Tulip designed by Karen Painter

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Very early ramblings

It's very early Saturday morning, I went to bed early last night and fell instantly into a deep sleep which lasted about 2 hours, after which I proceeded to waken every hour on the hour until I finally decided to get up. So here I am with the window open and the cool air wafting into the room, the night noises are loud and incessant. I love it when the air turns cooler and I can open the windows and turn the air conditioner off, knowing of course that there might be at most a month before I'll need to close the windows again this time for warmth. It's September and the Jewish new year, Rosh HaShanah initiated the 10 day period of soul searching and atonement which will culminate next weekend in a day of fasting, Yom Kippur. It's a time to think deeply about the previous year and the one to come, to ask forgiveness of those whom you may have offended and to remember those individuals dear to you who have passed on. I always ask my children to forgive me for anything I may have done to hurt them, either intentionally or not. I mourn the loss of loved ones, especially remembering my sister Ilene and my mother who both passed away too soon and without warning. This year I'm struggling with the reality of the escalation of my Parkinson's symptoms and the knowing that I have to change my expectations of myself and accept that I have changed and my daily life will need to change. I need to be kinder to myself and build in the necessary rest time, slow down the pace and silence the inner critic. I need to re-order my priorities and place HEALTH at the top of the list. Family will fall in a close second place and work will move to the bottom or off of the list entirely. As one friend counseled, it's not "disability", it's "sustainability". It's taking care of me. I've taken care of others happily and willingly, now I've got to turn my attention to myself without self pity.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Richmond VA Parkinson's Education Day

October 16th, Saturday, from 8am to 3:30pm at the Koger South Holiday Inn in Richmond, Virginia. For people and families living with Parkinson's Disease, a Community Education Day, sponsored by VCU and the Richmond Metro chapter of APDA. It's friendly, informative and fun. Check it out.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

NIH motion to stay the injunction against the use of federal funding for hESC research

Please take a look at this document prepared on behalf of the NIH regarding the recent injunction handed down by a DC district court, Judge Lamberth presiding. It's dense reading and I don't understand all of it but there are a few interesting facts.

The two plaintiffs who brought the original suit argue that they were harmed by the competition of hESC (Human Embryonic Stem Cell) researchers applying for NIH grants.

Fact: the one researcher has NEVER applied for an NIH grant and the other currently has a grant for his research using adult stem cells.

Fact: NIH awards grants based on merit alone, each application is reviewed and receives a grade. There is no competition between or within areas of interest per se. There is no limit to the number of projects receiving funding based on subject alone, only on merit of the study.

Fact: human embryos are not destroyed by the researchers using the stem cell lines for research. The embryo that produced the lines was at one time destroyed. The resulting lines are used by scientists to research cures, they do not need to destroy an embryo to do their research.

Fact: the Dickey-Wicker amendment passed by Congress specifically refers to research that results in the destruction of the embryo. Does it refer to research that subsequently uses material from an embryo that was previously destroyed?

What do you think?