From: natashavita@earthlink.net
Date: Wed Dec 04 2002 - 15:09:19 MST
Friends,
I was attempting to be discrete. I will be seeing him this evening and
will ask him to make a statement about his health if he would like so that
those who care about him will know that he is doing well and what his
future holds.
I trust that Francesca Skelton asked Roy before posting his comments
publicly and I'm not very comfortable about cross posting, even if Roy is
on the Advisory Council for Extropy Institute.
Thanks,
Natasha
There was a post on this in the CR list on this a few months back, relayed
from someone who is apparently friends with Walford.
Michael
-----Original Message-----
From: Francesca Skelton [mailto:fskelton@EROLS.COM]
Sent: Friday, July 12, 2002 12:01 PM
To: crsociety@LISTS.CALORIERESTRICTION.ORG
Subject: [CR] Dr. Walford's condition
to clear things up, In August 2001 Dr W wrote me this about his illness:
Francesca,
As for the feebleness, I have an undiagnosed and perhaps undiagnosable
neurodegenerative disease that started during the final
months inside Biosphere 2. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but it's clear
on viewing the videos I took at the time that I'm not hopping around as
readily as I had been. It has grown steadily worse and interferes with
walking, and to some extent with speech. I won't go into details. I've been
to UCLA of course but also Columbia, Johns Hopkins, and Baylor (in Houston)
medical centers and my condition doesn't fit anything very well. Some
features of Parkinson's,m some of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou
Gerhigs's disease); but it's atypical for any of these. There is no problem
with memory or cognition and in fact this is
perhaps the most creative period of my life, ..............
------
http://lists.calorierestriction.org/archives/crsociety.html
AND
-----Original Message-----
From: Francesca Skelton [mailto:fskelton@EROLS.COM]
Sent: Sunday, July 14, 2002 5:41 PM
To: crsociety@LISTS.CALORIERESTRICTION.ORG
Subject: [CR] Dr. Walford responds about his condition
Dear Francesca,
There has been so much posted recently about my "condition" and about my
"attitude" (the Peg Macintyre article etc.) that perhaps I'd better respond,
through you. (1) My "condition". The specialist at Baylor said that the only
persons he had seen who have a gait disturbance like mine had had carbon
monoxide exposure. Now there was no CO exposure inside Biosphere, but CO
toxicity is in fact a type of hypoxia, and there was a period of peculiar
(normobaric, as opposed to high altitude) hypoxia inside Biosphere (See my
article recently published: Walford, R.L: Biosphere 2 as voyage of
discovery: the serendipity from inside. BioScience. 52:259-263, 2002. ).
I've always been very susceptible to high altitudes in that I was always the
first to feel bad on a mountain trip. Some months ago one of the other
Biospherians had an MRI to rule out a pituitary tumor. It was ruled out but
the radiologist noted in passing some changes in the brain stem which he
said were consistent with CO exposure. This Biospherian has no gait or
other neurological problems, but I was the most affected clinically
(shortness of breath, sleep problems etc,) and this person the next most
affected by the hypoxia. There also developed a level of nitrous oxide about
80x normal, and this is now thought to be neurotoxic. It is also true the CR
was very severe in Biosphere 2 (see photo of me in June issue of J.
Gerontol.). Also, the physical (as well as psychological) stress was very
severe --- not only more but FAR more and continuous than anything I have
ever experienced, and I've done a lot of stressful things. I was also, at 67
on entry, 27 years older than the next oldest crew member, yet in the nature
of things had to do an equal share of the work. My neurological problems
started during the last 6 or so months inside. Putting all the above
together is why I judge my neurodegenerative problems are related to the
Biosphere 2 experience. But there is no way of really knowing. Also, it's
such a special case that I don't think my condition means anything as far
as the CR group is concerned. Certainly nobody on the list,
or any place else I know of, is likely to have comparable exposure. (2)
"Attitude". Professional science writer-journalists usually get it right,
but journalists who are not primarily science writers (like Macintyre) often
not only get it wrong but come on with a preconceived agenda that they try
to, as it were, "read into you." They don't outright lie, but for example a
Favorite trick is to ask "Don't you think it's possible that .....?" and
then they'll add what they want to hear. If you answer, "Well, yes, it's
possible" then you may find in the article, for example, "Dr. Walford says
it's possible that .... ", and then will come something I may not really
agree with, but "it's possible", so they have not actually misquoted me but
have shifted the emphasis. Dean and others of the group should bear this in
mind as they represent CR. It can really trip one up. So by the same token,
the group should not read my "attitude" towards anything at all into what is
written by non-science professional journalists. The only thing right about
her article is that I don't wish to be a "guru" (as opposed, for example, to
Sears, Atkins etc), and that's why I don't post, and don't like to answer
questions. I am too much of an "authority figure" and the group does best
without such a one, in my view. Also, because of my "condition", it's
difficult both to keep up with the literature on CR and do the documentary
about Biosphere 2 that I'm working on, so I really don't want to be involved
in a lot of questions. I am going in another direction with what
strength I still have.
Best regards,
Roy Walford
------
http://lists.calorierestriction.org/archives/crsociety.html
-----Original Message-----
From: natashavita@earthlink.net [mailto:natashavita@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 12:50 PM
To: extropians@extropy.org
Subject: RE: Roy Walford okay?
From: Alex Ramonsky
>Some rumour flying round about Roy Walford being terribly ill or
something...anybody know real story?<
Roy Walford, whose mind is still as agile and quick-witted as ever, has
ALS.
Thanks for your concern. He is certainly one fine person.
Natasha
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