Robert Klein Washington , DC

C 6/7, June 2000

After thirty years of growing away from the care of my infancy, thirty years of developing my independence, I was hurled through a time warp back to my infancy completely dependent. I suddenly found myself unable to do the simplest thing like scratch an itch on my face.
Thanks to some world class medical treatment and great PT/OT therapy, I have adapted to do many things independently.
However, I am still a quadriplegic. Gone is anything spontaneous like jumping out of bed for a quick run in the morning or even simple things like standing tall and giving a firm handshake.
The brightest scientists tell me it does not have to be this way for me or for hundreds of thousands of people suffering horrible ailments.
My hope is that government officials will listen to the majority of Americans who want to support scientific research. It is time to put political barriers aside and help many, many people "GO FORWARD" to live full lives.