Hi everybody!  First, a short update on my life recently: I independently completed my second trip down to Tucson in May to see my friends Coleen and Corey get married.  It was beautiful!  I had a lot of fun and even got the chance to dance a little bit after the ceremony.  I have always been an awkward dancer, so the wheelchair didn't really make it any worse :D

My health is getting better and better, and I have been driving my car regularly over the last couple of weeks. With these two barriers out of the way, and if everything goes as planned, I will be moving down to Tucson permanently in the next couple of months.

Second, I want to thank everybody that responded to my request by praying for me.  We had a very good prayer time in Tucson and I feel certain that God heard us and is working to respond. 

Third, I want to again ask for your help.  Now, I don't want to get too political or ideological or anything, but an issue regarding medical research for neurological problems has recently come to my attention, and I thought it seemed right to post it here.  The issue is basically that the FDA is causing problems for companies that want to do research on adult stem cells.  As I understand it, the way that these cells work is that they are removed from an adult person's body (usually the bone marrow), cultured in a lab into a different type of cell, then reinserted into another part of that same person's body.  The FDA is preventing these cells from being used by calling them a "drug" and requiring seven to ten years of research on each person's cells before they can be used.  (see an article on the issue here)

If you ask me, this is ridiculous!  My stem cells are not drugs, and the FDA should not be regulating them.  I believe that adult stem cells are a valid option for treatment of many health issues, including mine, and they should be investigated.  If you are at all interested, one way that you can help is by going to safestemcells.org and using their form letter to e-mail the FDA ombudsman and/or your congressman. 

Thanks for reading, friends!  I hope that things are going well in your lives. 

Love,

Kelsea