October 2013

            The most beautiful event occurred September 20^th:  My grandson, Noah Mark, was born to his proud parents, Jeremy and Jennifer.  Holding his five and a half pound body definitely brought back memories of the first few days of Jeremy, Emily, and David’s life journey.  I can remember holding them and looking at their faces with amazement wondering about their potential and the thousands of experiences that would shape their future.  

            Who would they become?  What would they like?  Who would they marry? What challenges would they face?  These were just the beginning questions that I pondered as I held each one at the starting line of life. Almost 30 years have passed since that original moment and I’m proud to say that I’m overly impressed with the individuals they have become.  They have been a great source of joy in my life.

             As Noah slept in my arms on his ninth day, I realized he too was at the beginning of his journey and I wondered about the answers to the same questions. I know he’s in good, loving hands.  I’m excited for him.

              Let’s see what else?  Two things: The government shut down and MSA. A shutdown emphasizes some “must-have” qualities we should demand of our elected officials.   Intelligence, maturity, mindfulness, and honesty are critical qualities for the job.  I can’t imagine an American corporation would stop selling their product and temporarily shut down if  senior management had a disagreement. 

              Republican Congressman Eric Cantor talked about fairness. His father suffers from MSA but he refuses to advocate for support for funding the National Institute of Health, (NIH), the main source for a cure, because during the shutdown, it wouldn’t be fair.  What a good son!                       

               Democratic Senator Harry Reid also refused to advocate for funding for NIH during the shutdown because he wants to be fair and he does not put one group ahead of another. You’ve got to be kidding me. I think terminally ill people certainly deserve to be a higher priority. Fairness? Stop the nonsense.                                     

                As for MSA, things continue to progress and not enough research is being done.  If you perform a search at www.clinicaltrials.gov for open research studies for MSA, you will find 84.  If you search the same for cancer, there are over 35,000.  More help is needed.

                 So if you’re looking for a charity to support, please consider my fundraising (www.markfreifeld.com) effort for MSA research taking place at The Mayo Clinic.