My child's letter to Bush; Stem Cell Research link

[Zookeeper]

Hi DUers!

Some of you may know that I have a child with Type 1 Diabetes. As you might imagine we have been closely watching the Senate debate during the last two days, and are happy that HR.810 passed. However, Bush is planning to veto the bill tomorrow. I am requesting, on behalf of my daughter, that y'all weigh in on this issue, as most of you know someone (including other DUers) who could benefit from this research.

If you are fortunate enough to not have experience with Insulin-Dependent diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimers, spinal cord injuries, MS, Lupus, ALS or Crohn's Disease, be thankful, but aware that most of us never expected to have to deal with such an illness. Life has a way of dishing out these surprises. Wouldn't it be great to find a cure for those in the future?

Here is a link to handy-dandy form letter that StemPAC will sent to *Bush on your behalf:

http://www.stempac.com/index.jhtml?_requestid=18439#ActionForm

And here is the letter my daughter wrote and sent through Congress.Org:

I support embryonic stem cell research and federal funding for it.
I'm a 14 year old girl living in Minnesota and I've been living with juvenile diabetes for 10 years. Yes, it is true that diabetes is manageable with proper care. But it is nearly impossible to be perfect about it. It is made even more difficult because being a teenager I have to juggle school, activities, and a social life. Checking my blood sugar 4 times a day and remembering to give shots is a heavy burden. I am hospitalized about once every year when I get really sick, because my blood sugars will spin out of control and I become even sicker. It is an everyday struggle for me and many others to live with diabetes. It may be manageable, but it can never be totally controlled.
Every year there are new reports of getting closer to a cure, but the researchers never seem to actually reach their goal. I remember when I was about 8 reading reports that a cure would be ready in 5 years. That should have been last year. There is a new hope for me and millions of others with stem cell research. This could actually be the way to a cure. If you don't support this bill, you are prolonging the suffering of everyone with not only diabetes, but also many other diseases that could be cured by stem cell research. Please take my letter into consideration when voting on this bill.
Thank you

[uppityperson]

1. Very nice, she should be proud of herself for writing this

good job to zookid (or is that zooteen?)

[Zookeeper]

4. Thanks, Uppityperson!

Yes, she is a Zooteen now! I'm happy to advocate on her behalf, but I think it is empowering for her to start speaking out for herself, and I was happy to see that she also spoke for others who could be helped by this research.

:hi:

[bluethruandthru]

2. Thanks Zookeeper!

Great letter from Zoodaughter!
I'd like to add my plea to all DUers to click the link and send the letter to Bush urging him not to veto this bill.
My daughter is a Type 1 diabetic as well and everyday for the last 8 years I've prayed for a cure for this horrible disease. Stem cell research give us hope.

[Zookeeper]

5. Thank YOU, bluethru!

I've really felt close to tears about this the last couple of days (and I rarely cry). It's so painful to start feeling hopeful then have those hopes dashed by a bunch of hateful and ignorant theocrats. Dim Son will likely veto the bill, then our real work will be to try to sway four Senators to override his veto. I haven't even begun to think about what happens if they don't. :cry: :grr:

:hug:

[DanCa]

3. Thanks ZooKeeper

Its amazing that so many people need this research and the chimp is threatening to cut us off at the knees with his morality sword. Please give her a hug from me and tell her that I promise to keep on fighting for this legislation.
PS Stemcell Pac is awesome isn't it?

[Zookeeper]

6. Thank you, DanCa!

I greatly appreciate the effort you've made on this issue. I will have her read the message from you.

I didn't know about StemPAC until I saw a thread someone posted earlier today. I send messages through Congress.org most of the time because there is the option of having the message displayed publicly, so I know at least SOMEONE will read it, since Smirk probably won't. But, I am sending the link to StemPAC to friends and family because it is so easy to use and very informative (and awesome!).

As far as his "morality sword," I'm so deeply cynical at this point, that I can't believe he would veto this bill out of his misguided morality. Some of this is payback for his "base." I even wonder if some of his cronies would stand to profit if this research was done privately and resulted in a cure which could be sold, instead of belonging to non-profits, or "everyone." WE know where Bush's priorities lie, and they never have anything to do with goodness or generosity.

:hug:

[Kansas Wyatt]

7. The Pharmaceutical Companies would lose

Billions every year if Diabetes was cured. That is why * doesn't like funding stem cell research. Our Government has become a Corporate Government, and the Pharmaceuticals profits are the bottom line on this issue.

[bluethruandthru]

8. Sad to say

but I think you're right. I heard a few years ago that one of shrub's biggest financial supporters is the head of one of the big pharmas that makes insulin (lilley?). No wonder he wants to veto the bill. One of his buddies might go broke!

[Zookeeper]

9. Yes, I worry about that also...

Some of the pharmaceutical companies (like Lilly) have their names out there as contributors to a cure, but I wonder sometimes how willing they really are to lose so many customers and so much income.

[katinmn]

10. K&N! Great letter. My cousin had juvenile diabetes

Diagnosed when she was nine, she had to endure daily insulin injections and occasional reactions her whole life.

[Zookeeper]

12. Thanks, Kat!

How is she doing now?

:hi: :hug:

[katinmn]

18. She passed away almost a year ago, age 52

Sorry to bring that up.

[Zookeeper]

21. Well, it's the reality of Type 1 diabetes...

for some.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Kat. :hug:

[katinmn]

24. Thanks, Zookeeper.

:hug:

I read the history of the evolution of diabetes treatment. Horrible! Did you know they used to send people with diabetes to sanitariums and literally starve them?

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. That is an amazing letter! I hope your daughter's letter gets the

attention it deserves! I hope she makes a difference for her and others living with this disease.

[Zookeeper]

13. Thanks, Blue!

She wrote it with no help from me. It was truly heart-felt.

Something that made me very sad, though, is that I suggested that she send the StemPAC link to her MySpace friends and she said, "No. No one cares about my diabetes." :-( I think she has ended up feeling that way because of knowing kids (and adults) who supported Shrub despite his stand on stem cell research. She definitely got the message that it was very low on people's list of priorities, UNLESS they had a relative with a disease that might be cured.

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. Zoo, tell her, we all care! We ALL CARE! We do! I have seen so

many influential people come out on some many things that matter lately! We care! We will make a difference and people like your daughter will lead us! Tell her to never to give up!

[Zookeeper]

20. She just read your post, Blue....

and it put a smile on her face. Thanks, again!

[SammyWinstonJack]

22. Tell her thanks Zoo. She is special! She matters! She inspires us all!

:-)

[Heidi]

15. Kicked

and recommended. :hi:

[auntAgonist]

16. K&R sent the electronic letter too!

Urging others to do the same.

aA

[Olney Blue]

17. Bring on the veto, chimp.

It will be over-ridden. The people have spoken.

btw, is there any way to slip in some stem-cell derived neurons into the blivet's brain? He needs them.

[Zookeeper]

23. LOL!

He needs some heart cells, as well. I'm pretty sure what's left of his is fossilized.

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. K&R for us all.

[Hekate]

25. As with DanCa's letter, I recommend sending this to your congressman and

...senators as well, if she has not already done so. Senators of large states are inundated with mail all the time (DiFi's response email always says she gets 30,000 a week) but your congressional representative is so local you can probably drop by the district office to deliver the letter. Democrat or Republican, they need to know that actual constituents are directly affected -- and bluntly put, being a kid won't hurt.

Tell your daughter for me that this is a very well-written letter, the kind that will elicit a positive response from your senators and rep. It would take a heart of stone to remain unmoved by her eloquent rendition of personal experience. That the heart in question beats in the president's chest is another matter, but I always believe it is better to speak out and take the chance of being ignored, than to remain silent and be assured of it.

Hekate

[Zookeeper]

27. Thanks for the encouragement, Hekate...

She has only sent the letter to Bush and our Senators (MN). Sending it to the rest of Congress is a great idea. And forwarding Dan's letter is a good idea, as well.

If the Chimp ends up vetoing the bill tomorrow, I will take her to St. Paul and hand deliver a letter pushing Sen. Coleman to vote for an override. He voted against the bill, despite claims made by a staff member of his during a phone conversation, that Coleman, having lost a child, feels deeply about illnesses that affect children and has worked with the ADA and JDRF to support a cure (that was news to them, when I repeated the conversation). He's such an opportunist that there's no way of knowing what he really believes.

I just sent a message to Sen. Grassley (IA) because I was so furious at his speech against the bill today. I doubt that it will make a difference to him, but if when you send a message through Congress.Org, you have the option to have it appear on the web site. If it doesn't convince him, it may convince someone else.

Thanks, again! :hi:

[kzootalker]

26. I was also diagnosed at age 4

You have a wonderful daughter Zookeeper, and regardless of what the a-hole in the white house does, a cure will be found in our lifetimes!

21 years and counting......

[Zookeeper]

28. You sound like you have a good spirit, kzootalker....

Zoodaughter has always been a VERY good sport about the whole thing and very brave. I'm sure your parents would agree, though, how hard it is try and find a good spot to inject insulin into a four-year-old and to prick those little tiny fingers. I was inspired to keep going by her wonderful spirit.

For the last couple of years, though, she has become just plain tired of dealing with it. Did you go through that as a teen?

[kzootalker]

33. Yes

My teenage years were very rough....its still rough at age 25. I have an insulin pump now, and it has made a huge difference. I still get low but my H1C's have dropped since adjusting to the pump.

Best of luck to you!

[PatriotMom]

29. Wow what a great letter...

I wish we had an administration and a president that really actually cared.
You have a wonderful young girl there, certainly to be proud of.
I wish your daughter and you the very best.

[Zookeeper]

31. Thank you, PatriotMom,

Well, we know BushCo cares about protecting the profits of their cronies and their political power, but caring ends there.

I have always been amazed by my daughter's upbeat spirit in dealing with her illness; she has never been self-pitying. But, her letter told me a lot about how her level of frustration and weariness.



:hi:

[Pachamama]

30. Beautiful letter and well said....And meanwhile I cry for all the people

like your sweet daughter that are going to have their suffering prolonged or lives shortened because of this idiot occupying our White House and using his Veto for the 1st time to stop an important breakthrough in medical research from moving forward.

Thank you for sharing this letter and encourage your daughter to read it/send it to the local news stations and newspapers. Maybe more people like her reading her letter on air and in front of all the idiots who support this idiot king will wake up if they hear her.

:hi:

[Zookeeper]

32. Thanks, Pachamama..

I just caught Dim Son's press conference announcing the veto. I hope he ends up being deeply, deeply ashamed that this veto and his Iraq debacle will be his legacy.

I will encourage Zoodaughter to send a letter to our local paper. I wrote a long one a couple of years ago on the subject and they printed it in it's entirety. I have found that this issue doesn't come up on people's radar unless it personalized for them somehow.

Thanks again...:hi: