As
Hlinko mentioned briefly earlier, we at the DCCC have been collecting stories about how stem cell research relates to our members' personal lives. If you're like me, stem cell research was not near the top of your radar screen. But if you're like me, reading these stories will change that immediately - we've gotten about 1,000 already, and every one is a universe. Working on the Hill, it's difficult to avoid slipping into a certain level of cynicism. These stories set my dial back to zero, and made me realize why so many Republicans - who have choked down the party line on so much else - would buck the fervent opposition of both Tom DeLay and George Bush to pass this bill through the House. But as you may well know, it still needs to get through the Senate, and if it is vetoed, we will need another 52 Republicans to override that. If we can get these stories circulating, I think we can really put some pressure on the holdouts - be they Frist, Bush, or the nameless 52 - to make this happen now.
Read just this one story below, please, then see if you don't agree this is worth your time...
As I write this letter, my heart is breaking. A few minutes ago, having arrived home from errands, I found this message from a friend on my answering machine: "Terry is going to the rest home today---call me back as soon as you can."
I haven't made that call yet because I need the time to compose myself. This means that Terry is in his end days and that Lou Gehrigs' disease has claimed another young man.
Terry is one of the most outstanding people I have ever known. He has a brilliant, analytical mind, a compassionate heart and the highest integrity. He is a loyal husband and a father to two young boys. He is my friend. And he only has a few days left.
Terry was a law enforcement officer for the Division of Wildlife Resources whose skill and intellect made him a formidable opponent to those who broke our wildlife laws. As an extremely hardworking young man, he also moonlighted excruciatingly long hours as a residential contractor so he could provide his family with a beautiful home and a good lifestyle.
He worked on my home---his remodeling acumen is unparalleled---and I can walk through my house and show you the rooms that he created.
Our circle of friends have all benefited from his skill and his willingness to share; houses have been remodeled and built from the ground up---barns for horses stand where there was once just bare ground. Remote cabins to house working fish and game officers came into being because of the skill in his two hands. And all of these things happened while he was excelling in his "real" job. For most of years I have known him, he carried an incredible work load and produced impressive results.
He is an athlete and has hiked thousands of miles over the years. His cross-country skiing has taken him on countless wonderful "hut" trips in the Colorado Rockies with other friends.
As a law enforcement officer, when the department confiscated deer or elk that had been poached, he quietly researched until he found local families that needed meat and arranged for them to have the fresh wild game for their table.
These past weeks, he has held on even though he has not been able to swallow well. The reason? He has been trying to find a doctor who would take a kidney and part of his liver as a living donor so his last gift would be that of life for another person. And now that this is no longer a possibility, he has chosen to go into a rest home so his children and wife will not be traumatized by him dying at home.
As I write this, the tears are flowing down my cheeks. My heart is breaking and I can honestly tell you that I would gladly give up an arm and a leg if it would save his life. Terry is a few days away from his last hours at best---then he will have lost his life to this horrific disease.
And we will have lost him. A husband. A father. A son and brother. A friend and companion. A brilliant law enforcement officer and wonderful artisan.
The world will be diminished by his death and many of us, his friends, will face the devastation of saying goodbye. Many more will never have the honor of knowing him. His sons will grow to manhood without their father, his wife without the love of her life.
Stem cell research holds out hope for the others who will be afflicted by this nightmarish illness and a number of other diseases. I find it horribly, tragically ironic that our president ignores the lives lost each day to disease, famine and war and focuses instead on the rights of cells that will never be living, breathing beings. I feel to not allow this research, to try and make it just another wedge issue, is to betray some of our brightest and best whose lives will be forfeit without it.
Sincerely Yours,
Nancy Bostick-Ebbert
Vernal, UT
Read the rest here.
Email your story here: stories-at-dccc-dot-org
Please send these around! It is not a list-building gimmick or a fundraising pitch. Just read some of them, and you'll realize how important this is.
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for those who lend their own voice to this collection.