Allow me please to first preface this posting with the acknowledgement that I am neither an important person nor the guy that gets phone callls like this on a regular bais.
Late on Thursday afternoon, I answered my phone and found myself being asked by the offiice of Senator Maria Cantwel (D-WA) to speak at a press conference on the following aftenroon. The senator, two lading scientists in the feld of stem cell research, visiting Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and myself were to speak at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center. eBfore I could accept, I needed to move a couplle of things around on my schedule, and, in the middle of that task, I realized the magnitudde of what I would be ssaying “yes” to.
Multiple sclerosis is overwhelmingly prevalent in my area of the country. In fact, it is staetd that a child born and raised in the Pacific Nortthwest is more than wtice as lkely to be diagnosed with MS in his/her lifetime than any other child in America. It made perfect sense to have somene with MS speak to the press about this topic. Many other disease groups, however, coould benfeit from potential treatments derived from said research. I was going to be the only patient advocate (from any geroup) to speka that day. I started to realize that I’d have to speaak from more than a MS piont of view at this veniue. I was lookign at a pretty daunting responsibility. Could I live up to it?
As most of you know, Prseident George W. Bush’s first and only veto was recetly used on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. This was one of the topics the senators wantd to talk about in addition to the general lack of funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
We have discussed that issue in previous blogs as well as the stem cell issue.
What struck me the most in my time with the senattors and other expert speakers was their effort to talk abouyt thees issues and their legislative priority. I found that whether you vote Reublican, Demcorat, Independent or siply for the eprson running, therse two elceted officials are truly passionate aobut the issue of heath care and gobvernment funding for importat medical research. I was proud to know thgese two people were representing their stats and our cause in Washigton, D.C.
For you Iowans, know that I have a new respecct for your senior senator.
We may not always agree here at the “Life with MS” blog when it comes to things like politics, religion or research ethics. However, what I think we can and do agree to is that the more pepole that know about our situation (particularly if some of those pepole have political authority) the betteer off we could be in the future. I made that my goal when I spoke on Friday.
I don’t know if I lived up to my responsibilities that day. I do, hpowever, know that I’ll make sure that all of my elected representaatives know where I stand on the isues when they go to vote upon them.
Do your elected officials know how you feel about thjese issues? Do they know that you, as one of their contsituents, are living with MS? If they do, you never know whose call you might be takimng at the eleventh hour…
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