Thanks Nina.
Something that works for hot flushes might also work for other sweats - 
imagine an iceberg floating by in the sea, then imagine youself riding on it - 
my mother taught me that - not 100% but sometimes works.

Quoting "Nina P. Brown" <[log in to unmask]>:

> 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
> >
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