Oh, for the magic pill...

I am an intelligent, educated individual. I like to think that I can recognize an e-mail scam and that I won't get taken by a phony website. However, like most parents who have a child with a disability, I try to stay abreast of current research and I maintain hope for a big discovery that will make a drastic difference in my daughter's life. We did try some nutritional supplements that had big promises for drastic improvements. They didn't cost so much that we had to take out a loan to buy them, and we did see a nice improvement in digestive regularity, which made it worth the money - especially when you consider the fact that we avoided medication to achieve the same results.

So when I went to a conference and heard a speaker talk about... stem cell therapies... I tried to remain skeptical, not get too hopeful. I am not a parent who jumps into things with both feet - I tend to hang back and wait until someone else tries it first. So we won't be making a trip to Mexico anytime soon. But it all sounded so reasonable, so plausible - it seemed to makes sense. It gave me hope.

I just finished watching a video segment from 60 Minutes on "21st century snake oil" in the form of stem cell therapies which promise everything, result in nothing and cost you a bundle in the bargain. So my roller coaster car is back on the down slope re. stem cell research. I do believe it holds great promise for the future - just not the near future. Granted, the network expose profiled a man who calls himself a doctor and isn't an MD. And he was preying upon folks with ALS and MS and promising a cure. And he was charging them WAY more than the doctor I heard at the conference. Still... office in CA, clinic in Mexico, a lot that sounded quite similar.

I'm going to do more research on the doctor I heard speak. I'm going to keep reading everything I find on stem cell research. I've already sent my daughter's baby teeth to a storage facility where her own stem cells have been extracted and are waiting... for the future.

There is no miracle cure. There is no magic pill. But there is always hope.

Winter Olympics (shudder)!

Well, it's that time again. Time for the winter olympics. Time for TV commentators everywhere to make jokes about curling. And time for my flashbacks.

Erica was born in Feb. 2002 - we are about to celebrate her 8th birthday! The winter olympics were under way in Salt Lake City. Peanut arrived 3 months ahead of schedule; I was listed in serious condition - no visitors - darkened room - limited phone calls; I was told going into emergency surgery that she had an 80% chance of survival... I was ecstatic as I thought when they diagnosed my HELPP syndrome that she had 0% chance at 27 wks! After her birth at a lower-than-expected birth weight for her gestation, we of course had no idea if she would live or die. I couldn't stop crying, and through it all the only thing worth watching on the TV in my hospital room was the winter olympics. I haven't tuned in to CNN Headline News since, because I think just hearing the music they play for their transitions would give me a cold chill.

Each year when her birthday rolls around, I do not dwell on the scariness of her entry to this world. Instead, I focus on the miracle that she is and how very far she has come. But, every four years when the winter olympics coincide with her birthday, the flashbacks do occur. I can almost smell the dozens of flower arrangements in my room. (I had to send some of them home because I was getting headaches from the smell!) I will tune in to olympic coverage, I'm sure, but not on Headline News, LOL!!

The light at the end of the tunnel

Well, the construction project is almost finished. It will have been a four month project, start to finish. Four months of having a rusty dumpster and a port-a-john in my driveway. Four months of having strange men, many of whom barely speak English, traipsing around and through my house and being able to let themselves in if I don't answer the door when they knock (they have all been extremely considerate, but still...). Four months of starting every conversation with my husband with a run-down of phone calls made, progress made, who was here and what they got accomplished.

It is turning out beautiful and just the way we wanted it to. The contractor keeps asking us if we want to move into the new space. Erica is excited but also hates the idea of Natalie moving into her old room, which she has stated repeatedly that she wants to do. It will be finished next week, and then the work of moving furniture and cleaning can begin.

I will post pictures when all is said and done, and we do plan to have an open house when all of the room rearranging and decorating is finished. Hmmm. Come to think of it, that list is so long it might be the annual Crawfish Boil in June when we host the open house!

Stay tuned...