Good morning everyone. Its Friday morning here (& most likely Friday wherever you are). A bit off a busy day for me today with physio, Aqua, OT, hyperbaric & acupuncture on the list for today. Glad I slept well last night. I thought I would tell you a bit about the hospital & some of the treatments & why they are used as part of the stem cell therapy. The hospital is a very small building, very close to the centre of a very huge city. New constructions tower around it. It seems more like a home than a hospital. Currently they look after 18 patients at a time. Some stay for 4 weeks (probably the most common length of stay), some, like me, extend the visit to add additional treatment; some stay for shorter times, like 2 weeks. It was originally set up for 10 patients, then 15, now 18. The patient to staff ratio is nearly on par; I havent counted the staff, but my quick calculations would be we (patients) are well outnumbered by staff. THey work very long hours and are the most compassionate people you could imagine. The departments are made up of doctors (3), nurses, nutritionists, rehabilitation (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, hyperbaric chamber). There is the admin staff who look after your interests & help with making you feel at home. They will help organise a tour guide for you to go sightseeing, recommend dentists for you & or your companion, suggest places to go, help with any enquiry and look after you in anyway they can. And the drivers, take you too & from the hotel & hospital anytime you need to go. It is remarkably efficient and feels so much like home. Most of the staff have excellent English and they all are amazingly caring. There isnt one person I have met at Better Being hospital that I wouldnt take home to Australia with me. I have become so fond of these people that the thought of finishing treatment at the end of next week makes me quite teary & I will miss them terribly. Considering this is a hospital & a, possibly, daunting procedure to undertake, I cant think of any improvements that could be made. All the supportive treatments are being used to compliment & enhance the stem cell infusions. Hyperbaric oxygen chamber oxygenates the body to create a healthy environment for the newly injected stem cells. My oxygen rating has gone from 79% to 99%, my blood pressure is pretty much perfect. The PT & OT retrain the body, which in turn helps rewire the brain. Already my walking is much easier, my strength has improved. Unless Im really tired my balance is noticeably better. And it is unusual to get very tired these days too. The diets the nutritionist develops for you is based on a recommendation from the head physician Dr Torsak. Mostly, as the majority of the patients have a Neuro degenerative disorder, a ketagenic diet is used. This odd diet of high fats, moderate protein & low carbs, not only encourages weight loss, but also releases ketones into the system that have a neuroptrotective effect. It is a peculiar diet to get used to but I have researched it quite heavily now & and will stick with it for at least 6 mths once I leave. The nutritionists work very hard with your requests to get the right balance for each individual. And, incredibly, I had chocolate almond cake for breakfast! WOW! I have had acupuncture for many years now. It has a calming effect on the nervous system, and also can energise when need be. I used to practice Shaitsu. massage, back in the good old days before MS, when I was a remedial masseur. It has similar principals working with the meridians of the body. This process is thousands of years old, and interestingly, the meridians correspond quite closely with the nervous system. (Also chakras directly correspond with the major nerve plexus in the human body - different thing I know, but also a very ancient belief system). The acupuncture is done to increase the immune system & bring a balance about in the body. Dr Wit must be the most gentle man I have met. And as for the stem cell treatments, well, they are going well as far as I can tell. I have now finished with the spinal treatments ( they are more scary in thought than procedure, and when you have MS lumbar punctures are no stranger). So now I have 2 IV transfusions of stem cells for next week. One of the patients here is a little boy with cerebral palsy. I was speaking to his mother yesterday about his ongoing improvements. He had stem cell treatment 3 yrs ago in China (Beike Biotechnolgy provide the stem cells. From that treatment he began to talk, & he went from being virtually blind to being able to see. His doctors in US are amazed at his progress. He is now 11 yrs old & back for more stem cells. His mother describes his progress as miraculous. It took 8 and a half months before it kicked in properly, but it has helped beyond belief. It may not work as well for everybody, but surely the fact that it has worked for some makes it a worthwhile pursuit. Ill be back later with more waffle (& chocolate cake!!)
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 01:59:10 +0000
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