Joan -
You are remarkable. You are the
personification of what I call AMAIC/ALAIC, standing for:
As much as I can . . . for . . . As long as I can.
Keep up your crusade . . . for all of us.
With admiration,
Bill
Bill Isbell
[log in to unmask]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
At 11:07 AM 8/30/2005, you wrote:
>i had the honor of being asked by US Representative Lane Evans to not
>only speak at his annual Unity Dinner but to also participate in a press
>conference before the dinner. the following is from the Springfield
>newspaper:
>Evans: Government has obligation to stem cell research
>
>
>By FRANCESCA JAROSZ
>STAFF WRITER-THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER ONLINE-SPRINGFIELD, ILL
>Published Sunday, August 28, 2005
>
>
>When Joan Blessington Snyder saw stem cells at a lab at Bradley
>University in Peoria, her internal debate about using them for
>research was settled.
>
>Snyder, a resident of Chillicothe, north of Peoria, is pro-life and
>Catholic. And for 16 years, she's lived with Parkinson's disease.
>
>"Looking into that microscope, I felt the presence of God," Snyder
>said. "He wasn't telling me I was wrong. He was saying, `Right on,
>right on.' I don't know what is more pro-life."
>
>Snyder, founder of Calipso, a Central Illinois Parkinson's advocacy
>group, and three U.S. representatives explained their support for
>embryonic stem cell research Saturday at a conference preceding an
>annual dinner for U.S. Rep. Lane Evans, D-Rock Island, at
>Springfield's Crowne Plaza Hotel.
>
>Evans, along with Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston and
>Jim Langevin of Rhode Island, said the federal government needs to
>support use of such cells for medical research.
>
>"As a compassionate nation, we have a real moral obligation to
>realize the potential of stem cell research, which would extend and
>improve the quality of life for millions of people," Langevin said.
>
>The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, which lifts
>restrictions on use of stem cells from excess embryos donated for in-
>vitro fertilization, passed Congress with bipartisan support in late
>May. Current policy allows federal funding for research using
>embryonic stem cells only if they were derived before Aug. 9, 2001.
>
>Langevin said he expects the Senate to vote on the legislation
>within the next two months. He said Senate Majority Leader Bill
>Frist's support of the legislation, which he announced late last
>month, is a positive sign.
>
>"I'm confident that we'll have a victory," Langevin said.
>
>Opponents, including many in the pro-life movement, say adult stem
>cells offer many of the same research and medical opportunities,
>without damaging human embryos.
>
>Schakowsky praised Gov. Rod Blagojevich for granting $10 million in
>state funding for stem cell research, including embryonic stem
>cells, in July.
>
>For both Langevin and Evans, the battle for stem cells is more than
>a political one.
>
>Evans has lived with Parkinson's disease for 10 years.
>
>Langevin has been a quadriplegic since he was 16 and involved in a
>police education program. A professional officer fired a gun that he
>didn't know was loaded, and the bullet ricocheted, went through
>Langevin's neck and damaged his spinal chord.
>
>"Because of stem cell research, we are one step closer and, I
>believe, very close, to curing spinal cord injuries," Langevin said
>from his wheelchair.
>
>Evans rose to spoke, leaning on a staff member for physical support.
>He said he's speaking for more than a million Americans who share
>his disease in order keep the issue of stem cell research alive.
>
>"We ought to continue to make sure it's left out there," Evans
>said. "We have a golden opportunity now."
>
>Francesca Jarosz can be reached through the Metro desk at 788-1519
>or [log in to unmask]
><http:[log in to unmask]&YY=44890&order=down&sort=date&pos=0>.
>
>
>it was quite a thrill for me to be the only person who was not a
>representative or a senator to be seated at the speakers table and here
>is a copy of my speech:
>
>Lane Evans and I share a _profound _relationship.
>WHAT, one might ask, does a handsome, charismatic Congressman whose
>achievements include serving his country as a Marine, graduating from
>Georgetown Law School, serving 11 terms in Congress; who is used to the
>company of presidents, kings and political powerbrokers, have in common
>with an unheard of housewife and mom from Chillicothe, IL, an old hippie
>and a retired bartender who never finished _even_ junior college?
>
>The answer to this mystery is Parkinson’s Disease.
>
>There is good news and there is bad news to report about Parkinson’s
>Disease. The good news is that doesn’t kill you. The bad news is that it
>doesn’t kill you.
>
>Parkinson’s Disease takes no prisoners and it doesn’t care who or what
>you are. It is THE great leveler. It has held hostage Pope, evangelist,
>artist, the world’s greatest, <pause> attorney general, actor,
>congressman and mere mortals such as myself.
>
>It is a robber disease. It comes like a thief in the night and steals
>away parts of your personality, your self assurance and your ability to
>do everyday tasks with ease. It shows no mercy.
>
>I find it to be extremely telling that people line up to endure a brain
>surgery called DBS during which they must be wide awake and conscious
>for the 8-10 hours that the procedure lasts. They allow doctors to
>insert wires into their brain and run those wires down the skull and
>attach them to implants in their chest so that they can be fine-tuned
>and electronically manipulate their symptoms… all of this rather than to
>continue to live with this _damn, debilitating_, disease.
>
>A hero is a person who has accomplished great things, has noble
>qualities, and shows exceptional courage. Lane Evans is that person.
>
>For a moment, I invite you into our world. Every morning, pain and
>stiffness awaken us. The pain does not dissipate eventually like a
>hangover, but becomes a dull, tedious thing that you wear always, like a
>heavy coat. More important tasks _then_ consume your energy…like
>walking, talking, eating-you know, ordinary stuff like that! You do them
>mostly by rote, knowing how stiff your gait will be and compensating for
>that by arriving early. You know how soft your voice will be at certain
>times of the day, so you plan your good times when the medicine is
>working to do your business…and you know that everyone is watching you:
>waiting for you to slop your soup or to drop something or to fall. They
>watch because they care but they cannot understand. My children become
>exasperated with me and say, “Just move your foot, Mom.” I tell them
>that if I could do that then I wouldn’t have Parkinson’s Disease.
>
>Most PDers are over-achievers. This is certainly the case with Lane
>Evans. His desire to continue his work on behalf of the people of his
>district is overwhelming and the courage of his convictions lead him to
>run for public office when opponents take aim at his disease and declare
>him unfit to do the job…as /if his physical limitations were somehow
>tied to his mental abilities. /Every day of his life, Congressman Evans
>is put to the test: he must overcome not only the rigors of public life
>but to also surmount that nagging little voice that whispers to each one
>of with pd. IT WHISPERS; “you cannot change the world nor the course of
>my impact on your soul and your personality.” “Here, stay inside and
>hide” IT WHISPERS. “It is better to be alone, let me have my way with
>you, don’t try to do anything to defeat me, don’t let anyone see what I
>can do to you.”
>
>Now, there are people with Parkinson’s Disease, who stand up to that
>little whisper. They do not let it take control of their lives; people
>with the bravery and leadership to grab this bull by the horns and
>demand that their voices be heard over the whispers of the _tyrant_ pd.
>Lane Evans is one of those people.
>
>I am proud to know Lane Evans.
>I am proud to be his friend.
>I am proud to know a man who each and every day of his life, lives the
>words spoken by Pope John XXIII:
>
>
>"Consult not your fears
>
>but your hopes and your dreams.
>
>Think not about your frustrations,
>
>but about your unfulfilled potential.
>
>Concern yourself not with what you
>
>tried and failed in, but with what
>
>it is still possible for you to do."
>
>
>I also would like to tell you that on Friday, September 2nd, i have the
>unprecedented opporutnity to take my congressman, US Representative Ray
>LaHood , who is a very devout. pro-life Catholic and is opposed to
>embroyonic stem cell research, on a tour of my friend, Dr. Craig Cady's
>stem cell research lab. it will be an opportunity to help change his
>mind about the need for embroyonic research. so please, help me out by
>sending me good thoughts on that day! Also on the 10th & 11th of
>September , we are in the final throes of planning for my 4th annual
>Shake, Rattle & Roll for Parkinson's Disease. There will be parkies
>coming in from all over the US & Canada & even one from England. I will
>report on the event soon. thank you. joan
>
>
>--
>Joan Blessington Snyder 54/14
>[log in to unmask]
>http://www.pwnkle.com/jes/jes_web/index.htm
>“Hang tough……..no way through it but to do it.”
>Chris in the Morning Northern Exposure
>
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