Dear Amanda,
I thought I would send you a copy of a letter I have left with  
legislators regarding the stem cell issue in America. It is not as  
much as how PD has affected my life, but more to the point, how the  
research may affect my life.  I don't know if it will be of any help  
to you, but perhaps it will lead you into a direction of your own.   
You are welcome to use any part of it.
*******

For the past twenty-four years, my constant companion has been  
Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating neurological life-altering  
disorder that destroys the brain cells controlling voluntary movement.

  As the years progress, so do my symptoms.  Every case of Parkinson’s  
is unique.  While I don’t suffer from the incapacitating tremors that  
many others do, loss of balance has caused falls and fractures and  
slow movement can make getting dressed a two-hour chore.  The handful  
of expensive medications I take on a very precise two-hour schedule no  
longer overcomes the problems of rigidity, poor coordination,  
weakness, cramping, incontinence and unbearable sweating episodes as  
well as they once did.  These same pills also create tiring,  
unsightly, uncomfortable and uncontrollable movements.  My four young  
grandchildren have learned that my ability to play with them is  
determined by the timing and effectiveness of the medication I take  
every two hours, which changes not by the day or the hour, but by the  
minute.

Because of Parkinson’s, my future may find me a prisoner in my own  
body, still able to think, yet frozen…like polio victims, who were  
forced to live their lives in iron lungs. Even though some people  
initially opposed the research, prevention and cures were found for  
polio, but Parkinson’s is still considered incurable.  Now embryonic  
stem cells have been isolated which offers the potential of someday  
replacing my lost brain cells by creating new ones.

This can be the key to a cure not only for Parkinson’s but a multitude  
of other diseases.  There are different kinds of stem cells; however,  
the majority of researchers believe the cells that are best used for  
research are only 4-5 days old.  To better understand, National  
Geographic shows a photograph of a five day old embryo which easily  
fits in the eye of a needle.  The cells are absolutely identical and  
have not begun to form into any part of a human body and won’t until  
they are at least 10-14 days old.

Just as an acorn is not an oak tree, an embryo is not a human being.   
There is the potential to become an oak tree or a person; but to reach  
that potential there must be a nurturing environment, whether it is in  
the ground or in the womb.  I don’t believe you can compare a  
potential person to a real person.  These are human cells, NOT human  
beings!  I am a real human being.  These cells are not intended to be  
implanted in a womb to become human beings, and with SCNT, they are  
not genetically coded to even support a pregnancy.

As with pharmaceuticals and surgery, I believe that God has given us  
the knowledge to understand this 14 day window of opportunity as His  
gift to sustain life and relieve human suffering.  After which, He has  
given us the gift of creation of life.

I am one of a hundred million people whose disease has progressed  
while we debate when life begins.  Every day we delay this promising  
research puts the cure one day further into the future. Medical  
science has made a great deal of progress over the years-- iron lungs  
are now a thing of the past. I want to be able to play with my  
grandchildren. I don’t want them to remember that their Grandma  
couldn’t move or talk or smile.

It has been estimated that approximately 2800 men, women and children  
are dying every day accompanied by the prolonged pain and suffering of  
incurable diseases that now have the potential to be cured with stem  
cell research.  To put that into perspective, a similar number of  
people died dramatically on 9/11.  While not as dramatic as the horror  
of a terrorist attack to our country, the anguish to families as they  
watch their loved ones slowly die from being attacked by disease, is  
just as great.

	I believe we have a moral obligation to keep the doors open for all  
forms of legitimate research.  It’s not a question of will this  
research be done.  The only question is where this research will be  
done. Think of living in a world free of preventable and currently  
incurable diseases.  As Americans, we are world leaders in medical and  
biological research.  We are proud of our history.  History is  
determined by the decisions made in the past.   Let us not forget,  
what we do today becomes the history of tomorrow.

Nina
"Circumstances determine our lives, but we shape our lives by what we  
make of our circumstances."

Nina Brown
  "Circumstances determine our lives, but we shape our lives by what  
we make of our circumstances."

Secretary/Founding Board Member, The Alliance for Medical Research
(http://www.tamr-ed.org)
Founding Board Member, Texans for Advancement of Medical Research
(http://www.txamr.org)
Vice President, Houston Area Parkinson Society
  (http://www.hapsonline.org)
State Coordinator, Parkinson's Action Network
(http://www.parkinsonsaction.org)

On Aug 18, 2008, at 7:20 AM, [log in to unmask] wrote:

> I was recently asked (by the London Parkinson's Disease Society) to  
> encourage
> politicians in supporting stem-cell research by writing how PD has  
> affected my
> life.
> The trouble is, I don't know where to start, as
> a) I'm not used to talking about emotions;
> b) I don't do whining;
> c) can't think of any part of my life the evil little stinker didn't  
> affect -
> though not always for the worse.
>
> Any advice ?
> Amanda Phillips
>
> ----------------------------------------------
> This mail sent through http://www.ukonline.net
>
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