Wednesday, January 30, 2008

A FRIEND SENT THIS TO ME

THIS IS A MOTHER WHO HAD FAITH AND WAS HEALED. SHE HAD ALS-PAST TENSE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNHmFRO9VJo

TO HEAL OR NOT TO BE

HEY ALL,
HOPE YOU'RE WELL.

I WENT TO A HEALER YESTERDAY IN SHREWSBURY, MASS.
http://www.rdohealingministry.org/

BELIEVE ME, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME BELIEVING IN ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO W/ ANY HIGHER POWER. I'M TRYING BUT IT'S A TRYING TIME FOR ME. MY COUSIN SALLY TOOK THE INITIATIVE AND EMAILED ALL THE INFO AND THE WEBSITE. GLAD SHE DID. IT WAS A GREAT 3HRS. AT THE END, YOU GO UP AND HE (FR. DIORIO) ANOINTS THE SICK. I DON'T AGREE THAT I'M SICK-NOR DO I BELIEVE. I'M THINKING THAT THIS IS A MONUMENTAL WAKE-UP CALL. AND THROUGH SHEER WILL-POWER AND SCIENCE------------------- I WILL OVERCOME.
SO I'M WAITING IN LINE TO GET ANOINTED AND WHEN PEOPLE GET BLESSED, THEY'RE ACTUALLY FALLING DOWN. FROM GOD'S FORCES-I'M TOLD. WELL, WHEN I WENT UP, MY SISTER SAID TO THE PRIEST, "IF THE GOD IS GONNA GRACE DREW WITH HIS PRESENCE-SOMEONE OUGHT TO KNOW THAT DREW IS GONNA GO DOWN LIKE A TON OF BRICK'S AND SOMEONE BETTER GET BEHIND HIM". LOW AND BEHOLD, I DIDN'T HAVE THAT POWERFUL OF A FORCE FROM THE MAN (GOD). I GUESS IT'S BECAUSE OF MY QUESTIONING GOD AND MY FAITH IN HIM-RIGHT NOW. OVERALL IT WAS POWERFUL.

I HAVE TO FIND THAT COMMON GROUND BETWEEN SCIENCE AND FAITH. I'M JUST NOT YET THERE W/ THE WHOLE HIGHER POWER BELIEF. I MEAN, I BELIEVE THAT I HAVE A HIGHER POWER-DON'T GET ME WRONG-THERE IS A GOD-BUT WHAT THE HECK DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS (SOME WOULD SAY PLENTY!!!). DO I HAVE MY CHALLENGE (ALS) BECAUSE GOD PICKED ME TO CHAMPION THE CAUSE OR AT LEAST SPREAD THE WORD. BECAUSE IF THAT'S THE REASON-I WISH HE WOULD HAVE ASKED ME PRIOR TO MY DIAGNOSES. I WOULD HAVE POLITELY DECLINED. BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS-SOMETIMES WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING A FASTBALL LIFE THROWS YOU A CURVE-AND W/ THAT-I WILL CHAMPION THE CAUSE. AND OPEN MOUTH.

I JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE. EVERYONE THAT IS CLOSE TO ME IS SO SURE OF GOD'S PRESENCE AROUND ME-IT'S TRULY REMARKABLE THE FAITH THAT PEOPLE HAVE.

BUT RIGHT NOW SCIENCE IS CALLING-I GO TO COLUMBIA TOMORROW FOR MY CHECK-UP.
SAY A PRAYER
DREW

Monday, January 28, 2008

I WANTED TO SHARE THIS W/ YOU-A FRIEND LEFT A COMMENT ON MY BLOG

YOU CAN ACCESS THE WHOLE COMMENT BY GOING TO THE "TIDBIT" POST AND AT THE BOTTOM, CLICK ON COMMENTS.

THE COMMENT MOVED ME. SEE, I CARE TOO MUCH WHAT PEOPLE WILL THINK WHEN THEY SEE ME-I USED TO NOT CARE WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT ABOUT ME BECAUSE I WAS NORMAL-PHYSICALLY. NOW I AM NOT. I'M REDUCED TO THE SLOW AND UNBALANCED GUY THAT NEEDS HELP. AND I'M NOT OKAY WITH THAT, I GUESS I HAVE TO GET OFF MY HIGH HORSE AND ACCEPT HELP WHEN AND IF I NEED IT.
I'M TRYING-LORD KNOWS I AM- BUT IT AIN'T EASY!!

COMMENT:

Drew
-I don't know you, but came across your blog since I'm a Martin Sexton fan and saw info on the benefit concert. I just thought I'd let you know that my dad LIVED with ALS for 30 years. We went camping, fishing, and boating even after he needed others to help him do it. We had someone remind us that there was no reason we couldn't go out and do much of what we loved to do and then helped us get started. It did take more effort and planning, but we were able to still do so much of what was important to us. I can understand your concern about a loss of independence. The limitations for one, and relying on others for another. In case you're wondering about how someone providing the care felt, it was a lot of work, but we all learned about ourselves and while some things were taken away new gifts were given to us. His body was reduced over time, but it made it easier to see his spirit.


LIVE-LOVE AND BE ABLE TO LAUGH AT YOURSELF

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A LITTLE OPENING TO WHERE I AM WITH MY HIGHER POWER

Higher Power, help me realize each day that it is okay to be wrong, that real communication with other people depends on my being willing to see other points of view, and that being teachable is a divine quality

I WAS ASKED ABOUT MY FAITH THE OTHER DAY.

AS OF NOW, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME BELIEVING IN ANYTHING.
SORRY

Thursday, January 24, 2008

I NEED YOUR EMAIL JIM

PLEASE EMAIL ME AT schemera@yahoo.com

you left a comment on my blog

BY THE WAY MY BLOOD-GAS WAS 97.7%-WHICH IS GREAT-AND MY LUNG CAPACITY IS 85%, ANYTHING OVER 80% IS NORMAL!!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

GREAT QUOTE

Thought for today " We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with others; and along those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes and they come back to us as effects ."-Herman Melville

Sunday, January 20, 2008

California company sees fertile ground in stem cells

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science EditorThu Jan 17, 1:46 PM ET

A small California company set up by an unnamed investor and a top fertility doctor burst into the stem cell field on Thursday with a report that it is the first lab to clone human embryos and prove it.
Stemagen Corp. of La Jolla, California, said its scientists used cloning technology to make five early-stage embryos, called blastocysts, from donated human eggs and skin cells from two men.
While they did not make stem cells from their embryos -- they were destroyed in the process of proving they were clones -- company founder Dr. Samuel Wood says stem cells are his business plan.
"We believe that this is the future -- to create patient-specific stem cells," Wood said in a telephone interview.

Stem cells are found throughout the body, renewing tissue and blood cells. Cells taken from very early human embryos -- smaller than the head of a pin -- can give rise to all the cells and tissues found in the human body.
Scientists hope to harness their power to transform medicine, to repair devastating injuries, replace the brain cells lost in Parkinson's disease, or to cure juvenile diabetes.
The best would be tailor-made, using a patient's own DNA.
But an influential minority of people and groups oppose their use in the United States because they believe it is wrong to destroy any human embryo.
They include President George W. Bush, who has vetoed legislation from Congress that would expand federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. That limits the work to a few academic labs that can juggle the complex requirements of the federal limits, and private companies.

EXCESS EMBRYOS
Wood came up with the idea as part of his work at a large fertility clinic.
"We had this great excess of embryos in the tank that eventually were donated to research or to other couples. But what I also noticed was that we had a great excess of eggs," Wood said.
Human eggs are needed to use cloning techniques to make embryos, and that got Wood thinking. His mother had type-2 diabetes and died after a bad fall. He knew of an investor whose mother had died from a degenerative disease.
Wood said he made his pitch in 2005 to the investor, who wants to remain anonymous, "over a martini in a local restaurant." He then recruited Andrew French, who had created animal clones while at Monash University in Australia.
Wood says the technique is only efficient if the egg is used within two hours of being taken from the woman.
Opponents of cloning technology say it is a slippery slope to using cloning to make live babies. Wood is mindful his work at a fertility clinic could raise suspicions. But he noted that cloned animals are often abnormal.
"To put any human through that just strikes me as inherently unethical," he said.
While some cloning experts support the new company's work, others are skeptical, including Dr. Douglas Melton, who helped found Harvard University's stem cell research center.
"The value, if any, will come from using the cells to discover drugs, i.e. using the cells as research tools," Melton said by e-mail.
French said his team is working to make embryonic stem cells from embryos donated at the clinic, to perfect the technique before trying to use cloning methods again to make tailored cells.
"This field has faced a lot of controversy so we wanted to be clean," French said.
Other companies in the field include Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology, California-based International Stem Cell Corporation and Geron Corp..

Friday, January 18, 2008

A WAY TO OVERCOME!!!!

We must constantly build dykes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

A TID BIT

I HEARD FROM BOTH MIKE'S (TORONTO AND THE UK).


AND THEY ARE BOTH WELL. ALIVE AND FIGHTING. AS I AM TOO BUT IT'S A TRYING TIME FOR ME. I EXPECT TO BE HEALED AND WELL EVERY TIME I WAKE UP. THEN A HEAVY DOSE OF REALITY HITS ME WHEN I TAKE MY FIRST STEP. my ego says everything will okay. MY EGO IS WRITING CHECKS THAT MY BODY IS HAVING A HARD TIME CASHING. HAVEN'T BOUNCED ONE. BUT I KNOW I HAVE A HEAVY LOAD TO CARRY IN THE FUTURE. I'M NOT COMPLAINING, I'M JUST SCARED-I GUESS. AND I'VE NEVER BEEN SCARED OF ANYTHING-EXCEPT BEES! I MEAN IT. but the thought of not being to move haunts me every second. IT'S NOT DYING THAT SCARES ME, IT'S NOT BEING ABLE TO MOVE. THE THOUGHT OF HAVING TO RELY ON SOMEONE FOR EVERYTHING.
I FEEL, AS OTHERS HAVE W/ ALS, THAT EACH TIME I LET SOMEONE HELP ME OR BUY A CANE TO HELP THEM WALK (I'M ALMOST THERE W/ REGARDS TO A CANE). WE ARE LOSING SOMETHING-INDEPENDENCE.

AND THAT MY FRIENDS, IS THE SCARIEST PART OF THE PROGRESSION OF ALS-LOSING YOUR INDEPENDENCE.

I WROTE THIS TIDBIT TODAY BECAUSE A FRIEND EMAILED ME. HE JUST LOST HIS ABILITY TO WALK ON HIS OWN. THE EMAIL CONVEYED TO ME, THAT IT'S A MATTER OF TIME FOR ME, BEFORE I'M THE ONE TELLING YOU THAT I NOW NEED ASSISTANCE. IT WAS SO HARD FOR HIM TO GIVE IN-SO HARD. BUT YOU KNOW ME-I'M NOT GIVING TILL I'M CRAWLING!!!!!!!!!(I GOT THAT SAYING FROM HIM)

THAT IS MY EGO, MY HOPE TALKING. AND I WILL TALK ON............

MY OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY WENT WELL YESTERDAY AT GAYLORD-MY THERAPIST-TONY-SHE IS AWESOME. SO INNOVATIVE W/ HER METHODS.

I'M OFF-TO GET FITTED FOR A NEW PALATE LIFT.

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND SMILE,
D

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Embryonic stem cell lines created without destroying embryo: study


Embryonic stem cell lines created without destroying embryo: study
by Mira ObermanThu Jan 10, 5:11 PM ET



In a bid to sidestep the ethical debate over the use of human embryos in medical research, scientists have developed a way to derive viable stem cell lines without harming the embryo.
They did so by extracting a single cell from the embryo -- as in vitro fertilization clinics do when they test for genetic defects -- and introducing a common molecule called laminin to keep it in a stem cell, or pluripotent, state.

Subsequent development of the embryo was unaffected by the biopsy, according to the study published Thursday by the journal Cell Stem Cell.

The new technique holds the promise of dramatically speeding up clinical applications of stem cell therapies for a wide range of debilitating diseases and illnesses.

Stem cells are considered a potential magic bullet because they can be transformed into any cell in the body and potentially used to help replace damaged or diseased cells, tissues and organs.
However, embryonic stem cell research is highly controversial because, until now, viable embryos were destroyed in the process of extracting the stem cells.

Two groups of scientists recently bypassed this problem by transforming human skin cells into stem cells.
Skin cells will likely become the most common source of stem cells, said Australian researcher Alan Trounson, who heads the world's biggest stem cell research project at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

But skin cells are still far from ready for clinical use because the transformation process introduces potentially deadly genetic alterations and viruses.
Which means embryonic stem cells, which do not carry the same risk of mutation, are currently the only option for therapeutic applications, Trounson said.
"There will (also) be a lot of people interested in the embryonic stem cells because they are the gold standard," he told AFP, explaining that the stem cells derived from skin have not been fully investigated.
Stem cell pioneer Robert Lanza hopes the technique he helped develop to preserve the embryo will spur US regulators to allow funding for research on new embryonic stem cell lines.
Progress in the promising field has been stifled by restrictions on access to federal funds in the United States and outright bans on embryonic research in other countries due to ethical concerns.
"Within the next few months we could make as many of these cells as we like," said Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology.
"We really can't afford to hold this field up any more."
Lanza also cautioned against relying upon the stem cells derived from skin.
"I've been in this field for too long and been fooled too many times. When you have something you move ahead," Lanza said in a telephone interview.

"These are useable. They are not genetically modified. They're here."
But a leading opponent of embryonic stem cell research said Lanza's method -- while "morally laudable" in principal -- "still fails to deliver any kind of ethical solution."
"Any procedure that places at risk the health and life of a human embryo for purposes that do not directly benefit the embryo is morally unacceptable," said Reverend Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

I'M BACK

HAPPY NEW YEAR PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'M WELL AND WORKING MY ASS OFF IN THERAPY. AT GAYLORD REHAB IN WALLINGFORD,CT, THEY HAVE PT IN THE POOL! SO I'M EXCITED TO DO THAT. OTHERWISE I AM KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES W/ MY CHALLENGE.

A VISIT TO MY PULMONOLOGIST (LUNG DOCTOR) YIELDED GREAT RESULTS. I'M BREATHING AT AN ATHLETE'S PACE.

I WILL START WRITING DAILY NOW.

DREW

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

APPROPRIATE FOR MY BLOG

The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.-- Chinese proverb

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

QUOTE FROM A FRIEND

You had better live your best and act your best and think your best today: for today is the sure preparation for tomorrow and all the other tomorrows that follow. --Harriet Martineau

Monday, January 7, 2008

Mike from the UK

Please email me or leave a comment. I want to know how you're doing.
schemera@yahoo.com

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Humans not the only animals confronting the ramifications of stem cells

[chinastemcells] Humans not the only animals confronting the ramifications of stem cells

OK how sad is it that horses have greater access to stem cell treatments in this country than we do and how irritating is it that a horse can get its stem cell transplants paid for by insurance companies but we as human beings can not.

If I am a horse in the grand ol’ USA with a joint injury I can have effective treatment with stem cells and my insurance will pay for it but if I am a human with the very same condition not only will insurance not pay for my treatment but I would have to go so far as to leave the dam country to get treatment.
This is so infuriating to me. All this patients I work with from the USA would be better off and get better medical care if they were a horse!
Good lord what is wrong with our system or perhaps I should say what is not wrong since that would yield a shorter list!


Posted December 30, 2007Humans not the only animals confronting the ramifications of stem cells, steroids
By Wesley Elford

I recently attended the very elite American Association of Equine Practitioners annual convention.

It is the continuing education event of the year for equine veterinarians. The most cutting-edge information is presented in the areas of reproduction, surgery, medicine and farriery. I was really impressed by the progress that is being made in all areas.
The use of stem cells has now become an accepted procedure in treating lameness in the horse. Equine medical insurance companies are covering the treatment of joint injuries with stem cells. Fat cells from the patient are used as the source of cells to culture and obtain stem cells. These are injected into injured or diseased joints. The stem cells are used by the joint cartilage or joint capsule as a source of cells to contribute to faster and more complete healing of the arthritis. The use of umbilical blood for the source of stem cell of the horse is also being perfected.
Whether for horses, humans or giraffes, genes carry the blueprint for all life on earth. Thanks to advancements in animal sciences, a specific gene of a specific horse can be looked at and identified as being healthy or not. A gene for certain diseases can be determined to be on the chromosome of a particular horse or not — and breedings can be arranged to avoid the propagation of that individual that would have a particular disease. Lethal white in paint horses would be an example.
Steroids are a problem in equine athletes also. The same type of steroid is available for normal medical use on our equine patients. These steroids are called anabolic or androgenic steroid, meaning they cause a build up of body tissues by affecting the metabolism to act in a positive and regenerative way.
The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission has come out with a ban of such steroids. This racing commission has decided that they do not want horses racing with these steroids in their bodies. It takes 120 days for the steroids to come out of the horse's body. Therefore, by announcing the ban now, the horses that will be racing at the start of the spring meet in April will be all free of the drug. Horses are tested on race day in a random fashion, both with blood and urine taken. If a horse were found with steroids in its body there would be severe repercussions to owners and trainers.


Obviously, humans aren't the only animals that are performance "enhanced" with mind and body altering drugs. The beneficial use is to treat sick and debilitated animals that need to be stimulated to feel better, to eat more and to adjust what they eat to regenerate tissues and to create lots of energy. But this use should not be done to artificially make a horse stronger or more energetic. It is amazing how man can manipulate everything to his benefit.
Medicine is good and is needed to see that animals are kept healthy and strong so that they can perform up to their maximum. A horse should be asked to perform based on its own innate ability, however, not based on how man can manipulate that performance.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

CHECK THIS OUT!!

chinastemcells] Institute of Regenerative Medicine Closed in Scandal

It was back in late 2005 and early 2006 that I first reported the “stay away” message on this group yet still from time to time people would bring this place up on the boards as a viable option for treatment. I think we all need a reminder that it is not safe to take your child or loved one to just any stem cell provider who has a slick web site and offers a lower price. There are so many people and places out there that want to take advantage and we must be very careful. The claims below about the intentional early delivery of babies who were then used as a harvest resource seem outrageous and unreal but this is not the first time I have heard of this. The story about new born infants disappearing has also been reported by other news sources and there does seem to be some evidence behind the claims.
It is indeed cases like this that lead to fear of all stem cells. These reports are yet another indictor as to why we must stay away from clinics that use fetal stem cells. The use of any such product on any basis will only lead to abuses like those reported below.
Anytime you or someone you know is considering trying out a new clinic and or doctor please check the databases very carefully. It is not uncommon for these clinics to be shut down only to have those involved move onto a new country and set up shop again under a new name. Be very careful and do your homework, talk with others both patients and those involved in the business of stem cells. There are a few of us that are honest and sincere about our work unfortunately we are rare among the general population of those working in this field.

Institute of Regenerative Medicine Closed in Scandal
Stem cell clinic closed
Published on: 11/26/07.
by Sanka Price

BARBADOS IS NO LONGER in the controversial stem cell treatment business.

The Institute of Regenerative Medicine (IRM) which was named in a critical British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) television report last December as one of the clinics using stem cells from aborted foetuses and dismembered babies, closed in May. Its closure brings to an end four contentious years of operation here.

The clinic, which was located at Hempstead , Two Mile Hill, St Michael, was forced to close its doors because business slowed after the BBC investigation was aired, said Professor Yuliy Baltaytis, the IRM's scientific director.

"The brutal attack of the BBC and the British papers ruined our business," said Baltaytis, who spoke to the SUNDAY SUN from New York .

The BBC documentary aired last December 12 and was re-screened on BBC World News on December 13, claimed that stem cells in the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine in eastern Europe were not only procured from aborted foetuses in the first trimester, but that healthy living babies may have been delivered through induced labour at two weeks'
gestation, killed, their bodies dismembered and their internal organs and brains removed for the harvest of stem cells.

Video footage of exhumed bodies detailing this barbaric practice was lodged with the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe had already investigated the maternity clinic in Kharkiv at the centre of the allegations in August 2006 and expressed its extreme concern about "the disappearance of new-born babies in the country and allegations of trafficking of babies for adoption and of foetuses for scientific purposes".

The Institute of Cryobiology in Kharkiv, that supplied the IRM with stem cells, refused to be interviewed for the BBC documentary.

Baltaytis, a Ukrainian, reiterated his condemnation of the British reports saying: "The European Commissioner said that no crime was being committed in Ukraine . They said the BBC report and Daily Mail reports were not true."

The professor, who established the first stem cell clinic here in
2002 - a rejuvenation clinic called "Vita Nova" at Villa Nova, St John , which was rebranded the IRM in 2004 - said he no longer worked for the company, and was trying to set up his own business, possibly in Europe .

Baltaytis said he would like to return here, though he couldn't say how soon he would. "I like to work in Barbados . I have some patients over there."

As to the allegations that IRM skipped the country owing their former landlord $8,000 rent; their employees', salaries; and other companies money for services provided, Baltaytis stoutly denied this.

"We paid everybody. The only one we may owe is the telephone company," he insisted.

"I personally delivered cash to [the landlord] from our chairman, Mr Irme Pakh. ... We paid staff not only money but told them they could take the furniture," he added.

A staff member however disagreed with Baltaytis. The person told the SUN an affidavit was signed by the professor agreeing to pay the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) the deductions taken from their salaries over the last two years. That apart companies were calling about monies owed.

"It is just a complete mess," the former employee said.

Quizzed on the NIS payments for staff, Baltaytis said he was "not a financial officer of the company, so I have limited knowledge. I was scientific director".
YOU HAVE TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!