Thanks. Inspiring article. Even gave me some ideas on
how to raise money for my trip.


David
--- Kirshner Ross-Vaden <kirsh@...> wrote:

>
>
> Woman hopes China trip can make her well
>
>
>
<mailto:rrenteria@...?subject=El%20Paso%20Times:%20Woman%20hopes
> %20China%20trip%20can%20make%20her%20well> By Ramón
> Rentería / El Paso Times
>
> Article Launched: 08/29/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
>
>
>
>
>
<http://www.elpasotimes.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentIte
> mRelationshipId=1634776>
>
> Diana Morales uses her CB radio to advertise her
> homemade burritos and
> tamales to truckers in the area while parked in an
> empty lot next to the
> Flying J Truck Stop in Anthony. Morales is trying to
> raise about $25,000 to
> travel to China for an experimental stem-cell
> transplant. (Mark Lambie / El
> Paso Times)
>
> Diana Morales has found a possible "repair kit" for
> her damaged body.
>
> Morales, 35, is trying to raise $25,000 so that she
> can travel to China for
> an experimental transplant of umbilical-cord-blood
> stem cells.
>
> She is optimistic the surgical procedure, available
> in the United States
> only in clinical research, will regenerate nerves in
> her spinal cord and
> help her regain feeling and movement in her
> paralyzed legs.
>
> Morales is hopeful, too, that stem-cell treatments
> may someday help restore
> the ability to walk that she lost six years ago when
> a drunken driver pinned
> her against her lunch wagon near an Anthony, Texas,
> truck stop.
>
> "I have faith something positive is going to come
> out of this," Morales
> said. "If God wants me to be in a wheelchair the
> rest of my life, ni modo. I
> have to accept whatever comes."
>
> Some scientists and doctors consider stem cells one
> of the world's hottest
> research areas.
>
> Stem-cell research is also very controversial
> because of its ethical
> implications. President Bush in 2006 vetoed a Senate
> bill that would have
> permitted federal dollars to be spent on embryonic
> stem-cell research using
> embryos left over from in vitro fertilization
> procedures.
>
> Morales does not expect a miracle, but she has read
> the encouraging
> testimonials of others who have found relief in
> stem-cell therapies. She
> chose to pursue umbilical-cord-blood stem-cell
> treatments because of her
> Christian beliefs. One of her doctors suggested stem
> cells might be an
> option worth exploring.
>
> Doctors have discovered in recent years that
> umbilical cord blood, usually
> discarded at birth, is rich in stem cells -- the
> body's building blocks --
> that can be used to treat a variety of diseases.
>
> The accident put Morales in a coma for two weeks and
> in the hospital for six
> months, paralyzed from the waist down.
>
> Truck drivers along Interstate 10 truck call her the
> burrito lady and seek
> out her homemade burritos and tamales as an
> alternative to routine
> truck-stop chow.
>
> Dave Hill, a Missouri truck driver, has known about
> Morales since she was
> selling burritos out of her car years ago. "The guys
> on the road talk about
> her all the time," Hill said. "She's an inspiration.
> I've got kids that
> won't even get out of bed. This woman told me one
> time that she's out here
> because it's better than being on welfare."
>
> The Anthony, N.M., mother of three has been selling
> flautas, sponsoring
> dances and asking merchants for donations to cover
> the trip, the procedure
> and a monthlong rehabilitation. So far, she has
> raised $15,000.
>
> According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
> no type of stem-cell
> treatment is licensed in the United States.
>
> Stem cells can be found throughout the body in
> tissues and organs and in
> umbilical-cord blood. The National Institutes of
> Health maintains updated
> information about federally and privately supported
> clinical stem-cell
> research in human volunteers.
>
> The China trip represents another challenge in a
> string of struggles for
> Morales, who had just graduated from New Mexico
> State University with a
> degree in government and was looking forward to
> entering the job market when
> the accident changed everything.
>
> Even her marriage ended after the accident, but
> Morales eventually regained
> custody of her children: Delilah, 13, Louie, 11, and
> Sabrina, 9.
>
> Morales still has trouble adjusting to offensive
> stares. Every time she
> applies for a job, she says, prospective employers
> never call back once they
> find out she is disabled.
>
> Friends and relatives describe Morales as a
> high-spirited wo man, always
> laughing and telling jokes and always looking after
> her children and a set
> of aging parents. She most misses dancing cumbias
> and corridos.Ê
>
> Brenda Velazquez, 24, a cousin, says Morales has
> remained very independent.
>
> "She's never given up," Velazquez said. "She's a
> great role model."
>
> Morales still parks her lunch wagon on an empty lot
> not far from the
> accident site and solicits truckers' business on a
> CB radio.
>
> Rita Valenzuela, 44, works for Morales in the mobile
> kitchen.
>
> "I admire the strength she has to try to get ahead,"
> Valenzuela said.
> "Sometimes she is out here until midnight."
>
> The burrito lady keeps on being optimistic, keeps
> praying that she'll
> collect enough money for a journey offering hope
> halfway around the world.
>
> "I've gone through the worst already," Morales said.
> "What else can I lose?"
>
>
> Ramón Rentería may be reached at
> rrenteria@...; 546-6146.
>
> http://www.elpasotimes.com/health/ci_6744889
>
>
>
>




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