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Deborah, Your courage is an inspiration for all of us with Parkinson's. My prayer is for a more speedy recovery for you from the complications of your surgery. Keep on fighting! Charley > As I lie in the hospital for the 7th day which came about from a staph infection > after receiving a DBS, I can only thank you for the letter that you sent. I > knew the risks that were involved in DBS surgery and I accepted them and > ununfortunatly, I was the 1 in 10,000 that gets an infection in the brain after > surgery. Last Sunday, I had to have the DBS completely removed and am on iv > antibiodics for the next 10 weeks. > > Had there been another choice for me to take, I would have tried it. It is so > frustrating knowing that I don't have a lot of choices. I am 39 years old and > due to my PD/MSA I felt that I had not other choice but surgery b/c I was in > advanced stage of PD symptoms. > > I do not know how my story will turn out but I am 100% behind you in the > letter that you wrote. How I wish that stem cell research would advance enough > for me to have a choice in my treatment. > > I, like you, will not sit quietly by and deteriorate. I feel that there is a > lot of good life to live and I will continue to write my senators, congressmen > and anyone else that will listen and a lot that will not that there are faces to > this disease and to take a good look at us... .we are the ones that have to live > by their decisions... not them. > > Sincerely, > Deborah Setzer > aka Tenacity Wins > But for the Grace of God, Go I! > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Stacey L. Downing > Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2002 12:25 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Write to People Magazine > > I wrote the following letter to the editor of People magazine, I encourage > you to all write one as well. > > I feel your timing in glorifying the adoption of frozen embyros to be > tasteless. Specifically because not a fair amount of magazine space was > given to the millions of already existing lives these embryos could help or > even save. It is a beautiful thing, a newborn baby and to give one to a > childless couple, even more amazing. What happens when one of those new > babies is born a diabetic, or grows up and is diagnosed with Parkinson's > Disease in their twenties? You accomplished one side of my mission, to take > the focus off the cells and put it on the faces. Now, lets give fair space > to the faces of those already living human beings it will help. > > I wrote a letter to the President when he was making his choice about > funding stem cell research. I have included it because it still shares the > feelings of a person waiting while others ponder the circumstances of > something that could save her life and is a cry out to those stopping it to > think twice about what they know to be true. > Dear Mr.. President, > > I am a thirty eight year old woman who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's > Disease. I believe in the right to life as well as the right to choose and > I believe a man should pay for his crimes imprisoned rather than put to > peace. That is really what death is - peace. So, you see we differ and yet > agree on many issues not unlike all of America. I have no idea what God is > thinking about the stem cell issue or if he considers the cells they are > using life. Does it have a soul? Unfortunately we can never know. What we > are faced with is the fact that this research could end the suffering of > those we do know God considers life and if you believe in spiritual things, > are positive have a soul. Might we consider this research like the rowboat > in a storm. Would we recognize God's help if we were looking it in the eye? > > Is it right to play with the creation of life in the first place? Any > childless couple longing to be parents would argue that this method of > science is their rowboat in the storm. The fact is that this method of > science is being used and the life that is produced is no different than one > created from natural methods. Who knows for sure that intercourse is the > only way that God intended for life to be created? The next fact is that > this method of science has "residual" that is proving to be the key to a > "cure" for diseases threatening the lives of millions of people. Would we > recognize God's help if we were looking it in the eye? > > As far as I know, God is not living amongst us in the physical form. Anyone > claiming to be him would surely be cast aside and labeled crazy. Yet, he is > present and individual interpretation of what he may or may not be thinking > is the foundation for many important decisions, most recently the decision > to fund stem cell research. I don't know. Unlike those opposed to funding > the research, who claim to know exactly what God is thinking, I simply do > not. I do know that this research has the potential of changing the futures > of millions of people. Would we recognize God's help if we were looking it > in the eye? > > Thank you for your time, > > Stacey Downing > > Support the fight against Parkinson's Disease > > Visit us at www.bid4cure.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn