I refuse to believe it's too late for us. We basically know that there is most likely a cure already in the GDNF treatment - maybe the catheter had to be slightly redesigned or whatever, but let's face it, the evidence is pretty much there.

So why don't we stop walking around Central Park, get everyone that can possibly come, be in our wheelchairs, our walkers, whatever, bring our caregivers, our most loud-mouthed friends, any doctors REALLY interested in helping us, get any PD organization that hasn't been cowed into submissive silence to lend their muscle behind it, and go over to the Amgen offices and refuse to leave until they talk to us. And let's use the walkathon money to take out a huge ad in the NY Times and some other remaining papers, and on their blogs, demanding that Amgen release the rights on GDNF if they don't want to go forward. And try to boycott them as much as possible until they do. Make it worldwide.

I'm talking off the top of my head here. And I know these are fighting words, and a lot of people will be supercilious about them, or scared, or whatever. But I have had it with reading sad stories about the Amgen trial or all the sufferings that we all are familiar with on a daily basis, and sighing, saying "That is just SO sad..."

And people who want to hide behind proper procedures on trials and so forth - well, they can streamline things to market when they feel inclined - Mirapex, Vioxx, etc. etc. AIDS patients found a way to force the appropriate hands when they needed a solution and the work to be done NOW, not later.

We need to develop and speak from a culture of courage. With this disease in particular, silence and invisibility are deadly. While I think it would be best to focus on the Amgen thing because I do believe a cure is sitting right there in front of us - or beside us -while we're at it, let's have a very strong vocal campaign to reach out to all hospitals and emergency rooms and get a clear and appropriate protocol for handling PD patients, doing the necessary education of the nursing staff about the medication, and not try to win them over. Tell them the way it has to be. It's not that complicated. IF every one of our doctors called their local hospital and asked specifically the right people (and they will know who they would be or could find out) to get this information out NEXT WEEK, something could happen.

So I know now some operative from Pfizer or Teva or Roche or Lilly is going to want to stealthily knock me out with a baseball bat, but you know what, I don't care. I'd rather that than go on with this crawling mentality, begging the world to do us a favor. Most of us here could educate most neurologists to a higher level than they push themselves.

It's time for self-respect, clarity, and self-definition. We have a good idea of some of the things we need most. We need to stop being dazed and confused, and have the integrity and dignity to demand them. Apologizing for having PD is OVER.