August 5, 2024
Dear Hossein,
I am delighted to hear that you had such a refreshing and productive holiday. Thank you for the photos and video that Ehsan shared with me. The video of progress on the university construction was amazing—so much progress since the last one you shared with me. What a milestone this will be in the history of Congress 60 and the history of addiction treatment. I hope there will be room in the new university space to create an archives/library containing documents related to the history of Congress 60, including all of your papers and publications.
I also enjoyed the photos of you at the farm. You look vibrant amidst all the healthy plants you are raising. I am amazed at the level of D.Sap production you were able to achieve during your time at the farm. That is quite remarkable.
Thank you also for the information you shared related to our latest project collaboration. I wanted to give you an update on the work done from my end on this effort. Dr. Sarapas and I submitted a research proposal to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Chestnut Health Systems outlining our planned project. It was reviewed and approved on July 24, 2024, with the request that I provide periodic progress reports on the status of the study to the IRB.
In the coming few months, we will be collecting the data profiling treatment admissions in the U.S. that we can use to compare to the 2023-2024 sample we have for Congress 60. Once the U.S. data is completed, I will send additional questions regarding data that we will need to get (if possible) on the Congress 60 sample. I have a meeting schedule with Drs. Sarapas and Mouton this coming week to refine the list of data we will need from you it at all possible. I will confirm that list in my next communication.
While Dr. Sarapas leads work on this statistical comparison, I have started work on a literature review and updated profile of Congress 60’s history and treatment methods. I will also pass along questions to you related to that work to make sure I am using the very latest information on such things as the number of Congress 60 branches, number of guides and co-guides, etc., and details on treatment procedures.
Since this research is not funded by any external authority, we have no set time deadlines so we can just keep moving forward at a pace that will work for both of us until this project is completed and our results are submitted for publication. Regarding future questions related to the Congress 60 sample data, is it best to send these questions to you or is there another person overseeing such data that I should communicate directly with? Let me know and I will follow whichever you prefer.
I hope to finish the literature review this Fall . It is a bit delayed due to the fact that many of my Iran research files are not available to me. My wife and I are hoping to move to a smaller apartment, so I currently have most of my research literature files boxed up in a storage unit. I think once these are retrieved, I will be able to complete the literature review write-up section of the future paper within a month.
Here in Florida we are well into hurricane season and our residents are worried about the intensity of potential hurricanes this year due to unprecedented temperatures of the water this year and the present absence of forces that weaken hurricane development. Today, a level one hurricane will enter Northern Florida but we only experienced some local flooding here in Southwest Florida in low lying areas. Our nearby communities are still deep into repairs from the hurricane that struck us two years ago and are hoping we can escape further damage this year. That anxiety is all part of living in a tropical climate but it can wear on you as the hurricanes get more violent due to climate change.
Please extend my warm regards to your family and to all members of Congress 60.
Friends and Brothers Forever,
Bill