Cheryl's grandfather, Grampie to her, was an amazing man. He not only supported his family and gave them every opportunity he could, he also extended that blessing to his grandchildren. Cheryl was placed with her grandparents by DCFS when she was in the third grade and Grampie made immediate, amazing sacrifices, including changing his job as a bank janitor to nights so he could be home during the day, before and after school, with her. Shortly after, Grampie was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. In 2001, two days after Cheryl's sixteenth birthday, Grampie passed away after a long, valiant battle against a disease without mercy.

Parkinsons is a disease that does not care if you lose your ability to walk, talk, eat and remember. In short, it does not care if you lose your dignity. Grampie, a once strong man who had his own painting business and was known to get on high ladders, rapidly was transformed into a man who could not stay upright by himself, was bed ridden and had to be fed through a tube in his stomach.

Stem cell research could hold the cure for Parkinsons. We, the undersigned, ask that you continue to support stem cell research and the Illinois Stem Cell Initiative of 2007.