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I guess my function here today is one of not only as an athlete
but as a citizen_of this country. I very strongly believe in the
testimony of Dr. Reedy as far as athletic injuries.
But not only have I had the experience of using this drug with
my athletic endeavors, but also I have found, and I have become
emotionally involved with the drug also, as Dr. Jacob talked about,
basically because I have seen people get amazing results. Most
recently I have seen a person who had not walked in close to 6
years. He has not moved his toes in close to 8 years. Just by chance
I bumped into this guy and-for the relief of pain he put it on his
spinal cord, not thinking it might do anything else he is walking
now within 2 weeks after using it.
That to me is what this thing is all about, not as far as athletes,
not as far as anything else, but it is the common person, the citizen
of this country, that is suffering and not able, doesn't even know
anything about this drug, can't even tell you what DMSO stands
for, when I really believe it is probably the most important thing in
the medical world.
I am not up-to-date and I don't claim to be a medical genius, but
I can tell you this will be the most important thing in my lifetime
to come on the market.
Mr. Hopkins, I believe you said earlier that this drug is relative-
ly inexpensive to produce, $4 per quart. I have found in the last 8
to 9 years the process the Food and Drug Administration goes
through to legalize this drug, now I am not sure but I am relatively
positive that this drug because of all the costly bureaucratic things
that you have to go through to get this drug, that now it costs for 4
ounces around $10 to $12. So that is quite a different expense.
I have had an experience that almost ended my football career
and without DMSO I would not be playing today. I had a calcifica-
tion in my right shoulder, my throwing arm. I could not practice
some days, could not put on my coat, could not sleep at night. It
was threatening to end my career.
When I signed my contract with the Atlanta Falcons I was
hoping they were not going to take me out to the football field and
watch me throw a ball because I could not throw from here to you.
Fortunately I had used DMSO for ankle sprains and contusions in
high school but I never thought of using it for my shoulder. So
kind of by chance I read in the paper about Dr. Jacob's work and
went up to see him. I was treated with DMSO. I used it in my
senior year and it got me through the season relatively pain free.
As Dr. Reedy said, athletes don't like to smell like that all the
time. I started using it on Thursday and by Saturday I would go 5
or 6 hours pain free. I would go through this for 6 months from
July to December. Finally I said, maybe if I just don't do anything
with my shoulder anymore, it is going to be all right. So from
December until the first part of April I didn't lift a weight, throw a
football. But my shoulder got still worse.
I went up to see Dr. Jacob and he gave me an injection in my
shoulder. He told me if I used it for 30 days straight, that that
calcification would disappear.
To say the least, I went to camp in July, pain free, not using
DMSO, and the X-rays showed no calcification in my shoulder. I
took cortisone, butazolidin, and all the things the team physicians
