Thank You Mr. President

I normally don't like the news, but today I loved it. President Obama lifted the ban of government funding on stem cell research. If I ever meet this great man, I will hug him with all my strength and thank him for acting so quickly on an issue that directly affects my son's life.

Most of you probably understand embryonic stem cell research, but in case you don't, let me try to educate a bit. Most embryonic stem cells are taken from fertility labs, NOT aborted babies. Embryonic stem cells are fertilized eggs that have NOT been planted in a uterus, therefore they do not advance to human life. Also, the likelihood of them becoming human life even after transplantation are rare because in-vitro has a below average success rate. In any case, embryonic stem cell eggs are never transplanted to a woman and are simply thrown to garbage when couples decide they don't want them anymore. There are adult and other types of stem cells that science uses as well, but the embryonic ones provide the best results because they are capable of more cell division and alot of scholarly stuff that I don't completely understand (Erin, you may correct me if I'm wrong here.)

So what does all this mean to me? Everything. If Brooks has an opportunity to have diabetes for 5 or 10 less years in his lifetime, it means everything to me. Type I diabetics and those with spinal cord injuries have the most to gain from stem cell research because these diseases are organ-specific and have shown the most promising results. Every Type I diabetic has a damaged Pancreas that no longer produces insulin and stem cell research has shown the strong possibility of reversing the damage by replacing or altering the impaired cells. Positive studies also been shown for Parkinson's and other diseases.

If you don't agree with me, that's fine. As Americans, we are entitled to our own opinions, but this is my blog and until you've had to give your child 4 to 5 shots a day, prick his finger twice that much, and tell him that he can't have a root beer or a piece of candy or a handful of goldfish crackers or ANY of the other wonderful things that most of us eat and feed our children at leisure, then it might be difficult to imagine just how much this means to my family. Yes, Brooks can eat all those things, he just has to provide a blood sample and another body part in which to give a shot first. Then we'll top that off with the fact that the required amount of insulin changes from day to day. I'll give him the same amount of insulin for the exact same meal one morning, and he'll do great, but other mornings, he'll go low or his bloodsugar will shoot up higher!!!!! Steve and I are daily glucose puzzle solvers. It's complicated detective work that no parent enjoys, but more important, that no child should have to go through.

That being said, I welcome encouraging comments or input, but this is a subject that I do not care to debate about. I will delete negative comments immediately because I am a Mom and because I said so! I would also like to add that I love cheerful and optimistic stories about others with Type I diabetes but if you have a tale of someone losing their eyesight, amputating a limb, dying of insulin shock, going comatose from DKA, and any of the like, please keep it in your vault. I've already heard it and wished I didn't several times over. I know numerous people don't understand but all of these things are uncontrolled diabetes and most can't occur unless it's mismanaged for many, many years. If you think your story may cause me worry, then I assure you that it will. I've already concluded that this diagnosis will take 20 years off my life and I certainly don't need reason to add more years onto the list. I'll consider it a miracle if I live to 60.

I may have had a chance to breathe a few more years but thanks to Bush, progress in the way of a diabetes cure was abruptly halted for 8 years. January 20th was a blessed day indeed. Thank you President Obama for recognizing, mentioning, and caring about children with Type I diabetes. Thank you for changing things and bringing hope back into my family's life, your letter is on the way, and I couldn't be more grateful that you're my president.