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Stacy, I admire you for the courage and thought that it took to write this letter. 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