Lee, good luck, sure would like to join you or go anywhere in fact, Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Wu" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 3:47 AM
Subject: The Great Stem Cell Debate Sydney Aug. 17th Melbourne Aug. 18th


> Dear All,
> The Great Stem Cell Debate hosted by ABC's Dr Norman Swan is next week.
> Free to the public during National Science Week.
> The Sydney debate is to be held in The Garvan Auditorium.
> This coming Wednesday evening (August 17) from 6 - 8.30.
> The NSW Stem Cell Network together with Victor Chang Cardiac Research
> Institute and Garvan Institute of Medical Research is hosting a
> hypothetical debate about the use of stem cells.
> Special guests will be Prof. Rob Jansen - Sydney IVF
>                                Prof. Bernie Tuch - Prince of Wales
> Hospital
>                                Dr Paul Brock - Stem Cell Advocate
> To register for Sydney ring Danielle Fischer 0292958108
>
> Melbourne is Thurs. Aug 18th from 6 - 8.30pm at The Victorian State
> Library.
> Special guests will be Prof. Martin Pera - Monash University
>                                Prof. Julian Savulescu - University of
> Oxford
> To register for Melbourne ring Sarah Chan 0383416245
>
> I'm going to the Sydney debate and know that many of you will be behind me
> even though you can't attend.
>                                         Warm Regards,
>                                                                Lee
>
> Peggy Willocks <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 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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