Folding, why do we do this? Here is a reason...
Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:08 pm
Hi all,
Some know me fairly well here but have been quite busy. I usually don't go on about personal issues on the web, but thought it was an appropriate forum for this.
My mother has a slow-progressing version of ALS, so folding@home has a personal meaning to me... My mom was a very healthy person. She didn't drink, exercised a lot, gardened, etc. She was the person in the extended family who took care of everyone, and helped everyone out. This just came and surprised everyone in the family, and angered all of us over the unfairness of it all. Now she is getting a lot of return favors, but you can only do so much...
My mom on the right, my wife and son.
She is unable to walk now, has only 50% of her breathing capacity, can barely talk, and her hands work like claws now. All the things she loves to do she can no longer perform.
She is on a Lithium treatment with high hopes, but every year there is a decline in abilities. I am hoping this folding effort will pan out to useful science in finding a cure and/or reversal for this disease while the s__t-heads in DC prevent stem-cell research which is probably one of the most promising ways in re-generating nerves.
Interesting article with ALS:
http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlser ... io.0060170
Please let me know if the link works.
Personally I have has to quit folding since my PC has become unstable under load and I have to make it live a bit longer to make some money with it. I have GOT to get a new box with a few decent GPUs in it, I just cannot pull it off right now.
So get off your duffs and fold for the TR team and give my mom a little more hope!
-LS
Some know me fairly well here but have been quite busy. I usually don't go on about personal issues on the web, but thought it was an appropriate forum for this.
My mother has a slow-progressing version of ALS, so folding@home has a personal meaning to me... My mom was a very healthy person. She didn't drink, exercised a lot, gardened, etc. She was the person in the extended family who took care of everyone, and helped everyone out. This just came and surprised everyone in the family, and angered all of us over the unfairness of it all. Now she is getting a lot of return favors, but you can only do so much...
My mom on the right, my wife and son.
She is unable to walk now, has only 50% of her breathing capacity, can barely talk, and her hands work like claws now. All the things she loves to do she can no longer perform.
She is on a Lithium treatment with high hopes, but every year there is a decline in abilities. I am hoping this folding effort will pan out to useful science in finding a cure and/or reversal for this disease while the s__t-heads in DC prevent stem-cell research which is probably one of the most promising ways in re-generating nerves.
Interesting article with ALS:
http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlser ... io.0060170
Please let me know if the link works.
Personally I have has to quit folding since my PC has become unstable under load and I have to make it live a bit longer to make some money with it. I have GOT to get a new box with a few decent GPUs in it, I just cannot pull it off right now.
So get off your duffs and fold for the TR team and give my mom a little more hope!
-LS
