The community of patient advocates is full of the most passionate, goal-oriented people you’ll ever meet, and Roman Reed is near the top of the list.

Reed, paralyzed in 1994 from a tackle during a Chabot College football game, has been one of the most visible advocates for stem cell research funding through the San Francisco-based California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM. He also was a poster child for a state law passed a law in 2000 to fund spinal injury paralysis research through the state’s general fund.

But in the course of California’s budget meltdown, desperate state officials took away the spinal cord research funds. Continue Reading »

Fundraisers set for this, next weekend

UNION — It hasn’t been easy, but 17-year-old Abby Marsh is slowly making progress.

The senior soccer star from Ryle High School was a passenger in a pickup truck on May 21 near Warsaw when the truck slid off the slick road and hit a tree.

Abby suffered a severe spinal cord injury, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down, and had to undergo an immediate 12-hour surgery to reconstruct her neck.

Today, she has movement in her arms and is in very good spirits. She has a long road ahead but is ready for the challenge.

“She has a great attitude,” said her mother, Reta Marsh, “and she believes in the power of faith.” Continue Reading »