Our patient stories.

My Stem Cell Experience (Chronic Fatique Syndrome)

Each day my body was wracked with pain in the muscles, joints, and connective tissue to the joints. No amount or type of pain killers relieved the pain in order for me to get restorative sleep. I soon forgot what it felt like to feel “rested”. Each morning, upon waking, I experienced severe nausea which worsened upon any activity such as talking or sitting up for more than 30 minutes. Standing was difficult, and a wheelchair was necessary.

I am very thankful for this treatment and for the doctors who worked so hard to make this possible for people like me who need a respite from the suffering.

Because I am a musician, I continued to play the piano or organ, but that effort caused me to spend a minimum of two days in bed asleep in order to recover from the expenditure of strength and energy. At my best times, I could spend an hour talking with a friend, but the result was a day in bed in order to recover. Riding in a vehicle always increased the suffering I had to endure, and many times the planned activity had to be cancelled due to the brief car ride causing me to be too sick to sit up any longer. Eating food made me sick within ten minutes, causing me to return to bed for hours. Talking on the phone while in bed was too fatiguing, and it wasn’t long until that activity ended.

As the years passed, my days were spent sleeping or trying to get sleep in order to escape from the terrible sickness I felt inside my body as well as the pain. While I tried on a small scale to participate in life going on around me, enduring the resulting suffering which always came afterwards was more than I could tolerate.

In August 2010, my daughter, Miranda Hebert, took me to Panama for a stem cell treatment with the hopes of finding a way to “knock the edge” off the suffering I was having to endure. The doctors at the Stem Cell Institute told me that it would be 30 days or more before I would be able to tell a difference. What a pleasant surprise it was to feel a difference in my pain in just 3 hours after my first infusion!!! In one week I was running up a flight of stairs at my hotel! All of my friends and family could see a difference in my face, the way I held my body, and most especially in the way I moved! I could run!!! Not only was the pain diminished, but the symptoms of the illness disappeared. It was truly a miracle, and I am very thankful for this treatment and for the doctors who worked so hard to make this possible for people like me who need a respite from the suffering.

This month, Feb. 2012, I had a second stem cell treatment and noticed an additional benefit which I never expected. My cognitive abilities have healed in the most remarkable manner. Chronic Fatigue patients typically experience a “foggy” feeling in the brain. That went away after my first treatment almost two years ago. This second benefit is in addition to the “foggy” feeling being healed.

I am presently working as an Accompanist at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC and am accompanying an opera as well as playing other works for piano. Before this second stem cell treatment, I was struggling with the process of learning the music. However, when I returned from Panama and sat at the piano to begin working, the music just flowed! My brain was able to comprehend the music so much easier than I expected, and my playing showed the results! Those people who hear me play on a weekly basis could hear the difference.

Other benefits have included a strong increase in concentration and reading comprehension. Before stem cell treatments, I could not tolerate reading a magazine article which is less taxing than a book. Not only did the reading process make me nauseated, but the sickness in my body increased the more I read. The difference these two treatments have made has changed my life! No one ever mentioned to me the neural benefits of the stem cell treatments! This was definitely a most unexpected and pleasant benefit for which I am very grateful.

Kathy Hebert

“First I must say I have been steadily getting better. Everyone notices it. My long distance friends have all commented on the vitality and clarity in my voice. So much is changing in my body for the better. I can’t thank the staff at the SCI enough for saving my life. And of course, my beloved Dr Cheney, who knew better than anyone how sick I was … I feel such gratitude.

I was slipping into dementia from severe and unremitting CFS. I was desperate for help and when Dr Cheney invited me to go there in May, in my heart I knew I was going to get my life back. I was so sick that almost any quality of life was gone for me and I either wanted to die or get better. I was at the end of my rope as I was in constant and unrelenting pain, slipping away with dementia and fully bed-bound and home bound for several years after being vibrantly alive, loving life as an artist and a professor at the University of Minnesota, mother, wife and lover of life.

“I’ve regained peristalsis after 13 yrs. No more falling! No more chest pain, no more visits to the ER! I wake up the each day full of energy, not crashed. Thank you from the bottom of my heart… “

Although I state very enthusiastically my improvements, I still have a way to go; but because the improvements have been so marked I feel like there has already been an amazing transformation. Here are some of the improvements:

• Anyone who speaks to me on the phone comments on how well I sound. Lately, I have heard in my voice an “authority” and sense of articulation that I once had when I was a professor and artist. My brain is healing and I have energy everyday. I still must rest most days but I want to get up and begin to rebuild my life. Incipit Vita Nova- Here begins the new life! I feel inspired! Before stem cells, I spoke often in a whisper as my vocal cord were weak and I would quickly tire, slur my speech and need to stop talking as it would exhaust me. I easily crashed from less than 10 minutes of phone conversation.
• Comments from friends regarding getting well- ”woo yaa! Susan, you are lucid!” “You are back!…”look at you, your cognitive function is so much better.” I hear these comments everyday.
• I was able to titrate from 40 mg to 5 mg of Cortef shortly after my 2nd visit to Panama. Now I plan to titrate off Cortef completely. With that, the bloating and weight gain is finally coming off my body.
• I’ve regained peristalsis after 13 yrs.
• No more falling! My balance is good and am able to climb out of, for example, a bath tub – I’m getting stronger! Falling was a constant worry and I did eventually fall and break my back recently. That was the final straw and I developed PTSD. I feel less pain now in the area of the herniated discs and I wonder if the stem cells will repair such injuries . Falling was a constant worry for my husband, there was a sense that my feet were not connected to my brain. Now that worry is in the past.
• No more chest pain, no more visits to the ER! (15 visits last year!)
• Fat turning into muscle, I can now stand up from a sitting position without the help of my arms pressing me up. My family comments on my form transforming.
• Overall, more resiliency, vitality and cognitive improvement.
• I am able to organize. I’ve been able to declutter and organize much of the piles of paperwork and miscellanea that have been piling up for a decade. . CFS made organizing impossible for me. I’ve heard that this is not uncommon.
• I now have the energy to stay focused for 2 – 4 hrs at a time sitting in a chair doing paperwork or some task ( I have not had the strength to sit in a chair for 5 – 6 yrs. I wake up the each day full of energy, not crashed. Although I do feel muscle and joint pain from moving and so still need pain meds. But the most important thing is I rarely crash. I can be modestly active every day.
• Memory! Although not perfect (I believe in part due to morphine) I am so much better. I can remember combinations of numbers on the spot. I know what I did the day before, the week before and what is planned in the future. I can remember what I wanted to do from day to day.

I am able to feel inspired and that is carried through the day to the next and the next. No amount of occupational therapy with strategies to support my memory ever worked. It’s hard to explain how far gone I was. I was lost to myself and I think it was the most terribly painful part of my experience of CFS. Regaining myself did not begin until after I was home from the 2nd stem cell protocol. And I am certain I needed the 30 day MS Protocol. None of these brain problems improved the first time and I could feel I was on a slow and disappointing slide backwards.

I wanted to thank you for all you have done for the benefit of myself and my family. My daughter, who moved home to help me out, has tears well up in her eyes regularly when she sees me interact with her in ways I haven’t since she was 14. You have been a bright light in the dark and desperate days of severe CFS. Thank you from the bottom of my heart from me and from that of my beautiful family, Chris and Christina.”

– S.L.

Working to Walk Again
Chris McKinnon – CBS News KRE TV

A year ago Brandy Moss was just like any 16 year old. Moss doesn’t remember the car accident that left her paralyzed from the chest down, only what doctors told her at the hospital.

She explained, “I was going to pick my mom up from work and I went over a hill, the guy was on my side of the road and we just clashed.”

Moss does not like to look backwards so she continues to focus on what is ahead for her, “Even if it’s just little ways like helping me move
my fingers or something, even if it’s not walking, it would make life
so much easier.”

Her sights are now set on a stem-cell procedure, which is available in Panama.

Moss explained, “It’s my chance to walk.”

Gina McLoud, from Delta knows first hand how important this procedure can be. She’s had two stem cell procedures done, the first said, gave her results within a month. Once confined to her wheelchair, McLoud is now able to stand and walk but it hasn’t come easy.

She explained, “It’s not a miracle, it’s not a cure. You have to work
very hard.”

McLoud spends two to three hours a day in the gym, five days a week
making sure her muscles stay stimulated. As she continues to gain strength, she wants to dispel some of the myths about stem cell treatment, which she said has a stigma attached because of
misconceptions. For instance, her stem cell procedure uses adult stem cells and her own blood marrow.

Now McLoud serves as an inspiration for someone like Brandy Moss who hopes to one day walk again.

Since this stem cell treatment is not available in the United States, it’s extremely costly: about $30,000.

There is an auction to help raise money for Brandy Moss’s this Saturday, August 6th, at Zack’s Barbeque in Hotchkiss starting at 8am.

You can also make donation at the Delta County Federal Credit Union.

This is a spinal cord injury patient walking. He had a T8 injury and had been in a wheelchair for 10 years. This video was taken one month after receiving Adult Stem Cells. He received stem cells from umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord matrix.

I was diagnosed with RA at the age of 23 and received the the therapy at the age of 25.

I was working out at the gym 3 times per week until my ankle started hurting. Eventually, I had to stop all activity involving my ankle.

In the morning, I suffered from stiffness and limited flexibility in my joints: wrist, fingers, ankles, knees and hip. My fingers were swollen. I also had trouble kneeling down and gained a lot of weight as a result of my reduced physical activity.

“I could see myself in a wheelchair if I had not received this treatment. I think it saved my life.”

As things progressed, I could not even go for a leisurely walk and if I did manage to go, I couldn’t get out of bed the next morning. My daily work routine became more difficult as time went on. It was hard just to kneel down to pick up my pen. I had stopped doing pushups due to wrist pain.

My doctor prescribed Celebrex for pain and inflammation. I started taking Humira until I went for a jog one day. The next day, I had a major flare up throughout my body. It never worked again after that so I stopped taking it. The Celebrex helped me get through the day at work but I was still in pain.

Then by chance, my mom read about a stem cell therapy seminar being hosted by Dusty Durrill at Del Mar College and my dad went to it. I was skeptical but decided to go since someone like Dusty, whom we knew from our community went himself and spoke so highly of it.

The doctors at the Stem Cell Institute were very professional and nice. They immediately established a close relationship with me and made me feel like a person, not just a number. It was very personal . They were open and answered all of my questions. They treated me like “Bryan”.

Even the office staff was very helpful with non-medical issues. I do customer service all day and while in Panama, I received much more than just “customer service”.

I also got to go on a tour of the laboratory. I found the Q&A particularly helpful. It was nice to have an opportunity to have all issues regarding stem cells addressed.

Since receiving stem cell therapy, my pain level has gone way down. I noticed changes the first day. My hands became less stiff and the pain I usually felt when clenching my hands was reduced.

Now, I still have a little morning stiffness but it goes away quickly. Before treatment, it would linger for an hour or two. My joints are still a little inflamed but I have so much less pain. I just bought a new gym membership. I play racquetball and work out on the elliptical machine. I can bend down and pick up a pencil again and I am still improving! I still take Celebrex for inflammation due to the amount of exercise I am doing but its effect on me is 10-fold since I got the stem cells.

I feel very blessed to have found this treatment because it has done wonders for me and I will continue to recommend the therapy to anybody that may benefit from it.

I could see myself in a wheelchair if I had not received this treatment. I think it saved my life.

Bryan Gamez
bjgamez@gmail.com