Some Thoughts Before We Vote...

It may shock you to see that this is NOT about the Presidential-portion of our ballots on Tuesday. It's about Prop 2: the Stem Cell Research intiative. For those of you who aren't in Michigan, you might have something similar on your ballots...and if you don't, you probably will someday. I've always been fairly apathetic on this issue. I've heard opinions on both sides of the equation and have always fallen squarely in the "this one doesn't affect me" camp. I know! How unlike me to *not* have a political opinion, whether it directly relates to me or not, right? Well guess what? It does.

I read this weekend about Dr. Anthony Atala, who used to be the Chief of Pediatric Urology here at our own Childrens Hospital of Michigan. Now, he's in North Carolina at Wake Forrest, working on actually GROWING bladder tissue and even whole bladders. Keep in mind that Little Pom's kidney disease was actually caused by an incurable bladder condition and the fact that this man is literally cultivating bladders is amazing. It gives me a sense of hope for my sons future that I haven't really felt in a l-o-n-g time. Maybe someday, Dr. Atala's research will progress to a point where LP can receive a bladder transplant, made of tissue that doesn't contract and stay put the way his current bladder has. Maybe, someday, my little boy WON'T face a lifetime of catheterization. It's possible: Atala has already performed one successful whole bladder transplant, in addition to several lab-grown tissue transplants in children who were born with abnormally small bladders. And yes, in case you haven't guessed it yet, all of these amazing Little Pom-Life-Saving medical advances are the direct result of stem cell research and experimentation. 

So there we have it: Stem Cell Therapies have the potential to give Little Pom a normal adulthood, free of invasive, uncomfortable and embarrasing medical procedures. This isn't hypothetical- it's already being done. But maybe some of you think that being able to avoid a lifetime of urinating out of ones belly-button isn't a cause "just" enough to warrant the sacrifice of those clusters of unwanted, already-trashed cells, that would have been destroyed by the in vitro lab anyway if their donors hadn't seen fit to give them for medical research. Maybe, just maybe, an easier "lifestyle" doesn't cut it for you. Then consider this: Dr. Atala is also working on growing whole KIDNEYS. The Pomegranate Clan has gotten used to living with uncertainty. We have no way of knowing for sure if Daddy will turn out to be a suitable donor. We have no way of knowing if LP will reject a donor organ. We have no way of knowing if LP's kidney function will hold steady long enough to get him to the point of transplant. Nothing in this world is certain for us right now. Except for this: Stem Cell Research now has the potential to quite literally save my childs life. Maybe not today. But soon. 

Unless people cast their votes to say that this:

Is more precious, worthy and deserving of one more day on our planet than this:

For all peoples talk about the ethics and morals of stem cell research. I have to believe that at the end of the day, Little Pom's future is slightly more valuable than that of 14 (previously frozen and incinerator-doomed) cells. So please....I'm asking (well, begging) you as a Momma: vote YES on Michigan Prop 2.  And if you're not in Michigan, the next time the subject of Stem Cell Research and Therapy comes up....remember this face: