From Ben Grosscup.
I'm sitting in the Miami airport, having just flown in from Havana. Later tonight I'll deliver to my mother a medication to help with her dementia—likely Alzheimer's—which she was diagnosed with in June.
I'm carrying a 48-week supply of NeuralCIM, a new medication produced and distributed only in Cuba.
This medication holds extraordinary promise for stabilizing, and in many, many cases improving, cognitive test scores for patients with dementia.
I've spent the last two weeks in Cuba, interviewing doctors and scientists about how NeuralCIM works, how it's manufactured, and how it's distributed both in Cuba and beyond. I even visited the production facility where it's made. I’ve been trying to get an understanding of how it is that Cuba is in a position to help my family in such a powerful way.
At every step of this journey, I’ve been faced with the wrenching and horrific ways in which my government is harming the people of Cuba by enforcing a brutal economic blockade on the Island. Along the way, I’ve made some incredible new friends. Cuba, I love you!
I've learned a lot about Cuba in a short time. I've been documenting every step of the process I followed, and I'm eager to share what I know. I may need a few days to update my notes, but if people want to know more about accessing NeuralCIM in Cuba, feel free to reach out by private message and I’ll be happy to share.
For folks in Minneapolis: I'll be giving a talk at the Lucy Parsons Center at 1pm on Sunday, October 4, reporting back on my experience. (I'll make a separate post about that event shortly.)
For folks in Western Mass: I'm giving a talk in Easthampton on Monday, November 2. More details to follow.
I’m feeling relieved to be through customs, and grateful for everyone who helped along the way.