On Wednesday August 8, I attended the meeting of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Independent Citizens Oversight Committee's "Spotlight on Cerebral Palsy." I was invited to speak and share my experience as a patient and person living with cerebral palsy. Dr. David Rowitch, Professor of Pediatrics and Neurological Surgery of the Children’s Hospital at UCSF Medical Center, gave an overview of medical and health aspects of cerebral palsy and explained how stem cells could potentially be applied to treat or reduce symptoms of the condition.
As someone who has left hemiplegia cerebral palsy, paralysis and weakness on the left side of my body, I gave a short talk about my experience living with cerebral palsy. I began by giving an overview of what cerebral palsy (CP) is: paralysis resulting from brain injury during birth and childhood, and the specific type of cerebral palsy I have, called left hemiplegia. I mentioned how it makes it hard for me to do things that most people don't worry about: opening cans, cutting food, and tying my shoes.
In addition, I talked about how having CP and hemiplegia has created significant barriers for me to obtaining long-term, gainful employment. Weakness in my left hand has reduced my employment opportunities by limiting the types of jobs I can pursue and do, and makes it hard for me to compete in the “fast-paced, multi-tasking” labor market. Because the visual field in my left eye is limited, driving long distances is difficult. This means I can only work at companies that are accessible by public transportation, limiting my employment opportunities. Getting dressed is also challenging. In order to join the workforce,it is important to dress appropriately. It's hard for me to dress myself in business attire find pants and put on dress socks, which is important in order to effectively present myself as a strong candidate to prospective employers.
In conclusion, I emphasized how stem cell research could dramatically reduce, or even eliminate, my symptoms of cerebral palsy based on current evidence from recently published scientific studies. Scientists from Stanford and Johns Hopkins Universities found that neural stem cells injected in rats with a condition similar to CP automatically traveled to the damaged part of the brain and repaired it. Researchers at Johns Hopkins and UC Irvine demonstrated that paralyzed rats injected with stem cells regained mobility. I find these results very encouraging, as they could enable me to have real improvement in my physical condition that will enable me to do things that are presently very difficult, if not impossible, and dramatically improve my overall health and quality of life.
