Source:   Capital Times
Paralyzed racer says politics shouldn't slow stem cell research
Nate Carey  -  9/22/2008 10:07 am
This week Madison is playing host to the World Stem Cell Summit, and 
Sunday's "Lab on the Lake" segment featured inspirational speaker Sam 
Schmidt, the former Indy Racing League driver who now is chairman of the Sam 
Schmidt Paralysis Foundation.
"I am really proud to be here and be a part of (the conference)," said 
Schmidt, who also now owns his own race team. "There is so much information 
here, and I am still learning every day about the research that is going on 
everywhere (on stem cells)."
Though stem cell research has become a hot-button issue in the political 
arena, there is a lot of confusion about what it really involves. To educate 
the public, those who are putting on the World Stem Cell Summit offered a 
free primer on this burgeoning area of research on Sunday. Dubbed "Lab on 
the Lake," the event was open to people of all ages and interests.
The event was held at the Pyle Center on the UW-Madison campus and featured 
hands-on labs, panel discussions with experts on a range of other happenings 
related to stem cell research.
The old saying goes that "lighting never strikes the same place twice," but 
in the case of the Schmidt family, it has.
When Sam was 11 years old, his father had an accident during an off-road 
racing event, leaving him partially paralyzed. Twenty-six years later, on 
Jan. 6, 2000, Sam -- who by then was a premiere driver in the Indy Racing 
League -- was testing in preparation for the upcoming racing season when his 
car bottomed-out as he entered the second turn at the Walt Disney Speedway 
in Orlando, Fla., forcing him to crash into the wall.
The impact of hitting the wall crushed his spinal cord at the C-3 and C-4 
levels, and he went more than four minutes without breathing. Schmidt spent 
five weeks on a respirator before being able to breath for himself, and is 
now paralyzed from the shoulders down.
Yet Schmidt has battled on and has found comfort and stability thanks to his 
family -- his wife Sheila, son Spencer and daughter Savannah.
"I am extremely blessed. I have a very strong faith, a wonderful supportive 
family, I've got a wife and kids that love me, and probably the most 
important thing is that I've got good insurance," said Schmidt. "Ninety-nine 
percent of the people I meet out there with any type of disability don't 
have a lot of those elements. I'm just truly blessed to have them all."
In 2001, just 14 months after his accident and at the urging of his wife and 
parents, Schmidt announced the formation of Sam Schmidt Motorsports. His 
drivers won Indy Pro Series titles in 2006 and 2007, and this past season 
Richard Antinucci finished second in the points race.
The reason for Schmidt's speech in Madison on Sunday was to raise awareness 
for the issue of stem cells and its research. On that point, Schmidt made it 
very clear where he stood.
"To me, it's a shame that a lot of this research and the funding and the 
future of it has become a political debate," he said. "To me, that should 
not be a part of what this is all about. It's about making lives better and 
fixing this issue.
"We live in the greatest country in the world, and here we are being limited 
by a political debate, and it seems like a waste to me."
It's been 10 years since UW-Madison biologist James Thomson became the first 
scientist to coax stem cells from human embryos. The discovery was 
significant because stem cells are capable of transforming into cells from 
any organ tissue in the body. Scientists say these so-called pluripotent 
cells hold the key to discovering the causes and cures for many human 
ailments, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, juvenile 
diabetes, blindness and spinal cord injuries.
But because embryos are destroyed in the process, stem cell research has 
become a target of anti-abortion groups and socially conservative 
politicians like President Bush who support restrictions on such research. 
Just last year, however, researchers in Thomson's lab announced they had 
produced stem cells from human skin cells, a move that might ultimately 
quiet the opposition to stem cell research. Scientists say that more study 
of these skin cells is needed to ensure they don't differ from embryonic 
stem cells in unexpected ways.
To Schmidt, the use of stem cells to find cures should not be a political 
issue. He also called for a move forward with the stem cell research that is 
already being done -- a move to human trials.
"Our foundation's motto is 'Race to Recovery' and that is what this is all 
about. There needs to be a sense of urgency," Schmidt said. "I think if 
Christopher Reeves was here today he would be saying the same thing. We were 
both sick of watching rats walk. We need to move and push for human clinical 
trials -- safe, FDA-approved clinical trials."
That is obviously easier said than done, but it is conferences like the 
World Stem Cell Summit -- which will take place Monday and Tuesday at the 
Alliant Energy Center's Exhibition Hall -- that can get the ball rolling and 
allow information to be shared and, in the end, help to advance the research 
on stem cells.
"It is so important for a summit like this to occur," said Schmidt. "I don't 
know how else to express it. A lot of times in situations like this I use 
the analogy of my team, because I have been racing all my life. I never was 
able to win a race by myself. I was always part of a team.
"I think if we use that analogy of a team effort, and work together 
collaboratively in situations like this where people compare information, 
that we can ultimately win that race, and that to me is the big picture."
In the end, Schmidt hopes to get more people involved in, or at least made 
aware of, stem cell research, and hopes that those people will do the right 
thing when the time comes.
"We all have an ability to get the information, do the research on stem 
cells, on different types that are out there, and make a decision," Schmidt 
said. "Yes there are a lot of ethical and moral questions to be answered out 
there. But do the research, make an informed decision and vote 
appropriately."
For more information on the World Stem Cell Summit, visit 
www.worldstemcellsummit.com.

Nate Carey  -  9/22/2008 10:07 am

Tom Strattman/Associated Press
Sam Schmidt, once a top Indy Racing League driver, was paralyzed from the 
shoulders down after crashing his car in 2000. He now owns a race team.

Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
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