My dad’s medical research is being threatened. Here’s how you can help:
For those of you who know me, you know I have always been dedicated to my work, whether it’s helping ensure first-generation students have better access to a higher education, supporting political candidates I believe in, or organizing post-hurricane relief and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. But what you may not know is how much my dad has influenced my passion and dedication to helping others.
As a kid growing up in Cleveland, I had two homes — my house in Cleveland Heights, and my dad’s research lab at University Hospitals. Ever since I can remember, my dad’s work was his true passion. His patients and his research team were a part of our family. And we traveled the country, and sometimes the globe, meeting incredible physicians and scientists working together for the betterment of others. And since I can remember, one of my dad’s axioms was, “You have to love what you do.” What he loves, which is lucky for all of us, is solving cardiac arrhythmia problems.
Today, over 50 years later and at a very young 81-years-old, my dad, Dr. Albert L. Waldo, is still working harder than ever on his one true passion — conducting life-saving heart rhythm research. While most of his peers have retired, he still works tirelessly because he and his dedicated research team are on the cusp of making a breakthrough discovery that would cure Atrial Fibrillation, a serious, even deadly, heart rhythm disorder that affects one out of every four people over the age of 40, causes nearly one out of every three strokes, and is associated with increased heart failure and death. My dad has conducted life-saving research studies on heart rhythm disorders in his lab for decades, primarily funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH).
But because of National Institute of Health funding trends, and absent a new grant, his University Hospitals/Case Western University research lab will have to close on July 1, 2018. Unless we step in to save it. My dad first started his research in 1966, on a training grant from the NIH. However, since 2009, it has become increasingly difficult to get these grants. In the past, the NIH funded approximately one in three grants. However, for several years now, only about ten percent of grant requests get funded. And President Trump’s proposed cuts to medical research — specifically to the NIH — would be disastrous for medical breakthroughs like this.
Atrial Fibrillation affects millions and does more than heighten its victims’ chances of dying; it affects their very way of life. One of my father’s patients, Sandy Sprinks, felt the effects of her heart rhythm disorder all throughout the day, every day of her life. She was scared to drive a car because she was in a constant state of fear that she would pass out. She could not watch action movies because she was afraid that a sudden noise could trigger an episode. It was “life-controlling,” she admitted, and it caused her to “get really down and a little depressed.
Until the day she met my dad.
“He gave me hope. He has given me a light at the end of a tunnel that I thought was very dark…he’s my hero now. Dr. Waldo is my hero.”
On July 1, 2018, my dad’s research lab will have to close unless funds can be raised to support it. At the brink of understanding and curing this terrible heart rhythm disorder, a stop in funding would be devastating to patients, the research team, and all of those desperately looking for answers. According to his colleague Dr. Judith Mackall of University Hospitals, my dad’s lab is “unique because there are very few laboratories around the world that are setup and dedicated to Atrial Fibrillation. If you were going to invest in a research endeavor that could actually change the face of a disease that affects millions, this would be worthwhile.”
And that’s why we’re reaching out to you to do everything possible to save my dad’s lab and his critical life-saving research for millions. Time is running out, and we need your support.
Please consider making a donation today — every little bit counts! July 1st is quickly approaching so please spread the word with your own family and friends.