Uniting and Fighting

Oh to have more time to write this blog. Today, however, I’m going to put all other tasks aside to share my thoughts about our fantastic 9th Annual Working 2 Walk Symposium. Each year I come away overwhelmed with impressions, emotions, and ideas, and 2014 was no different. But this year the sum of my feelings was decidedly more positive and optimistic than in the past.

For starters, our speakers from the research sector did an outstanding job of presenting their scientific work in terms the audience could understand. And . . . several shared therapies that are actually being performed on humans either in the clinic or in clinical studies. We’re starting to move on from rats to people. Kate Willette’s Live Blog from the conference recaps the presentations, and before too long we will have videos available at our online Video Library. Near the end of the conference, an attendee I had not yet met pulled me aside to say, “I’m a physician, and have been telling people for 25 years there is no hope. Now I know better.”

Secondly, we had our highest number ever of registered attendees, and of those our highest percentage of people living with paralysis. Collectively they brought an extraordinary level of enthusiasm, knowledge, and forward-looking energy to the proceedings. The Advocacy Breakout session lasted well into the evening, and the discussion continues today.

Marilyn Smith, Peter Wilderotter, and Kate Willette announce the launch of Kate’s new book.

The Rick Hansen Institute sends a team of scientists & advocates to the Symposium.

Ida Cahill talks with advocates after announcing Conquer Paralysis Now’s SCI Challenge.

Our absolutely amazing emcee, Barry Long from Pushing Boundaries.

What really sticks in my mind, though, is the sense of unity and common purpose that developed over the course of two days. Stakeholders from across the spinal cord injury spectrum came together with open hearts and inquiring minds, and spoke honestly and respectfully of their goals & challenges, strengths & weaknesses, as they renewed their commitment to fight for a future without paralysis.

As Unite 2 Fight Paralysis enters its 10th year of existence, it finally feels like we are starting to live up to our name. U2FP was built from the bottom up, created from the heart and strengthened by the blood and sweat of those who live the life; it has taken a while to gain credibility. After this year’s Symposium, I have renewed faith that together, united, we can win the fight.

Chase the Vision, Not the Money, Part 2

Last year I published a blog post titled “Chase the Vision, Not the Money“, written in the wake of revelations about the Susan G. Komen Foundation and its questionable funding decisions and political motives. A little over a year later, we find that these same dubious practices run rampant in the spinal cord injury community at the Rick Hansen Foundation.

David Baines, a respected reporter at the Vancouver Sun, scrutinized financial statements from RHF, statements that were released only after pressure from the newspaper. In his article, “Behind the Hansen Foundation“, Baines shares his discoveries, including:

• Exorbitant spending and huge losses incurred with last year’s 25-year anniversary celebration of the Man in Motion tour;
• A tax credit of $1.8 million issued to Rick Hansen for the donation of his naming rights;
• Excessive CEO (Hansen) compensation in the form of both salary and fringe benefits.

The list goes on, and I encourage you to read the full article. I was left feeling angry, disappointed, and ultimately sad to learn that this leading SCI charity, with its massive resources and name recognition, exhibits such poor financial stewardship of precious dollars.

Those of us in the SCI community should be thankful to Baines for this excellent job of reporting. We should also learn our lessons. This article illustrates once again the importance of doing one’s own due diligence when choosing which charitable organizations to support, a diligence to include:

• Educating yourself about research science;
• Examining where charities are investing the dollars supposedly allocated to research;
• Studying financial reports to determine how your donations are being spent.

Performing due diligence does not take a lot of time in the Internet age. The U2FP website is filled with resources to help beginners and veterans learn more about research science. In the U.S., nonprofits are required to make their tax returns available to the public, and most can be accessed at the Foundation Center‘s 990 Finder page. Charity Navigator provides ratings for charities in the U.S. with revenue over $500,000.

While the Hansen story is shocking and disturbing, perhaps the silver lining will be increased scrutiny from donors, both public and private, when contributing to charity. In the world of spinal cord injury, it is imperative that individuals make educated investments of valuable time and money, and that government increases its oversight of the funding it provides.

Shoulders to the Wheel

Prior to the invention of the automobile, people moved from place to place in carts, carriages & wagons.  If the  vehicle became stuck in the mud, it was common for the passengers to get out and work collectively to push it out, literally putting their “shoulders to the wheel”.

The image is a very apt metaphor for the challenges we face in the cure movement.  I believe we are now “unstuck” from the notion that axons cannot regenerate and there is no hope for curing paralysis. We still have a lot of “pushing” to do, however, to get our wagon all the way up the hill.

Putting your shoulder to the wheel means to put full effort into the task until it is completed, to work persistently and wholeheartedly. That’s what it will take to reach our goal, and the more shoulders we have, the faster we’ll get there.

Over the last few months, we’ve seen a couple living examples in the SCI community of advocates demonstrating this kind of effort. Out in California, Don and Roman Reed have been unwavering in their determination to renew funding for the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act. This little bill has provided millions of dollars of support for the the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, but was a victim of budgetary cuts during the recession.

Undeterred, Don & Roman set forth to create an alternate funding source through an add-on to traffic tickets.  After several months of lobbying and negotiating, and aided by community e-mail campaigns, they are close to achieving their goal. You can learn how they did it and help them get to the finish line by following Don Reed’s blog here.

Another one of our powerful shoulders belongs to Dennis Tesolat. Talk about persistent! Several months ago, Dennis and a few of his friends asked The Rick Hansen Foundation a very simple question, “How much are you spending on a cure?”  I wrote about his efforts to solicit a satisfactory answer in last month’s blog entry, and regret to report that RHF did NOT offer any kind of response at the recent Interdependence conference.

That won’t discourage Dennis. Rather it will empower him to seek more community support, to reach out to the media and other organizations affiliated with RHF, and to continue his dogged persistence until we have an answer as to how the Foundation is working to achieve “a world without paralysis after spinal cord injury” (the RHF mission).

Don, Roman and Dennis don’t get a lot of media coverage for their work. They’re not flashy or self-promoting.  They don’t whine about life with SCI, or complain about the frustrations inherent in the glacial pace of our political and regulatory systems. They just put in the work from day to day, putting their shoulders to the wheel, staying true to the course, and keeping their eyes on the prize.

Speaking Truth to Power

If we’re ever going to gain traction as Cure Warriors, we’ve got to speak out to the various individual and organizational leaders in the spinal cord injury community.  Thanks to the persistent efforts of Dennis Tesolat (also known as Mr. “Stem Cells & Atom Bombs”), there is a respectful yet pointed appeal to the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) that as of today boasts over 700 signatures from around the world.

The Foundation has long proclaimed its vision to be “a world without paralysis after spinal cord injury”.  That’s our goal, too, so several months ago Dennis and a few of his friends sent RHF’s CEO a simple request:

• “Please outline your spending on translational research for central nervous system regeneration, i.e. a cure for spinal cord injury.”

The response failed to outline any specifics other than what’s available in their annual report, i.e. – “81% goes to charitable programs.”  Dennis wasn’t satisfied, so he decided to get organized and continue to ask questions.  He asked for more details on RHF’s spending, and for Rick to publicly answer the questions at next week’s Interdependence Conference of SCI leaders.

I imagine most of my readers have already signed the appeal, but if not, there is still time if you do it today.  It’s an easy, one-click process from the Stem Cells & Atom Bombs website.  Follow this link.

The Rick Hansen Foundation earns annual revenues in excess of $20 million, 71% of which comes from Canadian national and provincial government funds.  This is an extraordinary amount of money, and with these types of resources the Foundation should respond to the wishes of the SCI community.

We respect the work that RHF has done to improve accessibility and quality of life for people living with SCI.  At this point in time, however, with so much promising regenerative research on the cusp of translation, it’s time for the Foundation to turn its attention and its resources to the achievement of a cure.  As survivors of spinal cord injury and family members, we have the right, and even moreso the responsibility, to speak up to those in power at the Rick Hansen Foundation.