Our patient stories.

Juan Carlos Murillo is a commercial airline pilot who suffered spinal cord injuries in 4 separate areas of his spinal cord. Doctors told him that his injury was “complete” and that he would never walk again. After completing four rounds of stem cells at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama, Juan Carlos is walking again, driving a car and has recently passed his commercial airline pilot physical examination. He expects to begin flying again for an airline within the next few months.

“The Stem Cell Institute states that stem cell therapy is not a miracle cure, but I think for us, the patients, our parents and all of our relatives, it is a miracle cure…”

UPDATE May 2011

Juan Carlos Murillo is a commercial airline pilot who suffered spinal cord injuries in 4 separate areas of his spinal cord. Doctors told him that his injury was “complete” and that he would never walk again. After completing four rounds of stem cells at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama, Juan Carlos is walking again, driving a car and has recently passed his commercial airline pilot physical examination. He expects to begin flying again for an airline within the next few months.

“The Stem Cell Institute states that stem cell therapy is not a miracle cure, but I think for us, the patients, our parents and all of our relatives, it is a miracle cure…” – Juan Carlos Murillo

Before he received stem cells, from the waist down, Juan Carlos had no sensation, no movement and was suffering from significant neuropathic pain. He was classified a ASIA “A”. After his first course of stem cells in November 2008, his neuropathic pain was reduced on a scale of 1 to 10 from a 10 beforehand to a 3 afterwards.

His second course of stem cells in February 2009, Juan Carlos starting experiencing movement in his left leg and feeling in certain areas of his leg. He also started gaining muscle mass.
At the time of his third round in June 2009, Juan Carlo was driving an automatic car with his left leg and taking his first steps with a walker and crutches. He had about 80% sensitivity in his left leg.

Juan Carlos received his fourth round in November 2010. By that time, he had recovered his right leg and discontinued using crutches to walk. He was now able to walk with a cane and drive his manual transmission car. He now competes in 4×4 races.

He has now passed his commercial pilot physical. He has started flying again and expects to be employed once more as a commercial pilot within the next one or two months.

November 2010
I am a commercial pilot. On May 13th of 2008 was in a plane crash in the town of Cartago in Costa Rica. As a result of this accident I suffered a complete lesion at L1 and fracture of T12, L1 and L2. I had two surgeries in Costa Rica and one in Chile to stabilize my spine leaving me with 8 screws and 4 titanium rods from T11 to L3 and a titanium spacer for my L1 vertebrae. After this my condition did not improve. I had complete paralysis from the hips down, suffered from neuropathic pain, which on scale from 0 to 10, most commonly reached 10. After returning from my last surgery I was offered stem cell treatment with stem cells from umbilical cord which began in October 2008 with five intrathecal (lumbar puncture) injections. A few weeks after finishing this treatment my neuropathic pain become less common and mostly low-intensity. I also regained bladder control. I received a second treatment in February 2009 with 5 other applications. After this I began to notice changes in my legs with some muscle contractions and sensitivity in certain places. I continued my physical therapy and was able to have better contractions and started to regain strength and contractions in new places. I also regained my bowel function and sexual function. My last treatment was in June 2009 with five intrathecal and 2 intravenous injections of stem cells. After this treatment I could stand up and take a few steps on crutches because I had regained enough strength in my left leg and had already started to have movement in my right leg. As of this writing (October, 2010) I am able to walk without any aids or appliances. I have recovered almost 100% of my right leg and over 80% of my left leg. I have resumed my daily activities like driving and walking. I recently I passed my physical exam and now can fly again. In recent tests and pictures taken of my spinal column there is still a lesion at L1 but I continue walking. I am continuing to recover day by day while in the next few days I will go back for another treatment with the hope that I will be able to be as normal as possible.

Stem cell recipient Trish Stressman discusses her recovery from spinal cord injury after undergoing stem cell therapy at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. Ms. Stressman has regained control of her core and is now able to stand and walk with a walker.

I now have my abs, back, obliques, hip flexors, and glutes all contracting!

“My name is Trish Stressman. On May 26, 2007 I was in an ATV accident and suffered a burst fracture of my T-6 vertebrae, which left me with a bruised spinal cord. I was labeled a complete spinal cord injury with no movement or feeling below my T-6 injury line. Two years later I found out about Cell Medicine. I wish that I would have found out even earlier because it was great to have “hope” again. I went to Costa Rica for my stem cell treatment. The facilities there were great. They were very clean, professional, organized and modern. The Dr.’s at Cell Medicine and at the Cima Hospital were amazing. They always took lots of time with me and they truly cared about me and my recovery. I always felt safe and knew I could contact them at any time. The Physical Therapy there was also amazing. Within two months of getting the umbilical cord blood and my own bone marrow stem cells through intrathecal injections and IV’s I gained a lot. I now have my abs, back, obliques, hip flexors, and glutes all contracting! I am working now to bring them to full strength and they are almost there. I can stand for an hour now locking my own hips in place while not placing my hands on any support. My knees are not locking on their own yet but I hope to gain that back in the future.”

– Trish Stressman

After suffering a T-6 spinal cord injury, Tim Bishop underwent 2 rounds of clinical protocols at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. Watch him demonstrate the remarkable gains he’s made thus far. He also discusses his transformation from the despair of being bedridden and just “arms and a head” to the hope of one day walking again. Stem cell therapy – “This is reality!”

Stem cell therapy – “This is reality!”

My name is Ernest (Tim) Bishop and I am a T-6 Level Paraplegic, on November 26th 2008, the day before Thanksgiving I was on my way home to help my wife and daughter finish making the pies for Thanksgiving Day and I had a car accident. I came home on February 24, 2009. Since then I have been researching stem cells and all other avenues I can in hopes of regaining the functions of an able bodied person. I found Costa Rica and a lady (Trish) who had already been to Costa Rica. She went to Costa Rica for one month. I went in March 2010. I am hoping to raise enough money to go get more stem cell therapy and bone marrow like Trish did. I have had some significant gains since I have had the stem cell shots. I have gained from my chest right below the breast bone to my pelvic area. I can now feel sensations and have gained muscles in my stomach and back. Before my first set of stem cells I had none of this…I just think of where I might be if I would of been able to stay for a month of treatments. I will know the full benefit of my stem cells up to six months after the treatment and that will be around September 2010. The therapy in other countries is also so much better than in the US. In the US therapy is all about teaching you how to live with the way that you are and about taking notes during what is supposed to be your time. In Costa Rica the therapy was about not settling for less and trying to get you to focus on and do things that you would never think was possible. All of the US doctors have said “you are paralyzed and you will never walk again, that’s just the way it is.” That does not give one hope at all. In Costa Rica I was treated with hope. They encouraged me to try to move my legs, to stand in walker and got me to do it. They got me to do things that I haven’t done since the accident. It felt so great just to stand…While I was there; there were three T-6 complete paraplegics. Two of them were walking with braces and the other one was me. The two that was walking with braces were on their second trip.

It must be the stem cells…

Victoria explains the remarkable progress her son has made since undergoing stem cell therapy for autism in Panama at the Stem Cell Institute. He no longer needs to be placed into outside care. All of the professionals who care for him agree that “it must be the stem cells”. He has experienced a “rocketing of understanding”. He is now peaceful, calm and does not attack anyone. He can now be safely around his infant sister.

Millie Jimenez discusses her twin boys’ improvements after they both underwent stem cell therapy for autism at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. One of the boys, who was non-verbal prior to treatment is now speaking in English and Spanish. The other has stopped stimming and both are now making a “more affectionate” connection with their mother.

Multiple Sclerosis forced SWAT officer, Jason Upshaw to be house bound due to paralysis. Mr. Upshaw discusses how stem cell therapy at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama, has enabled him to reclaim his gun and badge.

After his multiple sclerosis diagnosis, renowned Texas high school football coach Sam Harrell had to stop coaching. Sam discusses how, with the aid of stem cell therapy, he’s fought back. Recently, he was able to travel to Super Bowl XLV where his son Graham suited up with the Green Bay Packers as backup quarterback.

“…after my third trip to Panama in September, my walking, my balance, and my stamina all improved dramatically”

Visit Sam’s Blog: Sam In Panama

TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2012
Great Day in Fort Worth for Stem Cell Team

We wanted to give the Stem Cell Institute a presence in that sea of MS victims and caregivers. I wish all of them knew that many of us in those blue t-shirts were there walking, actually completing the whole mile, even though we were once unable to do such. I wanted to grab that microphone that the organizers were using and tell all of them “There is HOPE – it doesn’t have to be what you hear from your doctors so often. It can be more than ‘Let’s keep taking this medication so you might get worse at a slower rate’ ”

I personally never heard about the possibility of actually improving when I went to good doctors here in the US – but I chose to try the Stem Cell treatment in Panama, and I walked that mile on Saturday! A year ago, six months ago, I couldn’t have done that – but after my third trip to Panama in September, my walking, my balance, and my stamina all improved dramatically. And many of those in our group on Saturday have a similar story; some results more dramatic than others, but most all of us have seen and felt the changes that give us that Hope that all of those sufferers at the Walk are looking for.

THANKS STEM CELL INSTITUTE!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012
2012 Update

Well, I realize there may not be many readers of my Panama blog any longer, but just in case someone does return, I wanted to post an important update.

In March 2011 when I returned from my second trip to Panama (my last blog), I soon had a MS relapse. It was the biggest setback I had experienced since my diagnosis. I spent a week in the hospital in Dallas and had numbness from my toes to my chest. When I got home, I was better – the steroids had made the numbness go down to just my lower legs, but I was practically home bound – used a walker or cane most of the time and spent most hours sitting in a chair at home – feeling like this was going to be my lifestyle for the rest of my days!

Even after going to physical therapy and doing everything I was supposed to be doing, my progress was minimal. I was fitted with a brace for my left leg to help the foot drop that was causing me to stumble. My mobility was very limited and I needed help getting most anywhere. I could not hold my new grandson unless I was sitting down, and I couldn’t walk across the room without thinking about each move.

In September of 2011 I went back to Panama for a short visit to get what Dr. Paz called a “little booster.” My mom went with me for this third trip – we stayed in the hotel by the MultiPlaza mall and had a good time since it was mom’s first trip to Panama. But the best news was what happened once we returned.

I had begun a daily log of my condition weeks before I went to Panama – mainly measuring and logging my walking and mobility – here are the exact numbers leading up to my trip and once I got back – these numbers are coming straight from my calendar log – (on a scale of 1 – 10 – how well am I’m getting around):
5,4,5,4,5,5,5,5,5+,5,(panama), 5,5+,5+,6,6,6,
7,8,6,7,7,8,7,8,8,6,6,6,7,8,7,7,8,8,8,8,8,8,7,7,7,7,8,8,8,7(end of Oct)
8,8,8,8,8,8,8+,8,9,9,8,8,7,8,7+,8,8+,8+,8+,8,7,7,8+,8,8,7+,7,7,7,7+(Nov)
7+,8+8,7+,7+,7,7+,7+,8,8,7+,8,8,7+,7,7+,7,7,7+8,8+,7+,7+,8,7+,7+,7+,7,7+,7 (Dec)
7,8,8,7,7,7,7,8,8,8,7,8,8

I know these numbers don’t mean a great deal to you, but they are huge to me – the difference in getting around at about a 5 compared to 7 & 8 is really big – numbers don’t do it justice. My mobility is MUCH improved – I don’t need the brace any longer, I walk like a normal person until I get tired, I can stay on my feet longer, I can jump rope again, I can stand and walk with my grandson in my arms, I don’t have to think to walk from one place to another, and even Kathy sees a huge difference (she has been a little hesitant about the good of stem cells).

So I am very excited and encouraged about my improvements. I can live a fairly normal life right now. And I don’t know if it’s the stem cells that made the difference or simply God’s grace and favor, but I do know it all happened right around the 3rd trip to Panama, so the stem cells had something to do with it. As I have said numerous times before, maybe God is using the stem cells to help me just as He used the Jordan River to heal Naaman’s leprosy after he dipped in it seven times.

But I do want to say this – all of these news shows (60 Minutes, 20/20, etc) coming from the US, that keep saying there are no benefits to stem cell treatments, are only showing you what the FDA and US drug companies want them to say. They have not talked to me, or Richard Humphries, or Preston Walker or many others who have seen dramatic results – we are not healed, but our quality of life is greatly improved and many people are witnessing it. (Now that I am better and getting out, people in town constantly say, “I can’t believe how well you look and how good you are doing.”)

Don’t listen to those media shows and don’t just listen to me – come see the difference!

Thanks again to all who have helped and have been encouraging in my quest to overcome this disabling disease. I encourage all of you to take your health issues into your own hands – be pro-active. What do you have to lose? Many of you may be thinking just like I was – if I do nothing, I know where I will be in 3 years.

One last bit of information – the clinic in Panama is having good but maybe mixed results with MS treatments, but they are whipping, yes whipping, arthritis! If you have a friend or loved one who is dealing with arthritis and the doctors here have said, “your only hope of being mobile again is knee replacements and/or hip replacements”, then you owe it to your friend or yourself to call me or get in touch with the stem cell clinic. What do yo have to lose? There are no side effects or dangers to stem cell treatments. Do it today!

Stay Strong!
Sam Harrell

972 268-(edited for privacy)

*Please contact us if you would like to speak with Sam.

Sam Harrell shares son’s Super Bowl XLV moment

VYPE MAGAZINE – Dallas

By Bill Jones
CBS 11/TXA 21
Sports Anchor

A little more than two years after throwing one of the most dramatic game-winning touchdown passes in college football history in Texas Tech’s last second win over Texas in 2008, Graham Harrell was on football’s biggest stage during Super Bowl week in Arlington.

As the third string quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, he was just 40 miles away from his hometown of Ennis. And his father, former Ennis Lions head coach Sam Harrell, couldn’t contain his excitement, exclaiming, “All of a sudden, they win the NFC championship, and they’re coming all the way back to Dallas!”

“After all those times I experienced with Dad through high school,” recalled Graham, “then you get to come home and be in a Super Bowl. It’s special because there’s no telling how much longer he’s going to be able to come to football games.”

That’s because 54-year old Sam Harrell has multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. Diagnosed with the disease five years ago, Harrell was forced to retire from coaching last year after 16 years and three state championship seasons at Ennis High School.

“All of a sudden, you get stuck with a disease that changed your whole life really,” Sam Harrell said, “and then I started wondering, golly, what kind of dad am I going to be? What kind of granddad am I going to be? Can I even get up and play ball with them?”

Graham said the only thing tougher for his father than telling his family he had the disease was when he informed them last year that he was going to have to give up coaching.

“He loves high school football,” Graham said. “He loves football in general but high school, he feels like he can really touch and influence kids. He just has a passion for coaching high school football.”

The Harrell family is deeply rooted in the very heart of Texas high football. Sam’s father was an assistant on the legendary Gordon Wood’s coaching staff at Brownwood. Sam played quarterback at Brownwood High School in the 1970s and also became one of Wood’s assistant coaches.

After a head coaching stint at Reagan County, Harrell took over at Ennis in 1994. All three of Harrell’s sons played roles in the Lions’ three state championship seasons. The mastermind of one of the most prolific offensive attacks in Texas high school history, Sam Harrell was one of the first coaches to employ a no-huddle spread offense.

Playing for his father, Graham broke virtually every Texas high school passing record, but it’s his dad’s positive attitude while dealing with this debilitating disease that impresses him most. “He’s unbelievable,” Graham said. “A lot of times I wonder how he’s doing. I’m so far away from him. And then you talk to him, and you’d think he’s just fine.”

“You can’t imagine someone having that positive attitude having that disease,” said Highland Park football coach Randy Allen, who coached with Harrell in Brownwood. “He’s very optimistic, and he’s doing better.”

Harrell’s doing better because of stem cell transplants he underwent last summer in Panama. He’s heading back there for another round of treatments in March. Still employed as Ennis ISD’s Career and Technology Education Director, Sam says his health is much improved compared to a year ago.

“That stem cell treatment stuff is expensive, and we couldn’t afford it,” Harrell said as he walked with a slight limp on the Ennis campus last month. “The coaches across the whole state of Texas were just unbelievably kind and generous.”

“Hopefully, the stem cells will continue to help him, and he’ll be able to come as long as I play,” Graham said during Super Bowl Media Day at Cowboys Stadium. “MS can attack you in a hurry. In a couple of years, he may never be able to come to a game again, but my first year I land in a Super Bowl, and he’s able to come because it’s right here in Dallas. It’s going to be such an awesome experience.”

Not only Sam Harrell, but also Graham’s mother Kathy, and his two brothers, Zac and Clark, were at Cowboys Stadium as the Packers won Super Bowl XLV. But none in the crowd of 103,000 spectators was as happy to be there as Sam.

“It brings back memories of him playing so many games at Texas Stadium and being part of the Ennis Lions there,” Sam reflected, “and then how many great places he got play at while he was at Texas Tech and now getting to do it at the biggest stage there is. It reminds us we’re awfully blessed.”

It’s a family blessed with a faithful, positive spirit equipped to take on life’s toughest challenges, and now proud possessors of a Super Bowl ring to go alongside all that high school championship hardware.

Judi Lecoq discusses how multiple sclerosis took her from working and playing guitar to walking with a cane and preparing to order a scooter. Then she shares how stem cell therapy at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama have given her back her life.

Judi’s Story – from www.judilecoq.com

Six Month Update:

We have made it to the half-year point! I completed my initial Stem Cell Transplant just over 6 months ago. My blog has chronicled the entire journey; before, during and after.

As I prepare to return to Panama and The Stem Cell Institute for my second Stem Cell Transplant, it is incredibly important to acknowledge the repairs that have resulted from the first Transplant.

Before the transplant I walked with a cane, was able to stand on my legs for only a few minutes at a time, needed to sit most of the time and had ordered a power chair. I also had a nagging pain under my right foot, was too uncoordinated to play my guitar well (note the “Today” video) and really profound…my bladder was shot, kaput, finished.

Now, 6 months after the Transplant, I walk without a cane, can stand for hours on my legs, the pain under my right foot is gone, I am playing my guitar again and AMAZING…my bladder is fixed!

I must say that my walking is not perfect and my balance needs repair too, but I am confident that another Transplant will help. Each time that Stem Cells are delivered to my nerves, I will see repair…this I know.

The video news video above was recorded the 7th of January, 2011. My last day of the first treatment was the 9th of July, 2010. Thank you to Meredith Land of NBC-DFW. ~ Judi