts.  They have sent some positive
signals to me to draw upon during my OFF times, which are too numerous these
days.  I had successful DBS in Oct 2000 and am getting my first batteries
changed on Nov 9th, 2004. I was diagnosed in 5/92 at age 37.  My husband is
wonderful and always knows what to say so I don't go spiraling down with
depression. Having a chronic disease is frustrating for me and equally so
for my husband.  I feel like a hypochondriac some days because all I seem to
talk about to him is "what part hurts now". We're married 32 years and I am
so glad that he is sticking with me on this.  By the way, I am Paula from
PA.  Thanks again, Joan.  I really enjoyed reading your fundraiser details.
Respond if you have the desire to do so.           Paula
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joan E Snyder" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2004 4:00 PM
Subject: Lane & Barrack- follow up of murray's post


> Hello Murray and all:
> i would like to fill in a few details about the fundraiser that was
> held for Lane Evans at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Springfield, IL. i
> was invited and given a table of ten to try to fill. tickets for this
> event were $500 apiece. i took as my guests: Chris (cinemaripper from
> the chatroom) and my photographer and friend Craig Kendell. we drove
> down to Springfield and there we met the rest of our guests: Dr.Jean
> Ahlberg (a woman who i met thru this forum) & her husband, Dennis,
> Dr.Craid Cady (a neuro-researcher at Bradley U who is doing remakable
> aqnd wonderful work with stem cells), his lovely wife, Mary and a
> friend of mine who is a drug rep for Bertek pharmaceuitals, David
> Conrad. When we reached the beautiful room for the Unity Dinner, Nick,
> who is Lane's Quad City campaign manager and runs Lanes home office
> met me with good and bad news. the bad news was that Lane would be
> unable to attend because the Republicans had called for a vote that
> evening and Lane considers it his
> privledge and responsability to vote on all bills. the good news was
> that Nick had asked his staff to pick out four people to speak about
> Lane Evans and to relate personal stories about him....and i was one
> of the four!! first, the speakers table was annouced: made up of area
> state Senators, state Represetatives and judges. talk about
> intimidated!! fortunately, i didn't have to sit up there!! when
> Barrack Obama was introduced-the place became unglued. no longer a
> rising star in the Democratic party, he is now a bona-fide, real,
> honest-to-goodness SUPERSTAR!! when he spoke it was of his deep care
> and gratitude for Lane...who was the first to edndorse Barrack Obama
> in his bid for the United State Senate. I remember being at the party
> in the Quad Cities when Lane first introduced the skinny kid with the
> big ears and the strange name and i remember being so taken with
> then-state Senator Obama that i said that this man would be our first
> Africian-American president. Barrak and his lovely wife, Michelle,
> have since become very close friends of mine and it did my heart good
> to hear him acknowledge the turning point in his career and pay homage
> to Lane for giving Barrack the downstate exposure and giving Lane the
> credit for his successes. during his speech, Barrack told a story
> about the late, great Senator from IL, Paul Simon. i had just cleaned
> out an old jewelry box and given my son all the rock and roll butttons
> that i had and i had uncovered four old political buttons: one was
> Paul Simon for US Senate, another that said "Out the door in 84-dump
> Reagan," still another said "Let them eat jellybeans," and finally an
> old Adlai Stevenson button which i put into my purse to be sure to
> give as a gift to Lane. but when i heard Barrack speak with such
> glowing memories about Paul Simon, i decieded to give that one to him.
> Chris and i scurried out to the foyer in time for a quick hug and a
> photo taken by Craig of Chris, Barrack and me (btw, he loved the Simon
> pin and was thrilled to have it)...then we returned for a wonderful
> dinner and were told stories by all of the folks at the speakers
> table. Nick came over and said "ok-honey, time for you to get up
> there." so David pushed my wheelchair up to the front. the master of
> ceremonies intoduced the first of four speakers to tell of their
> personal experiences with Lane. Nick came and told me that i would be
> the clean up batter-speaking last. i decieded right then and there
> that, no matter how nervous i was, i was going to hit a home run for
> my friend-Lane Evans. everyone was after-dessert full and none to
> lively when i got falteringly up to speak. first of all, i said that
> not all drug reps are jerks because a previous speaker had pretty much
> bashed drug companies for their large part in the buying and selling
> of America. i said that my friend, David Conrad was indeed concerned
> and caring and only trying to help the PD Community. I told them that
> he is working on getting his company to print off and distribute 1,000
> copies of my video. there were some nervous coughs and snickers. off
> to a great start, i thought-NOT! then i introduced myself and told
> them that i have pd-just slightly longer than Lane. I told them that
> the dxes of PD is a life-altering experience and it makes one
> recognize the priorities in life-teaching the person patience,
> compassion and litterally a much better person. i said that lane has
> proven time and again that there is nothing wrong wiht his brain; that
> just because he speaks more slowly and moves without the usual DC
> swager, it does not impede his decison-making or ability to think a
> complex issue throught completely. i said that to a person, all the
> pwp's that i have met are overachievers. i said that i was outraged by
> the remarks of Andrea Lane Zigna and her unbelievable attacks on
> Lane's health. Her entire campaign is based on the fact that she
> thinks Lane is too sick to do his job and has said so many times
> during the campaign. this got me my first standing ovation. i then
> told of a letter that i had recieved from Zigna in which she stated
> that speed and mobility are a prerequisite in Washington; constantly
> running from appointment to meeting to session and she said that we
> were suffering because Lane couldn't keep up the pace. "Bullshit"
> i said, "When was the last time that anything happened in hurry in
> Washington???" this brought the crowd to their feet and and had them
> yellling and screaming. then i went onto the subject of stem cells. i
> said that i am a Catholic and i also consider myself to be very
> pro-life. i said that i didn't see how protecting an egg impregnated
> by artificail insemination in a test tube and then not used in the
> invitro fertilzation process could possibly be more pro-life than my
> friends whom i see daily going down-hill from this dreadful disease. i
> introduced Dr. Cady and spoke of his work with stem cells and how even
> this man, who believes in life insists that we need to use embryonic
> stem cells for research in spite of successes with adult stem cells.
> to those who say that there have yet to be any breakthroughs yet with
> embryonic stem cells, Dr. Cady says that they are impossibly
> expensive, the currant available lines are all contaminated by mouse
> cells and they have only been available to use in research for less
> than four years. i told the crowd that Dr.Cady undertood the need to
> lift the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cells as did
> Senator John Kerry, Senator John Edwards,Barrock Obama but most
> especially did Lane Evans!! This brought the house down.i said, in
> closing, that i did not use the term "parkinson's sufferers" or speak
> of us as victims because we are not victims-everyone has a cross to
> carry and this one is ours, in the words of my friend and double
> amputee/skydiver Dana Bowman, "it's not the disability...it's the
> ability" that counts. as i looked out at the wildly cheering crowd, i
> knew that God had provided me with that extra bowl of wheeties that i
> needed to get this one over the fence!!
>
> --
> Joan E. Blessington Snyder       51/13
> http://www.pwnkle.com/jes/jes_web/index.htm
> <[log in to unmask]>
> "Hang tough...........no way through it but to do it."
> Chris-in-the-Morning   (Northern Exposure)
>
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