Jane’s Stroke Blog

Beijing First stem cell injection

July 12th, 2007

Today is full of hope for Jane.  We made it to the first injection of stem cells to help her in her recovery from the effects of two devastating strokes caused by Vascuitis in the brain.  The story begins in 2004 when she suffered her first mild stroke which was diagnosed as a TIA.  She recovered her mobility and senses within several months.  By August of 2005 she was doing fine when she lost her right side feeling and mobility after retiring for the night.  Jane fought her way back to standing and taking a few shaky unaided steps at or around April of 2005.  May 5, 2005 changed all that and brought her house crashing to the ground.  This stroke was different in that her initial attack resembled a seizure at 3 am which made me think she was dying.  The next month in the hospital produced some answers concerning the underlying causes.  Cerebral Vasculitis.  Briefly, vessels in the brain inflame and the imune cells attack the body causing a blockage of blood to brain cells.  She has numerous attack sites that has weaked her body and her left arm and hand are to only things working.

China.  The place for recovery for Jane.  We learned that TCM(Traditional Chinese Medicine)was helping Americans here in a city called Tianjin.  So we researched and found The China Connection.  We applied and were accepted.  April 4, 2007 was the day we landed in Beijing airport and trekked to Tianjin by van with a group from America we met up with in Chicago.  The China Connection took us all the way to the hospital and set in motion the next 3 months of wonderful therapy.  Jane responded well and gained some benefits but only limited mobility improvements.  My research on the web took me to <a href=”http://www.stemcellschina.com/”>www.stemcellschina.com</a> and blogs of patients who had received stem cells.  I responded to one of them to see how he was doing since his last entry.  Later I received an e-mail from Tiantan PuHua hospital.  I decided to investigate and made arrangements to travel to this hospital for an evaluation of Jane’s condition and if stem cells would help.  And now here we are into the second week and Jane is resting after her first injection.

We will be looking for right side movement of the arm and hand and fingers and leg.  She is strong in her left arm and hand but still needs a little more refinement of the fine motor skills of the fingers.  Her left leg has some activity but not enough to stand on.  She lost muscle strength in her back and mid section so these need to get stronger to help her stand.  She has no sensations in her bowels or bladdar or sexual functions.  Jane is aware of her surrounding and what is being said to her but sometimes loses some or all of the memory short term.  Some long term memory is affected and her ability to initaite is limited.  Her speech is normal but very low in volume. She prefers to not talk due to the difficulty to find words or to follow a stream of thought.

We are hopeful and in good spirits.  With good nurses and doctors and our helper Fong I believe we will go home on September 1, with improvements and see those improvements continue.  Stay tuned for more updates and info.

Jake and Jane in Beijing

Entry Filed under: stroke