----- Original Message -----
From: "rayilynlee" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 11:28 AM
Subject: Wish from Idelle at SCAN
RAYILYNLEE I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO ANSWER U AS I SAID I WILL BE 83 PWP 39 YEARS
I NEVER ASKED ANY 1 WHAT THEY BELIED U GOT 1 STEM CELL IT WONT HELP ME I
NEVER SAY THE MEDS I TAKE ALL I ASKED WS TO HAVE BELIE IN SOME TING THE NEW
THING THAT IS HEADD FOR ME I WILL NEVER KNOW U SAY SINCE 1978 U NOT SAW A
GOOD DAY ME GOOD DAY IS TO SEE THE WORLD AGAIN ME I SAY HAVE HAVE THE BEST
OF THE YEAR U CAN LOT LAUGH AT ME OTHER SAY U SAY FUNEST THING AND THE BEST.
ALL I CAN TELL U HOPE TO C U ON LINE NEXT YEAR AT THIS TIME GOOD OR BAD WE A
LIVE SO TILL THEN IN JOY WHAT U LIVE GIVES   (flash)

> SCAN UPDATES:
> - We are putting the finishing touches on StemBlog, the site to network
> advocacy groups. We have already signed up eight organizations, and will
> begin a campaign to enlist many more partners. Go to www.stemblog.net and
> take a peek. Want to suggest a group to become part of the network?
> Contact
> me at [log in to unmask] with their web address. If you are part of
> such a group, please contact me to ask any questions.
> - We have received two excellent nominations for SCAN's "Advocacy
> Champions
> of 2006". Please send the names to me of other individuals who have
> tirelessly served our cause during the past year.
> - We will be sending out the names of members of the House of
> Representatives and a sample letter to target for HR 810.
> - Please include SCAN in your end-of-year list of donations.
> Thank you.
>
> December 29, 2006
> Dear SCAN Members,
> We're all probably familiar with the dilemma of is it OK to say 'Merry
> Christmas' or should I be inclusive and just say 'Happy Holidays'?. Well,
> if
> you've figured out how you want to handle that one, don't relax just yet
> because I've got another one for you to chew on. Is it OK to wish me a
> "Happy and Healthy New Year" when I haven't had a healthy year since 1978,
> and don't think that the state of my health is going to dramatically
> improve
> in '07?
> The political correctness argument that is the source of the "Don't say
> "Christmas", say "Holidays" quarrel concerns the risk of seeming
> insensitive
> to differences when one communicates with someone, who, for example, is
> not
> a Christian. In a similar way, is it appropriate or considerate to wish
> me,
> or the millions of others with life-threatening diseases, a "Healthy New
> Year"? It's a lovely thought, but to smile and accept it graciously we are
> required to collude with either the outright denial of our condition or
> accept the vague idea that somehow, something magical might happen to make
> this wish come true.
> The truth is that I was pretty resigned to being a good sport and to keep
> quiet during all the years when there wasn't much hope of a treatment or
> cure in the cards. But now, when stem cell research has put many of the
> key
> puzzles of basic science on the working agenda instead of "for dreamers
> only" I find that passivity isn't so comfortable anymore.
> I do understand that the wish is well-intentioned, but as a non-Christian
> I
> often feel uneasy accepting Christmas wishes; as a person with multiple
> sclerosis, I appreciate the thought of a healthy year, but the wish feels
> hollow, misplaced. I'd prefer that the well-wishers think more carefully
> about what it's like to live with a serious illness, every day, and to
> have
> to stand by and watch while politicians make decisions that affects the
> funding and thus the time frame of treatments, even cures.
> So what's the better choice?
> - Instead of sending me a card, donate the cost and the postage to
> research.
> - Ask me how you can help.
> - Be informed about the laws in your state that support research or limit
> it.
> - Write letters to Congress when asked.
> - Get involved: exchange empty wishes for targeted advocacy.
> -  Don't ask me to pretend that I'm just like you, when I'm not.
> And by the way, here is my number one wish for '07:
> I wish that everyone with an illness that could be helped by stem cell
> research finds a way to connect with the rest of the 100 million potential
> beneficiaries and that together we create a force to be reckoned with.
> Do you think this can be done? Let me know.
> Idelle Datlof
> Executive Director
> Stem Cell Action Network
>
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