Story of Hope: Adam's Story
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by Don, Lori & Adam Rose
Macomb Township, Mich.
My son, Adam, was diagnosed with leukemia in March 1998, just one month after turning 4 years old. Our world shattered in a matter of days. Chemotherapy began immediately. There were many hard days in the first months. Eventually things settled into a kind of routine and my wife, Lori, and I began to think that we could make it through this.
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Then in early July 1998 Adam had a severe neurotoxic reaction to one of the chemotherapy drugs. He became paralyzed and could not move his legs. Over several weeks the paralysis advanced into his upper body. By the end of the month Adam could no longer lift his hands to his face. He could only turn his head 45 degrees to each side. He no longer had the strength to laugh, cough or sneeze. Adam was so weak I began to worry he would stop breathing at night.
All of Adam's toys, except his Hot Wheels cars, lay unused. With his cars he could at least weakly move them around on a table in front of him. He kept one or two cars in his hands almost all the time, wherever he went, seemingly afraid to let them go. I think they were his last link to a normal child's world. It would make me cry to watch his attempts at play, all without complaint. I kept thinking he just had to get better. His life could not end up like this.
He received a bike for his fourth birthday in February. Adam loved to ride that bike with the training wheels. I will always regret not taking some pictures of him riding. The bike was only ridden a handful of times, but each one was a joy to Adam. One of the hardest things we ever did was take it back to the bike shop and ask if they would help sell it for us. It marked a turning point in our outlook. Before taking it back we held out hope Adam would recover use of his legs. Selling the bike marked the end of that hope.
Adam turned the corner late in 1998. By the end of 1999, after many months of hard work, he regained almost his entire upper body strength and mobility. But Adam remains paralyzed from the waist down.
Then, initial stories on the new field of embryonic stem cell research began to give us hope. But the political decision to severely restrict that research took away those hopes. For years we have been frustrated by the disinformation used to hold back one of the most promising areas of research of the last century.
Adam never let being paralyzed bother him, nor slow him down. At the age of 6 he began riding a handcycle. At 8 he began playing wheelchair basketball with the Sterling Heights Challengers. Adam goes to Shelby Junior High School where he gets all A's and B's.
So far Adam has played on a Wheelchair Basketball Junior Varsity National Champion team. The Challengers had a 25-0 record for the 2006/07 season. He participated in a Paralympic Academy in Colorado Springs. In the spring of 2006 Adam started racing his handcycle. Competing against adults Adam has been in 18 races, including eight marathons. At the age of 12 Adam did the full 26.2 mile Detroit Marathon. He recently took second place in the Air Force Marathon with a time of 1:43. The following month he won his first race, the Brooksie Way Half Marathon. What an accomplishment for a 14-year-old!
Adam has a goal of qualifying for the 2012 Paralympic Handcycle Team. The way he is going I am beginning to believe he has a chance.
We are so proud of the way Adam rises to any challenge!
But more than anything we still hope for a cure. We know Adam will be successful in life, despite his paralysis. But it is still going to be a hard life. Every day he struggles, without complaint, to do the daily activities most of us take for granted. But there is so much he will never be able to do while paralyzed. Try to imagine living your life from age four in a wheelchair.
And paralysis at such an early age brings a whole set of medical complications. Adam is at risk for things like osteoporosis, severe scoliosis, kidney damage, hip dislocation, frequent infections and much more.
At this point in time embryonic stem cell research offers the greatest hope for Adam. For Adam's sake, and all those living with debilitating and life threatening conditions, we need to work together to move embryonic stem cell research forward.
To learn more about Adam and his accomplishments, visit www.adamrose.net.
Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell
Research & Cures
Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell Research & Cures is a group of Michigan citizens dedicated to the long-term goal of educating our state's residents about the stem cell research process and its potential for life-saving cures and treatments.
We will present the facts necessary so each individual can form his/her own opinion about stem cell research. As a 501(c) (3) nonprofit charitable organization MCSCRC does not and cannot express support for any piece of legislation or political petition related to stem cell research.
First, some background: Stem cells are nature's “master” cells, the foundation or building block of all tissue in the human body. These cells serve as the body's repair system, receiving a signal from the body that tells them to develop into specific cells like a heart, nerve, brain or skin cell.
Many scientists believe studying these cells will lead to more effective drugs and an understanding of human development, disease development and birth defects, as well as, someday, possible treatments for chronic diseases, ranging from heart disease to Alzheimer's, diabetes to Parkinson's, and even spinal-cord injuries.
Stem cell research is a relatively new area that has provoked one of the nation's fiercest political and ethical debates. Even the most passionate advocates of this research concede that it is impossible to predict with certainty how long it may take to find new treatments using stem cells. Within the scientific community, however, there is little dispute about the need to pursue stem cell research in order to solve important medical problems.
To support well-informed decision-making on this issue, Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell Research & Cures is helping our state's citizens understand this science and its promise.
