# 275 Wednesday, January 3, 2007  -   VISIT WITH BROOKE ELLISON: "When
Opportunity Met Necessity"

Did you ever meet somebody and think, ahah, this person is going to do
something special?
This column has mentioned Brooke Ellison before: the paralyzed young woman
who so impressed Christopher Reeve that his last professional project was
directing the movie, "the Brooke Ellison Story".
In the paralysis world, introductions include, "what level are you?",
meaning, where on your spine is the breakage? The higher on the spinal
column, the more function is lost.
Brooke Ellison is a high quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down.
But her mind is not paralyzed at all.
When the voters of New York did not elect her to office, a mistake was made.
A natural mistake.
Somebody paralyzed-how could they take care of business?
Well, let's see. A Senator has to be able to make speeches-she can
definitely do that.
She can't shake hands-but by God she can smile-a blazing, beautiful, genuine
smile, makes you feel like you share a good secret together.
I'll skip the handshake if I can get someone who cares about people, and
will fight.
A Senator has to be able to think-well, usually! There are a few, even on
the national scene, where it seems that requirement has been waived.
So what is the quality of her mind?
I called her and said, "Hi, I am the father of Roman Reed, we met at the
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act rally in Washington?"
She either remembered me (only met three thousand people that day) or was at
least politically savvy enough to go along with the courtesy requirements of
the situation.
What I wanted to know, was: what next?
Because here is a force of nature.
After the accident, when she first was able to speak, age 11, completely
paralyzed, on a ventilator to give her breath:  her very first words were:
"Am I going to be held back?"
Junior High School.
And her mom-in that terrible instant when everything seemed to hang in the
balance-knew what had to be said.
Jean Ellison said no, you are not going to be held back.
And Brooke said, "Promise".
And her Mom said yes.
Not only was Brooke not held back, but she graduated from Harvard
University, perhaps the greatest school in the world, without being to move
a finger, or breathe on her own.
You wait and see, she's going to do something (else) magical, with the gift
of her life.
And everyone will benefit.
Here she is, Brooke Ellison:
"My run for the New York State Senate was among my most memorable and
rewarding experiences.  In the nearly two years I spent on the campaign, I
met some truly incredible people and learned some very important lessons
that have helped to change my life.
Despite the outcome of the election, there is little about it that I would
have changed, and throughout the scope of the campaign, I was given the
forum to talk about issues that are of importance to me - particularly the
issue of stem cell research, the promise that the research holds, and our
responsibility to pursue it.
I am currently working with local elected officials, to promote stem cell
research legislation and its funding in states across the country.  Through
existing channels, and with the support of currently-serving legislators, I
will be working to further this effort on behalf of millions of Americans.
Regardless of whether I am serving in office, this is a fundamental part of
my beliefs, and it is a responsibility we all should uphold.
In the last legislative session, the Congress had before it a seminal piece
of legislation; the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, designed to expand
the limits of federal funding for stem cell research, rectifying the
research limitations set forth in 2001.  This Act, which has garnered
bipartisan support and passed both houses of Congress in 2006, regrettably
was vetoed by President Bush in July.  This veto, the first and only veto
issued by President Bush in his six years in office, was issued despite the
fact that both houses of Congress were, at that time, held by the
President's own Party, and despite the fact that funding for stem cell
research was generating considerable attention across the country.
When the new Democratically-controlled Congress convenes in January, it will
have the chance, once again, to act on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement
Act, and in so doing challenge the presidential veto.
If ever opportunity met necessity on any issue requiring legislative action,
it would be now on this issue.  By taking up this cause once again, Congress
has the opportunity to send the message that the political pandering of one
individual ought not to dictate the passage of policy so clearly designed
for the common good.
President Bush's position on federal funding for stem cell research not only
serves to dash the hopes of hundreds of millions of Americans, it also
places a considerable obstacle to the very scientific and medical progress
that the United States should promote, if we are to remain the leading
medical voice in the global community.
We live in a deliberative democracy, by its very nature characterized by a
diversity of opinions.  However, we must act for the betterment of the
future and with the broad public good in mind.  Through their congressional
representatives, the American people have spoken on this issue.  The
perspective of an isolated few should not subjugate the voices of a beholden
many-those that are most in need of our concern.
The research protected under the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act
represents the progressive-thinking, economically-beneficial, and
life-embracing advances that surely will drive medicine for decades to
come-advances that will positively affect all of our lives. Simply put, it
is the right thing to do.
Even when President Kennedy looked to the skies and said we will land a man
on the moon, he did not have a path as clear or as promising as ours is now.
It is time for the President to put the full weight of federal government
behind stem cell research. The need is too great and the promise is too
strong.  President Bush has taken a misguided position on this issue, and it
is now incumbent upon Congress to redeem it.  There is more at stake than
the passage of a bill, there is preservation of hope, which we all seem to
be longing for.
(As for me personally) I will be returning to the public speaking and
writing I had done in the past, with the message of overcoming challenges
and pursuing common progress.  Especially after having undergone the
campaign process, I think there is much to talk about in terms of what we
can accomplish no matter how great the odds. All of what I plan to do
continues the message I have sent for years, a message of hope and what we
all can achieve.
People (can) contact me through my website, www.brookeellison.com, which is
now being updated.   --Brooke Ellison, January 3, 2007

By Don C. Reed, Chair, Californians for Cures, www.stemcellbattles.com.

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