After learning that the JDRF refused to give a mere two million to the Denise Faustman research program, despite their $137,000,000 annual layout, I sent this letter to all on my mailing list. Your thoughts?
An open letter to my friends,
Something terribly wrong is going on behind the scenes. It’s taken me years to fully understand this, but it’s really quite simple. Big industries, like healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, major food producers, and yes… even some charity organizations, apparently are not interested in your health. My own experience has demonstrated that doctors, in particular, are neither all caring, nor are they all knowing. In fact, they tend to be egotistical know-it-alls who are more interested in mollifying the patient and garnering the almighty dollar instead of what we expect of them… to cure us. My friends, we (as a society) have been brainwashed, if you will, by these industries into thinking they truly care more about us than making money. I could go on and on, but if you bear with me, I’m going to give you a prime example of how one organization, in particular, has succeeded in raising billions of dollars (yes, billions with a ‘B’) through charitable, tax exempt donations under the guise of a campaign to cure an insidious disease that plagues hundreds of thousands of people, many of which are children, while failing miserably to support one of the most promising research programs designed to cure one of the most destructive, merciless diseases I know of.
The disease I’m referring to, is type one diabetes. It’s also known as ‘juvenile diabetes’, ‘T1DM’, or ‘insulin dependent diabetes’. I’m a type two diabetic (a totally different disease with similar outcome), and while my initial interest in type one was marginal, it has become more and more of a passion as I have befriended some people with type one diabetes (or have children with type one) while pursuing more knowledge on my own disease. One person in particular, Allie Beatty, www.alliesvoice.com has succeeded in making me all too aware that something very suspicious is going on. In a nutshell, one of the most promising research programs seeking a cure for this horrible disease, has been snubbed by the nation’s leading fundraiser who’s mission statement claims: “DRIVEN by the needs of people with diabetes, the mission of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research” (italics and bold print provided by yours truly)
The charitable organization I’m referring to is the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). I ask you, how can this organization, who claims to support research, fail to contribute to a program which has clearly demonstrated that it can reverse the disease in lab mice? This research is so convincing, that Lee Iacocca*, whose wife, Mary, died from complications due to type one diabetes, contributed his name and his money to the program. Yes, the research may have some flaws and snags according to some sources, but I ask you, “What research program doesn’t?”. There’s something more to this.
The researcher, Dr. Denise Faustman, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical school, has been researching autoimmunity (where the body’s own defense mechanisms, or T cells, destroy certain tissues of the body) for over a decade. Type one diabetes is a classic example of an autoimmune disease. Most often, in early childhood, this disease strikes without warning. Viciously attacking the insulin producing cells of the pancreas.
My friend, Allie Beatty, is not stupid. In fact, she’s one of the brightest and most well read individuals on this subject that I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. She’s so convinced of Dr. Faustman’s research, that she’s volunteered for the human trials. I strongly encourage you to hear her out: www.alliesvoice.com . I can think of no one more dedicated to finding a solution to this wretched disease than her. If you’re contributing to the JDRF, I would encourage you to stop and think about this… really hard.
If you care enough to right a wrong, I strongly urge you to forward this to all your friends, diabetic or not, simply to make them aware that all is not as it seems when it comes to charitable organizations. If you would like to support Dr. Faustman’s research, go here: http://www.faustmanlab.org/research.html and click the support link at the bottom.
Meanwhile, you can write the JDRF here: http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=101007
And ask them why they can’t part with a tiny fraction of their annual outlay to support Dr. Faustman’s research. Always remember this, so called support organizations whose existence is dependent on sympathetic followers, DON’T WANT a solution to the problem that fostered them in the first place… that would eliminate their justification for existence. Wouldn’t it?
If you would like to learn more, I suggest you read this: Wikipedia page on T1DM
Thank you for ‘listening‘ to my rant,
Craig B.
- Lee Iacocca is famous for bringing us the Ford Mustang and restoring health and vitality to an ailing Chrysler motors.