Bravo!

>From: Peggy Willocks <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Stem Cells
>Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 21:06:35 -0400
>
>HR 810 "Stem Cell Enhancement Act of 2005" will most likely come to the
>Senate for a vote by September.
>
>
>
>I know we have different feelings and beliefs on this forum, but having
>seen
>the 4th PWP since January pass away from PD  complications has about done
>me
>in.  In January, a good teacher friend of mine (she was my mentor) passed
>on, then two people from my support group (they were older, but still
>valuable people), and finally, my online friend, Tim Foley - who had MSA
>(Parkinson's Plus) and was only 43.  It's a long way off, but I believe
>stem
>cell research could have made a difference - if not cured, they could at
>least have a better quality of life.
>
>
>
>At any rate, I would like to share my letter to Bush with you:
>
>WARNING!  There is strong content about PD used in this letter.
>
>
>
>Dear President Bush:
>August 9, 2005
>
>
>
>Today, I lost friend, age 43, to complications from Parkinson's, a disease
>I
>have shared for nearly 12 years.  Three years ago, I lost another friend,
>59, with Parkinson's Plus, when her immobility caused her lungs to fill
>with
>fluid and her kidneys to shut down.  In January, another was lost, age 66,
>when she choked on her food; and last summer yet another.  Just this year,
>I
>lost two elderly people from my support group from Parkinson's.  And the
>long hell that these people lived through in their last years brought death
>as a welcomed reprieve. The promise of stem cell research might have saved
>at least one of them.
>
>
>
>Parkinson's is often perceived as "just a tremor," which affects mostly
>people over 60.  But more and more young onset cases are being diagnosed
>daily.  I was age 44 when diagnosed, but had symptoms as early as my late
>30's.  I didn't do drugs, smoke, or drink; and no one in my family had
>Parkinson's.  I believe my disease is the result of environmental toxins
>from insecticides.
>
>
>
>When diagnosed, I had been married for 27 years, had three children, and
>was
>enjoying a late life career as an elementary principal.  What started as a
>tremor quickly spread to periods of extremely slow and painful movement of
>my hands, arms, and legs.  There are times when I cannot swallow and I
>drool
>with slurred speech.  My feet "freeze" and I fall in attempts to walk.  At
>night I cannot turn over in bed, and I must "shuffle" my feet in the
>mornings and suffer extreme rigidity until my medicine "kicks in."  My life
>is built around a medicine bottle, and an expensive one at a monthly cost
>of
>nearly $900.
>
>
>
>Three years after my diagnosis, I was named 1997 Tennessee Principal of the
>Year.   In 1998, I was forced to take disability retirement.  Two years
>later I underwent experimental brain surgery, which has helped, but isn't a
>cure.  I have become an advocate with the Parkinson's Action Network, a
>lobbying group in Washington, DC.  Just a few months ago, I was awarded the
>Milly Kondracke Award for Outstanding Advocacy, named after the wife of
>Mort
>Kondracke - Fox News contributor and Executive Editor of Roll Call - who
>lost Milly last summer.
>
>
>
>I am a pro-life Christian from a long family line of conservative
>Republicans, but cannot understand your stand against embryonic stem cell
>research as specifically proposed in HR 810.   How can you and many others
>be so inconsistent about protecting "life," when the very embryos you
>allowed "man" to create are going to end up as medical waste, if not
>adopted
>by an infertile couple? The "Snowflake" embryo adoption program will not be
>stymied by approval of HR 810.   And our country needs to set strict
>guidelines for stem cell research, because it WILL go on in the private
>sector.
>
>
>
>My friend, Senator Frist, knew he had to throw his support behind embryonic
>stem cell research;  there are far too many indicators that it will lead to
>better treatments or the cure of  many diseases, such as Parkinson's,
>Alzheimer's, and juvenile diabetes.  Won't you rethink your position?  All
>that many of us want is hope - result-oriented, scientifically-backed hope
>-
>found in this research.
>
>
>
>I watched as you danced with your twin girls on their 21st birthday, and I
>wondered if I will ever dance with my three grandchildren on their
>birthdays.  Please don't veto HR 810. I will probably not benefit from stem
>cell research, but my grandchildren will - and maybe your grandchildren.
>
>
>
>Peggy Willocks  - TN PAN State Co-coordinator -  Johnson City, TN
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Peggy
>
>Celebrate Life!
>
>
>
>
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