Cohen - Chasing hope: a patients deep dive into stem cells, faith, and the future

Blindsided

Strong at the Broken Places

I Want to Kill the Dog

I dont like prefaces and rarely read them. When I care enough to put my hands on a good book, I just want to get started. Frequently there is ground to cover before a reader turns a page. I get it. So here is my reluctant preface. Be assured it is short. Really short. Please forgive the statistics, but the numbers speak loudly about our need for hope.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 117 million Americans live with at least one chronic condition. That is almost half the population of the United States. Chronic illnesses were responsible for seven of the ten leading causes of death in 2010. This is serious stuff. To add to that, almost 20 percent of us are disabled. We are a people in need.

Chronic conditions are incurable and can play out over a lifetime. They become more common as we age, and we are fast becoming the oldest population in American history. Chronic illnesses include heart disease, diabetes and obesity, some cancers, and numerous neurological disorders. The list is long. I am disabled and grapple with a few of these dread diseases myself. Lucky me.

Multiple sclerosis rules my life. Fading vision and limbs that no longer function properly, cognitive issues, and dizzying imbalance have become my new normal. I am a different person than the one I used to know. Each day is a challenge to be met and mastered. But I am grateful for what I have.

The struggle against illness has been going on through the ages. Women and men of the world have longed to know hope since time immemorial. That never has been more true than today. In America, we live under a state of siege from an army of illnesses. Americans seem to believe this is more about the other guy than the person we see in the mirror. But most of us will be touched by serious sickness in our lifetimes. Sooner or later we cross paths with hope. For many, that is all we have

Our sons and daughters, spouses and siblings, friends and neighbors, our colleagues and the cops on the corner may have a problem or two we do not see. We do not know who is next in line. That is a mystery of life. I believe life is an exploration. My journey into the land of hope took me to new places. In many ways, I began the investigation in 2012, when an invitation to a stem cell conference at the Vatican caused me to reevaluate the last decade of my, and my familys, relationship with hope, faith, and the future.

Throughout the next five years, first as a journalist, then as a blogger, I explored hope in its many forms. I visited families touched by serious illnesses and interviewed religious leaders. I attended Friday prayers with immigrant Muslims and participated in that stem cell conference, which led me to an experimental treatment for MS.

I covered a lot of ground and learned as much about myself and my relationship to hope as I did about the treatment itself. I am a person for whom hope does not come easy. The journey was worthwhile. Ultimately, I decided to accept intelligent risk and cast my fate to the wind. I realize there are many views of hope, and all of us must find our own and embrace it.

Now, please read.