In 1951, I was six years old and living in a hospital bed. I had asthma/bronchitis, which may not sound like much, nowadays. But every inhalation was a separate wheezing effort, and a choice: to struggle and breathe, or relax and die. There were injections of adrenaline which burned like liquid fire, and experimental drugs
Let’s talk clinical trials, ALS, and California funding for stem cell research
Did you ever wonder how you hear, and what would happen if you couldn’t? Deep within the ear, in the snail-shaped cochlea, 30,000 hair cells rest in a bath of liquid. When noise occurs, the hair cells tremble slightly. This sends vibrations to the brain, which translates them as sound. When these hair cells wear
In the days since Stem Cell Awareness Day, we are more inspired than ever in our fight for treatments and cures. That inspiration is thanks to people like you. We asked you to tell us why stem cell research gave you hope, and your replies remind all of us at Americans for Cures why we
I was walking across my high school football field one day, when the boy in front of me suddenly fell to the ground. He went down hard; then writhed around violently, as if wrestling with himself. I just stood there, holding my schoolbooks, no idea what to do. Presently the contortions calmed. He lay there
“Would you want to live forever?”, asked Gloria, beloved wife of nearly half a century. At 72, I consider myself middle-aged. My father, Dr. Charles H. Reed, is 95 and plays tennis three times a week and is reading the Bible in French. He is conversant in 12 languages, and once wrote an education dictionary
First, for readers wanting more information on ALS, the subject of one of my previous pieces, let me refer you to an outstanding article by Dr. Karen Ring of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a champion science writer. Now: stem cell decision-making? Having no conscious will of their own, stem cells of course cannot “decide” anything.
My wife Gloria tries to only use our home stairs twice daily: coming down in the morning, and climbing back up at night. You would understand why if you could look inside her knees. A healthy joint has an internal cushion of smooth white cartilage: Gloria’s is mostly gone. As a result, her leg bones
When you first speak to Rosie Barrero, it is difficult to believe she is blind. Her eyes follow you as you speak—but she is guided by hearing, not sight. As she puts it, “I cannot go outside the house by myself.” As a child, Rosie lost night vision, and was called “nearsighted” by a school nurse.
