Good News

Quick update: I’ve now had three stem-cell treatments, the first two in my arm and the last one via a lumbar puncture (which sounds as pleasant as it is). The idea behind the lumbar puncture is that injecting the stem cells into the spinal fluid is a much more direct route to the brain, which is where we want these little suckers to end up in first place.

In each case, and particularly in the last case, I have felt some immediate energy shifts within my body. At first it seems that my balance was off, but in reality it was just a redistribution of energy and musculature that I had to get used to. In fact, immediately following the last procedure I was able to walk relatively smoothly and with a fair amount of balance without using my cane.

But the most exciting news of all came during my semiannual visit to my neurologist last week: he did a thorough top-to-bottom analysis of my condition and found that in a number of cases what was once a muscle strength of “0” was now a “1,” “2,” or “3”!

I am fortunate to have a neurologist who is open to new ideas, who is in favor of anything that will help his patients – so he has been following my case closely and has been very positive about what I’m doing. (Typically with my condition, there is no course of action, no medicine – thank goodness – in the world of traditional medicine, so our encounter every six months is more of a fly-by joke-fest.)

I wish I could tell you that I threw away my cane and danced out of the treatment clinic, but at least I don’t have to report that nothing is happening. I’m making steady progress, and I hope to have more treatments in the future to increase the rate and magnitude of my recovery.

I can’t stress adequately the gratitude I feel for your contributions, whether they be in the form of thoughts and prayers and well-wishes, or something slightly more negotiable.