But it reached a point where it didn’t do any more while I was still there.” He says there has been no change in his bowel and bladder, but he has slight improvement in internal sensation.
The Dempseys went directly to RIM in Detroit for intensive therapy when they returned to the states. “I stood up on the walker for the first time and used a gait trainer, suspended on a treadmill. It felt really good. I got a lot stronger while I was there, but unfortunately we ran out of money and had to come home. My stomach got stronger and also my legs. I think the therapy is probably the most important thing.”
When asked if he would do it again, he answered, “I probably would. I didn’t lose anything from going over there. All I could do would be to gain from it.”
James Parsons secured a surgery date –Sept. 18, 2006– at Xi Shan Hospital—but prior to that date he and his father wanted to talk to two experts, Wise Young and Steven Hinderer, director of the SCI recovery program at RIM. Young, because he was on sabbatical at Hong Kong University, proved difficult to contact. In the meantime, James and his father regularly trolled the CareCure website in search of other “cure” stories.
Websites outside the CareCure community advertise more controversial procedures than Huang’s. One— www.stemcellschina— includes personal testimonials but no objective verification. One of the more dramatic stories involves David Aldrich, 50, who traveled to Schenzhing, China to undergo umbilical cord blood cell injections overseen by Dr. Sean Hu, founder of Blake Biotechnology, a multinational company offering treatments at several hospitals.
Aldrich, from Delray Beach, Fla., had sustained a C-3-4 incomplete SCI when he fell from a boat in shallow water on May 27, 2002 and, in his own words, “drowned.” Brain damage from Hypoxia resulted in near total blindness and deafness. “I spent a total of 359 days in the hospitals,” he says, still speaking with difficulty. He was finally discharged from Craig Hospital, having arrived weighing a meager 120 pounds, half his pre-injury body weight. He still had severe vision and hearing problems in addition to incomplete Quadriplegia.
After leaving Craig, Aldrich’s Motor ability improved slowly over the next three years. Effects from his brain injury also diminished, but by the time he went to Shenzhing, his vision was still blurry, he could not read and hearing was difficult. He had limited movement in his arms, no movement in his hands, he could move his left leg slightly, and had a “twitch” in his right leg but no real muscle control.
This story will be continued in next issue. See below For Sales for the promised definition of terms.
FOR SALE***
WC Lift; $7,000 new; only used 2 months; asking $3,000. Invacare Storm TDX 3 Power WC; full reclining; less that 1 year old; $12,000 new; asking $2,000. Quickie II manual chair; good cond.; $800. Call David 589-6620.
*Cookbooks for Sale: Recipes compiled by Chapter members; $10:00. Call David @ 589-6620.
*Video tapes for sale. Various topics related to spinal cord injuries. Call David Allgood or Buddy Lawson.
***If assistance is needed to pay for any of the above items, contact Kentucky Assistive Technology Loan Corporation at 1-800-327-5287 for information on loans at 5% interest to qualified candidates.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR SHIRTS!!
What Does It Mean?
Olfactory ensheathing Glial Cells (OEG or OEC): Origin: The olfactory bulb in the brain of the person to be treated or an aborted fetus. OEG have been shown to stimulate nerve AxonRegeneration and myelination in animals, and are differentiated fetal cells, not stem cells.
Umbilical cord blood cells (UCB cells): Origin: placentas and detached umbilical cords of newborns. UCB cells are fetal stem cells that are currently used to treat blood diseases. They may or may not be useful as a treatment for spinal cord injury.
Human embryonic stem cells (HESC): Taken from the blastocyst stage of embryonic development, HESC have the ability to differentiate into different cell types, such as neuronal cells.
