Memories, Kept
One of the most vivid memories from my youth was the moment my family and I drove up to our first place of residence in the United States. I was 8 years old then, and I still have a high resolution image of that driveway we pulled into engraved in my memory. I feel an undercurrent of melancholy when I think about myself at that age; embarking on an unknown journey that I now know so well. Despite the lingering nostalgia, that particular memory holds a dear place in my heart. It was a moment that held a gravity I was too young to fully realize. It was the first step on a path of discovery that has led me all the way here.
If someone were to tell me that gradually I would have to divorce myself from time traveling back through my memories, I would be profoundly saddened. Yet this very conversation is being had with thousands of people every single day. Every year, half a million people in America are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Every single one of those individuals are told that they need to confront the eventual loss of their most cherished, timeless, and priceless possessions: their memories. Memories of their children being born, going to school, having their heart broken and mended… Memories of themselves, young and foolish. Memories of moments so full of happiness and laughter that they validated and defined everything they had worked so hard to bring into their lives. In a perfect and tragic analogy, it’s paralysis of the mind. Slowly losing power over the neural connections that guide us through our days and help us identify our place in the world is no different than slowly losing the ability to walk or use our hands.
When I was 18, I got into a pretty bad car accident. Crossing the street to greet my friend, I was hit by a pick-up truck going well over the speed limit. It took several months for me to recover, including brutally painful physical therapy sessions daily to work my left leg back into walking condition. I remember more than anything the discarded feeling I had, having to go everywhere on crutches and how much that limitation bruised my spirit. But it was an event that contributed to the shaping of who I am today. I am grateful to have been as lucky as I was and I credit that experience for making me a stronger person. I don’t want to forget that night, nor the days that followed. We are our experiences more than we are anything else.
An often forgotten effect of Alzheimer’s is the heavy toll it takes on family and friends. Watching themselves slowly be forgotten and erased from memory is a shocking adjustment they have to make. Watching someone gradually forget who you are to them, all the time spent together, the places you visited, the love you shared… is simply unfair. What makes us human is not so much our physical bodies or our DNA makeup, it is our spiritual connection to each other and the world. I’m convinced that our defining characteristics as living beings are the unquantifiable aspects of our existence. It’s not our opposable thumbs that make us so versatile in the world, but our curious nature to explore, discover, and understand it while making infinite connections along the way.
All of us at Hope Biosciences are moved by the stories and struggles of our patients, community members, and even our own family who have been affected by the many different diseases and ailments we are seeking to eradicate. There is a deep sense of purpose for each of us here because no matter our role within the company, we know that the work we do and the goals that we set will, quite literally, change lives. We are excited to take on these challenges because we believe in the promise of stem cell therapy.
As we wait for conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic to calm down, we are preparing to move ahead with our latest clinical trial effort to battle Alzheimer’s. The response we’ve received from the public on this has been overwhelming. The far-reaching implications of this disease are evident, and the expressed desire to have something done about it has connected us with the public in a whole new way. Every day we are responding to people who reach out to us expressing their personal stories on how this horrible disease has and continues to affect them. Their strength, resolve, and dedication to caring for those diagnosed and living with Alzheimer’s is a testament to our capacity for compassion as human beings.
Hope Biosciences wants to do our part to help bring an end to Alzheimer’s. We want everyone’s golden years to be just that — golden. We want to make an impact that will last in the memory of our patients for lifetimes. That is our purpose and our promise in every clinical trial we initiate and we are eager to begin! Stay tuned for updates on our upcoming Alzheimer’s clinical trial as well as the many other trials we are currently conducting.
