Tuesday, July 31, 2007

China, Here I come AGAIN!

I am so excited! I got this at 11pm last night! It's not the same hospital but I am told it is better!
August 1st, 2007


Re: Invitation for Visit
Dear Drew Schemera,

We would like to invite you to visit our company and the 463 Hospital in Shenyang(near Bejing) – from November 4th, 2007 to December 4th, 2007. You will go through the immigration in Shenyang. You need a visa to come to China.

We look forward to seeing you and please let us know if you need any help with your arrangements.

Sincerely,
Dr. Sean Hu
Chairman
Address:
Beike Biotech Company Limited
Telephone: +8613823501818
111 Yan Ji Road, Shi Bei District
Suite 529, Qingdao, 266034, China.
Tel: +8653285019111

update

Hello Everyone,

Hope all is well!

I am great!
I went to Yale last week and met with my Neuro doc. I have gotten a little worse with my strength on my right side. But he liked the fact my breathing is normal and my swallowing is much better-direct result of stem cells in china!

All in all I am disappointed because I thought I was the same. But hey, I will just fight harder! My spirits were down for a second and then I was back to normal.

Have a great day,
Drew
"Don't stop fighting till the fighting is DONE"

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

weekend in philly

Father Bob and I in front of the liberty bell
John and I-he was assigned to me in France-a wonderful human!
me in twenty years-on my blackberry!
This is Mr. Moran-a great friend of mine from Lourdes

From left to right :Devon, Sydney and Molly-they are fellow Malades(sick like me)
The Group at the reunion

Hey,



I was in Philadelphia this weekend for a reunion with some of the people that I did my "spiritual pilgrimage to Lourdes, France in may". For those of you that do not know. The order of malt does a pilgrimage every year for the sick and terminally ill. They call us "malades"-which means sick in french. My great friend P Shalala's father Phil Sr. sponsored my mom and I. Let's just say when I found out I was mad as heck at the man upstairs for giving me my "challenge". But I went. And all you do for 8 days is pray and go to mass and say the rosary every night and so on. And they have these baths that you can go into to cleanse your body of all sins(which lord knows I needed) and to cleanse yourself of disease. I went 3 times. They get you to strip down to your underwear and then they lead you in prayer to the bath and you get dunked. Most amazing experience of my life.



Anyway-we had a reunion and here are some pics. Thought I would share!

L,
Drew
There are no classes in life for beginners: right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Inside of my own head!

Hey,

This is choppy writing, I know

Sorry I have not written in awhile. I guess I am having a bad few days. You know I am happy about the breathing test and the balance improvement which is a direct effect of the stem cells-no doubt. But at the same time I think of the future and how it just might be bleak! I recently looked at a website- http://www.wingsoverwallstreet.org/ and saw the hope on the video page-people were video taped and they all had this amazing hope. I left a message on the guestbook and the chairman wrote back to me and said my inspiration should be spread and he invited me to attend the gala on september 20 with a guest. He lost his wife to my challenge. I am going to go hoping I could instill some hope to people that are having a bad few days! Know one has more of a positive attitude than I do-no one. But it seems to me, we are a long way off to find something that really helps-not just "prolongs life" and I do not know if I or other people have the time. The people on the video-some of them are gone and that scares the s%#t out of me. I have hope, I do and lots of it. But deep down I am fearful that it will not be in time. Don't get me wrong, I am fighting this with everything thing I have. By going to Physical Therapy and acupuncture 3 times a week and changing my diet and going to China and going to Yale twice a week and Columbia and taking 18 supplements a night and................

I am even enrolled in a clinical trial at Dartmouth University-so I am doing. I just hope it's enough. I have come to terms with what I have and the end result but I have NOT accepted it and I will not till I am healthy again. You know at church this weekend-at the end this woman whom I don't know tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Don't think I am crazy but these past two weeks God has drawn me to you(I am thinking she is nuts). But she says, "He wants me to tell you to challenge him for answers and DEMAND them from him". This lady has no idea what is going on with me at all. And as fast as she was there she was gone. I was speechless! Well I told my mom and she said maybe it's an angel(now I am thinking my mom is nuts). As I left church-I am thinking-I have been asking him for the answers of why. And he has never answered me yet. So I gave up asking recently and then this woman comes up and says that(now I am thinking I am nuts). But I surmised, it was him just reminding me to keep asking because the answer will come. I do not mean to get Holy on anyone but none of my doctors(and I have a ton of them) know the answer-so I will keep asking and waiting for an answer.

God, if your a reader of blogs-Why? On record I asked!
I will keep you posted on his answer.

My blog finally made it to the http://www.stemcellschina.com/ website. When you go on look on the right side-it says Drew's blog-also it is great info for stem cell research and what they are doing in china!

Talk Soon,
L,
Drew
"Energy and persistence conquer all things".

Friday, July 13, 2007

thought

quote of the day that was sent to me by a friend-it is applicable to everyone

It is not your aptitude, but your attitude, that determines your altitude.
Zig Ziglar

Thursday, July 12, 2007

News from the ALS newsletter

Although promising, it goes to show how FAR we are away from human stem cell treatment.

Stem Cell Progress on Several Fronts Give Hope for ALS
www.alsa.org
Roberta Friedman, Ph.D., ALSA Research Department Information Coordinator
[QUICK SUMMARY: New progress in stem cell research includes proof of principle that spinal cord injury can be repaired, as well as other important advances that could bring stem cells into the treatment arena for ALS.]


The ALS Association is featuring advances in stem cell research as part of this month’s journal news service. This month’s digest of noteworthy published findings marks the first full year of this new service that the research department is pleased to provide for the ALS community. In noting this anniversary, it is satisfying to see the progress many researchers are making in understanding stem cell biology, with an eye toward designing effective treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease).
A key finding that achieved wide press coverage was that motor neurons derived from embryonic stem cells could be placed into the spinal cords of rats that had lost motor neurons, with the rats regaining partial ability to walk. Yet several other publications in the stem cell field encourage those seeking to help treat motor neuron disorders.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Hello

Hey Guys,

Got some good news at Yale yesterday. I took a breathing test to measure my ability to inhale and exhale. They wanted to see if my diaphragm was weakening. Well, I was in the 95%-that is higher than most normal people. And I know my swallowing had a lot to do with-I am told and that is a direct result of stemcells! Before china I could not swallow properly and I would choke on just about everything. Ever since halfway through my trip-I can swallow, gulp and breathe again normally! Now if the cells would just go to my toungue and hand!! It is the small victories that win a war!

Acupuncture is going so well! And I am well-I have good and bad days but the bad days are not that bad! And thanks to you I have so much support!

I have a bunch of pics and some news coming soon!

Talk soon,
L,
Drew

Friday, July 6, 2007

An Update

Hey All,

Hope the day is going great!

I wanted to share something-on why I did that article-"if I could reach one person it would be worth it"-I said to the columnist Meredith in my email. And I did. I got an email from someone that has a challenge like mine and I was so happy to help and reach out and just to say-your not alone! I can't explain to you the power of your voice and words. If you have something to say-SAY IT!

As for me-I am well! Doing the acupuncture and completly changing my diet will help in my fight against my challenge. Although I am not big on the diet change-I have to-I love food so it is hard.

Again-the support has been simply amazing. The new friendships and the old rekindled one's are a breath of fresh air.

Love Drew


this a quote I found off a website that was forwarded to me by a friend. They actually have classes on death and dying-weird I know-And my spirits are not down---just a great quote and it shows how we are dignified in knowing that we don't last forever!!

Paul Tillich wrote, "It is man only who is able to face his death consciously; that belongs to his greatness and dignity."

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Thought

Hello,

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

I came across this quote and I love it because with what I have, you have to create situations to progress. If you don't, you will either stand still or move in the wrong direction.

"Never retreat in the face of difficulties. Advance as conditions permit. If conditions don't permit, create those conditions." -Anonymous

Drew

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The mystery is over

I found the mystery person and it was who I thought it was. And it made my day. Thank you!!!!

Who is this???

who is this from:

that looks like the drew i used to know. i see you're still wearing black socks with shorts. :P
thinking of you.
kmr

I have an idea but I want to be sure I email the right person-

Please email me.
I try and email everyone back-but if I do not know therefore I can't-Thanks


I am well! Happy 4th everyone!!

Monday, July 2, 2007

hey All

I am well and starting my acupuncture today. A friend sent me this and I would like share with you-It is a song:

The song is called "MY WISH" from the Rascal Flats..

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,and each road leads you where you wanna go,and if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.And if one door opens to another door closed,I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,if it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile.But more than anything, more than anything...My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,You never need to carry more than you can hold,and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,Yeah, this, is my wish.I hope you never look back, but you never forget,all the ones who love you, in the place you left,I hope you always forgive, and you never regret, and you help somebody every chance you get,Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,and always give more than you take.But More than anything, yeah, more than anything...My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,You never need to carry more than you can hold,and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,Yeah, this, is my wish. Yeah. My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,You never need to carry more than you can hold,and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,Yeah, this, is my wish.