On March 11, 2003 I read an article in Slate.com about a company working on memory therapies. I did additional research that included comments by testing participants including one man who indicated the “Ampakine” “lit up his mind.” I thought this biotechnology would someday help people like my son. On May 7, 2003 I purchased my first shares of Cortex Pharmaceuticals and have been accumulating them since.

Yesterday I accompanied Kyle once again to the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts-New England Medical Center, this time for a consultation with a neuro-surgeon. We were there to determine if surgery to remove a cyst within his spinal cord would help him to walk, something that’s becoming more and more of a challenge for my boy each day. The answer was “no.” The doctor was very gracious and explained the cyst was below the area of the spinal cord that affects walking. Kyle’s mom asked, “what do we do?” Kyle has been falling and we fear he will seriously injure himself one of these times. The doctor didn’t have an answer. In front of us, he scanned hundreds of Magnetic Resonance Images and found no abnormalities or damage to answer the question “why?” He recommended metabolic testing, then genetic testing as next steps. As I put Kyle’s socks and shoes back on I looked him in the eyes and said, “I don’t care how long it takes. Mom and Dad are going to find out how to help you walk better.” “OK,” was my boys reply.

Oh, at about the same time we were getting our latest non-answer, Cortex got theirs. Their lead drug candidate was rejected by the FDA and the company stock lost 60% of its value.