Kees - Congratulations!! On many things. First for the new baby, second being with the one you love and third donating the embryos for research. I wish others would see the need. You have much going for you, and I love your upbeat attitude. Best wishes, Jo Ann On Sat, 12 May 2001 17:23:55 -0500 Kees Paap <[log in to unmask]> writes: ><html> ><br> ><font size=4><b>This is a letter of love, getting pregnant and Stem >cells. <br> ><br> ><br> ></b>Hi, we are Faye and Kees; we are very happy together and God has >blessed us <br> >with even more happiness.<br> ><br> >Faye is my lovely wife since February 1998. She married me in spite, >or ><br> >better with my Parkinson's Disease. Faye is a general surgeon and a >good ><br> >one. Her patients are very pleased with her (I get to hear that sorts >of ><br> >things). Faye is 39 and her greatest wish, no make that her second >greatest <br> >wish, is to have a baby. Her biggest wish is to have Kees cured from ><br> >Parkinson's Disease. Faye is waiting for a cure.<br> ><br> >Kees (that's me) is from Holland. We met in Holland during a >vacation of <br> >Faye’s. I fell in love with Faye and wrote her a poem (actually >more than <br> >one). I am a 51 years old man with a 12 year history of Parkinson’ >Disease. <br> >I have been very active in the Parkinson's movement in Holland and >Europe ><br> >and a little in the USA. It is getting worse for me and life is >some days a <br> >struggle. BUT my spirit is unbroken. I am waiting for a cure.<br> ><br> >I have wonderful extended relatives - Fayes family. They see me >smashing <br> >things or not moving at all. My nephews (6 and 4) asked their mother >why >I <br> >moved that much. My father-in-law lived for 6 months with us. He >saw what <br> >PD is like. They all are praying for me and Faye. 10 relatives >ready and <br> >waiting for my cure.<br> ><br> >We have a great church family. They pray for us and they love us very >much <br> >and we love them very much. Faye and I usually sit on 3rd or 4th >row, <br> >because I don't want to miss anything. By now the people are used to >see >me <br> >wiggle or hardly move at all. I don't help at the communion table >anymore. I <br> >can't help with administrative tasks, because nobody can read my <br> >handwriting. But I can pray and I can tell them how happy I am with >the ><br> >things I can do. I share my poems with them. 356 people are >praying >for the <br> >cure.<br> ><br> >My bowling friends see me bowl a 170 and then a 70. They know about my ><br> >Parkinson’s. I have hit many of them with my involuntary movements. >They ><br> >have learned to stay out of my range. I still manage to hit >them. I >bowl in <br> >2 leagues on Tuesday evenings. Totally, I know about 150 bowlers. They >would <br> >love to hear that the cure is found. <br> ><br> >I have bowled against many of them in one of my four >Bowl-a-thons. >I bowled <br> >24, 28, 6 and 14 hours. The last one was April 28. They know that >bowling >is <br> >important for me, that it is one of my ways to stay in good shape. 24 >staff <br> >members hope for me that a cure will be found soon. <br> > <br> >Further I have a lot of People whom I know through living, shopping, ><br> >visiting doctors, builders, Radio and TV people and people I know from ><br> >volunteering work. At least another 100 people who know that a cure >can >be <br> >found soon.<br> ><br> ><br> ><br> >Totally 632 people waiting for a cure for Parkinson’s Disease for me. >I >am <br> >one of about 650,000 people with PD in the USA, and there are some ><br> >Parkinson’s Disease people who will be counted double. So I subtract >132. ><br> >So, 500 left, multiplied by 650,000 is 325,000,000 American people who >are <br> >waiting for a cure. And then we have Alzheimer, Diabetes and >more >of those <br> >horrible diseases.<br> ><br> ><br> >The total population of the USA is waiting for the cure!! But >what >will the <br> >cure be? Some of the most prominent people in science will tell >you >that <br> >the secret will be found with the stem cell theory. Stem Cells can be ><br> >retrieved from several different sources. One of them is from >embryo’s. >Faye <br> >and I have experienced where the Stem Cells are found that they use >for ><br> >research for the cause and the cure of so many diseases.<br> ><br> >We are so happy! After a year trying to get pregnant in the >normal >way, we <br> >started with the IUI method and 3 months ago with the IVF method. The >IVF ><br> >method is the In Vitro Fertilization. In normal language it means that >the <br> >eggs of the woman are harvested and are fertilized with the seeds of >the ><br> >man. After that the embryo’s are implanted in the woman. Faye is >pregnant!! <br> >We know that for some weeks now, but today we heard the heart beat of >our >baby.<br> ><br> >Before the IVF took place we had to sign papers in which, amongst >other ><br> >things, we indicated what to do with the unused embryo’s. They are >frozen ><br> >and can be destroyed after a certain period or you can decide to >donate >them <br> >to a research project. We signed for them to go to Parkinson research. >Why <br> >did we do that? Because we think that it is a waste to throw >them >away if <br> >they can be of any help to find the cure for this awful disease. If it >is ><br> >not for me, then it is for the next generation. This research cannot >be ><br> >stopped!! It is too important for too many people. <br> ><br> >Following you find the a part of the text of the NIH about Stem Cells. >In ><br> >the Summary is made clear that not just PD will be cured if the >research ><br> >will be funded. Diseases as MS, Diabetes and Alzheimer’s may find >their >way <br> >into history also.<br> ><br> >God Bless you all,<br> ><br> ><br> >Kees Paap<br> ><br> ><br> >May 11, 2001<br> ><br> >E-mail : [log in to unmask]<br> ><br> ><br> ><br> >============================================<br> ><br> >What is a stem cell? (Source NIH : Stem Cells : A Primer)<br> ><br> >Stem cells have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in >culture >and <br> >to give rise to specialized cells. They are best described in the >context >of <br> >normal human development. Human development begins when a sperm >fertilizes <br> >an egg and creates a single cell that has the potential to form an >entire ><br> >organism. This fertilized egg is , meaning that its potential is >total. >In <br> >the first hours after fertilization, this cell divides into identical ><br> >totipotent cells. This means that either one of these cells, if placed >into <br> >a woman's uterus, has the potential to develop into a fetus. In fact, ><br> >identical twins develop when two totipotent cells separate and develop >into <br> >two individual, genetically identical human beings. Approximately four >days <br> >after fertilization and after several cycles of cell division, these ><br> >totipotent cells begin to specialize, forming a hollow sphere of >cells, ><br> >called a blastocyst. The blastocyst has an outer layer of cells and >inside <br> >the hollow sphere, there is a cluster of cells called the inner cell >mass. <br> >The outer layer of cells will go on to form the placenta and other ><br> >supporting tissues needed for fetal development in the uterus. The >inner ><br> >cell mass cells will go on to form virtually all of the tissues of the >human <br> >body. Although the inner cell mass cells can form virtually every type >of ><br> >cell found in the human body, they cannot form an organism because >they >are <br> >unable to give rise to the placenta and supporting tissues necessary >for ><br> >development in the human uterus. These inner cell mass cells are >—— >they <br> >can give rise to many types of cells but not all types of cells >necessary ><br> >for fetal development. Because their potential is not total, they are >not ><br> >totipotent and they are not embryos. In fact, if an inner cell mass >cell ><br> >were placed into a woman's uterus, it would not develop into a fetus. ><br> ><br> >The pluripotent stem cells undergo further specialization into stem >cells ><br> >that are committed to give rise to cells that have a particular >function. ><br> >Examples of this include blood stem cells which give rise to red blood ><br> >cells, white blood cells and platelets; and skin stem cells that give >rise <br> >to the various types of skin cells. These more specialized stem cells >are ><br> >called . While stem cells are extraordinarily important in early human ><br> >development, multipotent stem cells are also found in children and >adults. <br> >For example, consider one of the best understood stem cells, the blood >stem <br> >cell. Blood stem cells reside in the bone marrow of every child and >adult, <br> >and in fact, they can be found in very small numbers circulating in >the ><br> >blood stream. Blood stem cells perform the critical role of >continually ><br> >replenishing our supply of blood cells —— red blood cells, white blood ><br> >cells, and platelets —— throughout life. A person cannot survive >without ><br> >blood stem cells. <br> ><br> > <br> >Given the enormous promise of stem cells to the development of new >therapies <br> >for the most devastating diseases, it is important to simultaneously >pursue <br> >all lines of research. Science and scientists need to search for the >very ><br> >best sources of these cells. When they are identified, regardless of >their <br> >sources, researchers will use them to pursue the development of new >cell ><br> >therapies. <br> ><br> >Read it all at : ><a href="http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm" >eudora="autourl">http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm</a><br> ></font> ><BR> ></html> > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: >mailto:[log in to unmask] >In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn