[Vision2020] Michael J. Fox interview

Wed Nov 1 09:19:24 PST 2006

Thanks, I was unaware that some of your emails had gone to postini I will
check it out.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund at adelphia.net>
To: <barb_crabtree at excite.com>; <pkraut at moscow.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 10:53 PM
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Michael J. Fox interview

Hi Barb,

I doubt this will reach Pat since my second email was rejected by her ISP:
"Recipient: <pkraut at moscow.com>  Reason:    spam source blocked"

Thanks for the clarification, Barb.  Completely leaving aside the whole stem
cell research debate, to me it's a far different thing to accuse someone of
"playing" with medications to "put on a good show" and recognizing that a
very effective way to communicate the devastating effects of PD is to let
people see what it really does.  I think she objects to his testimony -- and
to his political ads -- because seeing what Parkinson's does to a person is
very effective.  Pretty heartbreaking to see.

To me, Pat was doing nothing more than attacking Fox simply to try to
"score."  Rather than debate the issue (which would not have gotten my
attention), she attacked the man.  Interestingly, I don't recall her
attacking Fox when he supported (conservative) Specter, in spite of the fact
that she was a *very* vocal V2020 participant then -- it's the inconsistency
that's so offensive.  In my book, those who resort to such ad hominem
attacks reveal the weakness of their argument whether I agree or disagree
with the position.

It also galls me that Pat thinks she has any right whatsoever to dictate
medical therapies:
"That's not right because a lot of research and monies went into that
medication and he should use it...ALL the time."

Somehow, I doubt she would take the same heartless approach with those
afflicted with cancer who opt not to subject themselves to the ravages of
chemo and/or radiation, not to mention a whole host of other illnesses where
the "cure" or treatment can be worse than the disease, at least from a QoL
standpoint of those having to live through it.

Like you, Barb, I know far more about PD than I'd ever hoped I had reason to
know.  I know about the symptoms . . . and the medications . . . and the
side effects . . . and the loss of efficacy of medications over time . . .
and the unrelenting progression of the disease.  And, I understand how
absolutely devastating dyskinesia can be for those suffering from it.

Barb, you wrote:
"This is another issue that for me just isn't as cut and dried as most seem
to think."

Indeed!  As a matter of interest (or not), there are folks with PD who come
down on either side of the stem cell research debate.  The same holds for
their loved ones.

However, I absolutely maintain that it's not only possible but absolutely
necessary to debate stem cell research ***without*** resorting to disgusting
and uneducated ad hominem attacks against those afflicted with PD who happen
to take a position that's the opposite to Pat.

Hey, Barb -- tell Gary he lucked out with the fried okra this year  :-)))
Otto's got it much later than usual this year, and I was laid up with
surgery and couldn't give him the gift.  LOL -- Gary might think that a good
thing (he's wrong!), but let him know there's always next year & I've not
forgotten  :-)))

Thanks for the dialogue, Barb!

Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
- Edmund Burke

-----Original Message-----
From: Barb Crabtree [mailto:barb_crabtree at excite.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 7:29 PM
To: sslund at adelphia.net; pkraut at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Michael J. Fox interview

Off-list please.

I think what Pat may be referring to is in the book, Lucky Man: A Memoir, by
Michael J. Fox. On page 247-248, he describes his testimony before the
Senate hearing. He does not say that he played with his medication; he says
he did not take it (to show the true effects of PD). As you may know, PD
medications are typically effective at first, but over time lose their
effectivity -- so for me the fact that he went on without medication was
only showing the state he had been in or would be in at some point.

A very, very close friend of my families died from PD. He was a UI history
professor and when I met him as a young child, he was "just like everyone
else." Over his life, I watched what PD did to him. He went to a nursing
home at a young age and died there at a young age. One of Fred's favorite
things in life was to eat. For the last years of his life he could not even
do that -- he had to be fed through a tube. Sometimes he watched the cooking
channels on TV -- which sometimes made him cry.

This is another issue that for me just isn't as cut and dried as most seem
to think.

Hope this provides a little more information.

--- Barb Crabtree

--- On Tue 10/31, Saundra Lund < sslund at adelphia.net > wrote:

From: Saundra Lund [mailto: sslund at adelphia.net]
To: pkraut at moscow.com, vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 09:04:44 -0800
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Michael J. Fox interview

Hi Pat,

You wrote:
"Did you read the book wherein Fox was the first to say that he had
played
with his meds to put on a good show?? People with Parkinson's were
incensed
when they heard he did it! Rush didn't make it up...Fox did!"

What are you talking about . . . what book? Do you know
***anything***
about Parkinson's??? Do you know what the medications can cause???

Unfortunately, I have all too much experience with Parkinson's and
I'm
frankly shocked at your post. Just keep feeding the the absolutely
unfounded rumor mill all in the name of your GOP, Pat -- it tells us
a *lot*
more about you than it does about Michael J. Fox.

Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people
to do
nothing.
- Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2006, Saundra
Lund.
Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020
forum
without the express written permission of the author.*****

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