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