By P.J. Malone

 Diagnosed with a deadly disease that he was told he couldn’t fight, Bill Bourland, an Arizona resident, has been granted a reprieve with a second chance at life as recounted by the Stem Cell Research Facts’ resource website.

 After confronting death face-to-face, Bill says he is grateful to God for his second chance. The article “Never too old for a Second Chance” writes, “’I wake up in the morning saying “thank you” to God,’ says Bill. ‘That attitude of gratitude just stays with me throughout the entire day.’”

 It started with Bill getting tired all the time and taking 3 to 4 hour naps every afternoon. After blood tests, it was discovered that he had Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). Apparently it is sometimes described as ‘pre-leukemia’. Here’s what Bill was told when asked about treating the condition:

 “’They told us we could continue the blood transfusions,’ says Bill, ‘and I’d already had six transfusions at that point. The next option was chemotherapy treatment once or twice a week, which might not work and the side effects would be very unpleasant. After that, the only other option they offered was what they called palliative care.’

 “’We knew what that meant,’ says Mary [Bill’s wife]. ‘Our friend had suffered through a terrible cancer and palliative care is just making you comfortable for your final days. What they were saying is there’s nothing we can do for you. You’re going to die.’”

 The article describes what happened next.

 “The weeks that followed the MDS diagnosis were the darkest Mary and Bill had ever experienced. Mary spent hours researching other options and doctors on the Internet, running into one dead end after another. Bill called a lawyer and began putting their family affairs in order. It was a painful, almost surreal time with no hope.”

 How many Bill Bourlands do we have in The Bahamas? How many individuals are out there with family members who have been diagnosed with deadly diseases with no hope of being able to successfully fight it? I am sure The Bahamas has its fair share. Disease is no ‘respecter of persons’.

 Wouldn’t you want to do everything in your power to save your family member’s life? Wouldn’t you want to seek every possible solution, explore every avenue, to help save your loved one’s life? I know I would.

 Well, in Bill’s story, he had such a family member. The article explains: “thanks to the dogged determination of his wife, an almost-eerie conversation with a neighbor and a doctor willing to use adult stem cell treatment when others wouldn’t, Bill lives a full and healthy life.”

 Why ‘again’ is fashion mogul Peter Nygard being stopped from building his medical research facility in The Bahamas? Why are we looking a most awesome ‘gift horse’ in the mouth?

 Oh, I remember—because we have allowed the blind to lead the blind. We have allowed our lack of knowledge on the issue to lead the way. We have allowed ignorance to cloud our judgment and have made a foolish decision to rant and rave about something that can only help our people.

 Have you called your Member of Parliament as yet? Have you asked the Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas to entreat Mr. Peter Nygard to not abandon the idea of building a Stem Cell Research facility in the Bahamas? What are you waiting for?

 Who knows, it could be your loved one or even you that is granted a second chance at life through medical research done at our very own Stem Cell Research facility. The time to act is now!

 Stay tuned for our next Clifton Review to find out more about Bill Bourland’s journey.